THE ROCKER - Cover bands
The thing about cover bands is that their future literally hangs in the balance at all times. ILLUSTRATION| NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
Bands that play their own songs have a tougher assignment. If you’re on a stage playing your own stuff and the crowd takes that chance to go buy some beers, you’re killing it. Literally.
The difficult thing about playing some indigenous songs is that the crowd either likes it or doesn’t. If they do then you go on to sell fifty million albums and everything new is a hit.
If people don’t like it then you fade to obscurity. Music is a tough business.
The thing about cover bands is that their future literally hangs in the balance at all times.
Fans enjoy the allure of hearing their favourite songs played live, especially if they live in Kenya where we don’t have the luxury of having international bands touring through every once in a while. When the band gets the song right and it sounds good, there’s nothing better. Remember back in 2013 when Mortal Soul did a cover of Bullet for My Valentine’s Tears Don’t Fall? They played that song so well they won the entire Battle based on that performance.
Cover songs can make a band’s career. Boyce Avenue started off on YouTube creating renditions of various artists’ songs and posting them online.
One like after the next, they attained internet superstardom and from that, they now tour the world making their own music. That’s the power of doing covers. Back home, a lot of our bands cover. There’s not a single Kenyan rock concert that hasn’t enjoyed a good deal of cover songs. Still, not all of them have been good to watch.
Bands that play their own songs have a tougher assignment. If you’re on a stage playing your own stuff and the crowd takes that chance to go buy some beers, you’re killing it. Literally.
The difficult thing about playing some indigenous songs is that the crowd either likes it or doesn’t. If they do then you go on to sell fifty million albums and everything new is a hit.
If people don’t like it then you fade to obscurity. Music is a tough business.
The edge however is in finding the perfect blend between covering other band’s music and playing some of your own. To be known as a cover band is a pretty terrible thing. That means you guys are only good at being other people and bringing other people’s creativity to life. Nobody likes that.
It’s essential to hit the right balance. A perfect example of this is Boyce Avenue. See they can be the best cover band in the world but they have albums out. So on tour, they play a cover or two but fix in their own music. Thus, they manage to have an identity of their own.
Find the perfect balance and you’ll be an awesome rock band.
