I have noticed lately that more and more bands, even touring bands that I like, are really nothing more than cover bands. Doesn't anyone write their own songs anymore? I find it odd, having come from the original 77 NY Punk Rock scene. One of the reasons that whole movement happened was as a rebellion to the fact that there were very few venues where an original band could play. Cover bands could gig anywhere. Okay, back then the cover bands did top 40. Now the cover bands are smarter, opting to do more obscure songs, but they are still cover bands. There's nothing wrong with doing a few covers in your set, but to base your whole thing on covers to me is just taking the easy route.

Definitely easier to earn cash doing all covers particularly when you play in a city with no real scene and/or crappy/limited choices for venues such as my city. Hell even in a music haven such as Atlanta, etc. its not easy to do original songs but much hard in smaller cities. Also some musicians just arent ready to take a risk.

However I saw Woven Bones in one of the best venues located in Birmingham, AL. Played all original music and I was one of 8 people at the show. Disappointing.

Maybe obscure isn't the right word. I think cover bands doing "indie" covers (as opposed to top 40) can still make money. But yeah, I get what ya mean.

Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Really? The only way I can see a band getting paid well when doing obscure covers is if you're the opening band for a garage group who's now succesful doing originals and throwing in a few covers.

The Ills said:

Maybe its for the money, i think even doing more obscure covers, cover bands can still gig almost anywhere, and get a pretty penny for it.

Really? The only way I can see a band getting paid well when doing obscure covers is if you're the opening band for a garage group who's now succesful doing originals and throwing in a few covers.

The Ills said:

Maybe its for the money, i think even doing more obscure covers, cover bands can still gig almost anywhere, and get a pretty penny for it.

Maybe its for the money, i think even doing more obscure covers, cover bands can still gig almost anywhere, and get a pretty penny for it.

Dig your artwork, Shawn does rock! Plus he's a helluva nice guy.

We play covers and we hammer them into indecipherable messes of their former selves. We play some originals, too. Those sound equally horrible! Have you ever read "Rock Stardom For Dumbshits" by The Phantom Surfers? We highly recommend it. It's kind of puts all this mumbo jumbo stuff yer talking about into...perspective? Love, The Dirtbag Surfers In 1961, when America was giving birth to surf music, one band was already trying to kill it – The Dirtbag Surfers http://www.dirtbagsurfers.com

RE: Blood from A Stone: I was given credit, but he took credit as well and all he did was change the words without my permission. Luckily, I was smart enough to copyright the song years earlier when I wrote it. Jordan & I are the real writers of the song. So I guess it's our "Chinese Rocks" He did the same thing with any song you see that has co-credits with Mike Chandler. (It Came In The Mail comes to mind) RE Braindrops: Mad Mike & I were drinking beer and feeling no pain when the song Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head came on the radio. In my stupor, I started singing along ,substituting the words Braindrops Keep Falling Out Of My Head.." Don't even get me started on the fake record by the band "King Arthur's Quartet"!!! I

Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Yeah, that's the sucky behavior that I remember you referring to. Didn't you also come up with the Braindroppings title as well?

Yeah, that's the sucky behavior that I remember you referring to. Didn't you also come up with the Braindroppings title as well? My guitar player wrote one song (I changed the melody and chords of the middle but I wouldn't take credit for that) and if we had gotten that released, he would have got full credit. That's what I believe in. Cramps cover bands....what's the point of that?! Girl Trouble had some Cramps covers in their early sets but they also had X and Gun Club songs as well as stuff like I Got My Mojo Working. I wasn't there at the time but it was their set list for their 25th anniversary. Someone just said that you're probably going to see the wrong bands but the truth is...these retro bands who rely on covers somehow get opening spots for bands like the Love Me Nots and Woolly Bandits. And I don't like putting them down if they are just starting out (I had to rely on covers when I finally got to open for the Woggles. It was a new group) but yeah, you want to start writng tunes that you can sneak into the set.

John Carlucci said:

Hey Rod,

Good points. I totally understand. It's easier to learn covers & when played in public a cover pulls in the audience because it's familiar to them. So I know what you are talking about. That started to happen during the end of my involvement with Truly Lover Trio. I started to feel like I was in a Roy Orbison tribute band as Marcel catered to the reception he would get when doing those songs live.

Now the cover thing has gone beyond a band like the Fuzztones doing obscure Garage songs. Now we have Johnny Cash Tribute Bands, Ramones Tribute Bands, and this week I started seeing ads for Cramps cover bands.

I'm glad someone likes the In Heat lp! I myself have a love/hate relationship with that record (as I do with my entire involvement in the Fuzztones). I'm proud of what we accomplished. I think the playing was good. I just know we could have done a helluva a lot better. That's the part that kills me. It was a good opportunity, but it became a wasted opportunity as far as I'm concerned.

I try to write my songs from my own personal experience in life. It's a form of story telling. I start with the lyrics and then the music, in most cases I will collaborate with my band mates on the music. That is how I wrote No Substitute & Something on my Mind for the Speedies.(Both of which were based on true stories & ended up on Speedies singles).

I took a similar approach when I submitted "Blood From A Stone " to the Fuzztones. However that song was rejected by Rudi when I was in the band, only to turn up on the Flashbacks LP after I left the band, with most of the words changed. It turned up again last year on the Horny As Hell LP . The addition of the horns only made the song even further from what I have been hearing in my head all these years. So I'm going to take the song back to the original lyrics and redo it as it was originally intended to sound, which will put it closer in spirit to the two previously mentioned Speedies songs. (I write my best words when heartbroken. lol!)





Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Hey Rod, Good points. I totally understand. It's easier to learn covers & when played in public a cover pulls in the audience because it's familiar to them. So I know what you are talking about. That started to happen during the end of my involvement with Truly Lover Trio. I started to feel like I was in a Roy Orbison tribute band as Marcel catered to the reception he would get when doing those songs live. Now the cover thing has gone beyond a band like the Fuzztones doing obscure Garage songs. Now we have Johnny Cash Tribute Bands, Ramones Tribute Bands, and this week I started seeing ads for Cramps cover bands. I'm glad someone likes the In Heat lp! I myself have a love/hate relationship with that record (as I do with my entire involvement in the Fuzztones). I'm proud of what we accomplished. I think the playing was good. I just know we could have done a helluva a lot better. That's the part that kills me. It was a good opportunity, but it became a wasted opportunity as far as I'm concerned. I try to write my songs from my own personal experience in life. It's a form of story telling. I start with the lyrics and then the music, in most cases I will collaborate with my band mates on the music. That is how I wrote No Substitute & Something on my Mind for the Speedies.(Both of which were based on true stories & ended up on Speedies singles). I took a similar approach when I submitted "Blood From A Stone " to the Fuzztones. However that song was rejected by Rudi when I was in the band, only to turn up on the Flashbacks LP after I left the band, with most of the words changed. It turned up again last year on the Horny As Hell LP . The addition of the horns only made the song even further from what I have been hearing in my head all these years. So I'm going to take the song back to the original lyrics and redo it as it was originally intended to sound, which will put it closer in spirit to the two previously mentioned Speedies songs. (I write my best words when heartbroken. lol!)

Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

That's the one.

MikeL said:

Thanks for the suggestion, but I already have a CD compilation of the Mummies that's also titled "Death by Unga Bunga."



Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

You might want to look for Death by Unga Bunga on Estrus. It's a comp of 7 inches and Various artists appearences plus a few songs from albums. I only recommend Never Been Caught on Telstar IF you like the Estrus CD.

MikeL said:

BTW, I like the Mummies too. I got into them thanks to "Who Know Who" when I heard "You Must Fight to Live on the Planet of the Apes" on his Sirius/XM channel.



Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

This is a topic I'm always torn on. When I started my band the Strychnines in the late 80s, we did almost all originals with the occasional cover. I wrote at least 3 or 4 albums worth of material but I had trouble getting passed my first 20 or so songs because I didn't want to let them go until I got a release out of them (which never happened) and it didn't matter to the rest of the group cuz they never cared to learn new songs anyway. So we played the same 15-20 songs for 8 years until we got bored of them. I didn't want to waste my time playing the next set of songs I wrote seeing the same thing happen (no record) so I just started dipping into Nuggets and Pebbles and having the band play those. And we learned a lot of Sonics songs. It was just more fun and less discouraging. We never toured anyway so it really didn't matter.

One thing I find discouraging though, John, is that you played on one of the few original Fuzztones albums and you ripped on those because they lacked originality. I think In Heat was a great record considering that the previous version of the band mostly did covers and saved their originals for 7 inches. I wrote songs pretty much the same way. I agree with you that he should have given his band more credit instead of claiming all ideas as his own but for being in that same songwriting school as Lux and Ivy, Billy Childish, and Paula Pierce, I think you guys did a really great job.

But you're right, those bands who claim they love the Mummies really should have taken a harder look at that band and saw what really made them special instead of relying on image and gimmicks.

Sounds like you're going to see the wrong bands!

Thanks for the suggestion, but I already have a CD compilation of the Mummies that's also titled "Death by Unga Bunga."

Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

You might want to look for Death by Unga Bunga on Estrus. It's a comp of 7 inches and Various artists appearences plus a few songs from albums. I only recommend Never Been Caught on Telstar IF you like the Estrus CD.

MikeL said:

BTW, I like the Mummies too. I got into them thanks to "Who Know Who" when I heard "You Must Fight to Live on the Planet of the Apes" on his Sirius/XM channel.



Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

This is a topic I'm always torn on. When I started my band the Strychnines in the late 80s, we did almost all originals with the occasional cover. I wrote at least 3 or 4 albums worth of material but I had trouble getting passed my first 20 or so songs because I didn't want to let them go until I got a release out of them (which never happened) and it didn't matter to the rest of the group cuz they never cared to learn new songs anyway. So we played the same 15-20 songs for 8 years until we got bored of them. I didn't want to waste my time playing the next set of songs I wrote seeing the same thing happen (no record) so I just started dipping into Nuggets and Pebbles and having the band play those. And we learned a lot of Sonics songs. It was just more fun and less discouraging. We never toured anyway so it really didn't matter.

One thing I find discouraging though, John, is that you played on one of the few original Fuzztones albums and you ripped on those because they lacked originality. I think In Heat was a great record considering that the previous version of the band mostly did covers and saved their originals for 7 inches. I wrote songs pretty much the same way. I agree with you that he should have given his band more credit instead of claiming all ideas as his own but for being in that same songwriting school as Lux and Ivy, Billy Childish, and Paula Pierce, I think you guys did a really great job.

But you're right, those bands who claim they love the Mummies really should have taken a harder look at that band and saw what really made them special instead of relying on image and gimmicks.

You might want to look for Death by Unga Bunga on Estrus. It's a comp of 7 inches and Various artists appearences plus a few songs from albums. I only recommend Never Been Caught on Telstar IF you like the Estrus CD.

MikeL said:

BTW, I like the Mummies too. I got into them thanks to "Who Know Who" when I heard "You Must Fight to Live on the Planet of the Apes" on his Sirius/XM channel.



Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

This is a topic I'm always torn on. When I started my band the Strychnines in the late 80s, we did almost all originals with the occasional cover. I wrote at least 3 or 4 albums worth of material but I had trouble getting passed my first 20 or so songs because I didn't want to let them go until I got a release out of them (which never happened) and it didn't matter to the rest of the group cuz they never cared to learn new songs anyway. So we played the same 15-20 songs for 8 years until we got bored of them. I didn't want to waste my time playing the next set of songs I wrote seeing the same thing happen (no record) so I just started dipping into Nuggets and Pebbles and having the band play those. And we learned a lot of Sonics songs. It was just more fun and less discouraging. We never toured anyway so it really didn't matter.

One thing I find discouraging though, John, is that you played on one of the few original Fuzztones albums and you ripped on those because they lacked originality. I think In Heat was a great record considering that the previous version of the band mostly did covers and saved their originals for 7 inches. I wrote songs pretty much the same way. I agree with you that he should have given his band more credit instead of claiming all ideas as his own but for being in that same songwriting school as Lux and Ivy, Billy Childish, and Paula Pierce, I think you guys did a really great job.

But you're right, those bands who claim they love the Mummies really should have taken a harder look at that band and saw what really made them special instead of relying on image and gimmicks.

BTW, I like the Mummies too. I got into them thanks to "Who Know Who" when I heard "You Must Fight to Live on the Planet of the Apes" on his Sirius/XM channel.



Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

This is a topic I'm always torn on. When I started my band the Strychnines in the late 80s, we did almost all originals with the occasional cover. I wrote at least 3 or 4 albums worth of material but I had trouble getting passed my first 20 or so songs because I didn't want to let them go until I got a release out of them (which never happened) and it didn't matter to the rest of the group cuz they never cared to learn new songs anyway. So we played the same 15-20 songs for 8 years until we got bored of them. I didn't want to waste my time playing the next set of songs I wrote seeing the same thing happen (no record) so I just started dipping into Nuggets and Pebbles and having the band play those. And we learned a lot of Sonics songs. It was just more fun and less discouraging. We never toured anyway so it really didn't matter.

One thing I find discouraging though, John, is that you played on one of the few original Fuzztones albums and you ripped on those because they lacked originality. I think In Heat was a great record considering that the previous version of the band mostly did covers and saved their originals for 7 inches. I wrote songs pretty much the same way. I agree with you that he should have given his band more credit instead of claiming all ideas as his own but for being in that same songwriting school as Lux and Ivy, Billy Childish, and Paula Pierce, I think you guys did a really great job.

But you're right, those bands who claim they love the Mummies really should have taken a harder look at that band and saw what really made them special instead of relying on image and gimmicks.

This is a topic I'm always torn on. When I started my band the Strychnines in the late 80s, we did almost all originals with the occasional cover. I wrote at least 3 or 4 albums worth of material but I had trouble getting passed my first 20 or so songs because I didn't want to let them go until I got a release out of them (which never happened) and it didn't matter to the rest of the group cuz they never cared to learn new songs anyway. So we played the same 15-20 songs for 8 years until we got bored of them. I didn't want to waste my time playing the next set of songs I wrote seeing the same thing happen (no record) so I just started dipping into Nuggets and Pebbles and having the band play those. And we learned a lot of Sonics songs. It was just more fun and less discouraging. We never toured anyway so it really didn't matter.

One thing I find discouraging though, John, is that you played on one of the few original Fuzztones albums and you ripped on those because they lacked originality. I think In Heat was a great record considering that the previous version of the band mostly did covers and saved their originals for 7 inches. I wrote songs pretty much the same way. I agree with you that he should have given his band more credit instead of claiming all ideas as his own but for being in that same songwriting school as Lux and Ivy, Billy Childish, and Paula Pierce, I think you guys did a really great job.

But you're right, those bands who claim they love the Mummies really should have taken a harder look at that band and saw what really made them special instead of relying on image and gimmicks.

LOL, that reminds me of what so many people thought of KISS, i.e. all image but no substance.

John Carlucci said:

I agree with him regarding the craft of songwriting. It's not easy. In this day and age, everyone wants instant gratification. It takes time to develop talent. In the case of the Beatles & Stones they learned from the covers they did & they grew into something unique. That's what I do not see enough of these days. Don't get me wrong, I think it's fine to "grow up in public" in other words, just getting out there & doing & learn as you go. However I don't see a lot of growing going on these days. I see image & gimmicks. There are plenty of bands with Monster head masks out there & I've seen most of them play on multiple occassions & can't remember one of their songs!

I agree with him regarding the craft of songwriting. It's not easy. In this day and age, everyone wants instant gratification. It takes time to develop talent. In the case of the Beatles & Stones they learned from the covers they did & they grew into something unique. That's what I do not see enough of these days. Don't get me wrong, I think it's fine to "grow up in public" in other words, just getting out there & doing & learn as you go. However I don't see a lot of growing going on these days. I see image & gimmicks. There are plenty of bands with Monster head masks out there & I've seen most of them play on multiple occassions & can't remember one of their songs!

Considering how many bands have such crappy songwriters, maybe it's just as well that they only do covers.

BTW, I'm exaggerating a wee bit. Yes, I have seen some great bands over the years that had great original material. Unfortunately, I've also seen a lot of bands who went for a rather generic sound because they could not do any better in terms of songwriting. Maybe for some bands, playing nothing but covers isn't such a bad thing. Keep in mind that the Beatles and Stones started as cover bands, and take a look at what they grew into. Not that I really think this sort of thing always happens.

BTW, Little Steven said something about this in a speech he delivered at SXSW, in which he stressed the importance of studying the songwriting of great bands so you'll become a better songwriter. Yes, I know some of you think LS is full of shit, and that's fine, but I just thought I'd bring that up.

Just my two cents.