Our band does both. In fact we are one of the very few who are asked back to casinos with a 50/50 mix of covers and originals. Most don't like bands to do more than 1 or 2 originals. We do our whole album with a mix of covers.

The reason we get away with it?? We're a Reggae band. Most people don't know Reggae outside of Bob Marley. The people that hire us can't even tell when we're playing an original. As long as we can get a crowd involved and they're dancing and having a good time, everyone's happy.

_________________

HaleAmano- House Of Sharks (Now On iTunes)
http://www.reverbnation.com/haleamano
http://www.haleamano.com

Once again, late to the topic

I always play a cover, preferably a somewhat familiar one, to start my set. Most audiences, in my experience will give you more attention if you play a song they know. ymmv of course.
I don't see how cover bands are such a bad thing that someone feels the need to waste their time bashing them on craigslist. I think some people have completely lost touch with what music is altogether. As long as I enjoy what I'm doing, that's all that matters to me. And if people can have a good time right along with me, all the better.

_________________
Check out my new FB music page!

https://www.facebook.com/TheDevilandMe.Music

we do both... just play origionals to add some spice to the gig if everyone is in the mood...

_________________
blues - its a religion...

Cover bands are fun to play in. The songs have stood the test of time, they're good. Originals are hit and miss. For every good original tune, there are five mediocre originals. I don't like playing the mediocre ones, much less listening to them.

See what I really have trouble with are the folks who think that covers invalidate a bands worth. Their a tool and they are there to have fun with, not base your life around. Anybody who refuses to use a tool at any point because of some lofty sense of nobility, I have to question their judgment.
Much better off to see when a tool is needed and use it at the prime time.

I can't see that. There's nothing wrong with a cover band if that's what you want to do, but stating that doing originals is like suicide doesn't work either. I don't think either invalidates a bands worth. Without originals we would have NO music. I can't remember Frank Zappa doing covers. One band I was in did some covers but it was pretty off the wall stuff like, Zappa's "Willie the Pimp" and "Dogbreath", Wishbone Ash's "Phoenix" . We did songs we liked and did pretty well with an 80/10 mix with originals being the 80%. We never got anywhere, but made some decent money and had some fun.

I'd rather watch a decent original band than sit through someone butchering "All Along the Watchtower" or even yet one of the most overplayed covers SRV's "Pride and Joy" I'm sorry, A Strat a HRDlx and Tubescreamer doesn't automatically make you sound or play like SRV.

But, I have seen some incredible cover bands who you know have put some serious time into their craft and they're a joy to watch. Today, I'm too old and I ain't pretty enough to be a Rock and Roll god so I just play in a couple of Blues bands, and yes we do originals, and yes we do pretty well.

_________________
Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

A band I quit in 2005 had 7 albums out, five of them had a cover on, one had two covers on. We also had a plethora of singles out. Dating right back to the time of vinyl. Some of them had covers on the B side. Infact we approached the band Ash's managment company (circa 97). The demo we gave them had a cover of Abba's 'Does your mother know' on it. A month later Ash released a identical cover of 'Does your mother know' as a A side. They got top 40 with it.
Yeah any bunch can hack their way through note for note renditions for a hour a night. Theres a difference between that and taking a song you enjoy listening to and playing it your own way. Put it into your setlist at a prime time.
It's why Clapton outsells the London Philharmonic Orchestra. They both do covers.

My whole point is that their a tool to have fun with. I wonder how many successful bands started when everyone got together and some bright spark said were going to write songs from the outset. Never jammed something simple like Johnny B Goode on their very first get together.
I'll always use a majority of covers in a setlist in a new band, then change that as it becomes established. You may get somewhere the other way, but it's needlessly hard. If I can win one fan by covering a song they love, I'll do it.

People don,t go see bands that they never heard any of the music before.

What about "classic" bands; orchestras, they play only cover "songs"... and it is OK.
Anyway it is only/just music, a fun thing you can do/listen before you are deep underground.

hm, opinions from people who doesn't like cover bands.

most of all starts with covers, cover bands for learning. that's a good way, nothing wrong with it.

have fun in your band

_________________
It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting - paulo coelho

Maybe in your area, but in my area lots of folks including myself go see unknown bands all the time. For one thing it's fun, most times in small places it's free. There's a place in my neighborhood who features unknowns, cover bands and open jams. More people go see the unknowns and the jams. It's usually packed. A closed mind and not being the least bit curious is a sad thing. Some go to open mic nights. That's where I met some of my Blues band musicians. It beats the crap out of sitting in a bedroom noodling for no one.

You're from Pittsburgh Pa? I thought you'd have a better music scene. Come on over to Philly we have a great local band scene.

_________________
Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

Open mic' nights are a absolute den of covers.

Personaly I avoid em, and only go to see bands that deem themselves worthy of being paid.

63surpo its not they don,t go see unknown bands. People don,t stick around when they don,t recognize the music. There is the accecption but generaly you have to work your music in and once people are familiar with them then alls good. And the music scene in Pgh isn,t that great.

Open mic nights where I go is pretty much a venue for musicians to try out new original material. Most of the covers around me come from the hosting band and totally new musicians trying to get their feet wet. I've seen bands that deem themselves worthy of getting paid only to feel like I got ripped off. The Vans Warp Tour was one of them. Only a couple of the bands were really any good.

_________________
Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

Well I can tell you from my experience of them, in a good few different countries. Their a hive of cover acts.
Unrehearsed ones at that. That think, yeah we'll get up there, knock a bit out and thats good enough. Not really my idea of entertainment for the audience, or performance merits on the part of the muso's. The only saving grace of em is watching the way they cope with people that are less capable than others. That can either be a lesson in human kindness or very 'entertaining'.
Unless ofcourse its the blues jam nights where everything revolves around a 12 bar. Usually in E.
Once again, not something I find engaging or want to be a part of. Jamming your way through that stuff is ok in someones front room, not what I'd want to inflict on the public. Ok I'm a bloody hard task master when it comes to bands (though I now have a bassist who's worse than I . Very very happy about that ) But I do expect a level of performance from a band than found at those events. If they can't be bothered, why should I waste my time?
You do occasionaly get a jam band, or more accurately a group of people that have been jamming together so long they form a band. Their few and far between though. Usually dedicated people that have a life standing in their way.
Then ofcourse you get the good folk that just want to roll up, play songs everyone knows with complete strangers. Have a couple of jar's and go home smiling. Nothing wrong with that, if you enjoy. I personally don't, but it doesn't hurt anyone and the people involved have a good night out. Which really going back to the dawn of time, when Ugug first thought 'Ugugug in the next cave bangs them rocks good, I'm going round to bang rocks with him' is the way music should be.

As for artists wanting to try out new material on a unsuspecting crowd, I can think of no worse a idea. How are they going to know if the audience thinks the song sucks or the band sucks, or whether it's just a hard audience (they do happen). When they have nothing to refrence it to. And audience has no prior material to refrence the song to? Theres no basis for evaluation is there? Unless ofcourse it's a society where everything sounds the same. Then you can just judge every band by every other band.