Finally...why am i not happy?

[LBS-bass]

i agree with you. the same tired old covers are usually played because of a lack of talent or creativity in a band. People out there like the songs so much it doesn't even matter if you butcher them.

I find a cover band who pulls out a well known song that you DON'T hear every other covr band playing to be far more interesting and worthy of respect than hearing "Mustang Sally" for the 158,000th time...

What happens is that people who happen to be there will get up and dance because it's familiar, and that's good enough for a crowd that just wants to party. That's typically a crowd there for the event, not for the band.

But it's nothing special, and that is what a lot of bands don't understand. Nobody's going out of their way to come back to see the "nothing special" band a second time at a different event, but they are going to go out of their way for something that is equally fun but also is something special. Yet I hear the tired arguments over and over that those 40 songs are the only ones to ever bring dancers to the floor. Yeah, no.

 

[TonyP-]

Sounds to me like the singer is a better bandleader than anyone else, and he knows it. He is doing many of the things the other’s won’t or can’t. A good singer, who gets the band gigs, and handles the PR that usually nobody likes to do?.. Sounds pretty nice. Democracy in a band with no leader sounds great in theory, but in reality it rarely works out in the long run because people’s egos get in the way (which is what sounds like is happening here honestly). So unless you and the others agree to fire the singer and you take over all the things he’s doing (and you truly believe you are better at that stuff), then I would suggest you embrace just being the bass player of a cover band and enjoy it. If it just comes down to song choices and set lists, maybe you should just have a band meeting and discuss that you’d like to choose some of the songs too.

You make a great point...Democracy is a facade in %99 of the real successful bands that you know as household names.

 

[Ronzo]

+1. And believing you can do it better isn’t the same as doing it better. For a variety of reasons, usually relating to work commitments, family commitments, etc., not skills.

 

[Bass Viking]

Yet I hear the tired arguments over and over that those 40 songs are the only ones to ever bring dancers to the floor. Yeah, no.

Cover bands often post their set list on their website. I swear, most of the cover bands in town must be choosing their songs from some “master set list”!

 

[51PRI]

After 3 years of a revolving door of drummers and singers, we have finally put together a very talented cover band. New singer is a PR machine and knows all the contact people at venues and has got us a bunch of gigs set up already. Played our first and people were really complimentary.

Still...im not all that happy. It was great to gig again after COVID and I look forward to the others on the schedule, but its starting to feel like we are becoming the singers backup band. Me and guitarist kept this going for almost 3 years and truth be told, him and I have had several disagreements over that time. He can be difficult at times to work with and Im not even sure how i got this far in a band with him. We get along most of the time but he has surgically attached his lips to the singer buttocks since he can get gigs and hes a good singer. Drummer is new to the cover band world so he generally goes along with consensus.

I just see the singer slowly taking everything over with the guitarist in tow and Im not loving it. Im trying to be a team player so I have put in my opinions in a constructive way when I thought appropriate, but singer is a bit of a know it all when it comes to bands. Ive been playing and in bands longer than hes been alive and I dont agree with alot of his direction. I dont need or want to be in charge, but I have alot of experience to draw from, but its feeling like "singer knows best".

I plan on playing the rest of the gigs for sure, but it just stinks that we have a great band but Im not happy. Anyone else experience this?

Yes, and I ended up not quitting, but, because of health reasons that I wasn't sure would resolve, told the band to move on without me. However, that was after 14 years in the band. There WERE other issues, but the health thing was a good excuse/reason.

Your situation sounds similiar to Journey when they hired Steve Perry. He was so good and popular, and strong as a songwriters, that the power dynamics in the band had to shift.

In your case, IMO, ride that lead singer to good, successful and high paying gigs as long as you can. As long as you can stand it.

Best of Luck!