A Cover Musician's Responsibility

Let me get this out of the way first:

MY DREAM BAND WOULD: Play the entire Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Sinatra and Beatles (including the solo stuff) catalogs. I'd have a really fat horn section, at least three backup singers and a true piano player - someone who could play Sinatra's "One for My Baby" without accompaniment, and we'd turn down the lights as I sang the ultimate closing song with nothing but the piano.

OK - now let's get real. Playing in a cover band means performing songs that aren't actually your favorites - and trust me when I say that's a NICE way of putting it. Not only that, songs you really DO love get a bit tired after playing them for 25 years.

But still, that's what the gig is. For me, I write and record original material at my home studio, and understand my responsibility as a cover band leader. It's like church and state - keep 'em apart, man.

It's like this: a cover band functions to play FOR people, not AT them. Too many cover musicians act like asshats when they're asked to perform a specific song for a specific crowd. Unfortunately, the battleground is often on stage, which is incredibly unprofessional. A cover musician GETS PAID TO PLAY SONGS THE CROWD/CLIENT WANTS TO HEAR.

Read after me - the sky is blue. Water is wet. Cover musicians play songs the crowd/client wants to hear. Why is that so difficult to understand? Why can't cover musicians realize that they're getting paid to play music - who cares if it's a cheesy pop song?

It's also a cover musician's responsibility to cater to the client - NOT the other way around. Some guys seem to think the client owes them something ("who's buying our beer? Why don't I get dinner?), when, in truth, we get paid to perform fun music with a smile on our faces. Most of the gigs I book for my band are pretty fat - normally the money is really good - so anything else is a blessing, NOT an expectation! If the client offers dinner, that's awesome - but I sure don't expect it. After all, I don't see the waiters getting their meals provided by the client.

Catering to the client also means showing up looking good. I'm not one to put my band in matching jumpsuits or anything, but delivering a good product means delivering a good look. For the love of God, how difficult is it to shave, get a decent hair cut, put on a sharp shirt and clean pair of pants? It's all a tax right off anyway! Keep the receipts - I do.

Sometimes. the client does the best it can do for the band. The accommodations aren't always five star. The end time isn't always perfect. The start time may be bumped back an hour. So what? You're there, right? You're contracted for this, right? My band just did an outdoor gig, and the client provided a gas generator that sounded like my old lawn mower. They didn't provide lighting, but asked us to play until well after dark. Now, the money was terrific, and the actual amount of playing time ended up at around two hours. If you can't find the humor in performing "Let's Get it On" in the dark while it sounds like someone's mowing his lawn - brother, go to the store and rent some perspective. Point? The client normally works hard to do right by the band. Appreciate it - and shut up.

As I get older, I'm realizing that the guys I want to play with need to check their voracious egos at the door, and get on their knees every night to thank God about the opportunity to make money while playing music. The population of the world, as of this minute, is 6,720,577,538. How many of those play music? How many of THAT group play music in front of people? And how many of THAT group play music in front of people and make money for it? You see where I'm going with this? It's a SMALL percentage of humankind that's able to perform music for money. Quit bitching about it. Revel in it. Drink it in, like a really good glass of wine. Mostly, appreciate it. If you can't - just don't do it.