I could be mistaken, but I think all Super Bowl performances have to be lip synced with backing tracks. The stakes are too high.
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First time hearing a cover band with backing tracks
- Thread starter kesslari
- Start date
I could be mistaken, but I think all Super Bowl performances have to be lip synced with backing tracks. The stakes are too high.
A band with unlimited resources does not "NEED" to play along to tracks. They are being lazy and/or they want to sound perfect.
With so much of an artist's revenue stream dependent upon their live show these days, artists have convinced themselves that they must sound perfect every night or risk revenue. Either that or they are just plain being lazy OR they just plain can't pull it off outside of the studio.
The Stones are in their 80's and don't run tracks...they hire additional capable musicians to be on the stage.
Some other rock bands not running tracks that are doing just fine: Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, The Black Crowes, Oasis, The Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, Sammy Hagar, Iron Maiden, etc..etc...
I play in a cover band in the Mid-Atlantic. Guitarist, Myself, Drummer and Singer. We have about 200 songs in our repertoire ranging from 60's to today in rock, country, pop genres. Not only do we not use backing tracks, they would actually seriously hinder our ability to be super flexible and spontaneous with our set list on any given night. Our theory is that if we can't do the song with the talent the 4 of us have then we'll find stuff we can do and keep it 100% live. It hasn't been a problem for us since we have been playing 80-100 shows per year in 250-2000 cap venues!
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Happens a lot! If you’re playing top 40 and need “that” sound from the record, this is an easy way to do it.
There are quite a few bands in my area that pipe in midi tracks while playing live. I was also, albeit briefly, in a band that did that but the BL had the drums audible and the drummer could not match the track and it sounded horrible. The other bands sound decent but it's obvious to other musicians what they're doing. Our band's performance at the VEER Awards show used a stem. National acts do it all the time.
I do not like or use backing tracks, but my only allowances are for backing synth parts if no keyboard player is present or aux percussion. Lacking these can really neuter some songs.
Backing horns are always funny to me since there are clearly no horns on the stage.
Lou Reed used to make a big deal about not using tracks. I am not sure why he was so extra about this. Maybe his point was that limitations can be inspiring.
Backing horns are always funny to me since there are clearly no horns on the stage.
Lou Reed used to make a big deal about not using tracks. I am not sure why he was so extra about this. Maybe his point was that limitations can be inspiring.
i knew a keys/vocal player who did this, but was adamant that you know he had recorded or created the backing tracks himself, ergo, not cheating ~
Yes on this. At our gig, there is another couple that plays the next night and they track everything. One of the singer plays a guitar which you can’t hear. Our church has about 1000 members. The praise band might as well not be on stage they use so much tracks. They don’t even have a bass or keys player. I auditioned to play bass. Leader is a control freak.I'm old school. Make the music with what you have. Backing tracks are like karaoke to me. I remember a praise band using backing tracks in church and several people were commenting on hearing keys with no keyboard player and drums with no drummer and laughing at it. If you are going to use backing tracks then why bother with a live band? Just my opinion.
Way more pros do it than you realize. Gotta get over it and enjoy
So is every high dollar concert draw, if its a popular pop/rock band its almost guaranteed to have tracks. They can't afford a cancelled show and returning five hundred dollar tickets. For real live show stick with jazz/blues or musical integrity bands like Gov't Mule, Tedeschi-Trucks etc.
I always think of cover bands as primarily commercial ventures so if backing tracks help get it done, what's the harm?
A few years ago I went to see Salif Keita (Malian singer) play what was essentially an acoustic set (as opposed to the electric sets I'd seen him play in the past). I was a bit shocked when I realized that a significant part the percussion I was hearing was courtesy of a backing track. Nowadays I pretty much assume that any big act I go see (unless it's jazz) is using tracks.Most major bands play with backing tracks these days. It's one of those not-so-secret industry secrets. Not just pop acts. Live bands that your gut tells you they would never, they probably do. Been going on for decades.
From my completely anecdotal experience, we (other musicians) are the only ones who seem put off by it. So there's no real incentive for anyone to stop doing it, no matter how big or small their band is.
FullumMusic
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- Oct 13, 2022
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Yah. It's pretty pervasive at every level, for better or worse.
Spot-on. When covering someone else's music, the only "your art" is in the performance/execution/presentation of someone else's art. I'm not sure how much pressing a button to start a "recorded element" in whatever form could count toward performance/execution, but an argument could be made that it enhances the overall presentation. As others have said though: "John Q. Public" probably doesn't care one way or the other as long as they're having a good time.
As @lordradish (which would be an AWESOME stage name) pointed out: Bar bands playing covers are functioning largely as a human jukebox. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I made a good living doing that throughout most of the 80's and 90's.
I have a personal opinion on this, but I realize the reality is the average listener does not notice unless the tracks are really blatant.
My opinion is that there are some styles of music where backing tracks, triggered synced effects, and synced arppegiators on keyboards are cool and expected. EDM, livetronica, modern experimental dance music, and the like use these elements as part of an artistic statement.
On the other hand, using backing tracks subliminally to fill in missing parts, provide missing vocal harmonies, keyboard, or horn parts is not my cup of tea. I understand why it is done, and that when done well, the average listener is oblivious. I am just of the mind, at least at this point in time, that I would rather not perform with acts that do this.
The average listeners can range from those who become inscensed when they realize this (usually when I point it out to them at the show) to those who absolutely don’t care. Many people only really care about the vocals, and the band, real or on tracks, is entirely incidental.
I have seen this play out in many ways, but it really hit home during my company’s “Battle of the Bands”. Different locations each form a band, or shall we say act, create a music video. The company as a whole votes for the winners.
My location did Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky”. Programmed drums, but actually programmed, not just a default pattern from a drum machine. All of the other recorded parts were real performances. Out vocalist was good, but not great, and the backup vocals while live, were quite performative. Nonetheless I was proud with our finished product.
The winning entrant was three vocals singing to the original recording of Rick Astley’s “Never Going to Give You Up” with the original vocals scrubbed off the track. All three singers were excellent - one of them was really great, an honest talent. They were all good looking, too. They won in a landslide. They got more votes than the other 3 acts put together.
My opinion is that there are some styles of music where backing tracks, triggered synced effects, and synced arppegiators on keyboards are cool and expected. EDM, livetronica, modern experimental dance music, and the like use these elements as part of an artistic statement.
On the other hand, using backing tracks subliminally to fill in missing parts, provide missing vocal harmonies, keyboard, or horn parts is not my cup of tea. I understand why it is done, and that when done well, the average listener is oblivious. I am just of the mind, at least at this point in time, that I would rather not perform with acts that do this.
The average listeners can range from those who become inscensed when they realize this (usually when I point it out to them at the show) to those who absolutely don’t care. Many people only really care about the vocals, and the band, real or on tracks, is entirely incidental.
I have seen this play out in many ways, but it really hit home during my company’s “Battle of the Bands”. Different locations each form a band, or shall we say act, create a music video. The company as a whole votes for the winners.
My location did Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky”. Programmed drums, but actually programmed, not just a default pattern from a drum machine. All of the other recorded parts were real performances. Out vocalist was good, but not great, and the backup vocals while live, were quite performative. Nonetheless I was proud with our finished product.
The winning entrant was three vocals singing to the original recording of Rick Astley’s “Never Going to Give You Up” with the original vocals scrubbed off the track. All three singers were excellent - one of them was really great, an honest talent. They were all good looking, too. They won in a landslide. They got more votes than the other 3 acts put together.
We have a handful of songs (like 5-6) that we use backing tracks for. I play keys too, and sometimes with my feet while playing bass, but I cant do everything. We only use it for keys i cant handle because Im playing bass, or stuff like horns. No vocals, guitars, drums, bass etc in the track, just stuff that needs to be there imo but we cant do. Adding more band mates to the band is not an option....im not going home with $20 because we had to add 5 more people to the band to appease some "old school" guy in the audience.
We used to use them in Mugshot Monday, with our old drummer. There were maybe three or four songs we used them on, basically when keys were indispensable to the song (we're a power trio + singer), like Prince's 1999. I actually found that they made the band tighter; when you're playing with a track, you have to stay right on the tempo and not fudge the song structure, and that could be a good discipline. My wife noticed once, when we went to check out a band I was auditioning for, she could hear keys and there was no keyboard on stage.
On the whole, I think tracks aren't too bad if you keep them subtle, don't overuse them, and for goodness' sake never use them instead of playing your instrument. But if they're accompaniment to your playing, and they don't take over the song and become the focus, I don't mind.
On the whole, I think tracks aren't too bad if you keep them subtle, don't overuse them, and for goodness' sake never use them instead of playing your instrument. But if they're accompaniment to your playing, and they don't take over the song and become the focus, I don't mind.
I'm having my first experience with backing tracks in a duo project with a singer songwriter. She plays guitar and sings. She also does a few "Ed Sheeran" type things where she uses a looper to do harmony vocals with herself. I play bass, keys and sing backup harmonies. The mix is 50% her originals and 50% covers, and it's about 60-40 tracks vs just us playing.
I build all the tracks myself in Logic (we diddn't buy any MIDI parts) and it was pretty cool project to put them together. I feel like it's totally legit approach to performing right now. Audiences and Venue owners respond very positively to it.
I would say that the main draw, the main thing people seem to respond to, in this particular gig is the singers voice, and the tracks are just there to support her singing.
I build all the tracks myself in Logic (we diddn't buy any MIDI parts) and it was pretty cool project to put them together. I feel like it's totally legit approach to performing right now. Audiences and Venue owners respond very positively to it.
I would say that the main draw, the main thing people seem to respond to, in this particular gig is the singers voice, and the tracks are just there to support her singing.
I think you're very much underestimating the requirements of some bands. I've played songs by all the bands you list no problem in a 3 piece format without tracks (including covering the multiple guitar parts of Iron Maiden between myself and a single guitarist). They're basic rock bands that any cover band should be able to pull off.
Now consider a band which has a FULL orchestra and large choir as an integral part of almost every song they've ever recorded. Virtually every single one of the band I was referring to's songs would be impossible to perform authentically live without 50 extra musicians. Their whole genre is based on the orchestral sound. When your song starts with a 5 minute orchestral/choral introduction you either don't play it live, or you use tracks. (They could hire a dozen keys players and have then off stage, but really what's the point?). It's not that they wouldn't be perfect - they'd have huge holes.
Fans have reasonably argued that they should hire the full instrumentation for a one off gig (and I think that's fair), but how do you turn up at a rock festival you're headlining, and ask for the standard size stage to be expanded to hold your orchestra (and does the sound guy have any spare mics?) If they want to tour even with massive resources, and sound anything like the original song, then tracks are required.
Our kids gave my wife and I a cruise for 50th Wedding Anniversary in October 2022. Never been on a cruise before. I enjoyed it and found it surprisingly relaxing. There was a primarily Filipino 4 pc. band playing at one of the clubs on board and they were quite good - basically a bass, drums, guitar trio plus vocalist. The bass player actually had extra duties though. One of the songs they played was Don't Stop Believin' and their vocalist did a great job with it. However...they had no keys player and yet the keys were right there. The bass player had all the backing tracks they needed for songs where they didn't have the instrumentation to play it and he was the one that controlled them.. It sounded great but felt weird.
Just to the right of his microphone there was a stand with a laptop on it and sure enough, he would set it off at just the right time. They'd been playing on cruise ships for a couple of years and had their music with backing files down pat. Not real sure how I feel about that. The music was good; everyone was very capable on their instruments; and the vocals were top-notch. I really enjoyed drinking a beer and watching them play while my wife was taking a nap. I really would have liked to have seen a keys player with them, but I was impressed on how they they were able to play some songs that used keyboard without having one on stage, because they pulled it off flawlessly.
