To have a successful weekend cover band? Successful meaning, people (general public) have a lot of choices what they can do any given night. Why do they come and see you over another band, movie or just getting their butts off the couch. Why are you the preferred band at any venue? What are you doing that works?
• First of all you need a mix of songs that is not only good, but are not songs everyone else plays. If there are 3 or 4 bands in town playing basically the same repertoire, you don't want to be one of them. You need to offer great songs that not everyone is doing. And then, you need to do a really good job playing them.
• While we're at it, you include a bunch of slow songs in a dance gig. You probably don't need more than 2 slow songs in a 4-hour gig. Sit down gigs with no dance floor allow you to mix more balads, slow blues, etc. in. Normally you'll want to play lots of songs they can get up and dance to. If you have a keyboardist and a female vocalist to add in the mix, you can play a wider variety of songs than you can with just male vocalists and guitars. Back in the early 70's when I was touring with a very successful nightclub group, we had 4 lead vocalists, three male and one female. We played all kinds of music - Rock, Pop, Psychedelic, CCW songs, country-western, a few ballads, and a few soul tunes (anyone remember "Shaft"?).
You could pretty well dance to everything and as long as you're doing all your songs well, folks will sit through a song or two that may not be their jam to hear the songs that they really like and you do really well. That made for lots of return engagements at higher prices because we brought in great crowds all week long for 2-weeks at a time wherever we played.
• You MUST engage the audience with some banter, bad jokes, etc. throughout the night. Give them a reason to remember you on top of your music. You need a front man...or two. Encourage folks at the club to "fill-up" anytime a guitarist has to change out guitars or re-tune his guitar - club owners love that. If there's some specialty bar food that the club offers be sure to remind folks about it too. Anything that helps bring money to the club helps bring money to you.
• If you really want to build followers, go out and sit with your audience during your breaks. Introduce yourself and pull up a chair. It's flattering to most people to have someone in the band come up and do that to them. Also results in quite a few free drinks. Plus, they tend to bring their friends back with them at the next gig because they "know one of the members of the band". If you're playing sequential dates, do your best to remember names because they will often show up with their friends on the 2nd night. You get to know some nice folks that way too.
One of the bands I've played with over the years hosted Open-Mic nights at a small brewpub about 40 to 45 Friday nights a year. It was an early gig, we played about an hour and a half; it was a great place to break in new songs; we got free food, free beer, a little cash in our pockets; and we got to know a lot of the regulars. Quite a few of those regulars would follow us around to other 3 or 4-hour gigs within about a 65-mile radius. So we always brought customers with us to our gigs, which again owners like a LOT!
• Dress like the band. That doesn't mean you all have to dress the same like we did in the 70's, but whatever you're wearing, folks should know by looking at you that you are a member of the band and not just a bunch of folks off the street who are jamming tonight. That's more a discussion within the group to set themes than anything else.
One of the groups I play with participates in a "Berrystock Festival" That takes place at a Berry Farm outside of Monroe, WA most years. We were asked to dress "1969 - like Woodstock" for that Festival. I do a fair impression of "Jerry Garcia playing Bass" at that gig. It's the only one I take my hair out of my pony tail. There are usually 5 bands at that event and it is great fun to do. Even at our "normal" gigs, I almost always wear my green Scottish Tam. I also effect the world's worst Scottish Accent ala "Fat Bastard" (Austin Powers - the Spy who Shagged Me movie) and everyone relates my Scottish Tam to that. Even if I'm not wearing that hat (left it at home a couple of times) it's still easy to see that I'm in the band by what I wear.
This was our coordinated clothing in 1972
Our Brewpub Open-Mic stage (notice we don't all fit). I wear that green Scottish Tam all the time
Our 1969 look for Berry Stock:
The one night I left my Tam at home and had to use my skull and crossbones head scarf for that rock 'n roll look.
Music Festival - Note that my hat is back on my head and my skull and crossbones scarf is around my neck
We were all schooled in jazz so we were able to accurately play those covers and then some if needed, playing medleys and such.
