Cover Band Songs...

[Zovc]

My friend is thinking of organizing a cover band as a way to make some cash on the side.

Long story short, what are some songs we should consider learning?

[Tirian]

Well, I think you should choose songs that you don't mind listening to over and over and over again. But that's just my opinion.

[Moff Chumley]

What kind of music do you like playing, what's the band lineup, where are you going to be playing?

[Zovc]

What kind of music do you like playing, what's the band lineup, where are you going to be playing?

We're mostly looking for simple, catchy Pop songs. Once we figure out who all is interested in, we can hash out a band roster.

Music I Like Playing:
Essentially, campfire music. Songs that sound nice with just a guitarist and a vocalist (or a guitarist/vocalist), but sound even better when you add in more singers and other instruments.

Music "We" Like Playing:
We play George Washington (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbRom1Rz8OA) every time we meet up, and we also usually play Dispatch's The General (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3JjlkfX5Gk), but generally, he tells me to play a chord progression, then does whatever he wants. From there I'll also try to sing harmonies.

Nevertheless, such 'sparce' music isn't very good for the environment we intend to play in.

Lineup:
Well, my friend and I are a guitarist/singer and a singer/guitarist (respectively). I'm sure we'll have no shortage of guitarists, it's more an issue of finding people who can do anything other than play guitar. :smallbiggrin:
(My friend and I also dabble with bass guitars, but I certainly wouldn't consider myself a bassist.)

So, the band lineup can constantly be assumed to be a lead singer and a lead guitarist, and we won't do anything with that without a drummer.

Where we intend to play:
Bars. That's pretty much it. Yay for generally crappy acoustics.

[Zom B]

Music I Like Playing:
Essentially, campfire music. Songs that sound nice with just a guitarist and a vocalist (or a guitarist/vocalist), but sound even better when you add in more singers and other instruments.

How about the ever-popular "Good Riddance (Time of your Life)"? It's fairly easy to play, as I understand it, and almost everyone has heard it. Also, "Hey There, Delilah", maybe?

[Mephibosheth]

One of the things I like to do is re-orchestrate or re-write popular (or at least well-known) songs in a completely different style, preferably one that fits the style of music you enjoy playing. My band tends to play folk-rock with Irish/Scottish/bluegrass/blues influences, so we tend to take heavier rock songs, R&B songs or crappy boy band songs and re-write them as bluegrass or folk tunes. We've gotten pretty good reactions from bluegrass/Irish covers of Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down, Truly, Madly, Deeply by Savage Garden, Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton, Through the Fire and the Flames by DragonForce and Exit by U2. We've also done a reggae cover of Leave (Get Out) by JoJo that turned out pretty well. The point is to make the new style so far removed from the original style that it becomes funny.

I guess the point of this long-winded explanation is that you shouldn't feel bound by the style of music you want to play when selecting covers. People, in my limited experience, tend to enjoy a fresh and funny take on songs they know well. In terms of specific songs, covers of classic rock 'n' roll songs (Johnny B Goode, That'll be the Day, etc.) usually go over well, especially if you play them a bit more aggressively than the original. Anything by Buddy Holly, the Beatles, the Beach Boys and other groups of that ilk work well, imo. I also really like to play The End of the World as we Know It by REM, just because it's so fun to sing. Also, Stacy's Mom is pretty much the definition of "simple, catchy pop song" for me.

Just my 2cp. Hope that helps. Have fun!

[Moff Chumley]

Well, a few friends of mine have had immense sucsess with the same lineup playing Flight of the Chonchord and Tenacios D songs... XD I agree with Mephibosheth. With that kind of lineup, attitude, and venue, you can have a lot of fun adapting other songs.

Heh, a band I was in consisted of:
Crazy Lead Singer/Guitarist/Glockenspiel player
Insanely Epic Lead Guitarist
Less Insanely Epic Guitarist/Bassist
Bassist/Really funky Guitarist/Pianist
And me, on electric piano and synths.

We covered, let's see, She's Not There by the Zombies, Brown Sugar by the Stones, Master Blaster by Stevie Wonder, Heart Shaped Box by Nirvana, Hey Yah by Outkast, and Another Brick in the Wall by Pink Floyd. Each one was changed as drastically as possible. :smallcool:

[Zovc]

Indeed, re-hashing songs can be a fun thing to do, but I don't want that to be all that we do, and I doubt that's all the main man wants us to do, either.

It seems to me like good songs to break the ice would be songs like My Own Worst Enemy by Lit (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=my9zJF6fZ9I), songs that don't need to be adjusted to a casual, live performance. After maybe two songs similar to that, you can come out with your adapted version of Gnarls Barkley's Crazy or whatever. Probably a two 'hits to one trick' approach is good, I would think.

@Zom B
Those songs are indeed simple, but they're also somewhat dreary. Not the kind of song you want to play unless the place is about to close.

[Cyrion]

It may not be their most well known song, but Ice Cream Man by Van Halen might be a good candidate- It's quirky and fun, it should work well for whatever line-up you have (In the original, it starts guitar and voice and then adds other instruments later.), and it's from one of Van Halen's more popular albums, so you should get a fair few bar-goers who actually know it.

[Brewdude]

These two Johnny Horton songs should be right up your alley:

Battle of Mississippi (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxB42cjHTGg)
Sink the Bismark (http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=KecIdlEAKhU&feature=related)

[Egiam]

A lot of Green Day songs are easily workable into other styles. For your needs, I would check out Give me Novacaine, and Wake me up when September ends.

Try out all those songs that show up on pop/rock/hip hop stations for a year and then disapear. I've always wanted to try doing a punk rock version of Fireflies (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFsFZitlM7k) by Owl City.

Absolutely learn several Beatles songs. Nearly everyone in the western hemisphere can identify with them. Also, I have found that changing the style with my garageband shockingly easy. Their melodies are just so universal, that they can be turned and twisted and still sound great. Plus, loads of people can sing along. For an great look at how this would sound, go to the PBS website and watch some of the Gershwin award tribute concert for Paul. It was broadcast last night in the US. http://video.pbs.org/video/1534157016/

[SilentNight]

If your guitarist is up for it you could probably do some Rodryigo Y Gabriela songs, maybe write some lyrics too.