tribute bands....

[krammer]

reading through the latest edition of the robin gig guide (the robin being a music venue) it is predominently made up of tribute bands, why are there so few new bands coming through? having said that the australian pink floyd are superb as are fred zeppelin but it makes you wonder.

[Rogue Monkey]

Think a lot o bands these days only get booked in small venues if they play stuff everybody knows! A lot of bands play in my local and I can only think of two that do anything original! Pity really cos a lot o bands I`ve seen definatly have potential but ya never know till they do somthing of there own!

[Gypsy]

tribute bands bring in more people, also they get paid more than an original band... hard to believe but true !!!! hence a lot of original bands end up doing covers or tributes just to get thro

[Doro]

I'm sure we saw a band at some ikkle rally somewhere who did their own stuff and were amazing, now Mr Brain, remember it..!

[Gypsy]

was mr brain there???? :D

[Kingo]

Went to the Lincoln music festival, they had three tribute bands and one original, the original band was the swinging blue jeans, but they were not top of the bill, top of the bill were the bootleg beatles, how the hell can a tribute band be better than an original

[Doro]

you are mr brain - silly

[Gypsy]

thats the way it is im affraid, i done a lot of work for an 'original' band, i had a nightmare trying to get them gigs in the UK... if they had been a tribute band i could have got them 3 a week.
its a sad state the new original bands are delt with , also in a lot of pubs/clubs new bands have to 'pay to play'

[Gypsy]

you are mr brain - silly
yeah braindead lol :D

[Huw Beer Monster]

Here's this musician's (cut down and very simplistic) point of view...

When you're up and coming, writing your own stuff, it's *hard* to get work. You're trying to get people to listen to *your* material and no matter how good it is, venues want you to be "entertaining the punters" from song one. You start with a few covers, the atmosphere's good.

And this is where it splits.

1) Your material goes down well, you get invited back and next time put in a few more of your own songs, because by now you've got people who know some of your stuff. Eventually, you're doing all your own songs, you get a good reputation and the world's your aardvark.

2) Your material doesn't go down well (not necessarily because it's bad, but because no-one knows it, therefore they don't dance), so you play a few more covers. If you're lucky you get invited back provided you just play covers.

Wash, rinse, repeat for each venue.

It's a brave venue these days that will put a new band on. And it's also down to the public. You play at a venue where they want to hear stuff they know, you'll be very frustrated about their reaction to new material - yet the same people will go out and see a "known" band performing new material. It breaks your soul.

If you're lucky, you'll find the right venues and the right audiences. Congratulations.

If your local area doesn't have the right venues/audiences, then you're stuffed. What do you do? Move? Change your style?

This is where you have to make a life decision. Do you want to play your own stuff and entertain people, or do you just want to entertain people and play music?

If you choose the first, good on you, stick to it.
If you choose the second, then become the best covers band you can, by whatever method you choose. If (like The Beer Monsters) you like all sorts of stuff, then play all sorts of stuff. If your band all like stuff by $FOO and you can do it well, then become a $FOO tribute band if the market's there.

We play what we do because we enjoy it and it gets us work. Rick Hulse has also had the bottle to put original bands in front of rufty-tufty bikers and some of them have got good responses. Minus One Raver are a good example of this - they went down well at NABD and The Farmyard (IMO).

When it comes down to it, don't blame the bands, blame the venues, blame promoters and sadly, blame blinkered punters.

Keep Music Live!

<rant ends>

[Gypsy]

that about sums it up :D

[Huw Beer Monster]

that about sums it up :D
I kept it short! :D

[Creature]

We had a thrash band at our rally on friday nite (there 1st live gig). We didnt pay them but we handed a bucket around and collected nearly £70.00. They played all there own material which was very good, but when the guitartist done the paranoid riff - he was amazed at the responce he got.

They are now learning some rock numbers and plan to slot in there own material as well.

We do have the chance of having them back next year on the same arrangement, but i'm waiting to here there covers before we make a decision