I know, I know. I hear what you’re saying. “Who the hell are you Lex? And who the hell are you to tell me about the music business? I’ve never even heard of you!” That’s a fair assessment.  But I know what I’m talking about because I stayed in cover band land way too long.

I’ve rubbed elbows with the best in the business, though. I watched Creed rise out of local band obscurity and into rock superstars. Socialburn too! Both bands did it in my hometown of Tallahassee, Florida. I’ve seen what formula works. It’s not the only formula. There’s many ways to break out and become successful. But, I’m going to share with you what I saw work in my own hometown. And I’m going to share with you why I was always the bridesmaid (opening act) and never the bride (headlining act).

Now, before I get started I want to tell you who this is not for.

If you like to get up with your buddies every weekend and just have fun jamming your favorite tunes, this is not for you.

If you’re not trying to be an original artist and just love playing cover gigs for money down at Joe’s Wings and Rings, this is not for you.

If you’re in a kick-ass tribute band and loving it, this is not for you.

In a nut shell, if you’re just in it for fun and couldn’t care less about getting to the next level, this is not for you.

If you’re a songwriter wanting to establish a serious full-time career in the music business playing your original music but feel trapped playing 4 hour cover sets at your local dive bar, this is for you!

Here’s what I’ve gathered and had hammered into me by some heavy hitters in the music business. People that have had major success like Mark Tremonti the guitarist from Creed. Also, 3 Doors Down singer Brad Arnold and Creed’s manager Jeff Hanson who took them into the stratosphere and made them superstars.

You can hate and say whatever you want to about the bands I mentioned. Here’s the reality, they’re standing where you’re not and doing what you’ve only dreamed of doing.

It was October of 1997. The band I was in played a festival that Creed was headlining. We were like the 15th band before Creed played. Our set of cover songs started at 12:30pm.   Creed was still a local band but becoming quite popular. Their demo version of My Own Prison was being played on a local radio station every hour. That’s the day I met Creed’s guitarist Mark Tremonti.

1997 That’s me & Tremonti in the middle. I have the green shirt on.

Mark told me that he left his cooking job at Chili’s and was now working at the music store I shopped at. So, I went there and talked to him about how my band can get the recognition they were getting. He flat out told me, “Stop playing covers and write your own music. Work on putting together 10 kick-ass songs for a kick-ass one hour set. Then, record those 10 kick-ass songs.” That was it! I’d only been in the music business for 3 years and no one ever told me that. So, that’s what my band did…kind of.

Fast forward 6 months. My band had been working hard writing and rehearsing. We had 10 original songs that we thought were our best. We rehearsed our one hour show of original music. We recorded our 10 songs professionally. That same local radio station that was playing Creed started playing us too. BOOM! We’re now opening for Creed. Just us and Creed playing in front of a packed house. It was awesome! We also got the opening slot with 3 Doors Down and we traveled around the Southeast opening for them. Mark was right! Big things were happening!

But, we kept booking cover gigs. We couldn’t leave cover band land behind. To make good money playing your one hour set of original material, you have to have good ticket sales. We weren’t there yet. So, the cover gig money was too good! $1,000 a night for a 4 hour cover set. Sure, lets do it!

                                   Reality Check!

April of 1998. We did a favor for Jeff Hanson (Creed’s manager) and played on a parade float promoting the bar he owned along with a local rock radio station. After the parade we went back to his bar for pizza. We asked Jeff for some tips on how we can grow and get bigger. And boy, was he brutally honest.

He said, “stop playing cover gigs and work on your stuff only.” Then he asked where our next show was. We told him our next show was in Pensacola which was 3 hours away. Then Jeff asked if we had a following there and if we were expecting a crowd. We said no. Then he asked, “Why are you guys driving 3 hours away to play in front of nobody when you can do that here?” He knew that without piggy backing off of a major artist, we couldn’t draw a big crowd to watch our one hour show of original music. In our own hometown! Then he said, “You guys have to conquer your hometown and surrounding area before you even think about traveling any further.” He was drawing on the pizza box as he was telling us this. He said to draw a circle on a map that represents one hour of traveling. Conquer the towns that are in that circle first. Then draw a 2 hour circle. Conquer that circle. Then go even further. Do not travel out of the circle until you have a big following in those cities.Then he got into why having one foot in cover band land and the other in original material land will not work. First he said that we played out too much and that we should only play once a month in our town. Just come out swinging once a month with a banging one hour set. “You’re expecting people to pay $10.00 to come watch your kick-ass original set when they just saw you for free last weekend down at Moe’s Mugs and Jugs.”

My gosh he was right! We couldn’t put our finger on why no one would come out to our original shows. We were playing our original set mixed with cover song sets at places that didn’t have a cover charge. Places like Pete’s Hogs and Dogs where we had to play 4 one hour sets for real money. Not exposure bucks!

We played locally every weekend. Our 4 hour cover/original gigs were at places that didn’t charge a cover to get in and the place would be packed. Then, we were expecting those same people to pay $10.00 to come out to our kick-ass show of original music. Why would people do that? They could see us for free if they waited a week. And we played for 4 hours instead of one. And they’d still get to hear our original music!

Needless to say I got burned out playing Brown Eyed Girl every weekend and left the band. I wanted to scale back and play only once a month. I wanted to do what Jeff said. But, the cover band land money was just too powerful and no one else wanted to do it. 

I played in other bands but the story was the same. Cover band land always won due to the big pay day. “We’ll just use the money we make from our cover gigs to pay for things we need to support our original sets.” WTF?! No! Ugh!

  Why it Doesn’t Work.

Here’s the music business in a nut shell. Numbers and money. You pretty much have to get famous on your own first. Then, people will come knocking and wanting a slice of your pie. From what I’ve learned through conversations with Rusty Harmon (CEO of Average Joe Records), Mark Tremonti, Brad Arnold (lead singer of 3 Doors Down) and a whole bunch of music biz insiders, that’s it. Numbers and money. Always has been and always will be.

Numbers meaning how many people can your band draw to your shows and how much money do you bring in selling your music and merchandise. Not how many people do you draw to your cover gigs. The drunks yelling Free Bird at Tiny’s Burger Shack will be there no matter what. They don’t care who’s playing there. Record labels want to know how many people come out to your shows where you play only your music.

That’s why you need to pick a world. Cover band land or original music only land. If you want to be taken seriously, you can’t do both. 

You have to be mysterious. And let’s face it, you can’t be mysterious at your cover gig. During the breaks your bass player (still in his work clothes) goes and sits out in the crowd with his girlfriend and parents. The guitarist is eating a cheeseburger at the bar. This does not look like mysterious rock stars! It looks like a bunch of beer buddies with a weekend hobby. Rock stars come out on stage, punch you in the face with a mind blowing set of their original music and then disappear backstage leaving you wanting more. That’s rock star!

I’m Not Knocking Cover Gigs.                                                                                 They’re Actually A Must.

I hope you’re not taking this the wrong way. Cover band land is actually a must for those starting out. You have to pay your dues for a year or two playing cover songs at cover gigs. But you’ve got to find a way to ease out of it if you want to get to the next level. Hell, even Creed started out as a cover band called “Naked Toddler”.

But, they decided that they wanted to be taken seriously.  They changed their band name to Creed. They didn’t care about the money that cover gigs could bring in. They all worked day jobs to save for recordings and merchandise. Scott Stapp tried to double their savings and lost it all in a pyramid scheme. Mark worked as a cook at Chili’s. The money is great in cover band land. But it’s a never ending cycle that will trap you.Notice Mark with his red Chili’s shirt on in the band picture.

                                         The Formula Broken Down.

• Leave cover band land and only play original music at your shows. No one’s going to pay a cover charge to see you play your music, when they can see you play 3 hours longer for free next weekend. It’s great to have a few covers in your original set though! It’s actually encouraged. But, be an original band that plays a few covers. Not a cover band that has originals.
• Be patient. There’s going to be little to no money in the beginning. Your day job will have to pay for your music expenses. Not cover gigs. But, if you have kick-ass original songs that go along with a kick-ass original show, it won’t last long. You’ll be selling out local venues in no time. As long as you don’t give people the option to see you play 4 hours at Jill’s Spills and Thrills at no cover charge. If they want to see your kick-ass show again, they’ll have to wait a month.
• Conquer your hometown & surrounding area before even thinking about driving 4 hours away to play in a city that’s never heard of you. You must be able to draw a local crowd that wants to hear your music first!
• Remember, it’s all about numbers and money. How many people come to your shows and how many people buy your merchandise? Today with social media, a record company even checks your Facebook likes and YouTube hits. If those are low, they’ll probably pass. You have to get famous on your own first. Then, investors will come knocking wanting a slice of your pie.

That’s it! If you can master those 4 things, you’ll have record labels knocking down your door. I’ve seen the formula work with my own 2 eyes. But, let me warn you. A record label ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. A label is just a bank for musicians that loan you money. After they hand you the $50,000 bill for the pretty tour bus, the gas, and the hotel rooms and you see that your tour only made $30,000. Guess what. You owe them $20,000, with interest. So, think long and hard before handing over some of your pie that you’ve worked so hard to make.

                                  CONCLUSION

I’m 37 years old now with a wife and kids. If I could travel back in time to when I was 20 years old, what you’ve just read is what I would tell my 20 year old self. “Get out of cover band land now! Before you’re old with kids and a family to support. Stop wasting hours perfecting Sweet Home Alabama and work on your own stuff!” Why didn’t I do it, you ask? I tried! I just could never find a group that wanted to do it with me. Cover gig money was just too great to pass up. Therefore, our one hour show of original music suffered. Only 25 people would show up. The rest of our fans waited until they could see us for free at Joe’s Wings and Rings. Those shows packed the house!

Look, I hope I didn’t offend you. I’m not saying that you can never make it in the music business by playing in a cover band. Stranger things have happened! Look at country music artist for example. Most of them don’t write their own music. They’re all singing someone else’s song.

Also, let me say this. I’m not one of those pessimist that think the music business is over. It’s actually easier today with technology to get heard and build a fan base. You don’t even need a record label or radio play to be heard world wide now days. Just upload to YouTube and social media. But, you still have to have good music. You can’t suck and wonder why no one listens. The core to getting to the next level will always be talent, numbers, and money. It’s been that way since Elvis Presley and will be that way forever.

I hope I’ve helped someone with this article that’s looking for a proven formula. But, just because you have original music and follow this formula, doesn’t mean it will work if your music sucks. Did my music suck? I don’t think so. But that’s like asking a mother if her children are ugly. I know that with some coaching and a good producer, I could’ve made a name for myself and someone a lot of money. But, it’s my own fault. I stayed in cover band land way too long.

And just so you know I’m not faking, click this YouTube link to some of my music from the past. I’ve played in rock bands, country bands, and ska/reggae bands. Take care!

 

 

Lex Vance the creator of Dirty Maintenance Nation is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.