Originals?

[Kwerty]

Just curious guys, I believe many of you have bands and write originals.

In your opinion, how many originals will be appropriate before going out to gig?

And estimation perhaps, how many originals should you perform? Maybe on a basis of a set of 5 songs. 3 originals maybe?

 

[khaninawatsibai]

some ppl (or most) start gigging by doing covers. it doesnt mean tht if u have a kewl original u'd do great. u must b aple to perform/play it kewl too. if u write a nice piece bt cant play it well or it lacks attention then ppl wont like it. so it doesnt really matter. itz called progression. u progress slowly step by step one song two song a demo an album then to the ultimate stage tht is the fields of nuremburg :lol:

 

[Vaiyen]

+1

 

[pepper-]

Vaiyen agreed with khaninawatsibai! This is something that will go down in history. =\ Lol.

Okay skip all that.

 

[Vaiyen]

huh wats the matter.

 

[pepper-]

huh ouh nothing nothing. =)

 

[ephyra]

you can gig without originals ... the most impt thing will be entertaining the crowd coming to see u ... let it be 10 or 1000 ppl ... jus my 2cents :roll:

 

[Kwerty]

I see. Thanks for the various advices.

 

[ixora05]

kay, I've never gigged before (nowhere even near that level) but I personally feel that I'd rather hear a band play let's say, 4 originals as opposed to like 10 covers and I'll feel I got my money's worth.

 

[mero]

but if the originals are lousy?

IMO there shouldn't be discrimination between originals and covers. As long as the music is good, who cares whether it's an original or a cover?

 

[atee]

Also depends on the crowd you're playing to. If it' to a bunch of people who don't really care for music other than those on radio, then you should play covers to get their attention. Otherwise they'd just start talking to one another and stuff. I guess.

If it's an indie crowd though, go for originals! Maybe an interesting cover or two as well.

 

[bam]

For a set of say 6 songs, i feel you should do at most 2 covers to attract the crowd to your skills, and more originals to show them your creativity and groove.

Originality is key, try not to let people say your band sounds too much like some other band. And groove as well, since it can be original like anything but it could just be noise :lol:

 

[ixora05]

hmm true that. depends on the crowd. now that I think about it, in Singapore covers might be a safer bet. I'm not discriminating. rather showing preference. if the band's good, who cares what they're playing? I'll happily listen.

 

[bam]

You could have a list of a million different covers, but at the end of the day, when you wanna release an album, the covers aren't going to matter. Sometimes i feel playing too many covers leads you into writing songs too much like the band you're playing the most..

 

[atee]

in Singapore covers might be a safer bet.

I agree, like if you're playing in public places for people walking by. Very little chance of people stopping to have a listen if you're playing originals, unless they're bloody damned good/well-known. If you play some The Used or Chemical Romance there will probably be a crowd(unless you sound bad).

 

[BlackMoo]

Covers are not bad. Covers are technically your interpretation of another band's music. Therefore no 2 songs are the same. Perhaps you cover example. Can't take my eyes off you. Instead of playing the exact same thing, you should infuse your band's style into it. That, then is truly a cover, your band's interpretation of a song. I'm sure the audience will love some variety too!

Imagine a samba beat in the middle of a heavy guitar riff. Okay sounds far fetch'd but still possible

 

[atee]

I hate it when they punk up songs though. Occasionally it sounds good, but other than that it's just bands trying to simplify the song. Powerchordswootyea\m/

-_- Gahh.

 

[17wil]

i heard NOFX's punk version of stand by me by bb king
ewww cant stand it.

 

[Kwerty]

Good point about putting your band's style in covers.

But lets put it this way, punk will sound like punk, funk will sound like funk. Our ears are somehow... Get attracted to those songs we often listen to, and anything apart from that sounds weird. Lol die die sure will have like, "oh they sound like...." "oh this song sounds like..."

I mean there are so many songs around man.

 

[bam]

That's something to avoid, you might sound similar, but dont have an exact song that people can point at and say you ripped off the concept. If the mentality that playing covers ensures safety.. Then in a few years time, I'm never going to a gig again..