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Guys Who Only Play Covers: What Happened?
- Thread starter matante
- Start date
I have played covers since I started playing bass. I believe it's the best way for a beginner to explore their instrument. I have played in original bands where the band members refused to play covers. Their music was awful and they were difficult to be around. These days I will play with original bands if their music "floats my boat" and they are people that I can spend time with (without wanting to kill them). I still play covers. I get to play music with my friends and make a living. No point here, just how it is for me.
My band has an EP of 5 originals out, and a new full-length album coming out in January with 11 new originals on it. However, the cover gigs are the ones that pay well. We're a five-piece band, and we've played a few gigs where we made $600 and $700 per man for playing covers. So it definitely has its benefits.
Wow.........maybe you have a different few than the vast majority. As far as I know, most of the famous players all started playing covers of some sort. Eventually the famous players ended up with a band or artist that launched them to stardom. Very few started making original music right out of the box. We generally learn from the known to the unknown. Most have emulated their favorite band or musician. So I guess maybe why some question your thinking is because your questions/statements are predicated on incorrect assumptions.
Meh. I did the original thing a few times. It paid nothing. It was hard work.
(I'm not a big fan of studio time. It's like playing bass in a "lab". Not knocking those who do it a lot. In fact I have nothing but respect for those who can do it well.)
A few other things to consider......
1) Quite often, and in most areas, no club owner/manager will put an original band just starting out in their club. And paying to play is something I will not do.
2) Many of us never bought a bass with the intention of getting famous playing our own music. In fact many of us just "happened to become" bassists. There was never a plan or a goal. It's just something we fell into by chance.
3) Struggling to make it sucks. Once you try it a few times and it doesn't work out, you drop back and go with plan B and play on the side. I have an amazing family and I am back in school studying a subject matter that I love. A world famous original band could call me and offer me thousands per night to hit the road and I would turn it down with a smile on my face. I am surrounded by things (including a couple of cover band projects and a bunch of fill-in gigs) that bring me great joy. With nothing missing in my life, why struggle to bang out some original tunes just to say "I'm original"?
I hope your original music brings you great satisfaction. I mean that. Different strokes....
(I'm not a big fan of studio time. It's like playing bass in a "lab". Not knocking those who do it a lot. In fact I have nothing but respect for those who can do it well.)
A few other things to consider......
1) Quite often, and in most areas, no club owner/manager will put an original band just starting out in their club. And paying to play is something I will not do.
2) Many of us never bought a bass with the intention of getting famous playing our own music. In fact many of us just "happened to become" bassists. There was never a plan or a goal. It's just something we fell into by chance.
3) Struggling to make it sucks. Once you try it a few times and it doesn't work out, you drop back and go with plan B and play on the side. I have an amazing family and I am back in school studying a subject matter that I love. A world famous original band could call me and offer me thousands per night to hit the road and I would turn it down with a smile on my face. I am surrounded by things (including a couple of cover band projects and a bunch of fill-in gigs) that bring me great joy. With nothing missing in my life, why struggle to bang out some original tunes just to say "I'm original"?
I hope your original music brings you great satisfaction. I mean that. Different strokes....
All of the above goes without saying. There's a big difference between playing covers to improve your skills and saying that your ultimate goal as a musician is to play covers.
I still remember what it was like to be a 15 year-old and buying my first bass. No one I knew who played electric guitar, bass, or drums, would have said back then that their reason for playing and practicing was to someday be in a bar band that plays covers. But yeah, if you guys say differently, so be it.
Thank you. I'm at an age where I have no illusions about making it. Not just because of my age but also because my style isn't radio friendly to begin with. The one thing that keeps popping up in this thread is that people seem to equate writing originals with a desire to "make it." I find that curious. There are plenty of people who paint "originals" or sculpt "originals" without any expectation of making it or being in any way rewarded financially for it. Why should music be any different.
I didn't want to be in a situation where some record company exec. tells me what to play and do. I always believe it's up to the band to do what they want.
My favorite bands are all from a time when they could do whatever they wanted without being told no. Thats what I wanted but thats not allowed anymore. Bands dont get signed and allowed to do whatever they want to do for multiple abums, writing songs as long as they want to.
I kind of like the thought of writing songs in the vain of 2112, Hemispheres, Close to the Edge etc. I dont care about three minute hits and and whats good for selling products. I was born in 1966 and to be able to have had a chance to do what my musical influences did I would have to been born 10-15 years earlier. Who wants to be told that the 17 minute masterpiece you've just written isn't going to sell X amount of "units" because the kids these days have short attention spans? I like prog type rock and theres only a few that can do that nowdays and even they have a hard time doing their gig.
No thanks to falling in line and being a whore to the industry.
I'm perfectly happy playing in my tribute band and making the occasional Youtube vid playing Rush tunes that are 15 minutes long. I quit a band back in 1986 because the big concern was hairspray, makeup, clothes and posing. Nothing about music because that was the last thing on anyone's mind then. Your "image" on video, like MTV, yeah, MTV what a crock. Nothing M about MTV. I knew right then and there that I'd never be in a band doing the kind of music that excited me. And I was OK with that because I'm not a gig whore that needs to be in the next Bon Jovi playing power ballads. I got a lot of my attitude from listening to Frank Zappa and songs like Tinseltown Rebellion. There is no way that a record company is going to invest in bands like Rush and Yes anymore because there is no audience for any more bands like that besides a few and that is it. The 70's were a time to stretch out musically and after that it was done. Sure, there are a couple prog acts like Porcupine Tree but they are an exception. Try suggesting to almost anyone these days that you want to put together a band like that and write material such as they do and you'd be lucky to find anyone else willing to put that kind of time and energy. You cant play clubs with 15 minute originals and keep many peoples attention. That time is long gone. My interest in writing music is long gone as well. It stopped 26 years ago. I play what I want to and that is it.
Are you kidding? Just because you can play an instrument doesn't mean that you can create good music. A great mechanic may not be able to design a car from scratch.
There are only a small % of musicians that have the ability to create great music. Original songs - sure - tons of people write "music" - but does anyone want to listen to them? You know the answer. Creating a great, memorable song is a true work of art.
I really appreciate great art, but I can't create it.
Being able to reproduce great musical art created by a musical genius gives me great pride and feeling of accomplishment. I don't need to be able to write a song to be able to really enjoy playing bass.
In addition, I like playing out for audiences. What do most of them want to hear and dance to?? Songs that they KNOW. We played a nice party Saturday night with 2 other bands. They played originals, we played classic rock. The people danced to our songs and nothing for the others.
Take a great cover, and make it your own and still recognizable - that the way to go unless you have that special talent
There are only a small % of musicians that have the ability to create great music. Original songs - sure - tons of people write "music" - but does anyone want to listen to them? You know the answer. Creating a great, memorable song is a true work of art.
I really appreciate great art, but I can't create it.
Being able to reproduce great musical art created by a musical genius gives me great pride and feeling of accomplishment. I don't need to be able to write a song to be able to really enjoy playing bass.
In addition, I like playing out for audiences. What do most of them want to hear and dance to?? Songs that they KNOW. We played a nice party Saturday night with 2 other bands. They played originals, we played classic rock. The people danced to our songs and nothing for the others.
Take a great cover, and make it your own and still recognizable - that the way to go unless you have that special talent
I don't see why not making money from your originals or not gaining popularity from your originals, is reason to stop making originals, especially if you have a 17 minute masterpiece. I would enjoy songwriting a hundred times more if I though I had made a masterpiece. (One of my favorite songs is a 27 minute instrumental by The Cure, so I get where you're coming from.)
I agree with everything here. Is your answer to the original question that you tried your hand at writing originals and decided you weren't part of the chosen few? Or are you saying you started out with the intention of always playing covers?
Again, I don't want this to be a covers vs originals thread. Let's get past that. This is about "I have no interest in originals" and how you got to that point. No judgement on one or the other being better.
I'm going to assume that you're young and naive, and that this isn't a troll thread. So my first response is that I have no interest in writing. There's plenty of great stuff out there for me to learn, and that's enough to keep me motivated to practice and improve. Secondly, if you're in the right band, you can make great money--and have a ton of fun--playing popular material. My last two gigs each paid me over $1K, and they were so much fun that I would have played 'em for free.
I had my day playing original fusion music. The players were great, the gigs were great, and the pay was, uh, okay. Today, my pay is great, the gigs are great, I own a home, I'm raising my family, and I love what I play!
But do me a favor: go write something really cool and popular so I have a new cover to play! And seriously, good luck with your career!
Greg
I'm not young but apparently I am very naive. Like I said before, I don't see any connection between a desire to write originals and whether or not you'll make any money from it. I don't look at it from a "which pays more" perspective or from a "one or the other" perspective.
Thanks for the well wishes.
Such a judgmental thread. The implication is that "how dare you call yourselves bassists." Insulting. I'll probably get reprimanded by an overzealous moderator for stating this, but really . . .please. Lots of folks start out on bass and have fun with covers. And that's it. Others go on to develop technique and acquire an understanding on music theory, blah, blah, blah. And they go on to write originals etc et al. But even if all you ever do is pick up the bass and play covers, how is that a bad thing worthy of derision?
Jim Carr
Dr. Jim
- Jan 21, 2006
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The OP's idea that classical performers who are not playing their own compositions are therefore somehow not making their own music is evidence of his inexperience with music and performance itself. Have you heard Yo Yo Ma playing J.S. Bach? How about Pablo Casals, or Rostrapovitch? They are all cellists whose performances of identical works differ profoundly. It is those differences and the brilliance of expression in which they are embodied that constitute "making their own music."
Is that not also possible with Jazz and Pop standards? I once heard the great bassist Julius Levine (New York Philharmonic) give a solo recital. He played an encore. It was "twinkle twinkle, little star." Not the Mozart variations, nothing fancy, just the tune, repeated twice. It was meltingly seductive, gorgeous, heart breaking even. How? Performance alone can do that.
Is that not also possible with Jazz and Pop standards? I once heard the great bassist Julius Levine (New York Philharmonic) give a solo recital. He played an encore. It was "twinkle twinkle, little star." Not the Mozart variations, nothing fancy, just the tune, repeated twice. It was meltingly seductive, gorgeous, heart breaking even. How? Performance alone can do that.
I'm a drummer who learned bass and 25 or so covers so I could play in a band with my older brother, which I've never done (I'm 35 and he's 40). Having a blast doing it.
I sorta taught myself how to play in my 20s because I wanted to learn to write on some kind of melodic medium and I'm a hopeless guitar player. Having just a small amount of proficiency helped me at least get the gig I have now.
I play bass on my own compositions, as well as drums, some keys, some guitar.... but I'm being perfectly honest in saying most of it is utter crap. Like the guy a couple posts above said.... I've written a bunch of songs nobody wants to hear.
I sorta taught myself how to play in my 20s because I wanted to learn to write on some kind of melodic medium and I'm a hopeless guitar player. Having just a small amount of proficiency helped me at least get the gig I have now.
I play bass on my own compositions, as well as drums, some keys, some guitar.... but I'm being perfectly honest in saying most of it is utter crap. Like the guy a couple posts above said.... I've written a bunch of songs nobody wants to hear.
