Polluteme.com - Polluted Ezine - Covers vs Originals

May Issue

POLLUTEME/POLLUTED EZINE/Covers vs Originals

Covers vs Originals
written by: Jacob Robison

     There are essentially two different types of bands that are playing on the local scene. There are those bands - such as Lowboy, Lower Unit and Apathy - that write and play their own material. And there are those bands - such as Hoosier Daddy, The Boo Dogs and The New Wave Nation - that make good money playing other people's songs. Here's the question: which type is better? Hoping to find the answer, I drug out my email list of some of the bands that I know around the area and asked them several questions on the topic. Several of the bands replied (thankfully, or else I would have nothing to write about) within a couple of days. Here's what they had to say.

     The first question that I asked was which is better for a band to be, a cover band or an original band? Charley Grubbs, drummer for Lowboy, wrote: "I guess that's a matter of taste and what you're trying to accomplish. Cover bands usually have an easier time getting paying gigs on a regular basis. The pay starts off better, but usually doesn't go much higher after a payment is set. On the other hand, original bands obviously can make more money if they become established" Josh Claxton, lead guitarist for Unenlightened, added- "I'd have to say an original band is better. I mean, think about it. Whens the last time you thought 'hey I wanna listen to someone try to play another person's songs the exact way that they do?' Music is an art and its' main purpose is creative expression. There's nothing creative about duplication. Have you ever seen someone who wanted a career painting copies of the Mona Lisa? Sounds kinda dumb, doesn't it?"

     Jacob Harper, lead guitarist for Hoosicr Daddy, wrote this in his response: "I've been playing in bands for the past ten years, and have found out how hard it is to get your own music out there I love playing music, and to continue playing it costs money. So you have to look at things from some financial standpoint, as much as that bites. Hoosicr Daddy has been playing for about a year and a half now. We mostly play covers to get our name out and to pay for all of the expensive toys that we have to buy... if I hear one more person say that we are sellouts for playing cover music, I believe I will have to choke him until he realizes that we arc out there playing music every week and busting our ass all for the music."

Is it reproduction art ?

     The second question that I posed to the panel of musicians was 'what advantages and disadvantages docs being a cover band give you?' Richard Smith of Apathy wrote; "the advantages arc everyone knows your songs, and it's easier to get gigs. The disadvantage is... I hope you really love playing in bars in front of drunks your entire life, because that's all you'll ever do" Dale Leaver, drummer for Lower Unit, wrote: "The only advantage is you can make money playing other people's shit in some gay bars and shit." Charley Grubbs wrote- "Cover bands are usually "lower maintenance'. What i mean is, although there is a lot of work that has to be done for each kind of bond, cover bands usually have less because they're not writing original music, gigs come easier, and shopping for a label is not a major concern. Plus, you can have a cover band that just plays weekends and practices once a week to learn new songs, and it can run smoothly. Any original band knows that much more work has to be done in order to get label attention and to establish a following."

     The third question that I asked was what advantages and disadvantages does being an original band give you? Josh Claxton's response: "You have more potential to succeed for one thing... writing songs is good catharsis. Creativity is praised. Anyone who writes good original songs is more likely to acquire a fan base (at least one who really likes the music, and not just for image), and it makes you feel good inside to have people you hardly know sing along to a song that you wrote." Richard Smith added: "The advantages arc when people come to you shows to hear your music, and there arc a lot of them actually singing along to them...there is nothing that compares to that The disadvantage is that there are a lot of bars and clubs that don't like to book a band unless you do a lot of covers." Charley wrote: "Advantages: opportunity to make outrageous amounts of money; more chances to tour nationally/internationally; sense of accomplishment for writing own material, doing something that no one has ever done. Disadvantages: less gigs at first, harder to keep together, more work, harder to establish your sound

     The last question that I asked was how do you select which songs to cover? Dale wrote: "We (Lower Unit) only cover one song, and we picked it because it was cool and we thought that we could do it better." Josh: "I personally select songs that I think I can change to fit my style and still sound good. Playing a cover can be extremely creative if you can play it differently than the original and make it sound as good, maybe better. Most cover bands select songs that they really like and/or the crowd will recognize easily." Richard's response: "We (Apathy) just play a few cover songs. We just play what we like. If we like a song by Black Sabbath, we learn it But we don't like to do too many cover songs . we are an original band."

     My own opinions about cover songs and cover bands are varied. There is nothing wrong with playing covers. Many well-known bands got their start by redoing a song; Limp Bizkit and "Faith" and Marilyn Manson and "Sweet Dreams" are just a couple. Mctallica and Guns and Roses both released full-length CDs with nothing but covers on them (Garage Days Revisited and The Spaghetti Incident, respectively). On the local scene, Sub-Method redid the Phil Collins classic "In the Air Tonight", and they make it sound much better. Lower Unit does an excellent job of taking the Three Six Mafia's song "Hit a Muthafucka" and making it their own. To do that takes talent.

     The one plus that I see to being a cover band is that you get to play a wide variety of styles and songs in the same set. Hoosier Daddy does an excellent job of mixing up the songs and styles; the one time that I've been able to check them out they played everything from The Doors, to The Parliament Funkadelic All-stars to Rage Against The Machine. They even brought a friend on stage to play some electric fiddle with mem. They covered the tastes of the crowd like a pro. Playmg such a wide variety of sounds can't get boring and repetitive. Jacob Harper wrote: "The people we surround ourselves with enjoy having a good time, get into the music, and most of all realize that we have enough talent to do what we want to do, whether it be covers or originals."

     The only bad thing that I can say about cover bands is when they attempt to sell their own CDs during a set in which they've played nothing buy covers. So far I've only seen this once, and I laughed my ass off. Midway through their third . set the guitarist starting complaining that no one was buying their CD. I wonder why? If the band would've been playing the material off of the CD, then maybe someone would buy it if the music was original. If the CD was the same material that they played that nigfat, then that's the reason no one was buying them. If I'm going to spend money on a CD I'm going to buy the one by the artist'who wrote the song; not a band that covers it.

     My allegiance, however, resides with bands that produce original songs and sounds. These bands are kings of the scene, because they play songs that you simply can't hear anywhere but where they are playing. They add flavor to the area, giving it something that you can't get anywhere else. And a break from the mainstream bullshit is always greatly appreciated.

     Both kinds of bands have their place in the music industry. Both have certain advantages and disadvantages that go along with them. And both kinds certainly require a lot of hard work and talent to pull them off effectively- Even though cover bands maybe easier to start off with, original bands have more of an opportunity to achieve greater heights. It all depends on if the musicians involved are willing to put in the necessary work. And there isn't a rule that says cover bands can't make the transition from playing covers to playing originals. Whichever kind of band that you enjoy listening to, you should get behind them and support them in every way that you possibly can. Without them, life would suck.

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