• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Guys Who Only Play Covers: What Happened?

#101
Everyone remember to tip your waitstaff, they are working hard!

tedleosummercamp_fullsize_story2.jpg
 
#106
When I'm at home I noodle around and make up stuff, trying new techniques etc. It's soothing and relaxing. When I gig I do covers. Why? Most original music I've been exposed to in the various bands I was in was completely mediocre stuff. Quite frankly, I just didn't get that much enjoyment sitting around working on songs for hours that were destined to go nowhere. Believe it or not I find it more interesting and rewarding learning and playing covers. Some songs can be challenging and I learn much more playing that stuff than just noodling about. We don't always play the songs note for note and it gives us some small amount of creative freedom anyway. Hearing the audience cheering and watching them having fun dancing to songs they know is quite a rush. Also the money doesn't hurt either!
 
#107
I write original music, or participate in writing original music with others. It's fun and I enjoy it. I play in a cover band because I like to gig and make money while doing it.
There are a lot more venues in my area for cover bands than original bands.

I was in an original band and a cover band to satisfy both of those needs. I also do fill in work for anybody that needs it, so I get to play a wide variety of music. If I happen to get into an original band that takes off or has a decent following, awesome! At this point in my life, moving into full time music would be great and my dream, but I don't see that happening with an original band and actually getting a return on my investment to be viable. Wife, house, hopefully kids...I am not in the position to not make any money right from the get go.
 
#108
I got into bass because I wanted to play songs I already liked in a band setting. While I am creative in other areas (artwork, embroidery, photography, writing fiction) I have no creative musical talents to feed. I have no urge to write new music. Coming up with bass lines and walking bass lines from chord charts and the like is creative musically enough for me. I wanted to be able to play John Deacon's bass lines from 'Another One Bites the Dust', 'Millionaires Waltz,' the bass line in BOC's 'Godzilla,' the Bass line in 'She Works Hard for the Money,' etc.

And yes, OP, whether intentional or not, your initial post does sound pretty condescending to those of us who LIKE playing covers - and not all of us are in cover bands that make lots of money, so that isn't the motivator for at least some (perhaps many) of us. Me, I enjoy being able to play with other people, even in rehearsal; playing in front of an audiance who enjoys are performance is, for me, a really addicting activity!
 
#110
Itzayana said:
Sure it looks grim. But still..., beats playing in a garage.
Maybe.
Click to expand...
To me, there's a point at which I'd rather play in a garage, and the band in that photograph is at that point (and I've been there too). If we're not getting paid and there's no one listening, why haul my gear across town? I have a very nice practice space in my basement with drums, piano, and PA. It's air conditioned, the bathroom is clean, and there's plenty of free parking.
 
#111
Nothing wrong with playig originals. In this part of the world cover bands get paid to keep the dance floor hopping and the bar busy and profitable all night. Originals bands tend to get stuck playing the free benefit shows. Somebody has to play for free in this town. That's why there are originals bands. The other side of that coin is that my cover band will never make it big playing covers.
 
#112
Really, I think playing covers is one of the best ways to learn, anyway. And - if it's really just a hobby/time-killer/stress reliever/etc for you, then it might be a fun excuse to play alongside other musicians and perhaps even make some extra cash :hyper:

I think I sort of still keep it in the hobby box, but the thing is that even as a young teen I had an unusually heightened response to music and playing along with my favorite songs was not only a good way to learn and was (still is!) a great way to sort of get inside and deconstruct the piece. I started feeling like I needed something more though! I guess it parallels with me being a visual artist - it's fun and good exercise to draw from a photo sometimes, but if that was all I did it just wouldn't be fulfilling and I would feel like I wasn't saying anything I wanted to say - regardless of whether my "originals" sell as well or not.

Ok I realize this entire spiel was completely unsolicited so tl;dr: know what your reasons for playing are and do what fulfills you, yo
 
#113
Jim Carr said:
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.
Click to expand...

Exactly. The OP constructed his point on the assumption that covering a song means playing it like the original.

Once you move beyond that you understand that playing any instrument is just about making good music - whether it's original or not.
 
#114
matante said:
I want to keep participating because there are some very good, very well thought out responses here, and some with very good advice. However, there are a lot of posts by people who either haven't read the thread, misunderstand the premise of the thread, or are simply misinterpreting the original question. There are many assumptions being made here and I don't have the time or the will to address them all.

Let me explain my initial assumption this way:

I've never met a film student whose SOLE career goal was to do remakes of his favorite films. I've never met a sculptor, an illustrator, or a painter, whose SOLE ambition was to learn to recreate the masterpieces, without any desire to create original works. Based on that, and my consideration of music as an art form, I think it's a perfectly reasonable and valid assumption that people who pick up an instrument do it for artistic reasons, or is music not a form of art?

Many of you assert that you picked up the bass with no intention whatsoever of creating your own music, therefore my assumptions were wrong. I accept that. I personally know several violinists, saxophonists, and pianists who would never attempt to create something in a million years, but I hadn't thought about bassists in that sense before. Bass isn't an instrument you're forced to play at school. It's not an instrument you play because your parents pressure you to. People play bass out of their own enthusiasm. I know that music is an art form whose practitioners study and rehearse for years to improve and maintain their technique with no intention of creating original works, I just didn't believe that Bass Players would start out that way.
Click to expand...

Your assumption that the only way to be creative in music is to write your own is very seriously flawed.
 
#115
Interesting thread.

The comparison of music to painting is a false one. Music is one of the performing arts, much closer to dance and theater than painting or sculpture, etc. There's a sharper distinction between the performance of a piece and the creation of one. Just as not every dancer wants to be a choreographer, and not every actor wants to be a writer or director, so too not every instrumentalist wants to be a composer. They are very different aspects of the art, but neither is more or less artistic.
 
#116
Nothing beats playing original music with your friends, even if it's only in the garage.

It's fun playing covers too, as long as you're being paid.

I think a bass player, if he/she didn't write the whole song chords and all, is always playing covers.
 
#117
kreider204 said:
Interesting thread.

The comparison of music to painting is a false one. Music is one of the performing arts, much closer to dance and theater than painting or sculpture, etc. There's a sharper distinction between the performance of a piece and the creation of one. Just as not every dancer wants to be a choreographer, and not every actor wants to be a writer or director, so too not every instrumentalist wants to be a composer. They are very different aspects of the art, but neither is more or less artistic.
Click to expand...

BINGO! That's it. Myself, I love playing bass, and I love playing in front of people, but I couldn't write a song to save my life, and I have no interest in it either. I leave that to much more creative people than me, whether it's Lennon & McCartney or the kid down the block. I'll happily play covers until they put me in the ground. ;)
 
#118
I throw drum grooves up and jam along. I surprise myself at times where it leads me. But I don`t really consider it "writing", I don`t note it down, or really make an effort to even remember it. As several have pointed out, to be well-rounded, music is A LOT of work. I have enough work in life; bass is my escape. I stick with covers because it`s familiar, easier to suss out in my head and remember, and it`s fun. I rarely play anything note-for-note. I love adding my subtle stamp to it. I don`t even attempt to obligate myself to a band anymore; I`m content jamming out in my basement after the kiddos are in bed. Did "something go wrong" ? I don`t see how, since bass has always provided me with exactly what I want out of it. Some people prefer playing video games in their spare time; I prefer playing along to a few tracks with my fave bands. I was floored earlier when the OP, I believe, said that "piano doesn`t lend itself to writing, but bass does ". I`ll be the very first to admit, compared to many here @ TB, I`m musically stupid, but seriously I had to LOL at that. As far as covers not involving creativity or being impersonal, I think one has to look no further than Johnny Cash`s cover of Trent Reznor`s "Hurt". It is possibly the most emotionally powerful thing Johnny Cash ever did in his legendary, 50+ year career. So to the OP: if YOU lose the desire to write, you may very well see it as a failure or loss. Doesn`t mean that`s a universal problem - I never had it to lose in the first place :) Bass has never, honestly, been a big part of my life - it`s my hobby. Between my wife and kids, maintaining a home, advancing a career, a wonky work schedule, and pursuits in autism awareness and activism as well as raising my autistic son, music just never held a big piece of real estate in my life.
 
#119
kreider204 said:
Interesting thread.

The comparison of music to painting is a false one. Music is one of the performing arts, much closer to dance and theater than painting or sculpture, etc. There's a sharper distinction between the performance of a piece and the creation of one. Just as not every dancer wants to be a choreographer, and not every actor wants to be a writer or director, so too not every instrumentalist wants to be a composer. They are very different aspects of the art, but neither is more or less artistic.
Click to expand...

If you think not every dancer wants to be a choreographer, you haven't met many dancers. Ditto with actors. They ALL want to write/direct. But I get your point.

pnut166 said:
I was floored earlier when the OP, I believe, said that "piano doesn't lend itself to writing, but bass does ". I`ll be the very first to admit, compared to many here @ TB, I`m musically stupid, but seriously I had to LOL at that.
Click to expand...

For the record, I didn't say that, and I don't believe anyone else said that either.

I must say that the level of reading comprehension displayed in this thread has been very disappointing. Half the people who replied didn't even understand the question.
 
#120
I have played covers all my life. I have never once had any inclination to be in an original band. I have been asked a few times to join original bands, but I dont have the slightest interest. Perhaps because the majority of originals I have heard have been crap. Why settle for a burger from McDonalds when you can eat in a nice restaurant?
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back