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Instrumental covers the audience will get into?

Alex

Alex

Nov 7, 2005
3,191
5
35
Hinsdale, IL - outside Chicago
#1
I'm in a 3 piece band (bass/drums/guitar) and we're just starting to get out and gig, but being an instrumental band, most non-musicians will inevitably lose interest in the music after a while because it's not what they're accustomed to. The cure for this, as many of you who play out know, is to play something that the whole audience will recognize. Something that will wake up everybody and get them back into it. Right now we're thinking of doing "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin with the singing parts being either call/answer solos around the band or just guitar fills. I just think that everyone will hear that main riff and get back into it.

We're open to doing a song that normally has vocals and make it instrumental like Black Dog. I play a 7 string so I can comp chords (and tap bass if necessary) while the guitar plays the vocal melody or something like that. This obviously wouldn't work for a lot of songs, but if you think it would work, let me know.

Note - We're playing mostly to high school and college kids so songs like "Brick House" unfortunately don't work in this situation.

~Alex
 
#8
What about Jessica by the Allman Brothers Band? Older, but its a great tune and I think it was on one of the guitar hero games. Surely high school kids are into that kinda thing.

Orion by Metallica?

Orrrrr, make up a medley of pop/well-known songs that people will recognize but play them in your own style. I do that in a band right now and it gets people pumped (though we do sing on some of them). Just have to guitar player or your six-stringed self to play the would-be vocal melody.
 
#9
Here's the $20 question: Do you eventually want a singer?

If that's the case, you could try learning some covers that would go over with the high school/college crowd (DMB etc), post your set list and asking for volunteers to sing each one. Preferably with good voices, but the occasional tone deaf hot chick would be better than a poke in the eye with a stick.

You could get the crowd into it this way and possibly find a singer, either from a gig or word of mouth when people hear you and know you are looking for one. Of course, there are some obvious perils with this plan (you may not want to do it with a ton of drunk people around), but one of my first bands did something similar and had a blast.

On the other hand, if you aren't looking to add a vocalist, then you have a much tougher road to hoe. There are bands I love that do mainly instrumentals (King Crimson, Kinski, Sigur Rios) but there's a reason those bands have a real tough climb into the mainstream. People like vocals. If that's your path, I don't want to dissuade you, but understand that it's an uphill battle without a singer.
 
#12
Our jazz combo has a similar situation when we play to a younger crowd. We just added an instrumental version of Walkabout by the Red Hot Chili Peppers to our set list.

The other tunes that we use for filler in this situation are mostly funk stuff, like:

Chameleon (Herbie Hancock)
Mr. Magic (Grover Washington)
Threadin’ the Needle (Liquid Soul)

The audience may not recognize them, but they will probably enjoy them more than another jazz standard...
 
#13
Star Wars theme. I had some good friends who were in a jam band when we were in high school and they'd always throw it in when it looked like they were beginning to lose the audience a bit.

It's exactly what you're looking for. Trust Me. You'll get laughter, smiles, and applause.
 
#14
+1 for both YYZ and something by Herbie Hancock.

everyone under the age of 30 knows guitar hero even if they dont love it.

as for Herbie Hancock - we played this show a few weeks ago, and the band who went on before us covered "Watermelon Man" (the Headhunters version) and it went over awesomely. Very chill/relaxing, but accessible for teens who may not know jazz music but will probably think it sounds good.
 
#19
how about a couple of surf intrumental tunes? I hear the yuppie crowd used to use the word "stoked",,, don't know if they still do.... but it's a cool sounding song, also peter gunn theme seems to be a good one to get them on the dance floor.... i've heard that when the old intrumentalist Dick Dale gets up even tho he's a gnarly ol' dude, all kinds of people just love it. I love intrumentals, enough of the divas, go for it guys!!!!!
 

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