Jockey on Horse: "Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Feelings!"

I look at playing cover music as a business - simple as that. It's no different than any other business out there - learn your craft and get good at it, sell your services, back up your promises, guarantee a quality deliverable and make sure your ROI is worth all the work. The interworkings of a cover band are part of that business, and - in a perfect world - the phrase "it's nothing personal" should hold more power than it does.

Anyway, when you're running a cover band, you carry those responsibilities like a concrete life vest, and it's a load, man. That's why keeping the band a business is crucial to the band's success.

When I played in bands as a kid I thought it was mandatory to have some kind of personal vibe with every member of every band I was in. As I've grown up I've realized that running a band with good, solid players with good attitudes is key - everything else is gravy. In other words, playing in a cover band means meshing on a musical and professional level - do that and the band's unstoppable. It's a bonus - but not mandatory - if you have interpersonal relationships with the guys sharing the stage with you.

There are reasons why a cover band should run as a business. Nevermind that musicians are transient to begin with (I honestly can't remember how many bands/people I've played with over the years!). As a writer-by-day and a cover band musician, I'm reminded of a great quote from "The Writer's Book of Wisdom:" "Writing is more craft than art." This certainly applies to cover music. Musicians are artists. Artists are ego-driven and sensitive by nature. However, a cover band - as I discussed in a previous blog - ain't great art. Working in a cover band is grinding out a nice finished product - it's more building the frame then painting the picture, and experienced cover band musicians realize the problems of mixing business and pleasure: hurt feelings, bruised egos, anger and resentment. That's the problem with letting "the personal" bleed over into "the business."

A good business succeeds when good employees do a good job, day in and day out. I've mentioned this a few times in prior blogs, but it hold true here: playing in a cover band means losing the ego and being professional - for the sake of the band, not the individual. It's about getting better so the business gets better. It's about doing what you're required to do - nothing less.

So - I guess it's kind of obvious (duuuhhh!) that when it comes to a cover band I'm a businessman and a perfectionist. What I do know is this: keeping THE business A business means I can address any Gomez Addams-like trainwrecks that might occur during a gig - and do so with a clear conscious.