r/coverbands

I played in a band for 2 years. We got paid for many gigs but I never got a cent out of it. We played regularly 2-3 times per month. In this time I bought instruments, equipments, drove to practice and gigs, invested a lot of time and money. Our band leader got paid and never gave us anything at all, alwayskept all the money.

You might think I'm stupid for accepting it, but I just loved the music and being part of the band. 2 weeks ago I joined another band where I'm getting paid a fixed amount per month + extras for every gig we play. The leader of my former band was not happy about it and kicked me out of the band.

Now I'm thinking, would that even be possible, to claim the money I didn't get during all this time?

Yes, I'm angry for being kicked out and maybe just being petty, but now seeing how dumb I was all this time to end up being treated like nothing in the end just makes me even angrier

My cover band is in the process of building enough material to create a second version of ourself that is focused on a specific band to perform as a tribute. We will continue to have a cover band as well as a tribute band for gigs that call for tributes. Couple of questions for those of you in a similar situation.

Cover Bands:

1. How much time are you performing on average at a gig? i.e. 2 hours, 3, hours, 4 hours?

2. Where are the majority of your gigs? i.e. Bars, Casinos, private parties etc.

3. How long are sets, and are you taking breaks between sets. If so how long?

Tribute Bands:

1. Similar to #1 above, how much time are you performing at a gig? 90 mins, 2 hours? etc.

2. Where are your gigs? Bars, Casinos, private parties? etc.

3. How do you go about finding gigs? I'm guessing that most tribute bands are playing for 90 mins ish. If so, thats not going to occupy an entire night so the venue would need to have multiple bands playing in any given evening. Seems like that limits the venues that you can play.

I'm looking to play some covers in my duo and trio sets that will make roughly 20% of a room go "Oh yeah, that song." Not obscure songs that hardly anyone recognizes, but also not pop hits that everyone knows. Somewhere in the middle, but closer to obscure than popular. What are your favorite songs that fall into this category?

One.of the most emotionally charged songs ever written. This is my Stevie Nicks inspired cover. I'd love your thoughts. Big love ♡

I need a sounding board and need to stay anonymous due to optics. But is it normal for a event/cover band to fire a member on show #2 after doing months of pre launch prep including photos, videos, studio time, etc? They told me there was a conflict of interest bc I was supporting a band one member particularly didn't like. But one band member in this group was in that disliked band for a while, and other band members participate in other projects in the same industry regularly. I did my due diligence to learn all the songs and was very committed. They also expected band members to act as crew and show up hours before downbeat to haul heavy subs and gear, not the standard hour before sound check requirement I've experienced in other bands. So I expressed how the 10-hour days were a bit much for $300 and that when I also need childcare for that long, it makes almost all the childcare equal what I was paid... and I guess that rubbed them the wrong way too. I asked if I could just arrive at a normal time and the answer was that they should have made me sign a contract sooner to establish expectations. They also promised to talk to me in person but then instead fired me by text. I am just wondering if this is normal when "moving up" to an event band? I believe what I went through wasn't professional and I was transparent about my activities (including supporting other bands) and previously was told it was ok.

Bit of a rant here. So, I've been a member of Bandmix for a number of years. It's been a good way to communicate with other musicians and quietly find bands looking for me, or my band looking for a new member. Having said that, I've been frustrated with how members on this site tag their expertise with intruments. I get very skeptical when someone says they're an expert on keyboards, bass, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, acoustice guitar, drums, vocals, etc.....

Really? After only 10 years of experience? Call me Mr. Skeptical but...

I'm looking for a meme I saw that had guys in a cover band imagining themselves as rock stars and their wives imagining them as kids playing in a sandbox. Help?