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"Standard" rock covers?

#21
As a musician, it absolutely kills me to hear a cover band come out and play Cocaine, Three Steps, Hands to Yourself. Yes some older folks enjoy hearing the old stand-bys, but I tend to lean more toward less-popular music from popular bands.
Examples:
Instead of: Something known but not heard as much:
Three Steps - Working for MCA, Coming Home
American Band - Closer to Home, Bad Time
Rock & Roll all Nite - Love Gun, Tears are Falling
Ain`t Talkin` `bout Love - Finish Whatcha Started, Mean Street
Born on the Bayou - Centerfield, etc..
You get the picture. Yes it`s still old, but its a fresher approach.
My $0.02.
 
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#24
two fingers said:
Nothing sadder than a bunch of 65 year olds playing Bruno Mars or Cake by the Ocean
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:wideyed:

that's a funny value judgement --- i'm 70 y.o. i play in two different bands that twist up current pop candy (4-5 bruno mars tunes, the one DNCE hit --- which is what i think you meant :D --- and more) + some seriously funky club/dance playlists.

hip is hip, and it pays more than most of the suggestions in the thread so far. the DJ-as-resource suggestion was a good one!

maybe you need to get out more...or up your own game! ;)
 
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#25
Proud Mary and Fortunate Son....two good ones from CCR...good for beginners
Older stuff, I would also suggest to learn Brown Eyed Girl
I give all three of these to students

90's/2000...
Alice in Chains - Man in the Box
Stone Temple Pilots - Plush
Jimmy Eat World - The Middle
Collective Soul - Shine
 
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#26
DirtDog said:
There’s only two or three on your list that are truly rock songs. Blues/country/soul covers, however.

A rock cover list would include hits by the Stones, Zeppelin, Beatles, AC/DC, Floyd, Dabbath, The Who, Foo Fighters, Stone Temple Pilots, Clash, Skynryd, CCR, Guns n Roses, Rush, Petty, The Doors, ZZTop - stuff along those lines.
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You missed the 90's, 2000's part.

Your list does not meet requirement
 
#27
It is rather challenging to come up with standards from the 90's and 2000's. Learning what DJ's play is ideal.

I will probably get some flack here but rock music started to become not as popular in the late nineties. People started listening to hip hop, rap and edm. I can't speak for country as the last country gig I did was in '95.
 
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#29
hrodbert696 said:
It's funny seeing these lists, because everyone's got some tunes on them that "EVERY bar band HAS to play" and after ten years of playing in cover bands I've never had to play them at all.

I'd suggest, if you're looking to build a repertoire, look up the list of DJs' 200 most requested songs of the last year and learn all the ones that are at all in your genre (rock or whatever).
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I'm not looking for a list for my personal band use. I have very little interest in personally playing these songs with any of the bands I'm in. (No offense if you do, obviously) I'm looking for a working list of common covers to know so that it's easier to sit in with a "typical" bar band. I want to use it as a practical guide for students so they have at least a chance to hear a number of the songs.

I'd say "My own worst enemy" by Lit and "Creep" by Radiohead could probably be thrown in there judging by the amount of times I've heard them covered.
And Blink 182 "all the small things" and "growing up" probably.

baileyboy said:
I would think 3 Doors Down's "Kryptonite" is pretty standard from that era. It might be a good thing to put some Nirvana and Pearl Jam in there, too.
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Great suggestions! "Better man" probably and "smells like teen spirit" would be good to know.

Hounddog409 said:
You missed the 90's, 2000's part.

Your list does not meet requirement
Click to expand...

I'm taking any and all suggestions. I just personally met a mental block when it came to that era. There's not a lot of 90s to 2000s cover bands where I live.

Skullheadrac said:
i think the most overlooked band to cover on this forum, from the 90s is Oasis.
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"Wonderwall" is so popular it's a meme at this point, so good suggestion!
 
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#31
two fingers said:
Don't Stop Believing
Jump
Long Train Running
The Joker
Sweet Home Alabama
Mustang Sally
Brown Eyed Girl

These are the first few pages of the bar band hymnal.

Know how to play a blues walking bass line. Bands that don't have enough material (or are just lazy) will fill time by doing loooooong blues jams.

How old are you? I ask because I need to know the likelihood of your taking a gig with younger players. If so there are lots more to get down with.
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I'm mid-late 30s. There's not a lot of young bands or young fans who go out to a lot of live cover bands around here so there's a bit of a gap in the 90s and 2000s nostalgia market. Like I said, this is just a general list and not necessarily for use in any of my bands, I just want to see the common tunes people come up with.

marchone said:
Shouldn't you have a few days before an audition to learn what they have on their set list?
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Well you should, but having a head start is always nice, and sometimes you get that call 2 hours before the gig and if you know the songs already that will definitely lead to more work.
 
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#33
theinfamous said:
I'm looking to compile a list of common covers that everyone should know or do. No judgement on how you like the song is necessary (some are beat to death, I know.) I'm having a little trouble thinking of common ones from the and 90s and 2000 eras. I just wanna be able to give students a comprehensive list and what to expect on a common cover band gig. All genres welcome! I'll start with a few I can think of.

Superstition
Blue on Black (Kenny Wayne Shepard)
Cissy strut
Wagon wheel
Mustang Sally
Friends in low places
Hey Joe
Ain't no sunshine
Say it ain't so (weezer)
Badfish, summertime, smoke two joints(sublime)
Longview, brain stew (green day)

Thanks in advance!
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I've been playing for 50 years and never played half of those tunes. No Rolling Stones? No Chuck Berry? No Aerosmith? No 12 bar Blues? No Elvis? No CCR? We must play very different gigs. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
 
#34
Well, I'll throw out my list of the "stuff everyone does," at least what it seems to be around here. Just culling from old playlists.

Sublime - What I Got
Black Crowes - Hard to Handle
Mustang Sally, duh.
Skynyrd - Gimme Three Steps, Sweet Home Alabama, Simple Man, and yes, Freebird
Bryan Adams - Summer of 69
Romantics - What I Like About You (easy to medley with ROCK in the USA and other songs if you like a power drill to the skull)
Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated (especially if you had a gig this past NYE)
Joan Jett - I Love Rock and Roll, I Hate Myself for Loving You
Pat Benatar - Heartbreaker, Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Jenny Jenny (867 5309), by whoever that was.
My Own Worst Enemy
No Doubt - Just a Girl
Superstition (per Stevie Ray or Wonder)
Doobie Bros - Long Train Running
GA Satellites - Keep Your Hands to Yourself
Wild Cherry - Play That Funky Music White Boy
Neil Young - Rockin in the Free World
MaCoys - Hang on Sloopy
Tom Petty - American Girl, Mary Jane's Last Dance, You Wreck Me (can medley with U2, Desire, and others)
Marshall Tucker Band - Can't You See
Doors - Roadhouse Blues
CCR - Proud Mary, Fortunate Son
Stevie Ray - Pride and Joy
I Want You to Want Me
3 doors down - Kryptonite
Jimmy Eat World - The Middle
Hey Jealousy
Weezer - Hash Pipe
AC/DC - You Shook Me All Night Long, Dirty Deeds, TNT
Aerosmith - Walk This Way
Cream - Sunshine of Your Love
Stones - Satisfaction, Jumping Jack Flash, Honky Tonk Women
Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues
Jet - Are You Gonna Be My Girl
Wagon Wheel
Melissa Etheridge - I'm the Only One (if there's a female singer, they're bound to want to do this)
whatsername - Bitch (ditto)
Alanis - You Oughta Know (double ditto)
Santana - Black Magic Woman (if there's a guitarist in a certain mood)
Eddie Money - Two Tickets to Paradise
ZZ Top - La Grange, Tush
Brown Eyed Girl
Steppenwolf - Born to Be Wild

Probably a bunch I didn't think of. This is not my recommendation for a set list I would use if I were starting a cover band - trying to hit my market's answer to the OP's question, what's the stuff that pretty much every cover band plays, the bog-standard stuff that most musicians who have been around a while have played sometime in their memory. There's some artists not represented - for example, it's pretty likely that a band would have a Beatles tune in the repertoire, probably everyone knows some Beatles tune or other, but there's no one or two Beatles tunes that EVERYONE plays. Same for Zeppelin, same for some bands that are on the list where the one I listed is most likely the one that everyone around knows but you'll see some bands play a different song by the artist.

The list doesn't include much recent music because the bands generally don't know it unless it's part of their identity. Some will know Take Me Out or Exes and Ohs or Mr. Brightside or Locked Out of Heaven, but I wouldn't walk into an open mic and assume that there are musicians present who know them.
 
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#35
lfmn16 said:
I've been playing for 50 years and never played half of those tunes. No Rolling Stones? No Chuck Berry? No Aerosmith? No 12 bar Blues? No Elvis? No CCR? We must play very different gigs. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Click to expand...

All right, which tunes would you suggest I add?

hrodbert696 said:
Well, I'll throw out my list of the "stuff everyone does," at least what it seems to be around here. Just culling from old playlists.

Sublime - What I Got
Black Crowes - Hard to Handle
Mustang Sally, duh.
Skynyrd - Gimme Three Steps, Sweet Home Alabama, Simple Man, and yes, Freebird
Bryan Adams - Summer of 69
Romantics - What I Like About You (easy to medley with ROCK in the USA and other songs if you like a power drill to the skull)
Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated (especially if you had a gig this past NYE)
Joan Jett - I Love Rock and Roll, I Hate Myself for Loving You
Pat Benatar - Heartbreaker, Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Jenny Jenny (867 5309), by whoever that was.
My Own Worst Enemy
No Doubt - Just a Girl
Superstition (per Stevie Ray or Wonder)
Doobie Bros - Long Train Running
GA Satellites - Keep Your Hands to Yourself
Wild Cherry - Play That Funky Music White Boy
Neil Young - Rockin in the Free World
MaCoys - Hang on Sloopy
Tom Petty - American Girl, Mary Jane's Last Dance, You Wreck Me (can medley with U2, Desire, and others)
Marshall Tucker Band - Can't You See
Doors - Roadhouse Blues
CCR - Proud Mary, Fortunate Son
Stevie Ray - Pride and Joy
I Want You to Want Me
3 doors down - Kryptonite
Jimmy Eat World - The Middle
Hey Jealousy
Weezer - Hash Pipe
AC/DC - You Shook Me All Night Long, Dirty Deeds, TNT
Aerosmith - Walk This Way
Cream - Sunshine of Your Love
Stones - Satisfaction, Jumping Jack Flash, Honky Tonk Women
Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues
Jet - Are You Gonna Be My Girl
Wagon Wheel
Melissa Etheridge - I'm the Only One (if there's a female singer, they're bound to want to do this)
whatsername - Bitch (ditto)
Alanis - You Oughta Know (double ditto)
Santana - Black Magic Woman (if there's a guitarist in a certain mood)
Eddie Money - Two Tickets to Paradise
ZZ Top - La Grange, Tush
Brown Eyed Girl
Steppenwolf - Born to Be Wild

Probably a bunch I didn't think of. This is not my recommendation for a set list I would use if I were starting a cover band - trying to hit my market's answer to the OP's question, what's the stuff that pretty much every cover band plays, the bog-standard stuff that most musicians who have been around a while have played sometime in their memory. There's some artists not represented - for example, it's pretty likely that a band would have a Beatles tune in the repertoire, probably everyone knows some Beatles tune or other, but there's no one or two Beatles tunes that EVERYONE plays. Same for Zeppelin, same for some bands that are on the list where the one I listed is most likely the one that everyone around knows but you'll see some bands play a different song by the artist.

The list doesn't include much recent music because the bands generally don't know it unless it's part of their identity. Some will know Take Me Out or Exes and Ohs or Mr. Brightside or Locked Out of Heaven, but I wouldn't walk into an open mic and assume that there are musicians present who know them.
Click to expand...

That's absolutely outstanding. Thank you so much! ** I love that "power drill to the skull metaphor." Ask the street dance if they're ready to party and then launch into that medley... Hahahahaha
 
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#36
theinfamous said:
I'm mid-late 30s. There's not a lot of young bands or young fans who go out to a lot of live cover bands around here so there's a bit of a gap in the 90s and 2000s nostalgia market. Like I said, this is just a general list and not necessarily for use in any of my bands, I just want to see the common tunes people come up with.



Well you should, but having a head start is always nice, and sometimes you get that call 2 hours before the gig and if you know the songs already that will definitely lead to more work.
Click to expand...

I recall a story Ron Wood told on his radio show. He said after Keith said he could get on board here's a pile of records to learn. The punchline was he quit after 200 tunes.
 
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#39
DirtDog said:
Foo Fighters, STP not 90s/00s rock? You're kidding me, right? Even Rush put out a half dozen albums in that period.

I'll admit that the list doesn't having anything post 2010. I was in a country band in that decade. Did not keep up with rock.
Click to expand...

....Conveniently left out the majority of your list.

"A rock cover list would include hits by the Stones, Zeppelin, Beatles, AC/DC, Floyd,
Sabbath, The Who,"

And most of the remaining list.

You didn't read OP. It's ok.
 

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