Most people who dream of becoming a musician do not start out wanting to be in a cover band. When you are young and full of hope you truly believe that you will become “The Next Big Thing” and that you will record many albums and become a household name.
It’s raw passion for music that drives people to spend long hours learning to play well. Then they start wanting to make money from their talents.. that’s where things start to change.
The reality is that most musicians never make any real money and spend good chunks of their life pursuing a dream that will never materialize. Many of these musicians end up turning to the classic rock cover band as a way to continue to play music and make a few bucks in the meantime.
There is a great tradition in the classic rock cover band annals and there are many great musicians now playing in these types of popular local groups. Bars and nightclubs across the country and across the world rely on the classic rock cover band as their main source of entertainment and a way to draw in revenue from aficionados and people who just love to dance to the oldies.
The classic rock cover band will typically play songs like “Brown Sugar” or “Honky Tonk Women” by the Rolling Stones or “Rock and Roll” and “Dancing Days” by Led Zepellin. The classic rock cover singer needs to have a tremendous range in order to be able to successfully and convincingly sing all of the classic rock songs that were made famous by great artists back in the sixties and seventies.
A typical set list might include such diverse songs as “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen followed by “Some Kind of Wonderful” by Grand Funk Railroad.
The classic rock ballad is very important and many of the best cover bands will feature these sexy slow songs to get people dancing cheek to cheek. Some of the classic rock ballad favorites include “Let’s Get it On” by Marvin Gay and “One” by U2. “Standing on the Dock of the Bay” is another great crooner song from Otis Redding that can be heard at many clubs on a Friday or Saturday night.
Most really good cover bands want to keep the patrons on the dance floor and dancing. Dancing patrons will normally drink a lot more than non-dancing ones and that is good news for the club owner and the band too, especially if the band gets a percentage of the bar receipts at the end of the night.
Typically a bar owner will hedge his bet by offering the band a portion of the bar revenue, usually no more than 20 to 25%. The band needs to have a little faith that the bar owner will not rip them off so there is a little bit of the honor system going on at most places.
Some fantastic musicians can be seen at most clubs at major cities on any weekend night. The really good bands can play one or two gigs per week on a regular basis. On weekends many of the top bands will get higher paying shows as Wedding Bands or playing corporate parties or events such as festivals.
The classic rock experience can be a lot of fun, but it is also a lot of work and should not be undertaken lightly. Make sure that this is what you really want to do because it will suck up a lot of your free time.
Dragging all of you’re sound equipment and instruments from gig to gig is rough on them… especially the drums. The Cymbals get really dirty from the smokey air and damp nigh clubs… but it’s the passion that keeps everyone moving from place to place.
That being said, playing in a cover band can be a very rewarding experience and you will make a lot of good friends and meet some very interesting people on the way. Enjoy the ride!