Funny how that song becomes the basis of "mash ups". I dont even know how many songs are in the one we do but it finishes up with I'm Your Captain by Grand Funk before going back to What I Got.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
We simply can't cover current hits
- Thread starter Noshtero
- Start date
-
- Tags
- cover opportunity
Funny how that song becomes the basis of "mash ups". I dont even know how many songs are in the one we do but it finishes up with I'm Your Captain by Grand Funk before going back to What I Got.
Im sure my opinion will add fire to the flame...
IMO, you see more cover bands playing songs from the 60s through the early 90s and shy away from todays music simply because,
Todays music is not that good.
IMO, you see more cover bands playing songs from the 60s through the early 90s and shy away from todays music simply because,
Todays music is not that good.
Last edited:
IMO it's mostly because guitards want to wank out leads and modern music tends to be not guitard lead based. Good luck finding a guitarist that's more interested in being a band member than a soloist 
. I could make some serious $$$ around here if I could find one - in either modern pop or country.
. I could make some serious $$$ around here if I could find one - in either modern pop or country.
IMO it's mostly because gui****s want to wank out leads and modern music tends to be not gui**** lead based. Good luck finding a guitarist that's more interested in being a band member than a soloist
One of my guitar player friends said the hardest music to be a guitar player in is a funk band, because all you have to do is lay back and not be noticed... and most guitar players can't do that.
My old band's "epic mash up" was actually "What I like about you". I think we played that for 35 minutes straight, weaving in and out of different songs. It morphed from that riff (which is probably a good 5-6 songs easy..) into La Grange.. into Dancing With Myself.. into Sedated.. Always fun to do.
jive1
Commercial User
One of the reasons why I took up guitar. In the band that play guitar in, I only take solos on 25 of 49 songs on our regular sets. I find that you can fit in more songs in an evening without a solo on every song.IMO it's mostly because gui****s want to wank out leads and modern music tends to be not gui**** lead based. Good luck finding a guitarist that's more interested in being a band member than a soloist
IMO it's mostly because gui****s want to wank out leads and modern music tends to be not gui**** lead based. Good luck finding a guitarist that's more interested in being a band member than a soloist
There some actual truth to that. There's a lot of guitar players that are middle-aged that just grew up in the guitar hero era and either simply cannot or are not interested in playing anything that isn't focused on guitar which most pop music these days isn't.
Don't have much to add that hasn't been said. I'm in a 4-piece female-fronted dance/party band. Singer plays just some very minimal keys, other than that it's drums, bass, and guitar - no tracks. We do everything from AC/DC to Justin Timberlake to Carrie Underwood etc. Just played a $$$ wedding at a vineyard/winery in MN which was the most money I've ever made at a single gig. Then this Thursday we are playing "Throttle Thursday" at a local Harley dealership. Saturday at a local dance club that caters mostly to an older crowd. I'm mid 50's. I make it a point to listen to the modern pop and country stuff. I can find something to like about pretty much ANY song. I sing a few "bro country" songs, plus "Shut up and Dance" - mainly to give our singer a break. Also the ridiculous "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" which never fails to fill the dance floor and have the whole crowd singing along.
Random thoughts: I really dig the concept of DNCE - almost no keyboard but good danceable grooves. We do "Cake by the Ocean" and thought about "Toothbrush" too. We had to learn the old 'Jump Around" by House of Pain for another wedding recently - and it has been KILLING it at all of our gigs. Singer does the rap - no keyboard. I just play the bass riff for the whole song. Guitarist managed to get that crazy "screech" sound (a sampled sax maybe?) and just plays a silly little major riff that is way in the background, piano maybe? We also used to cover "Turn Down for What" which went over well. We're thinking about having me sing "Handclap" by Fitz and the Tantrums. I considered those guys neo-soul, but they have been doing more pop/dance stuff. Will have to have guitar play the sax lines though. We've done some Maroon 5 but it seems to have a pretty short half-life. "Can't feel my Face" has been kinda flopping for us lately too - we dropped it.
If I could play whatever I wanted - it would probably be neo-soul with some vintage soul thrown in. "Neo" like - Fitz and the Tantrums, Eli "Paperboy" Reed, Nick Waterhouse, Vintage Trouble, older Aloe Blacc. Also dig some of the new rock stuff like Rival Sons, Royal Blood. Just to really f*** with people throw in some alt country like Dale Watson and some weird stuff like Southern Culture on the Skids.
And most of the usual audiences would be going "Huh?" right before they walked out
Random thoughts: I really dig the concept of DNCE - almost no keyboard but good danceable grooves. We do "Cake by the Ocean" and thought about "Toothbrush" too. We had to learn the old 'Jump Around" by House of Pain for another wedding recently - and it has been KILLING it at all of our gigs. Singer does the rap - no keyboard. I just play the bass riff for the whole song. Guitarist managed to get that crazy "screech" sound (a sampled sax maybe?) and just plays a silly little major riff that is way in the background, piano maybe? We also used to cover "Turn Down for What" which went over well. We're thinking about having me sing "Handclap" by Fitz and the Tantrums. I considered those guys neo-soul, but they have been doing more pop/dance stuff. Will have to have guitar play the sax lines though. We've done some Maroon 5 but it seems to have a pretty short half-life. "Can't feel my Face" has been kinda flopping for us lately too - we dropped it.
If I could play whatever I wanted - it would probably be neo-soul with some vintage soul thrown in. "Neo" like - Fitz and the Tantrums, Eli "Paperboy" Reed, Nick Waterhouse, Vintage Trouble, older Aloe Blacc. Also dig some of the new rock stuff like Rival Sons, Royal Blood. Just to really f*** with people throw in some alt country like Dale Watson and some weird stuff like Southern Culture on the Skids.
And most of the usual audiences would be going "Huh?" right before they walked out
Last edited:
Yup. For me that was probably the Spanish remix of "Dat Sexy Body" done with just DB and vocals. People ate it up. Once you do that, you figure you can also do Sean Paul, Buraka Som Sistema, PSY...
Uh...pop "hits" have always existed to make the record companies wealthy.
I believe every Generation should have their own voice, and for some, that "voice" is music. I may not particularly care for most of todays music, but I will not "Bash" it.
Just take a moment to think hard on the fact as to why a majority of cover bands with member both young and old, play those songs from the 60s, 70s and 80s. There's a reason why you hear those songs as opposed to the current music of today...
Just take a moment to think hard on the fact as to why a majority of cover bands with member both young and old, play those songs from the 60s, 70s and 80s. There's a reason why you hear those songs as opposed to the current music of today...
Don't have much to add that hasn't been said. I'm in a 4-piece female-fronted dance/party band. Singer plays just some very minimal keys, other than that it's drums, bass, and guitar - no tracks. We do everything from AC/DC to Justin Timberlake to Carrie Underwood etc. Just played a $$$ wedding at a vineyard/winery in MN which was the most money I've ever made at a single gig. Then this Thursday we are playing "Throttle Thursday" at a local Harley dealership. Saturday at a local dance club that caters mostly to an older crowd. I'm mid 50's. I make it a point to listen to the modern pop and country stuff. I can find something to like about pretty much ANY song. I sing a few "bro country" songs, plus "Shut up and Dance" - mainly to give our singer a break. Also the ridiculous "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" which never fails to fill the dance floor and have the whole crowd singing along.
Random thoughts: I really dig the concept of DNCE - almost no keyboard but good danceable grooves. We do "Cake by the Ocean" and thought about "Toothbrush" too. We had to learn the old 'Jump Around" by House of Pain for another wedding recently - and it has been KILLING it at all of our gigs. Singer does the rap - no keyboard. I just play the bass riff for the whole song. Guitarist managed to get that crazy "screech" sound (a sampled sax maybe?) and just plays a silly little major riff that is way in the background, piano maybe? We also used to cover "Turn Down for What" which went over well. We're thinking about having me sing "Handclap" by Fitz and the Tantrums. I considered those guys neo-soul, but they have been doing more pop/dance stuff. Will have to have guitar play the sax lines though. We've done some Maroon 5 but it seems to have a pretty short half-life. "Can't feel my Face" has been kinda flopping for us lately too - we dropped it.
If I could play whatever I wanted - it would probably be neo-soul with some vintage soul thrown in. "Neo" like - Fitz and the Tantrums, Eli "Paperboy" Reed, Nick Waterhouse, Vintage Trouble, older Aloe Blacc. Also dig some of the new rock stuff like Rival Sons, Royal Blood. Just to really f*** with people throw in some alt country like Dale Watson and some weird stuff like Southern Culture on the Skids.
And most of the usual audiences would be going "Huh?" right before they walked out
I cant agree with rhis more.
Our Rap medley starts with Jump Around
I love Rival Sons and have wanted to do SOCT's Soul City for a long time.
Here are a few tunes from the last few years that I know people like and go over and get people dancing. Now, I just need to get my band members to get into this century.
Capital Cities - Safe And Sound
TobyMac - Feel It
Justin Timberlake - Can't Stop The Feeling
Jordan Feliz - The River
DNCE - Cake By The Ocean
Lifehouse - Halfway Gone
The Fray - Love Don't Die
MAGIC! - Rude
Luke Bryan - Country Girl (Shake It For Me)
Capital Cities - Safe And Sound
TobyMac - Feel It
Justin Timberlake - Can't Stop The Feeling
Jordan Feliz - The River
DNCE - Cake By The Ocean
Lifehouse - Halfway Gone
The Fray - Love Don't Die
MAGIC! - Rude
Luke Bryan - Country Girl (Shake It For Me)
Yeah, we currently do Cake by the Ocean, Can't stop the feeling, Country Girl Shake it. Used to do Rude but for some reason it never went over like we thought it would. Tried Love Don't Die but we just weren't feeling it - great song, we just didn't do it well. You are on the right track with these songs for sure!
Yeah Rude didn't work for us either. Not sure why. I do know that if we put a song in the set list and doesn't connect we move on from it pretty quickly.
That Toby Mac song is getting lots of radio airplay. It sure is catchy and danceable. I like the bass groove too.
don't know where you live, but there are no shortages of cover bands playing poopy modern music in the southeast, which is cool if you enjoy small dive bars and clubs.
