Covers
Covers
This topic might have been covered before, but I'm somewhat new to rockpage. How perfect do you do covers ? Do you leave room to improvise ? Do you change them to make them your own ? Do you attempt to make them exact ? Does it matter who your covering ?
Without much time to think about it, I'd say this topic opens the door to everyone's individual ideas and personal tastes, and I think almost anything goes. All the questions posted above are cool. It just depends on the band itself.
I enjoy hearing covers as close as possible to the original, especially those "patented" guitar solos (that blow me away when someone nails them). But it's cool when a band does songs in a different style, whether a different tempo, different song structure, does part of the song in a medley. I don't think it's humanly possible for any one band to "duplicate" many different bands in one night, considering all the various guitarists' styles/sounds, drummers' styles/sounds, singers styles/feel/etc. But if it feels good or sounds good and you get a good reaction, just do it!!
Next!!
I enjoy hearing covers as close as possible to the original, especially those "patented" guitar solos (that blow me away when someone nails them). But it's cool when a band does songs in a different style, whether a different tempo, different song structure, does part of the song in a medley. I don't think it's humanly possible for any one band to "duplicate" many different bands in one night, considering all the various guitarists' styles/sounds, drummers' styles/sounds, singers styles/feel/etc. But if it feels good or sounds good and you get a good reaction, just do it!!
Next!!
I like to just play it rather than trying to be exact, sometimes after playing something for awhile ya listen to the original and think Wow! it sounds so different. I like to take older songs and pump 'em up a bit too thats always cool. We also do alot of stuff with keys and we don't have a key player so I kinda try to melt the parts into the mix, somethings we try don't work but most of 'em do. I agree with Jim on some of the solos though people are expecting to hear "the" solo not an improve
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ToonaRockGuy
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I think this is a topic that can never be visited too often!
My personal thing with my band is that if we are covering a song, we absolutely must NAIL it in it's original style before we think about putting our own spin on it. I try to get the drum part as close to the original as possible. This allows me to kind of "get into the original drummer's head", and really feel where the song should go. Only after I've "got it" will I put my own stamp on it, maybe tossing in a fill here, or an extra cymbal crash there.
Most covers should be played the way the song was written. But then again, I have heard some really killer remakes, both on the local and national level that just smoked.
Locally, I remember Fuse (with Crystal Cameron on vocals) re-doing "500 Miles" by The Proclaimers...they did the verses just as on the record, but double-timed the chorus, and it was awesome. Nothing drastic, but it really changed the whole tone of the original song...But I've also seen Kenny Murdick from Bad Daze nail the crap out of Van Halen's "Eruption" note for note, and I think the room would have rioted if he had changed anything. And let me tell you, Kenny can play the balls off that song!
Nationally, there have been some really sh*tty remakes that I've heard (Marilyn Manson's "Tainted Love" springs to mind, or watching in agony at the Super Bowl as Britney and N'Sync ruined Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" right onstage with Steven Tyler and company...), along with some really good ones, like Nickelback's take on Sir Elton's "Saturday Night", Gary Hoey's "Low Rider", originally done by War, Fear Factory's take on Gary Newman's "Cars", and Coal Chamber with Ozzy doing Peter Gabriel's "Shock The Monkey".
It's all in what you do with the song. For the most part, as long as you honor and respect the spirit of the original, it's cool with me.
My personal thing with my band is that if we are covering a song, we absolutely must NAIL it in it's original style before we think about putting our own spin on it. I try to get the drum part as close to the original as possible. This allows me to kind of "get into the original drummer's head", and really feel where the song should go. Only after I've "got it" will I put my own stamp on it, maybe tossing in a fill here, or an extra cymbal crash there.
Most covers should be played the way the song was written. But then again, I have heard some really killer remakes, both on the local and national level that just smoked.
Locally, I remember Fuse (with Crystal Cameron on vocals) re-doing "500 Miles" by The Proclaimers...they did the verses just as on the record, but double-timed the chorus, and it was awesome. Nothing drastic, but it really changed the whole tone of the original song...But I've also seen Kenny Murdick from Bad Daze nail the crap out of Van Halen's "Eruption" note for note, and I think the room would have rioted if he had changed anything. And let me tell you, Kenny can play the balls off that song!
Nationally, there have been some really sh*tty remakes that I've heard (Marilyn Manson's "Tainted Love" springs to mind, or watching in agony at the Super Bowl as Britney and N'Sync ruined Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" right onstage with Steven Tyler and company...), along with some really good ones, like Nickelback's take on Sir Elton's "Saturday Night", Gary Hoey's "Low Rider", originally done by War, Fear Factory's take on Gary Newman's "Cars", and Coal Chamber with Ozzy doing Peter Gabriel's "Shock The Monkey".
It's all in what you do with the song. For the most part, as long as you honor and respect the spirit of the original, it's cool with me.
Dood...
I personally like to change it up. I mean, with alot of techical stuff - it is hard to, but with songs that can be done differntly - I think that is genius.
My band, Ever Since Yesterday, like to do that alot. I mean, I've never heard a breakdown like we do to Hey Jealousy by the Gin Blossoms before, or the speed we applied to American Girl by Tom Petty. If people wanted to hear the song done exactly to original, they'd hire a DJ.
My band, Ever Since Yesterday, like to do that alot. I mean, I've never heard a breakdown like we do to Hey Jealousy by the Gin Blossoms before, or the speed we applied to American Girl by Tom Petty. If people wanted to hear the song done exactly to original, they'd hire a DJ.
Jae Smith
Root and The Fifths
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Root and The Fifths
www.rootandthefifths.com
www.facebook.com/rootandthefifths
www.twitter.com/rootfifths
www.pabands.com
I've never been one to try to imitate a solo note for note and nuance for nuance, I don't think I've got the chops to begin with and besides musicians, who knows or cares?, just get the spirit of the thing. Does it matter who you're covering? Yes, but more for the instrumentation than anything else, They put a lot of horns and keyboards in blues tunes and we're a 3-piece, do the math. Sometimes you can still capture it sometimes you can't and ya gotta leave it alone, I don't think anything should be 'Sacred".
I doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be right.
Sometimes the difference between the two is small sometimes it's vast but I don't think it's possible to re-create the exact sound so and so got in the studio in the first place, I think the best you're gonna do is ballpark so get the feel of it and have a good time with it.
and that's on the songs I wanna stick to the record on.
Most of the time, I'm looking to re-interpret the song, that's almost all creative process. The last discussion about covers led someone to suggest that we do a Waylon Jennings song, well we've got one, it don't sounds a damn thing like Waylon, but I think it captures the spirit of the song and says what I wanna say with that song.
As to audience reaction to a cover, I think all you need to do is give them enough to hang their hat on, just enough familiarity to be comfortable and they'll get it.
You're not gonna get the exact sound Ozzy got in the studio in London in 1972 or whatever, so get in the ballpark and the audience will take you the rest of the way.
B. B. King gave an interview where he said that early in his career, he was trying to imitate T-Bone Walker but he couldn't quite get it exactly and he HAD to improvise and over the years those improv's became B.B.'s signature style.
I say to you again
I doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be right.
I doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be right.
Sometimes the difference between the two is small sometimes it's vast but I don't think it's possible to re-create the exact sound so and so got in the studio in the first place, I think the best you're gonna do is ballpark so get the feel of it and have a good time with it.
and that's on the songs I wanna stick to the record on.
Most of the time, I'm looking to re-interpret the song, that's almost all creative process. The last discussion about covers led someone to suggest that we do a Waylon Jennings song, well we've got one, it don't sounds a damn thing like Waylon, but I think it captures the spirit of the song and says what I wanna say with that song.
As to audience reaction to a cover, I think all you need to do is give them enough to hang their hat on, just enough familiarity to be comfortable and they'll get it.
You're not gonna get the exact sound Ozzy got in the studio in London in 1972 or whatever, so get in the ballpark and the audience will take you the rest of the way.
B. B. King gave an interview where he said that early in his career, he was trying to imitate T-Bone Walker but he couldn't quite get it exactly and he HAD to improvise and over the years those improv's became B.B.'s signature style.
I say to you again
I doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be right.
Blooz to Youz
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Victor Synn
- Hairy Member
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I know coming from a band that is a tribute band doing all covers, we try and do the songs as true to form as our ability can afford us. In my mind, I don't think the fans that come see us would appreciate us doing our own take of a Bon Jovi or Posion song because they already have a clear cut idea of what the song should sound like. I've seen some bands do covers and smoke them damn near note for note and others that totally botched the song the second the first chord was hit because they wanted to put their artistic expression on it. I don't mind people adding their spin on songs they cover as long as they do it well. I think our area has a lot of people that put their spins on covers well, but I've gone out of the area and heard some wretched covers that made me cringe. I say it's up to the individual band as to what they want to do, but I'm in the school of thought that true recreation is the most impressive.
And Kevin, I graduated with Crystal. She has a ton of vocal talent. I wish she would move back to the area because I'd love to do the Ozzy/Lita Ford duet with her, which she and I talked about way back in my high school days.
And Kevin, I graduated with Crystal. She has a ton of vocal talent. I wish she would move back to the area because I'd love to do the Ozzy/Lita Ford duet with her, which she and I talked about way back in my high school days.
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As a music fan, it depends on the band and material being covered.
For more technically-geared artists, like Dream Theater, Tool, Queensryche or Rush, I prefer to see their material done as close to the original as possible. I think the majority of musicians who strive to cover these types of bands do so both out of admiration for those bands and their work, and to challenge themselves to play and perform better by being able to execute such technical-geared music.
Several years ago, when the band Fist used to play at (pre-City Limits) New Sebastiano's, Greg Christiansen used to tell me that Fist - who did some of the best covers of Tool I've ever witnessed - played Tool songs because learning to do Tool well made them better musicians themselves. For them, it was a challenge and learning process, where they pushed themselves to do Tool to perfection.
But I also like to see bands interpret cover material in their own voice, and am always excited to witness a band offer their own unique twist on a familiar song. Whether it be the Hurricanes' version of the Outlaws' "Green Grass & High Tides" (that 'stop/start' they throw in before the end-of-song homestretch run still causes an adrenaline rush), Fat Vinny's stripped-back-to-the-basic-blues take on AC/DC's "The Jack," Wiskerbisket's unique high-octane versions of Alabama, John Denver, oldies songs and more; seeing bands come up with creative reinventions of classics and favorites will always be fresh to me.
Conversely, I don't like to see bands just hash out lifeless covers to fill the cover song quota for the night, without injecting any spark into the songs they are covering. If you're going to cover a song, believe in the song and put some heart into it!
And the "cookie-cutter" cover band thing gets old with me as well. By that, I mean the cover bands who all do the same 15-20 Blink, Lit, Bizkit, Linkin Park, Green Day covers, etc. I always like the band that digs a little deeper to cover a song the others aren't doing.
For more technically-geared artists, like Dream Theater, Tool, Queensryche or Rush, I prefer to see their material done as close to the original as possible. I think the majority of musicians who strive to cover these types of bands do so both out of admiration for those bands and their work, and to challenge themselves to play and perform better by being able to execute such technical-geared music.
Several years ago, when the band Fist used to play at (pre-City Limits) New Sebastiano's, Greg Christiansen used to tell me that Fist - who did some of the best covers of Tool I've ever witnessed - played Tool songs because learning to do Tool well made them better musicians themselves. For them, it was a challenge and learning process, where they pushed themselves to do Tool to perfection.
But I also like to see bands interpret cover material in their own voice, and am always excited to witness a band offer their own unique twist on a familiar song. Whether it be the Hurricanes' version of the Outlaws' "Green Grass & High Tides" (that 'stop/start' they throw in before the end-of-song homestretch run still causes an adrenaline rush), Fat Vinny's stripped-back-to-the-basic-blues take on AC/DC's "The Jack," Wiskerbisket's unique high-octane versions of Alabama, John Denver, oldies songs and more; seeing bands come up with creative reinventions of classics and favorites will always be fresh to me.
Conversely, I don't like to see bands just hash out lifeless covers to fill the cover song quota for the night, without injecting any spark into the songs they are covering. If you're going to cover a song, believe in the song and put some heart into it!
And the "cookie-cutter" cover band thing gets old with me as well. By that, I mean the cover bands who all do the same 15-20 Blink, Lit, Bizkit, Linkin Park, Green Day covers, etc. I always like the band that digs a little deeper to cover a song the others aren't doing.
FatVin wrote: I doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be right.
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Man, that's all I ever asked of anybody. I had to let a really good player (and a good guy,too) go once, because while he was very good at jazz fusion licks on guitar, it was a country band, and it sounded like ass. He could play pedal steel runs like nobody's business, and hybrid-pick, and chicken-pick... and he just wouldn't. He thought it was a new take on things, but it just made the songs sound like he was dropping his guitar down the cellar steps... like he couldn't play. Sure, you have to take chances to break new ground, but hey, if just because an composer writes a concerto for sousaphone and pennywhistle doesn't make it good.---->JMS
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tornandfrayed
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. just because an composer writes a concerto for sousaphone and pennywhistle doesn't make it good.---->JMS
But it might be good! And we would never know that is someone didn't step out of their comfort zone and give it a shot. Or maybe someone was moved to do that for a specific reason. The best art comes from the strangest places.
I like to see bands take chances. I think that is how the style of music evolves. If everyone trys to do an exact cover of everything then what is the difference between a band and a DJ? I prefer original music but would like to see cover bands take a chance with their choice of material and how it is performed.
In going to see a headline band I would prefer that their known material be played a little differently, mix it up a little. It keeps it fresh, every performance might not be perfect but at least it won't get stale right away.
But it might be good! And we would never know that is someone didn't step out of their comfort zone and give it a shot. Or maybe someone was moved to do that for a specific reason. The best art comes from the strangest places.
I like to see bands take chances. I think that is how the style of music evolves. If everyone trys to do an exact cover of everything then what is the difference between a band and a DJ? I prefer original music but would like to see cover bands take a chance with their choice of material and how it is performed.
In going to see a headline band I would prefer that their known material be played a little differently, mix it up a little. It keeps it fresh, every performance might not be perfect but at least it won't get stale right away.
Torn & Frayed
One World, One Voice, One God!
Music is LIFE!
One World, One Voice, One God!
Music is LIFE!