Printable Version of Topic

Posted by: Velvet Roger May 25 2009, 12:31 PM

Hey guys,

I am playing in a band which contains a drummer, singer, bassist and myself as a guitarist and we are currently looking for covers to play which sound pretty decent with such a minimalistic line-up.

I would really appreciate if you could help me giving suggestions for cool songs to cover as most of my inspiration always requires either a keyboard/second guitarist until now .

The songs can go from funk to blues and rock and styles in between

Many thanks for your help

Cheers
Roger

Posted by: jafomatic May 25 2009, 01:17 PM

For the genre of funk, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Qnoh3h6JD8 has the right energy for a cover band that needs to win over the crowd and it isn't too hard to play. It should also be viable even without a horn section but it may work best if more than just the singer can join in at the chorus. Remember: it's play the funky music wild boy not "white boy."

If you're going to play blues for a crowd, "up" or "positive" is an important feature early in the evening. I'd want to try Joe Cocker's cover of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQYDvQ1HH-E. The guitar parts are minimal enough that you could fill in the organ's duty with a little roto-tiller or chorus effect. The song isn't too challenging for anyone except perhaps your vocalist. If the vocalist is up for it, crowds love this tune.

Those are both very old tunes, but universally recognizable without being overplayed or cliche and that's a huge value to a cover band.

For something "rock in between" I'm not as comfortable making recommendations. I got old and my taste may be "off" in that regard. Best I could offer there is to remember: fun to play, fun for the crowd, good energy, and not too challenging.

Posted by: skennington May 25 2009, 03:01 PM

Hey Roger, take a look at a friend of mine's set list. He's the front man and lead guitarist for his band but also does acoustic shows as well. You will see some originals but lot's of covers as well. Might give you some ideas that you guys can work with, you'll see, he definitely tries to cover "everything in between". Cheers!

http://www.donniehoneycutt.com/songlist.cfm

Posted by: Startear May 25 2009, 07:57 PM

oh, well, you could always cover Nirvana or RHCP

Posted by: Velvet Roger May 26 2009, 08:32 AM

Cheers guys, certainly helpful

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic May 26 2009, 11:59 AM

You can try doing some covers of Red Hot Chilli Peppers, or ACDC, this is always great for the crowd, and they can be played with one guitar.