"I don't do covers"

[BKinBWa]

“I don’t do covers”, is a phrase I have heard from time to time when talking to other guitar players, sometimes with a certain amount of pride, or even disdain. I myself play mostly covers, but I do some personal song writing, too. I find learning and playing songs of my favorite artists is a lot of fun, and it helps immensely with technique. It’s also useful for singing and timing practice, not to mention composition and just music in general. So, my question to the forum is (and maybe this should be a poll): if you play covers, why, and if you don’t, why not?
-BK

[rmp]

Depends on what you're doing.

IME, with the intention of playing gigs, you better have a lot more covers than you do originals, in 98% of the places I've ever played at.

you can throw a few in there if they fit the vibe but people want to mostly hear songs they relate to and know in taverns and pubs and the like.

I see the other side, tho, as I'm also in an originals band (founding member) and have been for many years. I love that we play almost exclusively our own songs.

But I see the value in the covers too.

[rllink]

Not everybody can be a singer songwriter.

[mike o]

I’ve run into this person many times over the years. Anyone that says “no covers” feels it’s a personal waste of their time to copy another persons work/song and would rather create than copy. It’s a very poor mindset if you plan on performing .

[Chriscom]

Yes, if you're looking to get booked at most places, ya gotta play covers. Depends what your goal is.

I'm a past songwriter myself and my best tunes are quite catchy if I do say so myself. But even if I had three hours of original material at that level, I wouldn't get booked nearly as much as I do. Most people want to hear a lot of what they know. So the question then becomes, who are you playing for?

I certainly admire the few locals who primarily do originals, in fact I'm a big booster of one such band, they're a breath of fresh air.

There's a running joke with a couple of the local bands (this can't just be limited to here) that list tip amounts for song requests, I think their current rate for Wagon Wheel is $50. But the thing is, even that band plays a lot (maybe only) of covers.

One thing I try to is play covers of songs by hitmakers that just aren't played that often, best of both worlds in a way. By the way, it also helps to play covers well, that always seems to be a plus. And yes you can put your own twist on some of them, that's fun. I've heard a couple of up-tempo hits played slowly and soulfully lately and that was great.

That being said for all the local musician in-joke carping about covers, Country Roads, Sweet Caroline, Wagon Wheel and all that always get a big, positive reaction from most brewpub customers.

[bfm612]

I'm cool with people being adamant about not doing covers, but sometimes people can be a little aggro about it. I think an alternative way do say this is "I like to perform my own material". I've seen performers say "I don't do covers" to an audience who granted can be irritating when they yell "Play 'Brown-Eyed Girl!'" completely unsolicited during your set, but sometimes the performer's response has been a little too adversarial to the audience, which is a strange way to go about winning over an audience when you're not that established. (In response to an audience member yelling out a request, Justin Townes Earle snapped back "I'm not a jukebox!", which temporarily threw off the energy of the show.)

[rmp]

Originally Posted by Chriscom

That being said for all the local musician in-joke carping about covers, Country Roads, Sweet Caroline, Wagon Wheel and all that always get a big, positive reaction from most brewpub customers.

the best reactions are songs just like that in those kind of settings


In these kind rooms, restaurants, taverns, pubs, private gatherings, we're really there to entertain "them", not ourselves the quicker we get that, the more gigs we'll play.

[Joseph Hanna]

If one is genuinely talented enough to construct a night of originals and still beat the six televisions blazing away and the "nose buried in the iPhone" crowd, I say more power to ya. A grand percentage of most folks, however, are not. I will say when I lived in Nashville, there were absolutely times during a singer-songwriter event that had me in goosebumps all night. A good night at the Bluebird, with that marvelous P.A. and a gaggle of Nashville's best writers, is a musical miracle. That, however, is very, very rare air.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by Chriscom

Yes, if you're looking to get booked at most places, ya gotta play covers. Depends what your goal is.

I'm a past songwriter myself and my best tunes are quite catchy if I do say so myself. But even if I had three hours of original material at that level, I wouldn't get booked nearly as much as I do. Most people want to hear a lot of what they know. So the question then becomes, who are you playing for?

I certainly admire the few locals who primarily do originals, in fact I'm a big booster of one such band, they're a breath of fresh air.

There's a running joke with a couple of the local bands (this can't just be limited to here) that list tip amounts for song requests, I think their current rate for Wagon Wheel is $50. But the thing is, even that band plays a lot (maybe only) of covers.

One thing I try to is play covers of songs by hitmakers that just aren't played that often, best of both worlds in a way. By the way, it also helps to play covers well, that always seems to be a plus. And yes you can put your own twist on some of them, that's fun. I've heard a couple of up-tempo hits played slowly and soulfully lately and that was great.

That being said for all the local musician in-joke carping about covers, Country Roads, Sweet Caroline, Wagon Wheel and all that always get a big, positive reaction from most brewpub customers.

Hey,
We’re gonna’ have to try that!
Sweet Caroline is the main culprit. The other two we like.

[Skarsaune]

I play covers, and a lot of them, because I like playing gigs and making people happy.

And playing for people is what drives me. Some people are driven to write songs.

[schmalex]

Personally, I have not done any gigging, as I am not good enough at guitar or piano to perform in front of a live audience yet, but...

I think to absolutely insist on only playing original music would be insane (or an act of vanity). I mean even top billing, multi-platinum artists play amazing covers of other artists at their own shows.

But I think that is different than not wanting to play what some random drunk person is shouting at you.

[Chipotle]

In my neck of the woods, there are quite a few bars that feature a lot of original music. So I play a significant number of my own songs. However, I liberally sprinkle in some covers, because your average bar patron--as opposed to concertgoer; the two are different audiences--likes to hear some familiar tunes every once in a while.

I also choose mostly upbeat songs as well, original or cover, for a similar reason. People out having a good time want to something they can groove to, even if they're not paying full attention. Long slow ballads are kept to a bare minimum.

[Nymuso]

Everybody who gigs does covers at some point, if only in the early days of their careers.

[Robin, Wales]

Most of the covers I play are so obscure (or old) that folks think they are my songs anyway!!!

[Nymuso]

Originally Posted by Robin, Wales

Most of the covers I play are so obscure (or old) that folks think they are my songs anyway!!!

Ha ha! On some gigs I claim authorship of every song I play. Sometimes people even believe me.