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It's Up to You
- Thread starter bluewine
- Start date
I agree! It is not about the crowd how many people when you are playing your music. Go to allot of jazz clubs,folk singer/songwriter venues and count the people. I will bet the cover band bars and dance clubs have them out numbered 5to 1 but do the people or musicians care? No!
I got out last night on a weeknight (rare) to my fav club and there were two local musicians doing a bluegrass/folk duo to about 30 people and it was a blast... they were tearing it up.
If you are in music for the money and dancin chicks/people..great! More power to you, but don't make it look like those who play originals to the folks who love original live music are wasting our time or making a mistake doing it. I love playing originals, selling, siging CD's of music I produced and wrote. I love having people ask about the songs, band and how we all came up with the music and writing.
I never had anyone ask me in a coverband how we do our music since we were covering songs they already knew. I'm not knocking covers they are fine but are not for everyone.
I will say it again give me 20 people who are watching my band and every note we play over 100 people skirt chasing ,talking ,laughing ,playing pool, watching TV, making out or checking their phones and never noticing the band playing...anyday!
bassbully said:
Sounds like snobbery to me,however 20 people is s huge originals crowd in Milwaukee.
I have been asked to sign more CDs and have been approached by s lot more fans of my new cover band than any of the originals bands I have played with.
It's all relative.
bassbully said:
I'm in it to entertain and express myself musically. I just grew tired of playing to small crowds that never got what my originals bands were doing.
Now I look out to a packed crowd of dancing fools and I feel great, like I'm doing something that matters.
Snobbery? this post you started smacks of it IMO.
I'm defending the fact of no matter what music you play its all good and originals are great to allot of us. You can't be as creative with covers since its not your personal music unless you twist the cover in a cool way..that I dig. Most cover bands want you to cover a bands song like they are recorded almost note for note and that's not creative in my book. An origianal song that you write or write music for is a part of you..your music.
Again, I don't really care what you or anyone plays. The bottom line is have fun. Preaching that one type of music is a cure all for those who are not finding gigs or making decent money might not make it right for all. Some of us don't care about money or how many people see us play, and some of us also don't care about your's.
And playing originals to small crowds matters to me and others here... that's our point.
bassbully said:
Just curious :
So there are some of you that feel great packing your car up at 2:30am driving for an hour to get home, after spending 40 bucks for gas without a penny of compensation in your pocket for playing to a handful of people?
Of all you have said in these posts this is the most important thing to remember.
I can't speak for anyone other than myself but if someone does feel great doing this goody! Me? I get paid for my gigs and seldom drive more than 45 minuites to a gig often much less. I spend half that in gas, if that.
Do I get as much as a coverband? No..sometimes, but on the average no. Do I play enough weekly, monthly? Yes, my band is booked to fall and has allot of shows to still add.
We take 2-3 a month and its all we want.. no more. I have a life outside of music and the most important part of it is 7 years old.
Look covers are great for you. That's fun-tastic! I'm genuinely happy for you. But please don't try to belittle others pursuit of happiness. Different strokes for different folks.
Oh come on! If you can't get 20 people into a club then you're just not trying, no matter what the market you're in. Promote, flyer, get on local radio, go other similiar shows and hand out flyers/demos, offer to buy a beer for the first 20 people through the door, whatever.
I bounce at a small rock bar just outside of Boston. On occasion we will have nights with no crowd there to see whatever unknown band is playing. Other nights an equally unknown band will absolutely pack the place. That can only be one person's fault. It is also universally the bands that didn't promote and didn't draw a soul that are the first to ask about getting paid.
If you are relying on any club(especially one that charges a cover) to have an automatic crowd you are being lazy. If you think the 'promoter' of the show is going pack the place you're wrong. If you're playing with other bands and you think they'll bring the crowd...give me a break.
I could get 20 people into a club to see me fart into a tin can in Saskatoon by tonight at 9pm.
For the record, I've also played in a wedding band.
This goes for any band covers or orginals you have to network. Just cuz your in a coverband does not mean you just show up and play and that the crowd is built in.
I have seen good coverbands playing to the bar staff and chairs. The places that do have a built in crowd are gold but lets face it how many people are there to see the band?
jive1
Commercial User
One thing to note is that there are some places where a cover band will never get booked to play, even tribute acts.
If you have enough of a scene where you can play originals, then you're golden. There's about 3-4 places less than a few miles from me where they will never hire a cover band. You'll rarely see a cover band open for a touring act.
In some places, the crowd won't care or can't tell the difference between a cover and an original. If you're doing stuff like Folk, Jazz, World, etc. the crowd is looking more for a vibe than a specific tune. I've played Jazz gigs where you could easily slipped in a whole set of original music, and they would have not known any better. I've played acoustic gigs doing folky covers where people told me that they really dug my songwriting
. No, I didn't write All Along the Watchtower........the percussionist did 
.
jive1
Commercial User
Some people want dancers, some want listeners. Not just bands, some clubs as well.
I'll tell you what...........it's more intimidating to have 20 people hanging on every note you play than a crowd of 200 dancers who aren't really paying much attention to you. And then do it with just a duo, or solo.. Much more intimidating, IMO. Put me in a show of 1000 people with a top notch band behind me, I won't have an ounce of stage fright. But make me sing and play guitar by myself for a dozen people a few feet away from me, the sweat will pour. When you have a loud PA and amplification, the people have no choice but to listen or leave. But without that, you really have to draw them in.
Also, not everyone's ultimate satisfaction from music is from making booties grind (although, I consider my bass a remote control for the booty), selling alcohol, or people telling you you're awesome. A while ago, I quit a relatively successful Blues band to play at church. The guys thought I was nuts. But while they were playing to crowds of 50-100, I was playing to a crowd of 300-400. While folks were dancing, drinking, watching TV, talking, etc. when we played bars, at church, everyone sang along to every song we played. And while we could tell that some people were digging us at the bar, I've never seen people break out in tears ever when we played the Blues like when I played Praise and Worship. It was a great experience overall, and a great run while it lasted. More than I could ever expect from playing covers at a bar.
I'm a total gig-whore. I love music, and I make all of my money doing covers (including originals I didn't write). But, because I love music, now and then it's good to partake in something that makes you realize how powerful and meaningful music can be. I've had a wide range of experiences from music, and thankful for most of them.
