What do you think about people who dont want to learn any covers?

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dmisalive

Member
Dec 14, 2003
37
0
6
orange county ca
hey

I recently jammed with a drummer and a bassist. When i told them we should learn a few covers before we write our own stuff, they said they dont want to learn any covers. They claimed that covers will get you nowhere and they are all about writing stuff. Still, i said that we should learn covers just to play as a band before we get our own stuff done. still, they said no.
Also, the drummer claimed that blast beats does not show any good drumming ability(and that's why he didnt want to play any blast beats) and also he said that mudvayne's drummer is one of the best drummers, which i think is bullshit because there are so many death metal drummers that can get mudvaynes drummer to suck thier balls.

What do you guys think about that?
 
i think you should find a new drummer, and then kick your bassist in the balls till he agrees to do covers
 
seriously tho, playing together for a while is the only way to get good as a band, even if it is covers your playing, because you get to know each others styles and learn how to play with each other.

but seriously, get rid of that drummer
 
dmisalive said:
hey

I recently jammed with a drummer and a bassist. When i told them we should learn a few covers before we write our own stuff, they said they dont want to learn any covers. They claimed that covers will get you nowhere and they are all about writing stuff. Still, i said that we should learn covers just to play as a band before we get our own stuff done. still, they said no.
Also, the drummer claimed that blast beats does not show any good drumming ability(and that's why he didnt want to play any blast beats) and also he said that mudvayne's drummer is one of the best drummers, which i think is bullshit because there are so many death metal drummers that can get mudvaynes drummer to suck thier balls.

What do you guys think about that?
Click to expand...

I kind of know how they feel. While learning a cover or two is pretty much a necessity for a group of guys getting together for the first time, it's a task no less tedious or unrewarding than it would be for a novelist to have to copy out someone else's book by hand before he could start writing his own. Some people just want to perform, and for them it's not too bad. For me, and for your bandmates apparently, it's a loathsome task that just has to be undertaken.
 
Playing covers and learning what sounds great when YOU play it is a must when deciding what kind of stuff you want to write, so I enjoy playing covers.
 
dmisalive said:
hey

I recently jammed with a drummer and a bassist. When i told them we should learn a few covers before we write our own stuff, they said they dont want to learn any covers. .......snip.........
What do you guys think about that?
Click to expand...
Do you want the long version or short version ?

I only do long versions unfortunately...:loco:

Being a cover band is definitely not a good thing, but I think learning covers when starting a band helps get the band to become a cohesive unit quicker than experimenting with something that is unfinished. Everyone has different tastes and influences as well. If you learn a cover that each bandmate wants to do than you get a small grasp of their tastes and what they excel at which can help in knowing their strengths when writing music. Lastly, I think few bands, no matter how famous should completely exclude covers from their work even if it is playing for an audience in their home-town crowd. The best form of flattery is imitation and everyone has influences. I would feel ten feet tall playing my favorite Wolf Hoffmann (Accept) solo because I never feel like my work compares to his and their music and specifically his playing were big in my development as a guitarist and in my taste as a metal-head.


Bryant
 
Playing covers can be a really great way to warm up at the beginning of a practice, or to wind down a rehearsal...it's also fun, especially when you play covers that you really like - nobody says you have to play the covers that every other band out there does - pick some obscure favorites you have and bash them out. Being a cover BAND on the other hand, is a different story...original material is where it's at in my book...

...as for the drummer saying that blast beats aren't representative of a talented drummer - does everything someone does have to be representative of the epitome of talent? I mean - I don't even understand that statement...and the latter comments were probably right - maybe he can't do them...so as requested earlier - kick your bassist in the balls and find a new drummer...

My 2 cents...

JB
 
USMC0341 said:
nobody says you have to play the covers that every other band out there does - pick some obscure favorites you have and bash them out.
Click to expand...
Hell yeah. When Death covered Painkiller and Chuck screamed the shit out of his voice to imitate Halford's ungodly screams, it fucking rocked. Of course you dont want to overkill the covers, if that's all you do, then that's all your fingers will do when you try to write songs. However just starting with a band, sometimes its good to cover a tune, if you can find one you all know, or are willing to learn.

I think its good to throw in blast beats every now and then, just not all the time, but that really can go with anything. Anyway, good luck with the group if you stay with them, but I would look for other musicians more open to playing music instead of being stubborn, and closed minded.
 
I won't play covers unless there is a meaning or reason behind playing them. I've always been in bands with original material.

For example, after 9/11, we did a cover of Fuck The Middle East by Stormtroopers of Death... My first band, we did play 2 covers from Judas Priest, but anytime we played we had a 30 minute (or longer) set to fill (Because the band was already well established).

I will not play a cover just because it's cool or I like it. I'm into my music, and original is where it is at, IMO.

I do agree, it's FUN to jam a cover or two occassionally, and it's good for jam sessions with people you might never have played before, but I've never been much of an improv player.
 
i dont want to cover songs so badly.
i just think that it's good to play a couple of covers when you first meet newew people so you can play some stuff as a band and feel ech others style if you know what i mean.
also when you learn a cover, sometime you learn new tecnique that you never used before and improve your playing ability ( like when i learned slaughter of the soul by at the gates and one shot one kill by dying fetus).
 
I personally don't play covers at all, but I can understand the 'pinpointing the band strengths' perspective in learning them. But from personal experience I find that if you play with even semi-respectable musicians you should be able to take turns improvising around each others grooves (strengths) and start the writing process rolling that way... You can still pinpoint where the strengths are within the band.

As far as the drummer you have in your band not wanting to play blast/tank/whatever beats, and that's what 'the band' wants, then you will have to get rid of drummer I guess!!
 
i agree with the drummer and bassist....why would you want to waste your time playing other peoples songs? that time could be spent on writing and perfecting your own songs. you wanna get tight as a band , get tight on you songs. oh and mudvane sucks!!
 
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