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Original Bands? Why?

#2
I have, sorta.
They were original to someone in the band, but not me.
It was the worst of both worlds; I still had to learn a bunch of songs, but no one wanted to hear them...
I'm good at a lot of things, but melodic composition is not one of them. I'm a player, not a composer.
I think composers want to write, and maybe some of them are good collaborators.
If that's you, I get the appeal.
 
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#3
I’ve played covers occasionally and it always started as someone asking a favor and the money was ok. At one point one all originals band also built a repertoire of classic rock and modern dance pop songs and played private events, frats and bars under a different name and that was fun. But I’ve never felt particularly driven to play covers.

The cool thingy is there’s no best music and there’s no best gig. If you want to play more often and maybe make some cash along the way there are plenty opportunities with covers, tributes, etc. And if you’re more motivated trying to write something new and perform and build a following that way there’s nothing wrong there either.

Play what makes it worthwhile to you.

I made a fair living playing original music for a little while. The majority of the lead up to success-ish-lite was dingy venues and relentless rehearsals and day jobs and thousands of miles in a van that smelled like bologna and feet. When it became a bus that smelled like feet it felt like winning the lotto.
 
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#5
WG Plum said:
I've only ever been in originals bands. I was in one that over lapped with two others for varying periods, but never more than two at one time.

I took a break due to burnout and fatherhood for close to ten years, and now doing something much closer to my heart and really enjoying it. Still originals.
Click to expand...

I'm glad you were able to make time for your family, I'm sure they appreciated it.

What made you realize it was "closer to your heart".
 
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#6
manchego_eggo said:
How many folx out there play in original groups?
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not all, but most of the groups i've played in have been totally or partially original --- dance/pop bands were the exceptions, but even then we'd often slip in an appropriate original tune from time to time...can't stop the creatives! :laugh:

edit: TBH, all of the "original only" bands IME have been jazz groups: playing swing, be-bop, latin, etc.

manchego_eggo said:
I seem to always find myself in two groups at once like I'm chasing something I can never catch and wonder sometimes if playing covers is the solution that's been in front of me the whole time.
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i think @Killing Floor made the distinction: easier to chase a paycheck with the right covers in the right venues!

but if you like originals/writing/creating you can do both in one band if your writing is thoughtful enough to be measured along with the covers that move the audiences (e.g., if you're playing dance halls: write some dance tunes!).

good luck with your choices of direction(s)! :thumbsup:
 
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#7
manchego_eggo said:
I'm glad you were able to make time for your family, I'm sure they appreciated it.

What made you realize it was "closer to your heart".
Click to expand...

It's fully experimental music, completely improvised, and stylistically in-line with what I really enjoy. The hang is excellent, and I've also completely let go of 'making it', being successful within a 'scene', or having anyone but us enjoy it. Success is having found people who dig the same weirdness as me.
 
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#8
I’ve been playing drums, bass, guitar and keys for over 35 years. I’d say until after Covid I primarily did original music, and mainly on drums. I have a decent resume of studio recordings and live work, and even did a couple of gigs in Europe. Around 2000 I did the cover thing for about a year and I didn’t enjoy it much, but enjoyed the $. But I ended up working back to originals…. For decades.

But something happened after Covid. For one I really started to get bored on drums. I also really started to get fed up with how much musicians would take advantage of my kindness. I’d do studio work, gigs, rehearsals, for little to no pay, and it was starting to feel like my time was just worth more. I wasn’t a contributor to overall songwriting, but writing my parts. But for my own pleasure I’d write and record my own stuff at home, with no expectation that I’d ever perform it, make money from it, or get others to join me, and that still fills my “soul” when it comes to originals.

Instead though, the last few years I joined a bunch of cover bands. First on bass, then guitar, then guitar and keys, and now just bass. I took only paying gigs and it was so refreshing. I got to a point on drums where I could play pretty much any cover song by just listening to it once or twice. But learning parts on bass, guitar and keys took work. Some guitar solos pushed me out of my comfort zone. And it was all new and fresh. And bass is really the foundation - in a guitar band, if I dropped out for a bar or two it wasn’t a big deal - drop out on bass and the whole band turns to see what happened.

After scraping together maybe 30-40 gigs a year on various instruments, with various bands, making half-decent money, I auditioned for and joined just one band on bass playing pretty much every weekend. It looks like we’ll do 100-120 gigs this year, and the pay is pretty good. Considering what I’ve been paid the last few years, it’s a big step up. One of my only issues are bandmates who fail to appreciate how good they have it. We did a gig last week where we played for 2 hours on a Wednesday night and got $300 each. And I’m happy to learn new cover tunes for private events - it makes me a better musician and most are fresh to me on bass. A few of my bandmates do it kicking and screaming.

So for me, after decades of originals, covers have been great. I’m making enough to justify the work, and I actually enjoy it. It’s reinvigorated my love of playing and I get paid…. Awesome. But I also spend some time in my home studio working on ideas. If I could find a co-writing partner for originals that would be great, but at 50, I’m more than willing to accept that originals are never going to do anything other than make me happy. Gigging originals to 5 people, spending the time to rehearse them, learn them, and gig them, for zero money has no appeal for me anymore.
 
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#9
I've always been involved in original music, writing my own material since I picked up the instrument, and working with original artists in their groups for most of my musical life. Even my first band in high school was a sort of 'art rock' alternative group writing all originals. It helps living in an area that is - or was - conducive to original music as a key draw. My primary project for almost 10 years now has been my jazz trio/duo where all of us write original material. It's what truly makes me happy in music. Sure, I've played my share of covers across many bands, but never have been in a 'cover band' as a primary thing. A wise teacher once told me that if you have the desire and ability to write original music, do it. Tell your story instead of regurgitating someone else's. What's really rewarding is when people come up and ask what song we played, and who wrote it. You tell them you wrote it and they light up with appreciation and good vibes. Even if they say 'it reminds me of _(insert artist here)__', that's a compliment.
 
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#10
Mostly originals for me, for decades now. After grinding it out in cover bands in the '90s, I lost my desire to appeal to what felt like largely intoxicated peoples' senses of nostalgia. I absolutely admire a good cover band, though!

For me, covers are fun for catching people by surprise in a set of originals, but I got too close to the flame and I doubt that I'll ever not be crispy again.
 
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#12
The grass is always greener. I was catching up with an old friend from my punk (original) days. I've been in busy cover bands for 10+ years while he's stuck with original punk/indie bands for 20+ years.

He is jealous of the amount of gigs I play and gear I can buy with gig-money.

I am jealous of the places he's been/played (Europe etc) and the great music he has authored.

His band is moderately successful, which probably puts them in the top 10% of all punk/indie bands ever started, but this is how he summed it up - "Boy oh boy what a rough slog playing in a [original] band for this long turned out to be haha"
 
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#15
Sure I have, but nothing ever came of it, which is the scenario for nearly all bands who do original music unless they have lots of fans who are supportive by buying it and they’re selling out shows on their name. I played covers because I wanted to make music for a living and that became my only option.
 
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#16
I play originals when I have or think I have something to say. I play covers because I'm somewhat of an attention whore. I say that in the best way possible. I also often need to fund an original project or buy gear. I like it when an entire audience is getting off on what I'm doing. Occasionally the audience really digs my originals and the two desired results converge. That's the best feeling in the world. And one of the best ways to get originals in front of that kind of an audience is playing coverings and mixing in originals, which can (and has) snow balled into a fan following.
 
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#17
Depends on your goals. If you want good paying gigs, originals is not the way to go, unless you want to spend a lot of time building a following, and you have sufficient talent both as performer AND songwriter - and you get lucky.

If you enjoy playing your own music, and are realistic about your future, go for it. I've gone both ways.
 
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#18
I only play in original bands, I have zero interest in playing other peoples songs, that’s one thing that even when I started out learning bass, I didn’t even want to do!
Last band that I was in was the first instance where I came into an established band that already had songs written and fleshed out, so that was weird, but I got them down and moved forward onto new songs with the rest of the band.
There ain’t nothing better than working out an idea and everybody slides into position and you completely lock in to something really cool. I don’t think there’s a better feeling!
 
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