LIVE MUSIC COVER BANDS
This site is dedicated to all the live music cover bands and original entertainers and artists out there. Please feel free to send me you details and a picture of the band and you can advertise on this site for free. Below is a summary of my own feelings about cover bands and also abit of a history of the Undercoverband.
The culture in Cape Town South africa has in the past been very supportive of cover bands. Original bands have however not been so fortunate in my opinion. Having played in an original band for many years, I know the pain and disappoinment experienced by trying to get people to give your music a chance. Over the last few years or so, we have seen a change in this area. People are now giving original music the time and attention it deserves. We have seen the birth of many bands of international standard, like the Parlatones and many more. We have also in the past been dictated to with regards to our musical taistes by radio and tv stations. The average white South Arican would normally only relate to what they have grown up hearing on the radio. Perhaps Im wrong but the middle age person these days has a certain limited idea of what they want to hear from a cover band. This in a way has set a standard for these cover or function bands. Its very hard to break away from playing the standards and being a succesful cover band. Having given up original music myself due to family life and trying too hard and getting nowhere, the next natural progression for me was to stay with music by doing covers. Some may see this as a cop out but for many of us, playing covers is a way to express our musical feelings without being a song writer and to make abit of money while you're at it.
THREE PIECE COVER BAND
In the early days we played as a three piece live band (Small talk). Guitar, bass and drums. This combo is very simple and effective. The less members in a band the less chance there is of something going wrong. Most bands have polatics arive at some time or another. It is strange and true that most issues that trouble a band are related to the drummer. I dont know why, it is just the way things are. Luckily for our band we had a great drummer with a personality to match. A drummer needs to play without speeding up or slowing down. If your drummer shows any of these tempo change tendencies, find someone else. You will be happier in the long run. It is equaly important for a rock and pop cover band to have a drummer that doesnt do too much. This could result in you trashing your voice trying to sing above the very busy and loud drummer. A lead drummer is what I call it. Bassists can also suffer from the lead syndrome. Very anoying. If you wanna be lead guitarist then join a band as a lead guitarist.
We played mostly standard rock songs like Brown eyed girl, Radar Love, smoke on the water, Aint seen nothing yet and many more. At that stage we all had jobs so it wasnt really about the money. We would do one gig every six months and feel like real heros. We would mange to buy a case of beers and a couple of chops for post gig braai. Later on we found a rythm guitarist who gave the band a different dynamic. He was very straight looking so we always called him brother John or John the priest. Many years have gone by so I not sure of all the details but I do remember we got some gigs at the Brass Bell.
FINDING A PRACTICE ROOM
Luckily for us, Rob the drummer had a recording studio in an industrial building which was an ideal practice place. At other stages of my life we had practice at our house. Quikest way to end a band before its even started. Into the first ten minutes, your very paranoid neighbour will phone the police to complane about the noise. The police would then mysteriously drop all murder investigations to speedily reach your house before the second verse starts. Youve been robbed it can take two days for them to arrive. One bar of smoke on the water and theyr in your house. Turn right down or we will conviscate all your equipment. End of story. So it was a blessing to be able to use the studio. We spent countless hours practising, recording and listening to music. It was a time of no worries.
EQUIPMENT
This aspect of a band is very difficult. Having good equipment is essential for a successful cover band. Over the years I made some bad choices due to financial constraints and partly to ignorance. I bought dud speakers thinking I was getting a good deal. For years we used those speakers and people would say that the voices sounded muffled. It was only years later when I was starting my first one man band, that I bought decent speakers. If you are doing local pub gigs then you should get yourself two 500 watt speakers with mixer and amp to match. If you have a live drummer then you will also need two monitors.