h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: The Cover Band - A1011169
Author: Lowmankind - U207066

An homage to the well-known but oft-ignored phenomenon of the Cover Band. Wait, not "homage"... Er, "report". Yeah, that sounds better.

Just something I whirled out rather quickly, actually, but I think it's complete enough to tell the world at large what to expect from a cover band, and how to distinguish the different types.

It's not intended to be very serious -- a blend of informative and some slight humour.
And yes, I am a bitter, cynical, washed-up musician who used to have illusions of glory

keeponrockin
Tom

There was an Irish indie band called the Frank and Walters that used to masquerade as a covers band in order to get gigs in the pubs around Cork - the landlord would ask what they played, and they said "mainly rock covers, and a couple of our own" - and then'd they announce 'covers' like "This next one's off side two of Bruce Springsteen's second album... it's called 'Walter's Trip'"... and the landlords would be like "Hey, lads, these are a bit obscure covers, aren't they?"

The Jam, arguably the finest band to come out of Britain in the late 1970s, started out as a genuine covers band - playing Motown, Soul and Beatles covers in the Working Men's Clubs around Woking.

Heh, yeah, I know one original band who found themselves doing cover shows in order to make some cash. They'd use it as an excuse to play their original songs in between the covers, but they weren't as daring as the Frank and Walters.

I understand a lot of famous bands started as cover bands. I heard a story that Van Halen did, but were always kicked out of the places they played because, no matter how hard he tried, Eddie Van Halen couldn't play to sound like the original recordings of the songs they covered. He always sounded like Eddie Van Halen. In retrospect, I'll bet those publicans are eating their shirts.

keeponrockin
Tom

While not technically a 'cover band', many bands will cover others' songs. I think this creates a seperate category of 'cover'. . .The Homage. That's been happening for years. It was more common years ago when pop bands rarely wrote their own songs. Aretha Franklin's 'Respect' is an Otis Redding cover. . .

Anyway, as the topic is very common, I thought a mention might be appropriate.

Also, you are focusing on professional bands. Me and a group of college friends are a 'cvoer band' I suppose. Our only audience are our wives/girlfriends (who are usually in another room ignoring us). But we gather each week to have fun, drink beer and hack away at our favorite tunes.

Friar

ps. Love the article, feel free to ignore my advice knowing that the article is doing well without it.

You're right, Friar. As a matter of fact (and probably worth a mention in the article), Stephen King plays in a covers band, but he says it's a bunch of writers getting together to have a bash at their favourite songs. I know they perform, but they definitely do it for the love of the music. After all, as if Stephen King needs to play guitar for a living

And it's true -- the focus pretty much is on the professional bands. I know I made a small mention at the end about playing at a friend's party. However, perhaps I should put in another heading: "The fun approach", all about playing your favourite songs for no better reason than because it's good fun.

keeponrockin
Tom

Nice addition.

I really think that THIS ending was very good. It's the first time in a long while that I chuckled out loud from reading something in PR!

Nice work, I hope this gets picked up soon!

Friar

Are you going to touch on the issue of tribute bands? I don't know how common they are around the world, but they're related to covers bands and they're like a cancer afflicting the British music scene. Many live music venues that used to promote live gigs with bands playing their own original material have now switched to booking tribute bands, because they can be relied on to get the punters in.

You know the sort of thing - some make efforts to look and dress like the band they're a tribute to, some just play their music.
The better, and better-known ones are The Bootleg Beatles, The Counterfeit Stones, T-Rextasy, Bjorn Again, No Way Sis...

It's quite apposite that the Jam started out as a covers band and went on to become a 'proper' band. If they were starting out today, they'd have struggled to get gigs and most likely would have given up and become a tribute band... The Woking Who, perhaps.

Cover bands can be useful for occasions such as weddings, office parties etc. where there is likely to be a wide range of people in the audience (particularly weddings - the bride & groom and their friends, parents, grandparents, children...) A band that plays cheerful, cheesy tunes that everyone knows will generally get a better response than a band who play one particular type of music, particularly if that type is 'death metal', 'ambient trance' or some other acquired taste that only the groom and his best man will stay in the room for

Oh, don't get me wrong! I think covers band are great - it's tribute bands that I worry about.

One of the best gigs I ever went to involved a covers band. It was a Damaged Goods records showcase night at the Camden Monarch, and in the middle of the running order were a band comprised of people who worked for the record label and had formed especially for the night. They called themselves 'Le Technical Adviseurs', and played Buzzcocks and Undertones covers really badly - the rhythm section were OK, but the rest of the band were all over the place... in the middle of the guitar solo of the first song, which was 'Teenage Kicks', the singer went back to the mic and shouted "I think we should stop now!". But they didn't and they were fantastic - they were clearly having *so* much fun, and played with so much enthusiasm, and of course the original songs were so good anyway, that everyone present had a brilliant time.

My last post wasn't intended as a direct reply to your previous comments, just a general observation

I once saw a Jam tribute band in Cambridge - they were pretty good but the sound quality was dreadful. The engineer (who belonged to the venue rather than the band) didn't seem to have much of a clue... If people are thinking of forming a covers band, they might want to consider finding someone who is willing to tag along as a sound engineer who can make sure that the sound levels are right etc. I certainly wish I had one - it can be very difficult to play guitar and balance sound levels simultaneously!

Number Six: I did actually touch on the 'Tribute Band' as you call them (calling Tenacious D ), only I called them 'The Cover Show'. Same ship, different ocean.

In retrospect, I think I could have been a bit clearer when explaining this. However, I think changing the sub-header to 'The Cover/Tribute Show' could rectify this.

keeponrockin
Tom

p.s. For those interested, I am doing a gig tonight at a function which will be all covers. Putting this thing together in a space of just over a week was my 'inspiration'.

Can I raise a small question of plurals? I think this may be down to minor cultural differences between countries, or of course I may be just plain wrong, but I have the feeling I've always read about them in the British music press as CoverS bands, rather than cover bands.

It's just a small point, but as the good ol' Writing-Guidelines specify British English, I thought it probably worth raising...

Anyone got a view?

Cheers,
Number Six

I've heard it as both versions -- "Cover Band" and "Covers Band". Maybe it is a cultural thing, an Aussie colloquialism or some such. However, I am of the opinion that the plural version is more correct, at least in terms of the correct usage of the English Language.

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