Lame as it is, I'm guessing a majority of the audience for cover bands does not care or even think about it. They're not there for your art - you're a jukebox.
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First time hearing a cover band with backing tracks
- Thread starter kesslari
- Start date
I have a friend who uses tracks while he sings and plays lead guitar. Basically karaoke with a guitar. Every performance sounds exactly the same. There’s no spontaneity, improvisation, or deviation. He plays the same songs in the same order every time. The tracks are not the original recordings, because hey, that would be cheating, right?
In his defense, he has no space to practice, doesn’t have all the band drama, and most importantly, he takes home all the money.
In his defense, he has no space to practice, doesn’t have all the band drama, and most importantly, he takes home all the money.
I fight it every time it comes up in any band I am in. I get the allure of doing it, but I prefer to find other ways to represent these key parts of songs with other instruments, or leave it out altogether. If it sounds good, most people won't care or notice the difference and ones who do are amazed/enjoy how you ride the line of representing the song as such.
IME, if it looks and sounds like karaoke it's done poorly (it shouldn't be done: ask for your money back!).
but good musicians can find tracks/clicks useful and are able to entertain at a different level (you get your money's worth, and then some).
IMO, you'd have to see and hear the performance to make an informed judgment.
but good musicians can find tracks/clicks useful and are able to entertain at a different level (you get your money's worth, and then some).
IMO, you'd have to see and hear the performance to make an informed judgment.
Yup. A lot of repertoire that has a live audience demand cannot be replicated by a rhythm section plus a few vocalists. The original legacy artist, if they are on tour, MIGHT be able to afford a small string section on tour (NOT the full orchestra that was on the record), while selling 15,000 tickets a show. The act that's selling 800-1200 tickets in a regional theater sure as hell can't pay a string section and keep the pay competitive for the rest of the musicians.
If you're a bandleader/MD playing legacy music, there's no "your art" involved. It's about skilled musicians bringing a product to a stage and audience members paying for it. Most of the time, being a professional musician is less about art and more about doing a job. I suppose the art can be in the execution, and that's what you train and practice for.
I have no problem with it, and have played live with sequences backing tracks before. These days, I prefer not to, because I hate the constraint, and feel that it can suck the life from performances. Just my opinion about how it affects me, not others.
One thing I've been thinking about is the phenomenon can be an opportunity for bands who play without such enhancements. It's a way to differentiate themselves. My band is already starting to use it as part of our pitch, and it seems to resonate. "We're just a raw rock band, we don't use backing tracks or autotune or any of that stuff" seems to play pretty well as part of our pitch. Because while I have no problem with backing tracks, and it's just the reality of live music, a lot of music fans that I meet REALLY don't like the phenomenon. They are more aware of it than ever, and feel a bit like they're being tricked.* So a lot of those type folks seem to be comforted when they hear we are committed to playing without enhancements.
Though to be fair, at lot of the music fans who say they hate backing tracks and autotune will be the first and loudest ones to complain when the live mix or performance isn't as perfect as the album. Whaddaya gonna do?
* I don't think this applies to typical cover bands tbh
One thing I've been thinking about is the phenomenon can be an opportunity for bands who play without such enhancements. It's a way to differentiate themselves. My band is already starting to use it as part of our pitch, and it seems to resonate. "We're just a raw rock band, we don't use backing tracks or autotune or any of that stuff" seems to play pretty well as part of our pitch. Because while I have no problem with backing tracks, and it's just the reality of live music, a lot of music fans that I meet REALLY don't like the phenomenon. They are more aware of it than ever, and feel a bit like they're being tricked.* So a lot of those type folks seem to be comforted when they hear we are committed to playing without enhancements.
Though to be fair, at lot of the music fans who say they hate backing tracks and autotune will be the first and loudest ones to complain when the live mix or performance isn't as perfect as the album. Whaddaya gonna do?
* I don't think this applies to typical cover bands tbh
Back in the 90s I went to see Steve Morse (on the campus at Stanford U, of all places). I was greatly disappointed to find out he was actually the opening act for Stu Hamm. It was just Steve and Dave LaRue, and they used a drum synth to play along to because, I assume, they couldn't afford to bring his full band. I forgot what name they used, but when they did band introductions they introduced "Bob" the drummer. Anyway, in the middle of the set of playing songs and trading solos then they both stop and point to the drum machine, and the drum machine took a solo.
Stu Hamm came on with his band and I was excited as I had his album and liked it. He was way too loud for the space, but far worse was he was insufferable. He'd do some technical chopsfest thing and if he didn't get sufficient applause, he would implore the crowd to give it up for him. We left between songs in the middle of his set.
Stu Hamm came on with his band and I was excited as I had his album and liked it. He was way too loud for the space, but far worse was he was insufferable. He'd do some technical chopsfest thing and if he didn't get sufficient applause, he would implore the crowd to give it up for him. We left between songs in the middle of his set.
If you entertain your audience, its a good show.
The Beatles used backing tracks…
The Beatles used backing tracks…
When did the Partridge Family do any actual live performances while the fictional TV show had its run? Jones, Cassidy, Dey, and the others were actors portraying a musical act based on the Cowsills(who were considered in the first place). While Shirley had musical experience, and David did eventually do vocals on recordings, it was all an understood fantasy. As for the records, it was not the first time film or TV stars parlayed their popularity into some sort of musical endeavor, and in this case, it was a marketing inevitability.
As for Nesmith, Tork, Jones, and Dolenz who preceded them, while Mickey learned drums on the job(already playing guitar, and having been a child actor and a singer in a band, plus recording a couple of singles), Mike and Peter were experienced performing musicians/singers, and Davey had a background in musical theater plus a fledgling pop career. Before The Monkees TV show aired, Nesmith as a songwriter had provided Linda Ronstadt with her first big hit, and another of his songs was recorded by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Earlier on(as ‘Michael Blessing’)he was working his way through the biz…
Tork, a coffee house veteran, beat out Stephen Stills for the Monkees’ slot, but Davey Jones had already appeared on the Ed Sullivan show in February of 1964…
Ironically, there were some other Brits in a band who performed that night.
Granted, the lines between fiction and reality got blurred with them, but their fanbase went along with it, perhaps demanding it, and when they did tour in 1967/68, while augmented by auxiliary musicans(like the Stones, Who, and plenty of others), they played their own instruments, no “backing tapes”. As for their recordings, if you’ve seen the Wrecking Crew documentary, you would find out that many so-called legitimate bands had ghosting session players on their records, but nobody talked about that back then.
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I'm playing in a band with backing tracks now, my first. We have keys and some backing vocals in there. Gotta tell you, it's the most challenging music and most challenging band I've ever been in. It's NOT just playing along with the music. We're playing super complicated arrangements, dance/pop music, and the tracks don't accommodate any mistakes. It is anything but playing along to the record. Next time you want to find out if you know a song, get just the backing track, no other musicians, no lead vocals, and try to play through the whole thing without any mistakes. You may find yourself surprised by how hard it is.
Like salt, a little bit goes a long way. I've heard of some touring bands where their recorded song plays through the sound system and they just "play along" with it, vocals and all. When confronted about it they say its to help fill out the sound. That kind of stuff is lame as hell.
Not sure how everyone here feels about The Who, but they used a backing track with a Lowrey Organ on repeat live for Baba O'Reily in the early 70's.
Same here. Using it for strings, percs, keys, etc. when additional support is needed because we’re only 4 (keys, guitar, drums and bass) on stage. We also play songs without tracks. The audience likes it.
Its pretty much how Vegas lounge shows operate nowadays.
Only visiting musicians sneer at it.
Workaday patrons don't know...don't care.
Only visiting musicians sneer at it.
Workaday patrons don't know...don't care.
personally I miss the lip syncing I grew up seeing on American Bandstand and Soul Train, so it's refreshing when a pop act uses backing tracks (they all use backing tracks) 
but srsly pop music has been a product of multi-track recording since the late 60s; what you get on stage can only ever be a simulacrum of what you heard on the radio
if you want to hear real musicians playing real music in real time, go to the symphony or a jazz club
but srsly pop music has been a product of multi-track recording since the late 60s; what you get on stage can only ever be a simulacrum of what you heard on the radio
if you want to hear real musicians playing real music in real time, go to the symphony or a jazz club
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