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Thread: Just got a gig offer

  1. #1

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    Default Just got a gig offer

    So I just got a call from a bass player I met a while back. He plays in the most popular cover band in my area. These guys pack the house where ever they play. He and the Keyboard player have found this new lead singer they want to work with and they need a Drummer and Guitar player. From what he tells me this singer sounds a lot like Bono so they want to do a U2 Tribute band. As sick as I am of playing covers , U2 is one band I've never covered so I'm considering it. I'm going to take the next few days and run through a bunch of U2's songs and see how it feels. He says he's already got a local club interested , they hire tribute bands to open for national acts when they come to Portland.

    Sounds like it could be cool but I also turn 60 this January and I do have some joint pain issues , but U2's stuff isn't that demanding. We'll see how it goes the next few days.
    Last edited by NPYYZ; 10-01-2019 at 05:33 PM.

  2. #2

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    Very cool, congrats! Sounds like an exciting opportunity (if you want it). Let us know what you decide to do.
    Gretsch USA Custom 22x18, 12x9, 13x10, 14x14, 16x16, 14x5.5 Rosewood Zildjian 14" New Beats, Zildjian 20" A Medium Ride, Sabian 18" Paragon Crash, Zildjian 16" Medium Thin Crash Tama Iron Cobra Single Pedal

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  3. #3

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    Good luck dude, hopefully it turns out to be a perfect fit.

  4. #4

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    Good news. From what I remember of the videos of you playing, you should be able to play that stuff in your sleep. Good Luck.

  5. #5

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    Sounds like a great opportunity. If it feels right after running through the songs, jump on it. I'm right behind you age wise, and I'm not ready to throw in the sticks, yet.

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  6. #6

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    Default Re: Just got a gig offer

    Personal Opinion

    If the tribute band is done like other TB's I've heard, in 6 months you will be wondering what the hell possessed you to do it. There is no leeway, everything has to be played. exactly as (in this case, U2) played it.

    I turned down a Doors TB many years ago. I liked the Doors, but not to the point that I wanted to play the same stuff over and over again each night.

    If you choose to do it, I wish you luck, but I would think long and hard about it.
    YOU MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU KNOW.

    YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU DON'T KNOW.

    VAE VICTIS

    ONCE YOU HIT A CERTAIN AGE, YOU BECOME PERMANENTLY UNIMPRESSED BY A LOT OF CRAP.

    I HIT THAT AGE 20 YEARS AGO.

    IF DOGS CAN'T GO TO HEAVEN, I WANT TO GO WHERE THEY GO

    WILL ROGERS

  7. #7

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    Default Re: Just got a gig offer

    In the Long Island, NY and surrounding areas, tribute bands are considered upper tier bands, and the good ones generally get the better gigs in the better rooms. Some venues book tribute bands almost exclusively. If you're not a tribute to something, you don't distinguish yourself from every other nondescript band and there's no reason for someone to come see your band unless you're their friend or family member. Of course there are at least a handful of tribute bands for every artist you'd ever heard of, but still that's where the better gigs and $$ are.

    Acoustic Kits:
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    Gretsch Catalina Ash 4 pc

    Slingerland 7 pc

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    Roland TD-27, Roland PD-85 (x4), PD-125, KD9, CY-8 (x2) VH-10, Lemon 15 and 18 cymbals
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    Snares:
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    Tama SLP G Maple
    Rukus Santos/Bubinga/Poplar/Wenge
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    1972 Ludwig Supraphonic


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  8. #8

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    Default Re: Just got a gig offer

    I honestly could NEVER be in a tribute band... to play one band songs over and over and not be that band would drive me nuts.
    I'm only in a cover band but I love the extreme variety we do.

  9. #9

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    Default Re: Just got a gig offer

    I think I could do tribute stuff but I would only want to do it in sets.
    Back in the mid-70s, I was in a classic rock cover band (classic now; current at that time).
    We had a vocalist that could do a really good Robert Plant voice and we noticed much of the crowd appreciated the 2 Zepp songs we covered.

    Over the next few months, we worked up a full set (45 or 50 minutes) of LZ tunes (opening with Immigrant Song)...........and it was a hit.
    Maybe I could be in a tribute band that played tribute sets; especially true if one of those sets was a compilation of YES music.
    Gretsch USA & Zildjian
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  10. #10

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    Good luck on the tribute band. In my opinion, the challenge would be the vocals and guitar. The drumming, you can pull it off.

  11. #11

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    "If you're not a tribute to something, you don't distinguish yourself from every other nondescript band and there's no reason for someone to come see your band unless you're their friend or family member."

    It might be that way in your area, but where I came from we had 1 tribute band, the Doors, that I turned down. I didn't turn them down because they were bad, on the contrary, they were very good, I just knew that I couldn't play 1 bands songs all night, every night.

    I think, that as a cover band, every song that is played is a tribute to the people that wrote it and played it.

    As for " there's no reason for someone to come see your band unless you're their friend or family member." I have to totally disagree with that. We played at clubs that were too far away for "family and friends" to be there, yet we always had a good crowd.

    You have to be doing something right if, as a cover band, you work roughly 44-46 weeks a year for 32 years and outlasted the tribute band by about 20 years.
    YOU MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU KNOW.

    YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU DON'T KNOW.

    VAE VICTIS

    ONCE YOU HIT A CERTAIN AGE, YOU BECOME PERMANENTLY UNIMPRESSED BY A LOT OF CRAP.

    I HIT THAT AGE 20 YEARS AGO.

    IF DOGS CAN'T GO TO HEAVEN, I WANT TO GO WHERE THEY GO

    WILL ROGERS

  12. #12

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    Default Re: Just got a gig offer

    Quote Originally Posted by rickthedrummer View Post
    I think, that as a cover band, every song that is played is a tribute to the people that wrote it and played it.
    Like !
    Gretsch USA & Zildjian
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  13. #13

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    I'm wrestling with a similar decision, too. Different TB but since I left Radioface, the offers have been completely unexpected. It's nice to still be wanted by my peers.
    Signature here

  14. #14

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    Thanks for the input guys. Here's how it went this weekend. We got together and had about a dozen songs to run through. To be honest I was amazed at how good we sounded. Having never played before it was impressive. The bass player was right , the singer was excellent , he has Bono's style and sound down. So Saturday went well and I left the session feeling good but in the back of my mind I was already having concerns. Then I got home and my wife asked how it went , I said good but she sensed I wasn't as excited as I should be. So she said ok what's up? I said we sounded great but I just don't think I can do this , everything went well and sounded good , turns out I just don't really like U2's music enough to play it every gig.

    So we got together again Sunday Morning , we were going to run through the songs again but I decided instead of wasting the morning I'd just tell them rght then i was not interested in taking the gig. The singer and guitar player got a bit pissed off with me when i explained that i just wasn't into the music enough to make the commitment. The bass player understood. So I packed up my kit and off I went.

    It's funny guys, driving to the rehearsal space on Saturday I was so psyched , thinking how cool it wold be to play out again , especially opening for some national acts , big crowds you know. But after playing covers again all the excitement went away. I played covers for 14 years pretty much 4 nights a week 48 weeks a year. I got so sick of it I quit at the age of 31 in my prime. At that time I could play just about anything I wanted to effortlessly but I hung it up because I was sick of playing other peoples music.

    I guess I figured after this long I'd be ok with it , plus the fact I never played any U2 stuff before (now I know why lol)

    So that's it , unless some established band that plays all original stuff contacts me I'm officially retired from playing out. One thing though , learning these songs has got me back behind my kit on a more frequent basis , and the stretching exercises the Doc gave me to do before playing have helped with the joint pain, so I'm good just playing in my basement until I can no longer play. I'll probably throw some videos up in the near future. I'm going to just turn on my iPhone camera and just play whatever pops into my head. Should be fun.

    Side Bar: Please to you drummers that are in cover bands , please don't take offense to my crapping on playing covers. I did it for years and made a decent living , I just got over saturated with the whole top 40 popular radio stuff that it put a very bad taste in my mouth so to speak. I applaud you guys that are still gigging , I wish i could do it , I really do.

  15. #15

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    Way to be strong. I'm still wrestling with what to do. I'm tending to go your direction but I hate to disappoint my friends. Like you, I'm just not motivated.
    Signature here

  16. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by NPYYZ View Post
    Thanks for the input guys. Here's how it went this weekend. We got together and had about a dozen songs to run through. To be honest I was amazed at how good we sounded. Having never played before it was impressive. The bass player was right , the singer was excellent , he has Bono's style and sound down. So Saturday went well and I left the session feeling good but in the back of my mind I was already having concerns. Then I got home and my wife asked how it went , I said good but she sensed I wasn't as excited as I should be. So she said ok what's up? I said we sounded great but I just don't think I can do this , everything went well and sounded good , turns out I just don't really like U2's music enough to play it every gig.

    So we got together again Sunday Morning , we were going to run through the songs again but I decided instead of wasting the morning I'd just tell them rght then i was not interested in taking the gig. The singer and guitar player got a bit pissed off with me when i explained that i just wasn't into the music enough to make the commitment. The bass player understood. So I packed up my kit and off I went.

    It's funny guys, driving to the rehearsal space on Saturday I was so psyched , thinking how cool it wold be to play out again , especially opening for some national acts , big crowds you know. But after playing covers again all the excitement went away. I played covers for 14 years pretty much 4 nights a week 48 weeks a year. I got so sick of it I quit at the age of 31 in my prime. At that time I could play just about anything I wanted to effortlessly but I hung it up because I was sick of playing other peoples music.

    I guess I figured after this long I'd be ok with it , plus the fact I never played any U2 stuff before (now I know why lol)

    So that's it , unless some established band that plays all original stuff contacts me I'm officially retired from playing out. One thing though , learning these songs has got me back behind my kit on a more frequent basis , and the stretching exercises the Doc gave me to do before playing have helped with the joint pain, so I'm good just playing in my basement until I can no longer play. I'll probably throw some videos up in the near future. I'm going to just turn on my iPhone camera and just play whatever pops into my head. Should be fun.

    Side Bar: Please to you drummers that are in cover bands , please don't take offense to my crapping on playing covers. I did it for years and made a decent living , I just got over saturated with the whole top 40 popular radio stuff that it put a very bad taste in my mouth so to speak. I applaud you guys that are still gigging , I wish i could do it , I really do.

    I have friends that don't play out as much anymore. I think with age, it also brings integrity. We start asking ourselves why we're doing something and after a long drumming history, we can answer it more honestly. I'm much more particular about the gigs I play these days. I've turned down quite a few offers because I just wasn't excited about the music or it didn't work into my schedule comfortably.

    Stay true to yourself and just have fun with it. If playing in your basement makes you happy, go for it. We have one life and we can live it any way we choose.

  17. #17

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    Everything we play in my band is a “cover”. We put our own “spin” on it, so it’s not note-for-note.....but technically it’s still a cover. Heck, many of the popular songs by the famous bands that we “tribute” were actually just covers with their own spin when THEY made them popular. LZ and the Stones did a lot of traditional Blues covers, modified to pass as rock-n-roll, LOL. How many G&R tribute bands do a cover of Knocking on Heavens Door, which was a cover of Bob Dylan song anyway.

    The thing is, gigging is a real chore. It’s a ton of work that typically doesn’t pay well and interferes with family life. I do it partly for the thrill and rush of seeing people enjoying themselves and the music. But...I mostly do it for that feeling of playing the music itself. That moment when everyone in the band is in that groove, playing off each other, and the song just becomes an entity of the collective consciousness of everyone playing. We’ve all experienced it. The hair on the back of your neck stands up.
    That’s not possible if you don’t like the song your playing or can’t feel it and let it flow through you. If you can’t get into the songs you’re playing, then why play?
    I’d rather be a drummer in a small time band and experience the magic of the music than be in a big time band playing songs that do nothing for me.
    -Brian

    "Too many crappy used drum stuff to list"

    Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!

    "I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham

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