Most obscure covers your band plays

[dcr]

Hmmm...like JimmyM, we don't do many obscure covers. I'd guess the one song I've never heard anyone else do is "Theme From Scooby-Doo".


dcr

 

[fourstringgirl]

Joe's Garage - Frank Zappa
Passenger Side - Wilco
I Must Be High - Wilco
You Gave Me a Mountain - Elvis Presley

A local band in my area does "Joe's Garage" AND "Titties And Beer"!

I used to have a video of "Titties And Beer" but I can't find it. They do it so damned well!

 

[fourstringgirl]

Hmmm...like JimmyM, we don't do many obscure covers. I'd guess the one song I've never heard anyone else do is "Theme From Scooby-Doo".


dcr

Starts at :23

 

[dawind99]

Oliver's Army Elvis Costello
Good Morning Aztlan Los Lobos
All That You Dream Little Feat

And, the most obscure that I'd like to cover: She's a Peach....Prince.

 

[fourstringgirl]

Livin the life - steel dragon

In the same vein, I was in a trio a couple of years ago we did "Big Bottom" Spinal Tap

 

[fourstringgirl]

In my previous band we had a number of lead guitar players, including one who went on to play with Eric Church.
Anyway, the youngest lead player we had brought in a bunch of alt. rock and country tunes I never heard of but they were great tunes.
I stumbled upon BEER by Real Big Fish and we performed that for a while.

We do a different song call "Beer"

 

[HolmeBass]

The Ocean - not your typical Zep cover.

I was in a cover band a couple of years ago that did it, really fun. The singer couldn't do Plant so just dropped it an octave and did it bluesy, worked pretty well.

Maybe not too obscure for the genre, but little known by a lot of people:
Slaid Cleaves- Hard to Believe

Yeah pretty much anything by Slaid Cleaves is obscure, isn't it?

We do...

Vehicle-Ides of March

I played this in marching band in high school. It got a recent bump b/c of that American Idol dude was doing it. Great song.

Fearless by Pink Floyd - except we rock the S*** out of it !

We do this as a reggae tune, segued to from the Dead's "Crazy Fingers", also as a reggae groove, natch.

A few of our rare ones:
Escape - Rupert Holmes

Wait, isn't this the infamous "Pina Colada Song"?

I was in a band that did these

Deep Banana Blackout! I love Hope Claiborne, she used to be local around here.

So our most obscure cover is "Craven Choke Puppy" by the Wailers. We also do "Ghost Riders In The Sky" but we're covering the Willie Nelson & Johnny Cash version.

Marley's version:


One of my band's versions, this one is a bit fast:


Same show doing Ghost Riders:

 

[buldog5151bass]

No matter what - your goal is to entertain, not to say "look how cool and obscure I can get". I play in a band with a female singer that can hit Zep and Boston really well - so we pick out lesser known, but still known, songs, and the people love it.

You don't have to do "More than a Feeling" - any song on the album is remembered.

 

[Gringo Basso]

Why would a cover band play songs that no one really knows? Kind of defeats the purpose, does it not?

Most bands that do this are original bands who supplement the songs they write with obscure covers that they like, and more often that not these songs come off as an original song. A cover band wouldn't normally want to do this, as their crowd wants to hear songs they know and are comfortable with. I've always played my own music, so finding a rare gem and putting my own stamp on it has always been a lot of fun. I think someone else commented that an obscure cover defeated the purpose of a cover, same rule goes with that. If your a cover band musician, it wouldn't make sense. Two different schools of thought.

 

[AcadianBassman]

Wait, isn't this the infamous "Pina Colada Song"?

Yes, yes it is.

 

[HolmeBass]

Wait, isn't this the infamous "Pina Colada Song"?

Yes, yes it is.

It's so infamous! I bet people love it. People...

 

[Funky_Be]

Most bands that do this are original bands who supplement the songs they write with obscure covers that they like, and more often that not these songs come off as an original song. A cover band wouldn't normally want to do this, as their crowd wants to hear songs they know and are comfortable with. I've always played my own music, so finding a rare gem and putting my own stamp on it has always been a lot of fun. I think someone else commented that an obscure cover defeated the purpose of a cover, same rule goes with that. If your a cover band musician, it wouldn't make sense. Two different schools of thought.

Makes sense, was thinking of top 40 cover bands doing songs no one knew.

 

[tubedude]

How.can anyone expect to.play the.same.lame covers night after night and not throw up! The one off per set makes the popular swill doable. Especially if your band insists on note for note tedium. The ooccasional original, obscure, or personalized cover is all that stands between a good gig and a bloodletting.

 

[Gaolee]

As a joke, we did the theme from Mike Tyson Punchout.

Is video game music even a cover?

 

[AMp'D.2play]

My current band sticks to the radio hits so we tend to not play anything obscure. It keeps the cougars up & dancing!

Once the lead singer of my previous band found out that I loved Porcupine Tree - as did he - he would throw me a bone and we'd do Shesmovedon every once in a while. It made the gigs tolerable since there was only so much Petty, CCR, the Stones, etc., I could take in one night.

 

[pglaser01]

Used to do "You" in a fill-in band. I have recently brought it up as one of the bands I'm in is doing "Far Behind" and it's totally in the singer's wheelhouse.

Nice!

We also do Far Behind

 

[AcadianBassman]

It's so infamous! I bet people love it. People...

Usually packs the floor lol Before we play it, we always say we are great fans of cheese or "fromage" for the bourgeoisy who are present lol I've played more boring tunes to be honest.

 

[Stdjazz4]

Saw Chicago last night.

Their cover of "I'm a Man" is now their own!!

 

[Jamvan]

I could go with two...Help Me Make It Through the Night by Freddy Fender (although many people know and associate it with the Kris Kristofferson version)

-OR-

Casualties by American Aquarium...This one is becoming less and less obscure though as more bands in our area are starting to play it. The dreaded byproduct of promoting band videos on Facebook.

 

[Cazman]

We keep our stable of cover standards on tap to get the dance floor full, but we lean towards songs that the population recognizes, but doesn't hear often. ("Wow, that's a great song...haven't heard it played in a while!")
Probably the most obscure one we do though is The Dandy Warhols "Bohemian Like You"... Very catchy....vaguely recognizable....and dance-worthy.... NO ONE sits down when we insert it.
Cheerios!