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What exactly does it mean to play "covers"

#122
engedi1 said:
There is a band here in Nashville that does a Allman Brother's tribute. They have two drummers, hammond organ with leslie speakers, vintage instruments, no corners are being cut. They NAIL the tunes and sound pretty much as good as the Allman's, especially with the vocal harmonies, and they get thousands of dollars per gig. I realize a tribute band is different than a cover band, but all cover bands should aspire to that level of professionalism if they want to land the better gigs, I think this is common sense.
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Mind you a tribute band tends to get anal for one band only. A cover band is something else that has to COVER a lot of artists. From ABB to ABBA. If they have nailed the ABB sound and even the solos right, and timbre and "sound" of that group, chances are slim that they could pull off ABBA tunes just as good. They may have made a great novelty act by playing ABBA tunes as if there were done by ABB. Which would be interesting, if not just for the major chore and feat it would take. At least amusing. I don't think any bands exists that are both cover and tribute bands. Like, one band that can switch on the spot for nailing ABB's tunes, and then all of a sudden, with two chicks singing and all, nail ABBAs overloaded production techniques on stage, and nail that one so it's undistinguishable from the original. Or do a ENYA cover, and nail it, and then just pass a RAMMSTEIN cover along, and you couldn't tell the difference between the original and cover. You could very well play them, no doubt, but none of them would be pulled of that convincingly, or maybe at a stretch, one of them would be pulled of slightly more credible than the other.
 
#123
Those Dread are more of a novelty act than a tribute or cover band. They make parody of something. It reminds me of that novelt cover artist from Sweden some 10-15 years ago that did his Elvis impersonation called "Eilert Pilarm". He appeared on Elvis Costellos TV-shows in Britain, and got his 15 minutes of fame. He was like that ultra exotica artist that sang Elvis tunes just phonetically and couldn't speak english. As it turns out, a lot of CAMP went into this. I e that the audience appreciation of this was ironic, and nothing else. As it turned out, he himself didn't get this, as he was a borderline, light downs syndrome, or aspberger/autistic, so the media eventually cooled down on this blemish comedy act. I e not a comedy, parody act, but he thought himself that it was the real McCoy. But as we're talking covers, and Elvis impersonators, tributes, well here he is, testing your patience and stamina.. can you hear it all through WITHOUT frowning or even laughing once? ;):



Mind you: He THINKS it's a note-for-note cover.
 
#124
Mind you there are a lot of cover-cover bands too. That actually PLAYs the cover of some covers of original arists. "Knocking on Heavens Door" by G'n'R comes to mind. Several others are there.
 
#125
I'm never going to sound exactly like the original recording. I have only one bass, and it's fretless. I never use effects and I never use a pick, so I'll never be in a tribute band. On the other hand, I transcribe every new song I'm asked to play. Note for note, but sometimes in a different key if I have that information ahead of time. I learn something every time I do this. I rarely memorize the entire line. Instead, I memorize the signature licks, chords, song structure, and general themes in song. Sometimes I will change something just because I like the way it sounds. Most of the musicians I play with, don't have the time or inclination to copy a cover note for note, so I'm flexible. Cut out the modulation? No problem. Extend the solo? No problem. Change the chords slightly? No problem. Decide on a clean ending instead of the original fade? Great idea. The funny thing is that sometimes the drummer borrows my transcription to remind him of certain sections where we need to be on the same page. The end of Uptown Funk is an example where we need to be on the same page. I still prefer to play covers over originals. I don't control the rest of the band, and even most musicians aren't familiar enough with the original bass line to know the difference between what I play and the original.
 
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#126
Honch said:
Have anyone of you nailed the tone and timbre of cover tune, and played it note for note live, and between sets someone in the audience approached you and accused you of playback? ;)
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Certainly not me, but I have been to a cover band show that does Journey so well that they have been accused... A rarity for sure...
 
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#129
engedi1 said:
There is a band here in Nashville that does a Allman Brother's tribute. They have two drummers, hammond organ with leslie speakers, vintage instruments, no corners are being cut. They NAIL the tunes and sound pretty much as good as the Allman's, especially with the vocal harmonies, and they get thousands of dollars per gig. I realize a tribute band is different than a cover band, but all cover bands should aspire to that level of professionalism if they want to land the better gigs, I think this is common sense.
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It works that way in my neighborhood. The best-paid cover bands just happen to be the most faithful to the original most-popular recordings of the songs they cover.
 

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