I am with the OP that you should play any tune the audience wants to hear..... But man am I sick of playing superstition. It's a great tune but I'm still really sick of playing it. I think I'd rather do mustang sally at this point.
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Freebird, and other cliche covers
- Thread starter Joe Nerve
- Start date
For me, it's simple. If the song itself is good and the musicians put in their best effort instead of phoning it in, "cliche" covers can be awesome, just as Joe wrote in his OP.
Where the suckage level is highest is at open mikes and jams where the songs get butchered because not enough people actually know how to play them. As a jam host band veteran I've suffered through plenty of these.
Where the suckage level is highest is at open mikes and jams where the songs get butchered because not enough people actually know how to play them. As a jam host band veteran I've suffered through plenty of these.
At the risk of repeating myself...which I am, cliche' is in the ear of the beholder.
Cover bands
You can spend days learning awesome, complex songs and perform them perfectly and people politely applaud.
Then start playing what we consider a cliche, annoyingly simple and overplayed song and suddenly people are clamoring happily
to the dance floor. As much as I dislike the songs, we nevertheless include 1 to 3 in every set.
People love it and the tip jar steadily get filled.
If a grocer only stocked the foods he liked, he'd lose most of his customers to stores that stock everything.
Cover bands
You can spend days learning awesome, complex songs and perform them perfectly and people politely applaud.
Then start playing what we consider a cliche, annoyingly simple and overplayed song and suddenly people are clamoring happily
to the dance floor. As much as I dislike the songs, we nevertheless include 1 to 3 in every set.
People love it and the tip jar steadily get filled.
If a grocer only stocked the foods he liked, he'd lose most of his customers to stores that stock everything.
There really aren't many songs I don't enjoy playing if the band is a good one. The only stuff that I find frustrating is some of the vapid, more recent top 40 material where they forgot to write a bass line.
Songs I love to hear performed well:
- Free Bird
- Stairway to Heaven
- Hotel California
- Mustang Sally
- Smoke on the Water
- Iron Man
- Honky Tonk Woman
I hate hearing a song that the band "knows" meaning they know the hook and have the chords so can fake everything else.
I love hearing a band that knows the song so well that they can have a new/different/interesting take on it (like what Devo did with Satisfaction, what Judas Priest did with Green Manalishi, or what Jeff Beck does with absolutely everything).
If I want to hear the song as recorded on the CD, I can happily do that at home.
Depends on the song. Have you ever been in a band that tried to reproduce the arrangement of a song like Free Bird, or Crazy Little Thing Called Love, or Love Lies Bleeding, or SledgeHammer? It isn't easy. It actually takes a not insignificant amount of work and skill.
For Me I Got Some Doozies
1.Paranoid--black sabbath(gets tiring after every band I have been in play's it)
2.Smoke on the water-deep purple(its great for a beginner band But for a classic rock band made of 20 years old Gotta nip it in the bud)
3.Smells like teen spirit-Nirvana--(again great for Beginner Band Or Straight Up Grunge.But Gets Boring Very Quickly)
4.Freebird/Sweet Home Alabama-Lynyrd Skynyrd--(Never been Big On Southern Rock So I never Enjoyed Playing This Two Songs)
5.Sweet Child O Mine--Guns And Roses--(Never Had To Play It (thanking My Groups But At Guitar Center I Get Vietnam Flashbacks.And I Was Never In Nam)
Superstition--Stevie Wonder--Ok I'm Gonna Get A Lot Of Hate But I Don't Dig The Sounds Of Mr.Wonder.And At GC You Can Always Here A Bassist Play That Famous Line.
Sorry for the rant's but that's what i experienced playing and hearing
1.Paranoid--black sabbath(gets tiring after every band I have been in play's it)
2.Smoke on the water-deep purple(its great for a beginner band But for a classic rock band made of 20 years old Gotta nip it in the bud)
3.Smells like teen spirit-Nirvana--(again great for Beginner Band Or Straight Up Grunge.But Gets Boring Very Quickly)
4.Freebird/Sweet Home Alabama-Lynyrd Skynyrd--(Never been Big On Southern Rock So I never Enjoyed Playing This Two Songs)
5.Sweet Child O Mine--Guns And Roses--(Never Had To Play It (thanking My Groups But At Guitar Center I Get Vietnam Flashbacks.And I Was Never In Nam)
Superstition--Stevie Wonder--Ok I'm Gonna Get A Lot Of Hate But I Don't Dig The Sounds Of Mr.Wonder.And At GC You Can Always Here A Bassist Play That Famous Line.
Sorry for the rant's but that's what i experienced playing and hearing
Typically at GC you hear bass rookies trying to play the guitar part of Smoke on the Water; it used to be the same with Feelin' Alright where they played the piano part. Not many people are inclined to learn the bass parts, at least for GC "shows".
On a related topic, in the documentary, "RUSH -- Beyond the Lighted Stage", the band describes how when they first started out as a serious band, they were still teenagers and played mostly high school dances. They decided to play the songs they liked and avoided the songs that were popular at the time.
On the one hand, they admitted that they probably ruined the dance experience for a great many kids who were only trying to have a good time for the evening. They lamented the fact that for most shows they played, the audience would group up at the opposite end of the room and avoid being near the band. Usually nobody would be dancing.
On the other hand, they claimed that this decision to play the music that they liked, regardless of what the audience or the venue expected, meant that they made themselves stand out from all the rest of the cover bands. When they started to write their own songs, their experience with different music gave them an advantage in making songs that were unique to the band.
By the time they were 18, they were playing bars 6 days a week, several shows a day and nearly everything they played was original material. One of their songs (Working Man) spontaneously became a radio hit in the American Midwest and this led to their being signed to a multi record deal and a North American tour.
I don't believe this is supposed to be good advice to a cover band, satisfied with playing locally. But if you truly believe you are an up and coming talent, then being true to your musical vision and avoiding making yourself into a cookie cutter popular band is probably a wise idea.
To add a bit more to the RUSH story, the band had put out 3 albums and toured on them. The first 2 were widely successful but RUSH's 3rd album was a really bizarre. self indulgent concept album that nobody liked. They literally played shows to small halls with 15 people in the audience. Their record label demanded that they stop playing "concept" music and write more radio friendly "hit singles".
Which they refused to do. They purposely defied their bosses and wrote and recorded their now famous classic album, "2112". The success of this album and the immense popularity of the supporting tour (without any radio play or advertising from the record company) meant that they had written their own ticket to musical independence forever. On every subsequent album, they always wrote and recorded what they liked themselves and the record company took it without question.
Again, this attitude might be considered a kind of musical arrogance and snobbery. But in their case, it worked. They have had a 40 year career with nearly 50 million albums sold and have filled the largest stadiums and arenas the entire time. Perhaps this kind of musical arrogance is a necessary courage for original bands that want to push the edge of what's popular and pioneer new musical territory.
On the one hand, they admitted that they probably ruined the dance experience for a great many kids who were only trying to have a good time for the evening. They lamented the fact that for most shows they played, the audience would group up at the opposite end of the room and avoid being near the band. Usually nobody would be dancing.
On the other hand, they claimed that this decision to play the music that they liked, regardless of what the audience or the venue expected, meant that they made themselves stand out from all the rest of the cover bands. When they started to write their own songs, their experience with different music gave them an advantage in making songs that were unique to the band.
By the time they were 18, they were playing bars 6 days a week, several shows a day and nearly everything they played was original material. One of their songs (Working Man) spontaneously became a radio hit in the American Midwest and this led to their being signed to a multi record deal and a North American tour.
I don't believe this is supposed to be good advice to a cover band, satisfied with playing locally. But if you truly believe you are an up and coming talent, then being true to your musical vision and avoiding making yourself into a cookie cutter popular band is probably a wise idea.
To add a bit more to the RUSH story, the band had put out 3 albums and toured on them. The first 2 were widely successful but RUSH's 3rd album was a really bizarre. self indulgent concept album that nobody liked. They literally played shows to small halls with 15 people in the audience. Their record label demanded that they stop playing "concept" music and write more radio friendly "hit singles".
Which they refused to do. They purposely defied their bosses and wrote and recorded their now famous classic album, "2112". The success of this album and the immense popularity of the supporting tour (without any radio play or advertising from the record company) meant that they had written their own ticket to musical independence forever. On every subsequent album, they always wrote and recorded what they liked themselves and the record company took it without question.
Again, this attitude might be considered a kind of musical arrogance and snobbery. But in their case, it worked. They have had a 40 year career with nearly 50 million albums sold and have filled the largest stadiums and arenas the entire time. Perhaps this kind of musical arrogance is a necessary courage for original bands that want to push the edge of what's popular and pioneer new musical territory.
1. That was 45 years ago. Things might have changed since then.
2. When they recorded 2112, they fully expected that it would be the last nail in the coffin and their rockstar dreams would be done. Alex planned on becoming a plumbing apprentice.
3. They spent 10 years touring and broke. They did not have any sort of financial success until they put out Moving Pictures.
4. When they prepared to tour, Rush needed to re-learn the songs they planned on playing - effectively a tribute band to themselves?
5. Even Rush is not above performing and recording covers:
See that packed dance floor? See all those pitchers of beer and full tables and people leaning on walls? Whatever they wanna hear, my friend. They are the reason you are on that stage and the "snooty musicians" are not employed!!
I can't add to your list. I'll play anything for the right crowd.
Thay being said, I did play in a variety band that did the ever loving crap out of Freebird. Whever "that guy" yelled it from the back of the room, we simply said "You got it, buddy." And we did the whole dang thing.
It brought the house down every single time. By the end people are piled in front of the band almost in a frenzy. They were going nuts!
Try it if your band has the chops. It'll be fun for you AND the audience.
How about this one? Three songs I've played in Cajun bands for almost 30 years...and never hearing them again in my life just ain't enough:
"Jolie Blonde"
"Jambalaya"
"Don't Mess With My Toot Toot"
"Jolie Blonde"
"Jambalaya"
"Don't Mess With My Toot Toot"
I quit a band recently because the other members take Freebird seriously and absolutely refused to consider doing anything with it than what was on the record. I never liked Skynard to begin with, and having to play it "licks off the record" was very offensive to me.
I am not going to let this ruin my night. I am going to forget about it and all the heartache it caused me over many bands/years.
It's one of those songs that I actually thought might make me throw up on stage.
I believe this may be the most spot-on comment of the day!
Perfect! Play it well, and they will come! Unfortunately, the reality of many club gigs today is that the bands are rarely very good. Everytime I happen to be in a casual situation whether it be a club or restaurant setting, the bands suck. The most mundane material...does anybody really need to hear yet another poor rendition of Bobby McGee, unless Janis comes back to sing it! Just not pleasant experiences overall.
