Life after cover bands - 6 months in...

[Granny Gremlin]

I don't think anyone was being elitist about cover bands.  The theme was more how it can be artistically despiriting.  Some people are into it, and that's fine.  But any cover band that 'makes money' is not playing music that I wanna play to begin with.  You've got 2 choices: current top 40, or classic rock (apparently now includes grunge FYI).  I was in, what could be construed for a time, to be a Clash cover band.  Almost ruined The Clash for me.  It sucked so much out of me, and like gearhed, did it in an insidious way that I didn't even notice until it was over. And yes, there was some rockstar attitude.

I'd take shitty originals, over poorly executed covers of songs I'm not hot about in the first place any day (as an audience member I mean). I know that I would be in the minority on this, and that's fine.  There are good cover bands, but just like there are shitty original bands (as one-sidedly mentioned a few times above) there are also shitty cover bands; shitty bands are shitty whether or not they play originals.  Also, most original bands I've been in (some exceptions) have done a few covers here and there.  I find that a better balance.  To me, a "cover band" is one that plays no originals whatsoever (or maybe, sneaks 1 in toards the end), sometimes specialising in the repertoire of a single artist or group ("tribute band" being a subset of "cover band")  and sometimes more genre-based.

I did enjoy a (mostly) Johnny Cash cover band the other month down the local pub with my wife.  Bassplayer was perfect (besides the lack of an Embassy/Newport).

[TBird1958]

 I really enjoy playing in a cover band, it's been very good to me over the past 11 years in The Nasty Habits.  We don't even play out that much lately but that can change at any time, when we travel outside of Seattle we get payed well, last two shows in May we pulled in 2K a night between the 5 of us, plus rooms at a nice hotel. The crowd loves us, dances all night and buys lots of booze at the bar, we do it just enough to keep it fun. Not much of what I would call "classic rock in our setlist, it's not all that dancable and the lady folk don't like it, mostly it's '80s stuff that they (the lady folks) instantly recognize and hopefully want to dance to. I can honestly say it's been a great time, the most gratifying part of it being all the really wonderful people I've had the chance to meet. I get email from around the world, our YT stuff gets a lot hits - it's a lot fun, maybe because we haven't done it so much that we beat it into the ground.
At 57, I'm very happy I've done exactly what I wanted with this - Like all of us I have many other things calling for my time, family being the most important amongst them.   
There are plenty of good venues around town and lots of them want originals (you won't get paid a lot!) so there's room for both - Personally, I love a good original band - as long as they're good, just because a song is an original doesn't make make it good       

[nofi]

you guys assume most  original music will be shitty. well. it is. local and big rock star stuff as well. that's just the way it is. must i drag theodore sturgeon from his grave one more time. ted says "ninety five percent of everything is crap." and so it goes...

[patman]

You definitely have to understand when you are in a dance oriented cover band that the music you play for money, and the music you listen to are two mutually exclusive things.

[TBird1958]

You definitely have to understand when you are in a dance oriented cover band that the music you play for money, and the music you listen to are two mutually exclusive things.

Absolutely true,
Once I got over trying to foist my taste in music off on to other, innocent people the cover band went great. What I listen to on my own time isn't what needs to be played at a bar/casino where 25-50 y.o. women want to dance and guys want to try and get laid. "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner"  or worse anything by Led Zep, isn't everyone's cup of tea - "What I like about you" gets me paid 

[patman]

I still play "What I Like About You"...

Must be universal

[slinkp]

The thing I like about my current band is that I think our originals hold up quite well among the classic rock / power pop covers we do.  And people seem to enjoy them.  So we can vary the mix depending on what people seem to be responding to, and we have a great time either way.   I think I'd get bored doing nothing but covers.  This way the covers are like a burst of levity and fun in between sweating the original stuff.

[gearHed289]

Lots of good comments! First and foremost - this is just my perspective, and it's not commentary on what anyone else chooses to do. As far as doing both, for me it's a matter of available time. Full time job, family, and a working cover band pretty much prevented me from being able to do an original thing. Funny, someone mentioned the "rock star attitude". I definitely see that around town here, and it's one of those things that's both amusing and annoying.  My current drummer said it best - "How do you have an ego when you play in a cover band?" Right!

[Highlander]

... must i drag theodore sturgeon from his grave one more time. ted says "ninety five percent of everything is crap." and so it goes...

Wow... now there's a name I haven't heard mentioned in quite a while... there's a few of his titles on my shelves (or rather, in the packing, at the mo...)

[Hörnisse]

June 1st made it 3 years for me.  I was in the same band for 10 years.  Played every Friday and Saturday night (and they still are).  It was fun and the money was great but it was too much work for this old man.  They have a 14 foot trailer, full PA, light show etc.  The great thing about cover bands (or at least the one I was in) is you get to play top notch clubs, high dollar private and corporate events, and make great $$.  I never had any desire to play in an original music band.  When I started at age 17 in 1978 I was making $100 a gig.  Nice money for a kid in high school. 

[Pilgrim]

It interests me to hear how some people dedicate their time to music like that.

I don't really have time to play out more than once a month or so.  I have work and travel, online teaching, cars to keep running, and other interests.  To me a music schedule like that is similar to someone who restores old cars and is in the garage every night for hours.  Just not my style, although i respect their dedication.

[slinkp]

Yeah for me it's all about having fun.  If I get a few bucks once in a blue moon that's nice, but it's not a second (or first) job for me.

I don't think I could play every weekend night and keep my family together!  Not to mention I already get about 5 hours sleep a night, I just don't have the energy.

[Aussie Mark]

that sounds cool, is it exactly the same band?

Yes, the same 4 core members.

[Dave W]

you guys assume most  original music will be shitty. well. it is. local and big rock star stuff as well. that's just the way it is. must i drag theodore sturgeon from his grave one more time. ted says "ninety five percent of everything is crap." and so it goes...

And it always has been, IMHO. Maybe not 95% but still mostly crap. We remember the great songs and artists from earlier eras, and we forget all the crap. Go back to the year of your choice and see which songs managed to make Billboard's Top 100 at some point or other, and you wonder how some of them ever got airplay. Not to mention the ones that never charted or never got airplay at all. You'll find some hidden gems, sure, but you have to dig deep.

[Pilgrim]

True. When I was a radio DJ in the 60's and 70's, I remember the mountain of 45s that came in and never got airplay. Why? They simply weren't very good.