"I just want to play my guitar." A common refrain heard from many young musicians. But unless you are content sitting in your bedroom or basement, the opportunities to get out and play your music before a live audience can be few and far between.
However, there are a great many musicians who are playing live every weekend, and even four, five, and six nights a week. How do they manage this? By doing cover music. But isn't that selling out? Many musicians will tell you that, but it's all how you look at it. A lot of original bands, and musicians working on their own music, have a cover band as their "day job", that not only supports their original aspirations, but enables them to sharpen their performing skills by putting them in front of crowds every night.
Bands such as Van Halen and Aerosmith started their careers playing cover music. Aerosmith was even a mainstay on the prom circuit in the days before they began their recording career. So it's not unusual for a group to make the transition from cover band to recording artist.
There are several ways to try and attempt this. Some musicians will keep their two projects totally separate, with separate names and identities. In this way, they don't get a reputation as a cover band, and they keep their focus on whichever job is at hand. This avoids the false impression some label executives can get if they see you play, and after hearing you do the latest Fall Out Boy hit, they have a hard time taking your own music, especially if it's in a different style, seriously.
Other bands try and work into the set their original songs, which is usually frowned upon by owners of clubs that have cover bands. Some groups simply don't announce the song, leaving the impression that it's just another cover song in the set. That way, they get experience playing the song live, and can even gauge the crowd reaction to the song.
Another advantage to keeping the same name and lineup is the following you can develop. If you're a successful cover band, you can often build up a sizable following. When you do get a big showcase for your originals, you will have a built-in crowd, which is something that always impresses a label.
Most of the clubs on the cover circuit are very demanding, and if you aren't pleasing the crowd, you won't last long in the room. While this annoys most musicians, it's only natural; after all, the club owner is a businessman, utilizing bands simply as a means to get people into his venue, and to keep them drinking once they are there. If you're going to try and work as a musician on the cover circuit, you have to accept this reality and deal with it as best you can. Remember, this is your "day job", and your goal is to make money, so even if you don't like what you are forced to play, you are still playing and getting paid for it. Most musicians I know who have real "day jobs" don't really like what they are doing anyway, so there's not much difference in that respect.
"You have to treat it like a business," says Steve Tarkanish, president of booking agency, S.T.A.R.S. Productions. "You have to take it seriously, because these clubs are paying good money for these bands, and if you want to compete with the other club bands, it's important to know what your market is, and try to please it. Too many bands fail because they play what they want, instead of what the market demands."
The biggest pitfall that bands playing the cover scene face is the temptation to get caught up in the club scene. When you see some of the top club bands, and see how much money they make, it's easy to focus on that aspect of your career. I know a number of promising original bands that get so enamored of the constant shows and the money they make that they lose sight of the fact that their goal is to do their own music. There is nothing wrong with a band that just wants to be a cover band; in fact, it can be very lucrative. But if you are doing it to further your original career, you have to keep a sharp focus on your original goal.
When you are working four and five nights a week, you would think that it's a great schedule, and you can spend your days working on your own material. But the vast majority of the cover bands end up sleeping during the day (there are always parties to go to after shows), or spending so much time on mailing lists, advancing gigs, getting together flyers and posters to promote the shows, and learning the latest radio hits, that there is no time for working on their music.
So while it can definitely beat having a real "day job", and hone your skills as a performer, you have to be sure you can keep your focus on your own music, if that is your goal. Or, you may decide that the living you can make as a working musician in a cover band is appealing to you, and make that your primary goal. While it may be looked down upon by many musicians on the original circuit, it is a way to succeed in the music business doing what you love best, playing your instrument!
Author Resource:-
A&R Unlimited, LLC incorporates elements of A&R consultation, concert promotion, and Internet marketing, along with all other aspects of marketing and promotion
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