Do you "Write" and/or play "Original" material, or mostly "Covers?"

[charlie brown]

I play, with a local "Geezer" band, and we do mostly "cover" songs, with varying

degrees, of success. (Smile) But, I write lyrics, and mess around (at home)

with chord progressions, and "tunes," for them. However, my band mates,

don't seem (at all) interested in doing "original" material (even their own),

for some odd reason. Too much trouble, I suppose, with precious little chance

of anything "happening" with those kinds of songs. Weird, I guess...but, if you

were here, it might/would be more understandable...maybe? LOL

 

Anyway...what do you, or your band, do? Have you been published, or recorded?

 

Edit: And, do you play out, or mostly for your own enjoyment, at home?

 

 

CB

[LPguitarman]

I mostly play covers. Sometimes I dabble with a few rif's or chord progressions, or I just jam a little with my sons' usually a bluesy progression, but I haven't recorded anything.

[Silenced Fred]

Mixture.

 

I write and play a bunch of my own stuff, I have a ton of songs in the works, about 10 that are complete.

 

Covers are fun, and I usually only play them for a specific reason, usually only if I really love the song or it means something special to me

[Sagekun]

I play covers almost exclusively, though that's probably because I am still figuring out techniques and whatnot.

 

I also like to play other instruments with my guitar, like a violin or a piano part (even computer generated sounds). That is still considered as cover though, I think.

[The Buddha Rats]

Great question, and I can't wait to hear the replies.

 

Covering others songs never really excited me, and I definitely feel more comfortable writing and recording my own music. Certain commitments keep me from gigging, but I'm always cooking something up in my studio.

[BigKahune]

.

Now and then I do some fill-in work for friends and acquaintances - mostly covers.

 

Back in the day my group did covers and some original stuff. I always enjoyed writing music and still do.

 

I love putzing around with a recorder, playing guitars, keyboard, and using an electronic drummer - which BTW is much easier to . . . well some of you might know. B)

[EvanPC]

No covers. I know very few cover songs all the way through.

 

I just end up noodling, stumbling on something I like and want to pursue, and then try and develop my own stuff. Which I'm not very good at either...

 

When I'm not playing someone else's stuff, I feel as though the event is more mindless, which is all I'm after anyway.

[Steven Tari]

Pulling my second CD together so it's mostly writeing and produceing my own work. I play old songs that I know when I'm trying to let my head rest from putting it together. I'm hopeing for a better reseption to this CD then the last one. So I'm putting more thought into the song's this time

[BigKahune]

Hey guys -

 

How about some samples -

 

 

< snip >

[EVOL!]

I play originals only. Covers never thrilled me and I am too scatter brained to learn a song note for note. From time to time I like to learn other peoples songs to practice vocals and learn some new songwriting tricks.

 

Been playing in bands since I was sixteen, have written a pretty healthy batch of songs*, recorded here & there, and I am not a stranger to the stage. The last few times I have played out have been on drums. I filled in for a friend and the band I played drums for from about 2001 to 2003 had a reunion show. Guitar is still my first love and I am working on a new project with my songwriting drummer partner from my last band dundrearies . We are called The Bending of Light . Vocals are still a work in progress which is why we only have instrumentals on the myspace page.

 

 

 

*Although more than half of them make me cringe when I hear them

[Infamous]

My playing probably sounds original, but it's almost exclusively intended to be covers.

[ShredAstaire]

I can't play through a whole song that someone else wrote. Doesn't excite me the way writing and playing my own stuff does.

 

But that's just me. I never understood a guitar player who didn't want to write their own music...but they exist!

[Riffster]

I play a mix of things,

 

The guys I play with are children of the 90's so I have learned songs from that era which my heart is not into. The only good thing about this is that since the 90's is the decade that killed the guitar solo I don't have to put a lot of work into it to have fun

 

At home I like to play along generic backing tracks and noodle or set a drum pattern and riff over that or come up with my own chord progressions.

 

I also play along my favorite songs but to me it is a drag to learn a cover song and then have nobody to play it with, I also tend to like obscure songs for instance I like "Hey You" by Scorpions....nobody plays that, you say Scorpions and everbody breaks into the "Rock You Like a Hurracane" riff. This is just an example.

 

I hate that there is an unwritten/unspoken catalog of covers that we all guitar players need to play.

 

I am going to whack somebody over the head next time I hear Pride and Joy played at GC.

[fl00dsm0k3]

i dont play live ifi did i would do originals

[charlie brown]

You'd never play covers? Even, within, a different arrangement?

 

CB

[Kimbabig]

I write most my own stuff, I love learning a ne riff somebody else wrote, but as stated, I don't like playing through other people's songs. so I just come up with crap.

[duane v]

I'm a writer, but I love doing covers too

[charlie brown]

I'm a writer, but I love doing covers too

 

Me too, Duane!

 

When I "write"...lyrics come (fairly) easily. Putting them, to

some tune, or chord progression, is the hard part. I suppose it's

because I write "backwards"(lyrics first) mostly. Every time I think

of tunes, it feels like they're already "someone elses"...you know?

With "Blues" tunes, it feels "ok," to do that, as they've been doing

that (changing lyrics, to the same tunes), for decades. Even "Folk"

music, has that tradition. Or, used to...before all the litigators,

got involved. ;>b

 

CB

[tartanbeastie]

doing covers has never interested me so I never really bothered to learn any. The amount of people who ask who's music you play frustrates me.. why cant we play our own music?

I play for fun and write my own stuff but will sometimes try my hand at the occasional riff or song.

When i was younger I played in a band, all original material. we played some gigs with reasonable success and recorded 3 of our tracks. again mostly for fun because we were young and nieve.

Nowadays, older and wiser and just like to pick up the guitar and play whatever i feel like or in the mood for. sometimes i get the urge to try and get back with a band but its too much like hard work.

[saturn]

I mostly play covers in my bands, but many times we do our own arrangements. I almost always do my own fills and solos. Example, sometimes we play "Norwegian Wood" and during the second section I throw in some Hendrix style licks ala "Wind Cries Mary". Some of the guys I play with write their own songs and I usually help add parts to them too.

 

I do a lot of original improv type stuff but rarely write a complete song. Another thing I like to do is change lyrics to a cover song to make it mine. Or play a solo from one song where it fits into another song.

[Silenced Fred]

I play originals only. Covers never thrilled me and I am too scatter brained to learn a song note for note. From time to time I like to learn other peoples songs to practice vocals and learn some new songwriting tricks.

 

Been playing in bands since I was sixteen, have written a pretty healthy batch of songs*, recorded here & there, and I am not a stranger to the stage. The last few times I have played out have been on drums. I filled in for a friend and the band I played drums for from about 2001 to 2003 had a reunion show. Guitar is still my first love and I am working on a new project with my songwriting drummer partner from my last band dundrearies . We are called The Bending of Light . Vocals are still a work in progress which is why we only have instrumentals on the myspace page.

 

 

 

*Although more than half of them make me cringe when I hear them

 

I love the Bendingo Flight!

 

I'm the same way. I have barely learned any straight covers, I always "bastardize" them and end up turning them into jams. If they wanted to hear a cover straight up, they'd get a jukebox. If they want live music, I'll give em live music

 

Writing a song is a great way to let emotions out and work stuff out, at least for me. I can say things in a song that I wouldn't even dare to say on the internet. All of my writing comes from the heart and experiences in life. So, no matter what happens with my art, at least I can say it has saved me numerous times

[The RandyMan]

The only time I play "covers" is to practice and learn new riffs. I don't play out anywhere. All the recording I do in the home studio is all original stuff. I think I'm pretty good at the music end of it, but I suck when it comes to lyrics. Never been able to write any lyrics that I haven't ripped up and thrown out after reading them the second time. But I've got tons of original riffs and arrangements that I've recorded.

[ChanMan]

I play originals. Even the covers I play are altered to be more "ChanMan influenced" than Karaoke.

[FirstMeasure]

In the 90's I was all about originals and improv jamming. After a while that scene fizzled in favor of Raves and Techno Dance stuff, so I went with my first love, rock and blues. "Writing" originals for Improv and Jam is pretty easy and fun, there's a few bits of structure, some ques and breakdowns to go over then everybody's playing.

 

With Rock writing originals is a lot harder and less fun, there's a lot more structure and arranging. Because of that there's also more animosity and inflexibility as members songs get rearranged beyond their control. So after working for a year with an original band you can have a ten song set list (assuming the songs are songs, not a chord run repeated for 5 minutes). In a cover band you can have Five 45 minute sets ready and practiced in a year. Songs that are really good, tried and tested in decades of different marketing atmospheres.

 

Then you have the inevitable personnel change, let's say the drummer quits. You either need a new drummer who's willing to copy this other guys stuff, or you need to start over from scratch with this new drummer. Allowing him to put his stamp on all the material you've been working on for the last year, minus the stuff the last drummer wrote. Cover band just needs to give the new drummer a couple cds and have a few weeks of rehearsal.

 

Assuming your original band has survived the personnel change, it's time to get out and show off your product (not even gonna say "Sell" because money shouldn't enter into the picture yet). 10 band lineups with one headliner, you gotta get out there and sell ticket just to get your ranking. Whoever sells the most gets to pick their spot. That's right, you gotta start hustling and shilling for the headliner. Cover band has to get on the phone to venues that have cover bands and start selling "themselves".

 

Now for the pay off, originals get the satisfaction of people enjoying your art, singing your lyrics back at you, and the potential Jack Pot of hitting it big, getting a record deal and being the headliner.

 

Cover Band gets more of an Entertainers satisfaction of a good show and a job well done, made apparent by the audiences reaction, and the possible jack pot of landing a House Gig or even a Back Up band for a big name, possibly making a living doing what you love.

[dem00n]

Both.

I hate the term write music....i mean it might just be me but i never ****ing write a riff before i play it. Like ill think of riffs in my mind, combine ideas and such but you gotta play it before you write it down or shove it in a file.