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The Real Reason Why Bands Play the Same Old Tired Covers

#223
10cc said:
It's not disdain. I just don't know why someone who enjoys playing music especially in front of audiences do not want to perform their own songs?
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Some really do enjoy playing covers. Some took their shot(s) at originals and it was not to be. There are lots of reasons to do covers just as their are lots of reasons to do originals.

In my case there's not much of a market for an originals band with an average age of close to 60 years old. Covers allow me to continue to play to live audiences in full rooms. As I enter my golden years I would like to play out as long as I am able. Is that selfish?
 
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#224
pklima said:
Often deliberate laziness bordering on sabotage. "If I don't listen to this song and don't learn it and keep playing it wrong they'll give up trying to make me play it, and we'll have no choice but to play something I like instead" - I suspect that's what's going on a lot of the time.
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Ding ding ding! You hit the nail right on the head! And shame on those BL's that allow this nonsense. In the case of one of my bands, this WAS the BL!
 
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#225
smogg said:
Some really do enjoy playing covers. Some took their shot(s) at originals and it was not to be. There are lots of reasons to do covers just as their are lots of reasons to do originals.

In my case there's not much of a market for an originals band with an average age of close to 60 years old. Covers allow me to continue to play to live audiences in full rooms. As I enter my golden years I would like to play out as long as I am able. Is that selfish?
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Well said.. not selfish at all IMHO. There's NO market for even 40+ originals bands in my area. I don't even like much of the "old" country I play.. I'm a rock guy.. always have been. But playing originals when you are 40+ is a lost cause. The music industry wants 18-yr olds they can pound into the ground [for profit] for 5+ yrs on tours, tv, radio, etc. then discard/replace with another young-un! The only 50 yr olds making the grade are those who've been there forever already. There hasn't been but a handful of bands that have has any staying power over the last 10-15 yrs.

Moreover, I get to play cover music [most Fri + Sat nights] in front of some decent crowds (up to 1,000+ in the regional venues we play), get a regular income to support my G.A.S. expenditures that is TWICE (or more) what I made playing rock, keep my 6-figure job and challenge myself to play the bass lines folks hear on the radio every day.

I'll take that over pluggin away at pay-to-play venues to a few friends.
 
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#226
smogg said:
Some really do enjoy playing covers. Some took their shot(s) at originals and it was not to be. There are lots of reasons to do covers just as their are lots of reasons to do originals.

In my case there's not much of a market for an originals band with an average age of close to 60 years old. Covers allow me to continue to play to live audiences in full rooms. As I enter my golden years I would like to play out as long as I am able. Is that selfish?
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I don't think your being selfish. But it seems people always talk about the money and full rooms. I've seen my share of full rooms and great money playing originals and still do. It didn't happen over night and it also doesn't happen with every band I've been apart of. Making a hundred bucks a night in a bar playing covers for a packed house of people who really don't care about you but only what you play. Then next week another band playing the same songs comes in and the same folks etc.etc.

Then you get the talks about gear and set list orders and load outs and drunk fans and how well this went or didn't. It's just really odd. Oh yeah and the conviction we poured on.

I think it's got something to do with the praise as well. Because if it was so fun just playing songs then why even leave the rehearsal space?

It's just always been a really strange thing. I remember when I was a little kid and saw a band live for one of my first times. They played a song I had heard before and I was like "Wow! It's them! Here now wow!" Then my dad said no it's not them. It's someone else. I was like why? Why would they do this?

The market thing is another topic with its own discussion.
 
#227
10cc said:
It's not disdain. I just don't know why someone who enjoys playing music especially in front of audiences do not want to perform their own songs?
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For a musician I'm not very artsy. Was in an originals band that wanted me to take part in writing the songs for a while, and it was boring. And I once yelled at them for wanting to include me in the writing credits when copyrighting a song.

Why write stuff when multiple awesome songs I'd love to play are released every month?
 
#230
10cc said:
....Then you get the talks about gear and set list orders and load outs and drunk fans and how well this went or didn't. It's just really odd. Oh yeah and the conviction we poured on...
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Because coming here and talking about such things is much more interesting than sitting on my porch watching paint dry ;)


10cc said:
...I think it's got something to do with the praise as well. Because if it was so fun just playing songs then why even leave the rehearsal space?...
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Yes, being appreciated/public praise is a high unto itself. It can become very addicting. The "living in the limelight" thing is very evident when you see pro bands come out of retirement. It's not always just for the money. They often truly miss the live interaction with the fans. I'm no different just on a smaller scale. Let's be honest, you have to be a bit narcissistic to set foot on a live stage to begin with.

I really do enjoy the live venues and I enjoy it even more when the room is full. The money thing is a personal matter of principal. I have been, am, and always will be a proponent of "no pay no play" in public venues. But that is a topic for another thread.

Now go write a smash hit so I can cover it one evenig! :bassist:
 
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#232
10cc said:
It's not disdain. I just don't know why someone who enjoys playing music especially in front of audiences do not want to perform their own songs?
Click to expand...

Lots of reasons. Mainly because I'm 50, I went down the "originals" road in my 20s. It's brutal.

Everyone finds their own path in life. Their path has nothing to do with you. I try to do what I enjoy, and put some money in my pocket for doing it.

It's that simple. :-)
 
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#234
10cc said:
....Then next week another band playing the same songs comes in and the same folks etc.etc.....
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OK back on topic,
This is what THIS thread is about. How to avoid being the same band with a different name each week. I certainly don't want to have the same set list as the band that was here last week or the band that will be here next week. That is why I try to learn new material on a regular basis. Plus, I enjoy learning new things.
 
#236
jive1 said:
I don't consider playing standards to be lazy or bad in and of itself, but when you revert to them due to not learning other material, then it is. For example, you plan out 2-3 new songs for your next gig that you know will go over well at the venue. But, when you get there, you realize the guitarist didn't learn the tunes, so you revert to the tunes everyone knows.

I have full time job in IT, own a business, have a family, am the guardian of my autistic brother, involved in my church, go to the bar on Sundays watch copious amounts of football in the fall, etc. but am still able to spare some time in a 1-2 week period to learn a few tunes. I know musicians who have a fraction of what's on my plate who can't put in the time to learn a tune on their own. If I can get the time to learn a few tunes, then anyone can. It's really not that hard. I don't know 10,000 tunes, but I have performed over 700 different tunes in the last 4 years.

Northern Virginia is a crazy busy place where it's hard to synchronize schedules so its important to learn the material on your own prior to rehearsal or gig. If you're not prepared, you are wasting others time. I really don't have time for rehearsals, so I don't do them often. I listen to material while working or in my car. I chart out a tune, and practice in the wee hours of the night after my other work is done. I can't tell you how many times someone has come in to rehearsal without having heard the song, which is utter laziness in this day and age, IMO.
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I agree with this. It isn't inherent lazy to play standards. A band can make a deliberate decision of what to play based on their market and identity, and that may mean the standards. But there's also such a thing as just being lazy and not bothering (or daring) to try anything different.

pklima said:
Often deliberate laziness bordering on sabotage. "If I don't listen to this song and don't learn it and keep playing it wrong they'll give up trying to make me play it, and we'll have no choice but to play something I like instead" - I suspect that's what's going on a lot of the time.
Click to expand...

This was the singer/rhythm guitarist of my first band. Came in with a repertoire of tunes - mostly John Mellencamp and stuff like that - he already knew. He learned a few new tunes after joining the group. But he hit a plateau at about 25 songs, and then week after week came to rehearsal without having learned any of the other tunes we were going to play. We finally pulled the plug on the whole project.

10cc said:
It's not disdain. I just don't know why someone who enjoys playing music especially in front of audiences do not want to perform their own songs?
Click to expand...

Composing and performing are two completely different skills. Well, there's a little bit of overlap, but they're fundamentally different. If my goal and skills are to perform great music, and I don't have the skills to compose great music, then I'm better off performing great music by someone who has the composition skills. I could never figure out why people find that so difficult to understand.

Another factor in all of this - I think a lot depends on the particular band, and its market. If you play to a younger or artsier crowd, you're likely to find a lot more openness to different or obscure music. Some crowds want that; others want the comfort of the familiar. Also, it's very different for an established band that's built up a following and a close relationship with venues over the years, vs. a new band trying to get gigs and catch on with crowds who don't know who they are. A startup band plays a tune that doesn't go over, the dance floor empties and you don't get called back for another gig there. An established band, that has a rapport with people who love them, can play a more offbeat tune and people will eat it up.
 
#238
The more I read the more I want to find 2-3 people who want to play whatever we want without the worry of pleasing some club owner - for free at a coffee shop or maybe finding a place to do a "concert" some night. Music I want on my terms for anyone who wants to listen.
 
#239
I wish I could find 2 or 3 musicians who weren’t too cool to play the music I like. I love learning the current hits. There may not be a generic Top 40 anymore, but there are definitely hit songs. I would love a band that made the effort to try and guess which songs would hit, then learn them, and keep a rotation of fresh songs.

You still need filler (classics) for a 4 hour gig, but the problem with most of my bands is they bog the set with filler, but never bother with the fresh coat of paint (new hits/forgotten favourites)to hide the bog.
 

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