Do You, Or Would You, Play In A Cover Band?

[shredmonster]

Comes down to the difference between being a musician and being in the crowd.
Unfortunate IMO that people are not willing to listen to original stuff. I much prefer originals but I look at it from a musicians perspective.

[skintaster]

A lot of interesting opinions... I wasn't trying to devalue being in a cover band, or trying to sound elitist.

I'm frankly astounded at the number of responses indicating that in some regions bands can't get gigs if they primarily play original material. That's pretty scary to me. I lived in Austin during the majority of the 90's, and Houston now. Of course there were (And are) plenty of clubs that feature cover bands, but there are also plenty that give original material a chance to be heard... Even here in Houston, which isn't famous for it's great music scene.

For me, I guess the main reason I wouldn't be in a cover band is because of a lack of time. I spend most of my free time working with my band, and don't have enough left over for another project... Someday that could change, but I don't see it happening anytime soon.

[MartinBarre]

I don't but I'd love to. Hell, I'd love to find a band of ANY fucking description near me!
Ideally, I'd rather do original material with the odd cover, but I'd be more than happy to do covers as long as they weren't shit.

[mr426]

Right now me and some old buddies have started a cover band again...I think it's fun, but we were pulling in between $500-3000 per gig last time we did it.We also have friends that do that full time and make even more.Guess I would rather play covers than sit behind a desk...

[roodyrocker]

I'm in an 80's cover band. I have no interest in doing originals. The way I look at it is I'm doing it for fun, I'm playing the kickass stuff our generation used to go to concerts to see back in the 80's. The amount I have spent on gear (guitars, amps, effects, PA, lights, etc...) means that the $350-400 if you get even that, which a band splits per night will never pay off the gear. So no, there isn't a whole lot of money in it. I do it cause I like playing live in a band.
Originals won't get you many bookings because the bar owner who listens to your demo CD before you get booked isn't going to call you back when he recognizes nothing on it. Even worse, not only do most bar owners want recognizable songs but they are also looking for "dance" music. This is a problem for my band as we do 80's hard rock covers some of which is danceable but some is just kickass concert music. For example we do stuff like Mr. Crowley or Tom Sawyer which are great songs but no one dances to them. On the other hand as soon as the crowd hears the opening to You Shook Me All Night Long or Rock Of Ages they swarm the dance floor. I'm having fun playing Ozzy, Ratt, Dokken, etc... live. The closest we got to doing an original is Dream Theater's Pull Me Under. We played that live and the looks on people's faces after an over 8 minute song was priceless, you know the same look you'd get if you played originals
Lets face it, most people think whatever originals their band does are great but in reality most original bands suck. How many unknown original bands in your area would you go to see regularly and would you sit through 3-4 hours of it per night? I highly doubt it. Thats not to say there aren't some talented and great sounding unknown bands but 90% stink and 10% are good.

[GodWentPUNK]

When I was younger, lived at home with all the time in the world, I played in an original ska band. We/I had all the time in world to practice 3 times a week. 25 years later with 3 kids and a wife, I'm lucky that I make to the 2 gigs a month I currently do. Covers are nice because I can go home, learn a song (on my own timeframe ie: 2-3am) and then at the next gig, we'll play it live. We do practice but that's about 5 times a year when we're learning more complicated covers. We do some fluff and some good rockers, a good enough variety. I like it.

Here in the Chicagoland area, originals in the city, covers in the burbs.

joe...

[992gnt]

For whatever reasons, I never got into writing my own stuff. Did a little bit a couple years ago, but didn't go anywhere with it. Locally, a cover band makes more money, plays to more people, and generally seems to be having more fun. At 42, I have no interest in trying do anything else than having fun and not losing money playing.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

I played in some bands in my 20's that did originals and covers, a pretty good mix of both. I like to write stuff but I don't really like forcing something out, sometimes I get something in my head and "ta-da" it's a song but if I had to sit down and write a new song once a week there's no fucking way I could do that.

Anyway, do I? No.

Would I? I think I probably would. It would be nice to crank it up and get out in front of people again. But then there's all the flakes and control freaks out there that just ruin it.

[The_Tonemonster]

I have and occassionally still do the cover thing. Financially it's helpful, but it also helps keep your chops up. If you have fun with it and keep a set list that doesn't make you feel like you're compromising your integrity, it's a good thing and who's to say you can't test the waters with originals occassionally in the mix.

[FloydRose4Prez]

I would be in a Sisters of Mercy cover band in a second.

[706AN]

I want to start a King Diamond cover band. just for fun.

[tonemonster]

from what I understand, cover bands are where the $$$ is at. if your doing originals, you play for $0 OR even PAY to play there if your trying to build a fan base and be discovered. if your in it for $$$, play good kick ass covers and do them well. and Remember, PLAY WHAT PEOPLE WANT TO HEAR!!!!!!!!!! If you think Thin lizzy, UFO, Alcatrazz, and stuff like that are great bands, cool, more power to ya, but people want to hear radio rock. As much as you might not like it, Bar rock is stuff like Bon Jovi, Journey, Kiss, Whitesnake, Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Halen, ZZ, STYX, Poison, stuff like that. Most bar patrons like that stuff. and ALL women bar patrons seem to like that stuff, and if you bring in women, men will follow and that means more people in the bar, and more drinks sold, meaning better chance you get another gig there and the bar owner likes your band. Remember, its a business.

[Endrik]

Never played in a cover band. I hate cover bands and I'd hate to be in one. In one band I was in we did covers if the set was very long. I hated every minute of it.
And I've never ever done a gig because of money. There's other ways to earn a buck. And I wouldn't even bother playing in shitholes which gather folks who are only into covers.
Cover bands over here aren't usually very popular anyway, it's mostly played in small clubs where old people gather together or in small towns or rural shitholes where nothing is happening. In bigger cities people want to listen to original music, except for UK, a couple of countries in the north and east, most Europe is like that. Originals is where it's at. I don't see a point in playing music anyway if you can't express your feelings with your own music.

[catzodellamarina]

Know your market

Like some said here, the success appears to be driven by what the customers want. In major college areas, it's been my experience that they are more open to original acts. To be successful in either original or cover, you must have some knowledge of your market.

I played in an original band in my 30's. It was fun to do your own thing and make up your own set of the rules & standards. This made the playing easier but selling the product was an uphill struggle. We never were very successful and this added to stress in the band. After 2 CD's, begging for a sprinkling of gigs, few fans, and lots of investment in time and money, we gave it up.

In my 40's I played in an established cover band. This band already had 2 CD's of originals from their previous 10 years, and made the transition to cover. It was a marketing stratgedy for survival in our area that is driven by cover bands & karoke. Compared to my original band, it was more rewarding in popularity, clubs were calling us for show dates, and the money was easy to make. There was no stress in the band, just a happy group of guys.

[Dolan]

I do and love it. Been there done that with an original band and loved it as well.