Please Share Your Start-up Cover Band Advice, Tips, Experiences, Shortcuts

[electracoyote]

Lots of new blood on TB, so I'd like to resurrect a topic that may have been discussed in the past.

I'm taking the dive. I have been joining "established" bands for decades. I have yet to start one. It's way over-due, and if you understood my luck, you'd fully agree. I've seen so many mistakes, and I think I'm in a position, personally and professionally, to avoid most if not all of them as band leader.

I'm trying to make things clear to candidates and avoid wasting time to the extent possible. I need like-minded people on-board a.s.a.p., and I am confident with my experience and mature, business-like approach that performances and success will follow. I have a lot of venue contacts with decent-to-good paying performance opportunities, but nothing on the books yet; it's all talk at this point and a matter of convincing others.

(I maybe should add, I'm not blessed with a long list of musicians I can call up. I'm working with a truly great drummer, we share the same mentality in music, goals, and strategy, and I consider that the linchpin foundation that we can build on. But the drummer has made it clear he is comfortable as a member, but not as a leader.)

So if you've successfully organized a start-up, or if you joined a start-up that went on to have success, please share a few key elements of that experience that you think contributed to the success (including things to avoid) and that might help me or give me things to think about I may have overlooked.

FWIW, I've joined Bandmix and I'm trying to milk it and Craig's List for all they're worth. I own full PA with subs and lights, and I have a back-lined rehearsal space. I've done everything I can so that people with my mentality and standards would be at least interested if not outright tempted.

Thanks in advance, y'all!

 

[ArtechnikA]

Subscribed - not because I have anything to add, but because it looks like I'm joining a startup and I want to see what I'm in for.
From the list of groups it looks like they're wanting to cover, I'll be having to learn a bunch of new material. I'm coming from a blues background and they're more classic rock.
I think it'll be fun stuff to play, stuff I should know how to play, and I think they want to play out sooner rather than later.
Good thing I am on record as liking the power trio concept - but all the groups they've mentioned are not... Not sure my chops are up to the challenge but I'll give it a go.

 

[sleeplessknight]

The big three that are needed, IMO, before you even start gigging:
* dot-com website NOT backed by Weebly, Wix, Geocities, etc. Find a pro to do the design if at all possible.
* professional photos (taken by an actual, professional photographer; not a hobbyist, not your weird Uncle Abner with the expensive camera, etc)
* professional video (taken by an actual... you get the deal) - one full song, one 2-4 minute montage of a variety of songs
* professionally-recorded demo MP3s - 3+ full songs

Ok fine, it's four. I'm a bass player, what do you expect? Budget about $2000, all in, for the above. You have to spend money to make money, and you'll get it back. Skip/skimp on any of these, and you will find booking to be one hell of an uphill battle (well, even more than usual). Can it be done without the above? Absolutely, just like a professional carpenter can *get by* with Harbor Freight tools and dollar-store nails, but you're making life unnecessarily harder for yourself.

Ninja-edit: if you want to make musicians love working with you, get Dropbox (or self-host with ownCloud) and commit to having *every* song in the rep in the Dropbox, with chord changes and lyrics. When a new person comes on, they get access to the Dropbox and their coming-up-to-speed time just got a zero removed from it (i.e. 30 days just went to 3 days).

Also, learn to love the shared calendar - one for gigs, the other for blackout dates. Booking becomes a whole lot easier when you can tell a club owner, "Sure, I've got that date available" without hanging up, calling 2-6 other people (who may or may not be by their phones) and asking "Hurr, are you available to play the Pasta Loft at 7pm three Thursdays from now?"

 

[electracoyote]

Good stuff sleeplessknight. I like the suggestions for marketing. I intend to be a marketing bulldog and not skimp on promo. If I can't make the band look and sound professional, I will hire someone who can and eat the investment.

I just got a sub gig and the BL sent me his Dropbox folder, it was pretty handy. I have used it in the past for lyrics and such, so thanks for that and all the tips.

At this point, I need to attract a band lol.

Maybe choose a band name and logo it up now? Make it look and feel like a band even though a few pieces are missing? Pics of the rehearsal space? I've already shared pics/sound files/vids of me in past bands, but I need players to take the new idea seriously (which isn't even new, this model/concept has been used successfully many times before). I feel a lot of people shy away from start ups and are in a hurry to get in a gigging situation, even if it has a flaw and red flag or two. How do I get around that and sell the concept?

 

[sleeplessknight]

Just make it crystal-clear in your musicians-wanted ad that you're starting a money-making enterprise, lay out your plan and a rough schedule to go from 'zero' to 'gigging', and you'll be surprised how many decent musicians that attracts. Here's an old post of mine that netted me some seriously good players:

Just-getting-off-the-ground funk/soul horn band (think Tower of Power meets Bill Withers and hangs out at James Brown's place) is currently looking for a lead vocalist!

This is a group of regularly-gigging professional musicians (guitar, bass, tenor sax, keys, drums) who are putting together a band to do gigs at casinos, corporate events, and the occasional club/festival. We have a selection of about 30 songs with full PDF charts (guitar/bass/keys chords, melody line, and individual horn charts for tenor/bari/alto saxes) ready to go, MP3s ready to download. All we're lacking right now is a dynamic and captivating frontman/woman. This person should have reliable transportation, a good work ethic (i.e. show up on time, don't hit on the waitresses/manager/bridesmaids, learn the material *before* walking into the rehearsal space), and a tolerance of horrible jokes. More horns would be awesome (see our other CL ads), but our most pressing need right now is for the aforementioned powerhouse vocalist we can nickname Lint ("because he's SO deep in the pocket!"). If this is you, we don't care if you're 8 or 80, male or female; we just want you to show up, have a great time playing some fun and funky music, and get paid phat (eventually...) cash. Oh, and you should also have Tuesday, January 25th from 7pm to 8pm free, as that's our next rehearsal. We'd like very much for YOU to join us!

<rough setlist>

If this sounds right up your alley, send me an email and we can get this party started. It'd be awesome if you could include links to MP3s of yourself singing in a band context, as well as any other bands you've played in.

Your two main jobs as a bandleader are:
Book the gigs
Get *everything* out of the way of your musicians so all they have to do is show up (prepared) and play

If you can master those two things, you'll be the most popular BL in town. You don't want your cats stressing about "Gee, I wonder what the itinerary for tonight's rehearsal is...", "what's the setlist for this gig?" "What should I wear to the gig? Business casual? Tux?" etc. It's an iterative process, but you should try and anticipate any and all questions someone may have, and answer it ahead of time. I call that game, "If they have to ask me a question, I lose". You'll find that templates (rehearsal announcement template, gig announcement template, singer-just-quit-does-anybody-know-anyone template, etc) will be your very best friend for communicating in a consistent, thorough manner.

 

[ArtechnikA]

...I feel a lot of people shy away from start ups and are in a hurry to get in a gigging situation, even if it has a flaw and red flag or two.

A few startups I've followed up on via CL were pretty forthcoming about expectations.
e.g. "We will rehearse through the winter and be ready for gigs and festivals in Spring."
and "If you're expecting to be gigging next week, this isn't that opportunity."

These are interesting to me, because although I've been playing music since at least high school (a long time ago, when what we now call 'Classic Rock' was called 'Top 40.') I've only been playing bass for 3 years. So I will always have a lot of material to learn - which I'm ready to do for a good opportunity.

I expect only the promise of booked gigs will attract experienced players unless you happen to hit ALL their "perfect opportunity" buttons musically.

Pics of a rehearsal space don't do anything for me - for $5/wk/person you can rent an equipped room.

 

[electracoyote]

Pics of a rehearsal space don't do anything for me - for $5/wk/person you can rent an equipped room.

That's interesting. You can't touch a decent space in my neighborhood for that.

I'm offering a nice clean backlined space in a good area of town for free. The rental spaces you get around here for $5.00 a head require the accompaniment of a Smith and Wesson and a bottle of Febreze.

I have not been as forthright about it being a start up in my CL and Bandmix ads as I could, and though I specifically refer to playing the better "A" rooms/clubs/bars and upscale events, I may need to stress a bit more that we're looking for the better paying gigs (I've been in a few bands that got into that circle, and I'm confident that once I have the product I can get us into those kind of bookings again). Everything else is spelled out in objective unoffensive business-like language. I don't want to "hang" or "jam" and it may eventually be "fun" but there is some "work" involved as well. (Those are all the buzzwords people use on CL when they want you to know how "laid back and chill" their project is--I've had enough laid back and chill, thank you, I'm ready for a different kind of success, and the people I'm trying to attract feel the same way.)

 

[bigboy_78]

Definitely have a clear concept of what the band will be from the start, and stick to that path. I've joined start-up bands that were billed as one thing, but morphed into something completely different.

I hate getting in the room with a new band and they have no real idea what the plan is. You know "something different" isn't a concept. Your "Function Band" shouldn't really be covering obscure 70s punk tunes or think that dressing nice for gigs "is gay"…..

Current band was sold to me as a "pure dance-floor filler" and have worked hard to stay true to that. Everyone has suggestions for songs, but if it doesn't meet that one criteria. It's out.

 

[hrodbert696]

If you have contacts at venues, start talking them up NOW about booking a gig. It will be a lot easier to attract quality musicians if they know there are gigs in the offing than for a project that hopes to get a gig eventually somewhere.

 

[ArtechnikA]

That's interesting. You can't touch a decent space in my neighborhood for that.

One thing we've got in Philadelphia is practice space. Now if only a few of them would realize that 4 rooms == 4 bands, 5 persons to a band means you better have 20 parking spaces...

But the room we're in now is $25/hr and the only thing they really supply that can't be met in someone's home is PA and drum kit. I get enough heat for wanting to leave my EUB set up - there's no way I could store a drum kit...

I don't want to "hang" or "jam" and it may eventually be "fun" but there is some "work" involved as well .... I'm ready for a different kind of success, and the people I'm trying to attract feel the same way.)

I so hear you here. I have plenty of ways to have fun. I'm in my looking-for-second-career phase and if I could find myself in a couple of paying bands I'd be really close to pulling the ripcord on my day job. Meanwhile, I'm treating it as working two jobs - one of which pays...

That's something I think a lot of the "earnest 30-somethings" don't get - they're looking at the closing of their window for "making it" but for me, it's just opening (again). I would be GLAD to stay home and practice 8 hours a day (like I used to in high school) if I could make the finances work.

 

[Jools4001]

Lots of advice about how to get musicians on board, contact venues etc and general advice about genres. I would start with the music. What sort of cover band do you want to be Rock? Funk? Top 40? Any particular era? 60s, 70s, 80s? How long does your set need to be?

If you and your drummer are locked in together with what you want this to be, I would sit down with him and brainstorm a set list that you would be happy with. This should be a mix of songs in the ballpark for the type of cover band you want to be and it should concentrate on the songs your target audience will want to hear. You will also need to mix in your own favourites, and you will need to compromise on some songs that you would really love to do but might not go down well with an audience. Don't sell out too much, some of the songs on your list might be stuff that you're only lukewarm about but you have to be able to at least tolerate them so that you can play them without hating them - I wouldn't care if I never played 'Sex on Fire' again, but audiences still love it and I concentrate on how good a time the audience are having and feed off that rather than stand there thinking how bored I am playing this for the zillionth time.

Once you have your set list roughed out you should know what sort of musicians you need to recruit, what sort of vocalist you're looking for, whether you're going to need two guitarists, or a guitarist and keys, you should know what backing vocals you're going to need and which musicians you're going to expect to cover those duties.

So when you start recruiting you will have a rough set list that you can send to interested parties. You also have a tool you can use for auditions, so you can say "please be prepared to play XXXX and YYYY, and choose any two other songs from the list." It also helps if you choose musicians who are also into the sort of music you've chosen and already know most of it.

Make sure that people are commited to rehearsals, because they will need to be to get the band tight...and also to learn new stuff so you don't get stale....also be prepared to compromise on your set list as people join. There will be a sort of Venn diagram where everyone's musical taste overlaps, but you will need to be flexible. In our rock covers band, for example, I'm not wild about playing Black Sabbath's "Iron Man", but a couple of other people in the band love it...and audiences seem to like it so I go with the flow...likewise, I get to show off on a couple of songs so that there is soemthing in the set for everyone. You might also have to accomodate 'red lines'. I can't stand Bon Jovi so I won't play their songs, our singer hates U2 and our drummer hates Queen...so we avoid that stuff.

If you do all this right, you should have a band that is musically synced up and ready to roll. The rest of the marketing, booking and logistics doesn't really matter unless you have a band that are happy with what they do.

 

[electracoyote]

Definitely have a clear concept of what the band will be from the start, and stick to that path. I've joined start-up bands that were billed as one thing, but morphed into something completely different.

I hate getting in the room with a new band and they have no real idea what the plan is. You know "something different" isn't a concept. Your "Function Band" shouldn't really be covering obscure 70s punk tunes or think that dressing nice for gigs "is gay"…..

Current band was sold to me as a "pure dance-floor filler" and have worked hard to stay true to that. Everyone has suggestions for songs, but if it doesn't meet that one criteria. It's out.

Good advice, and I already anticipated that.

I've been in that situation too many times myself. Usually it comes from the good old "democratic process," which IME only results in several competing ideas and no real concrete direction or strategy (and relatively fewer, lower paying gigs). I've already decided this band has a specific purpose and direction, a band leader, and a music director, and that information has been communicated in my advertisements.

The playlist really determines how you're perceived, so defining parameters and sticking to them helps with direction and image.

 

[electracoyote]

If you have contacts at venues, start talking them up NOW about booking a gig. It will be a lot easier to attract quality musicians if they know there are gigs in the offing than for a project that hopes to get a gig eventually somewhere.

That's a good idea, one I had not considered. I guess I need to decide on a band name and at least a preliminary logo or graphic to go with it, then start networking and pressing the flesh, rekindling relationships, phone calls, e-mails, FB, etc. It can only help.

 

[electracoyote]

Lots of advice about how to get musicians on board, contact venues etc and general advice about genres. I would start with the music. What sort of cover band do you want to be Rock? Funk? Top 40? Any particular era? 60s, 70s, 80s? How long does your set need to be?

If you and your drummer are locked in together with what you want this to be, I would sit down with him and brainstorm a set list that you would be happy with. This should be a mix of songs in the ballpark for the type of cover band you want to be and it should concentrate on the songs your target audience will want to hear. You will also need to mix in your own favourites, and you will need to compromise on some songs that you would really love to do but might not go down well with an audience. Don't sell out too much, some of the songs on your list might be stuff that you're only lukewarm about but you have to be able to at least tolerate them so that you can play them without hating them - I wouldn't care if I never played 'Sex on Fire' again, but audiences still love it and I concentrate on how good a time the audience are having and feed off that rather than stand there thinking how bored I am playing this for the zillionth time.

Once you have your set list roughed out you should know what sort of musicians you need to recruit, what sort of vocalist you're looking for, whether you're going to need two guitarists, or a guitarist and keys, you should know what backing vocals you're going to need and which musicians you're going to expect to cover those duties.

So when you start recruiting you will have a rough set list that you can send to interested parties. You also have a tool you can use for auditions, so you can say "please be prepared to play XXXX and YYYY, and choose any two other songs from the list." It also helps if you choose musicians who are also into the sort of music you've chosen and already know most of it.

Make sure that people are commited to rehearsals, because they will need to be to get the band tight...and also to learn new stuff so you don't get stale....also be prepared to compromise on your set list as people join. There will be a sort of Venn diagram where everyone's musical taste overlaps, but you will need to be flexible. In our rock covers band, for example, I'm not wild about playing Black Sabbath's "Iron Man", but a couple of other people in the band love it...and audiences seem to like it so I go with the flow...likewise, I get to show off on a couple of songs so that there is soemthing in the set for everyone. You might also have to accomodate 'red lines'. I can't stand Bon Jovi so I won't play their songs, our singer hates U2 and our drummer hates Queen...so we avoid that stuff.

If you do all this right, you should have a band that is musically synced up and ready to roll. The rest of the marketing, booking and logistics doesn't really matter unless you have a band that are happy with what they do.

Good stuff, some of which I anticipated.

I do need to get a master playlist, sample set lists, and short audition list together. This band will be using a tested and successful business model used by a few other bands in town. We'll tailor it a bit and try to make it unique, but there won't be much "democratic process" in the song selection. Everyone ends up playing songs they don't like, may as well make them songs the audience does like. We'll have a master playlist and band members can pick songs within those parameters (kind of like what bigboy was saying above). Right out of the gate, I'm reluctant to take any risks, so bona-fide time-tested crowd-pleasers and rump-shakers right down the line. Maybe further down the road, after we are a bit more established, we can start rolling the dice once in awhile on song selections.

 

[AdamR]

Like minded people dont always stay that way. Dont try to fool yourself into believing that things will run smooth. In my bands case(I started it) Originally it was myself and 2 guys from a previous band. We all had the same vision till one day we didnt. Enter drummer #2. 6 months down the road was the same issue (Guitar player #1 didnt like drummer #1 or #2 and wanted drummer #3). The rest of the band stuck up for drummer #2. Enter guitar player #2. So on and So forth. only one member was asked to leave but at this point as much as we all got along as friends I am currently the only original member of the band after only 2 years.

 

[gjbassist]

Make sure all the band members have the same level of commitment! If your goal is to be a busy, working band that gigs every weekend make sure all other members feel the same before you hire them! Same goes if you only want to gig once a month. It's important to find people who's personal situations are similar so that you can all be on the same schedule for rehearsal and gigs. As an example, the band I started in the spring is comprised of four people who can all rehearse on weekends and are only wanting to gig out once or twice a month. I passed over a couple of other good guitarists because they could not practice on weekends or they wanted to play live every weekend.

 

[electracoyote]

Like minded people dont always stay that way. Dont try to fool yourself into believing that things will run smooth. In my bands case(I started it) Originally it was myself and 2 guys from a previous band. We all had the same vision till one day we didnt. Enter drummer #2. 6 months down the road was the same issue (Guitar player #1 didnt like drummer #1 or #2 and wanted drummer #3). The rest of the band stuck up for drummer #2. Enter guitar player #2. So on and So forth. only one member was asked to leave but at this point as much as we all got along as friends I am currently the only original member of the band after only 2 years.

Band politics, ugh. I've had more than my fair share of exactly what you described. My hope is that with strong central administrative leadership, a designated BL who filters ideas and goes with the best choice, I can avoid some of that. I just needs folks who are willing to trust my judgment. Wish me luck.

 

[electracoyote]

Make sure all the band members have the same level of commitment! If your goal is to be a busy, working band that gigs every weekend make sure all other members feel the same before you hire them! Same goes if you only want to gig once a month. It's important to find people who's personal situations are similar so that you can all be on the same schedule for rehearsal and gigs. As an example, the band I started in the spring is comprised of four people who can all rehearse on weekends and are only wanting to gig out once or twice a month. I passed over a couple of other good guitarists because they could not practice on weekends or they wanted to play live every weekend.

This is really smart thinking. I have decided to make the typical anticipated rehearsal and gig schedules clear up-front.

You guys should read my ads, they're like the U.S. Constitution, but they address a lot of what's in this thread. I'd rather people get turned off by the structure and move along than waste their time or mine. And the responses I'm getting to my ads so far seem to sincerely appreciate the standards and how much thought is going into this project.

 

[hrodbert696]

That's a good idea, one I had not considered. I guess I need to decide on a band name and at least a preliminary logo or graphic to go with it, then start networking and pressing the flesh, rekindling relationships, phone calls, e-mails, FB, etc. It can only help.

One advantage to booking first is also that it gives you some control. I notice that direction is one of the concerns people are pointing out about startups. If the venue books you to provide a disco band or whatever, then anyone who joins comes in with the understanding that they're getting paid to play disco.

 

[AdamR]

Band politics, ugh. I've had more than my fair share of exactly what you described. My hope is that with strong central administrative leadership, a designated BL who filters ideas and goes with the best choice, I can avoid some of that. I just needs folks who are willing to trust my judgment. Wish me luck.

They call me band Dad, Im tired of being Dad lol.