Tribute bands and Cover bands - I don't get it

[Oldgitplayer]

OK - so I started listening to rock & roll in the late 50's and started playing guitar in bands in 1964.
There were no such descriptions as 'tribute bands' or 'cover bands'. Bands were just bands playing other people's music and people danced and boy met girl.
You other oldies will remember it well. We didn't realise how good it all was - It was normal to us.

Bands like the Beatles, Stones, Kinks, Animals, etc. had done the same while slowly developing their own style and writing their own stuff.
It was a great time for live and recorded music. But nearly 50 years on, why would anyone want to listen to a 'Tribute band' attempting to play note-perfect copies of what happened back then? I don't get it.
And what are now called 'Cover bands' who only play different artist covers and nothing else. In Australia, they get more gigs than the bands doing original music. I don't get it.
Maybe it all boils down to that erudite American who many years ago said:

"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the public". Tragically prophetic.

[sax4blues]

I've always thought the same thing about the symphony, opera, and musicals. Why do people keep going back to hear the same songs played for hundreds of years.

[TxTeleMan]

People still want to hear those old songs.

Once upon a time, in the mid 1970s, I played a Tele for a Hank Williams tribute singer. He had written a big hit for Conway Twitty, and had this gig doing Hank Williams songs. Hank was a musical pioneer, and died young, and some people wanted to hear it. This guy even had his Hank Williams costume. Not me.

I also play in a band that does Bob Dylan and The Band tunes. We're definitely not a tribute band, so I guess we're a cover band. We don't play note-for-note copies... while The Band did, Dylan never did. We did blues/rock jam band flavored renditions of Dylan/Band songs. We did it because we enjoy playing those tunes, and you don't hear them anymore.

We played for the Austin Marathon or something like that. Some guy in his mid-50's came up to me and said he had to come listen when he heard the strains of "Absolutely Sweet Marie" drifting into his front yard. Nobody else plays that song. We played it because I like the song.

But we're not a Tribute Band, and we don't make money. We play for fun.

The real tribute and cover bands? People want to hear those songs - they want to hear Beatles or Stones or Elvis or whomever, and that's the only way the can hear them. Maybe they don't want to hear an unknown song from an unknown singer; they want to hear their favorite tunes from their high school days.

[Frankencastser]

I personally can't stand a band who does covers note for note. I don't think there is anything wrong with doing covers. Just put your own flavor to! Don't copy the solo! Use your own! By all means play covers every band should. But add originals in there as well!

[WaylonFan76]

I'm with the OP. I am soooo tired of walking into a bar and hearing the umpteenth version of Brown Eyed Girl or Sweet Child O' Mine... What I want to know is "What do YOU bring to the table ?"

[LiveOak]

As we get older, the past good times are a balm on the harsh, raw reality of today and it's problems. So, we cling to those times and the songs we partied to and made love to and whatever and we pay money to see bands that play that kind of music. Not saying it's right or wrong, just reality and a way to make a buck for a band trying to pay the bills. Just sayin.

[charlie chitlin]

Tribute/cover bands and McDonald's are very popular for the same reason.
Like it or not...it's just so.

[Oldgitplayer]

Originally Posted by TxTeleMan

People still want to hear those old songs.

We don't play note-for-note copies... while The Band did, Dylan never did. We did blues/rock jam band flavored renditions of Dylan/Band songs. We did it because we enjoy playing those tunes, and you don't hear them anymore.

We played for the Austin Marathon or something like that. Some guy in his mid-50's came up to me and said he had to come listen when he heard the strains of "Absolutely Sweet Marie" drifting into his front yard. Nobody else plays that song. We played it because I like the song.

I guess this is what those 60's bands did. The Stones covers were sometimes more and sometimes less than the original, but they 'brought something to the table' as one poster said.

For me music is like conversation - I don't want to just repeat what the next man says. I may re-interpret what he said, or say something different.

My favourite playing times is when I'm messing with musicians and I say lets do something in D/Am. I get the rhythm going - everybody falls in in their own way - the lead guitarist riffs around a while - I start making up some lyrics that suits the groove as we go along. When I feel the need for a change I call out maybe G/F and we slide into the change - everybody seems to know when to come out of the change - I give the look to the lead guitarist and he solos for all he's worth - we can see and hear when he's done, so we sort of wrap it all up. It was 5 minutes of musical exploration and adventure.

BTW - I'm not interested in gigging, because it's much more fun playing with good musicians for the fun of it, and songwriting when there's nobody to play with.

[twangplank]

Most of the times I've done originals or seen others do em for that matter the crowd seems to tune out. People don't wanna hear " some nobody " do original tunes. They wanna hear freebird lol. People tend to prefer the familiar I guess

I've never worried about note for note recreation because when they say Merle didn't play it that way I tell em I'm not Merle. I guess that means I'm a cover player lol.

[jimdandy]

I play in a cover band -- and the reason I and my bandmates play in a cover band is because we have day jobs and are fathers and husbands. We don't have TIME to write original material. If we were in our 20s and had few responsibilities, it might be different.

What amazes me is the fact that people get irked about cover bands. I enjoy it all -- originals, covers, whatever.

[TMoxness]

Originally Posted by charlie chitlin

Tribute/cover bands and McDonald's are very popular for the same reason.
Like it or not...it's just so.

Yep. You know what you're going to get for your $5.

[vonasemj]

Most of the time I prefer a cover band to a band that plays originals because most of the time the originals suck. I don't get into any new music. Classic Rock is my first choice, so if current bands started playing songs that sounded like classic rock, then I might be with the OP.

[Oldgitplayer]

Originally Posted by jimdandy

I play in a cover band -- and the reason I and my bandmates play in a cover band is because we have day jobs and are fathers and husbands. We don't have TIME to write original material. If we were in our 20s and had few responsibilities, it might be different.

What amazes me is the fact that people get irked about cover bands. I enjoy it all -- originals, covers, whatever.

Please don't let me be misunderstood. I am happy that cover bands exist. My OP was not a put-down.
What I don't get is the fact that the market prefers something old and what they know, rather than open themselves up to something new.
I had to open myself up to Frank Zappa when I first heard him. He was outside of my 'familiar zone'.
There were many others pushing boundaries that I had to open myself up to - but I'm glad I did.
I guess I'm an authenticity junkie.

[mtown]

I don't even go see cover bands. If I want to hear that particular band I'll buy their cd. If people want to play in them more power to them, it's just not my thing. That's why I like jazz. It gives the musician room to express themselves without being tied to playing someone else songs note for note. My brother plays in a cover band (classic rock) and I played bass with them for a couple of years. It was fun hanging out with the guys but that was about it for me. Then again he's playing out and I'm not, so there you go. If you're in it for fun, why not, but I don't see any true artistic value in playing someone else solos note for note. Just my take.

[teleman55]

I play a lot for an R&B singer. He's great, gets good gigs. It's good. He does some original stuff, and a lot of other songs, but does them his way. That's how it goes in that genre I guess. Kinda like how it works in blues.
I got a permanent offer from a tribute band in a different genre recently. Nice people, lotsa gigs, a bass player I work with has worked with them in the past, etc.
I thought about it but just couldn't do it. I can see playing Mozart note for note, but not popular music. it kinda loses it's soul when you do that.
That said, I've seen, heard and shared a bill with some tribute bands that were very good and quite entertaining. Just not my cup of tea. But for enough money...

[Paul in Colorado]

"they get more gigs than the bands doing original music"

I think you answered you're own question here. Me, I'd rather hear a band play weird arrangements of obscure covers or their own songs. Put your own fingerprint on it.

[Mad Kiwi]

The problem here is most of you are thinking like musicians OR musical enthusiasts.

As has been said above, the general public are not musical enthusiasts or musicians. From my own experience if I want to go out dancing or having a good time WITH music being the focus or a part of the evening, I don't want to have to stop any conversation to really "listen" to the music or not dance to it because i have never heard it before and want to "get it".

Especially when most original stuff is not GOOD music (also said above). People want to go out and dance and sing and converse with effectively a live radio playing....

I can't see anything wrong with that.

As a musician or musical enthusiast, a concert by an established or ascending band / artist is different, most of us sit/stand there and listen and focus on the music, the playing etc.

Whilst that is enjoyable and fun in context, it is not exactly a party atmosphere.....Look athe front 20 rows of Metallica concert footage....not my idea of a fun crowd

The other thing about live music is (I think) that you feel the music as well as hear it and to do so with music you know or have heard before at a pub, club or venue, adds an extra dimension to the music that. In addition, in comaprison to NEW untested music, that time and public opinion has effectively filtered down to be the good or great songs.

The crap originals, album fillers or songs that didn't take a hold over the past 50+ years don't come up....

I personally hate to go see bands I have never heard the songs and music before, it (usually) is not an enjoyable experience for me (It has happened but rarely and only by people who have later gone on to be mega stars - or were already and i didn't know it...) and I presume most other people are the same judging by the cover bands to new music bands ratio of performing artists.

Maybe this means I am not a musician or musical enthusiast by my own definition....

Sorry a bit rambling but some of the above might help explain it.....?

[mcriff]

I recently parted ways with some very talented band mates who were obsessed with covering the tunes note-for-note, gotta be the original key, all that. I was not anal enough for them along those lines, and they were too anal for me . . . I felt like I was choking. I'm definitely from the "do a cover but show me YOUR take" school, while they seemed convinced that they have to play things note-for-note to prove their chops . . . to prove they CAN. Who cares, except for one or two local hacks at the bar, who are only there to convince themselves their band is "better" than the one on stage?

In my time I have heard more than a few local acts achieve this "cover perfection" reasonably well, but I swear most of the audience seemed as bored as me. My experience is that the "looser", more creative bands -- provided they are talented! -- clearly inspire more enthusiasm and fan loyalty than the tight-asses.

[OuttaspaceMan]

Just want to share my experience as my band just recently participated in a tribute album. =]

A few months ago, we were given the opportunity to do 1 song for a tribute album for "The Dawn" - a popular 80's band in our country. The tribute album was in celebration for 25 years of the band and the concept was to have new/indie bands do their own rendition of their songs. The song we chose to cover was from their 1st album which had a punk feel. Since the original guitarist died tragically; it was also crucial on my part (since I did all the guitars for the track) in translating the song and especially his solo since he was very talented, much loved and respected guitarist. We changed a few things since we wanted to translate the song into our own but at the same we had to be careful not bastardize the song as well. All in all it was a fun learning experience!


Here is the original song:





Here is our take on it:

[RollingBender]

Mad Kiwi really nailed quite a few points there...

(as I place my tongue in my cheek)... I'm going to continue to place my full trust in talent scouts, record producers, promoters and radio stations. By the time a song makes it to the regular rotation of being played every 90 minutes on the radio, the crap has been thoroughly weeded out and all you are left with is the best of the best songs. Sure, some turds squeak through once in awhile but many more poor songs are put out of their misery by not making it through the full gauntlet.

I guess I put my spin on every song I play because I can't make it through a full song without mixing the lyrics up somewhere... I even goofed up the lyrics on "Tequilla" once.

The tunes I perform are almost always songs which have been recorded and brought to the top of the charts by multiple artists. Remakes of remakes of remakes, if you will. The magic of this approach is that I can just play and sing the song with my own voice and my own sound and most folks can still connect with the song. 10 years ago, when I was playing every weekend, I didn't realize I was doing this because most of the songs had some current rendition on the charts within the past few years. Now I'm actually arranging a multi-media show which will take the music I've been doing for years and use it as a tool to educate and entertain folks about the history of country music in the USA. The show I'm working on spans from 1925 (earliest recording of one of the multi-remakes) to 1980 when "Urban Cowboy" did to country music what "Saturday Night Fever" did to disco. I'm finding that it is a lot of fun telling the stories of how country music rose to popularity, what influenced the genre and how country music influenced and spawned other genres of music. It's pretty interesting to see the relationships between George Jones and Buddy Holly or how black vaudeville music sounds when you add yodelling.