Mixed Emotions behind Cover Songs
I LOVE songwriting. That's literally my favorite part of all of this: writing meaningful songs that can share my heart and maybe even connect with the heart of another.I used to pridefully look at cover bands as cop-outs... as those that couldn't write. (At the same time acknowledging that cover bands get a lot of gigs... people love 'em! haha) I avoided covers for a long time.As an acoustic artist, however, I quickly realized the (unfortunate) necessity of learning other people's popular songs to cover.When people are paying attention at a gig, it's much easier to get away with only/mostly playing original songs. The audience is tuned in to what I'm playing and singing, so they (hopefully) get the message and they (hopefully) enjoy it.But I've gotten a lot of gigs where I'm primarily there to help set the atmosphere, for hours on end. I'm grateful for these gigs. But I need to take a different approach with them.First, I need to play mostly uplifting-sounding music. (Tears Fall doesn't work for these gigs!) Considering this, I need to have enough decent, relevant material to play for up to 3 hours. I've written a ton of songs over the years, but I only play certain ones. (Most of the old Enough Said songs don't work on acoustic!) And some of my songs get cut, and put in the "nice try" category. So I certainly don't have 3 hours worth of originals lol.Thinking of the audience, a person can only enjoy so many new songs (especially in the background) before they want to hear something familiar. Also, as background music, my heart's message gets lost in the unfamiliarity of my songs to those hearing. I always want to set an atmosphere at an event like this that would have a similar feel to a concert of all originals: thought-provoking, inspirational, encouraging, and full of love. So I try to pick my cover songs accordingly.There are some limiting factors, like
- They need to be well-known enough and I need to know them decently enough before picking them. This part is hard since I haven't listened to popular music much in a long time.
- I need to be able to easily memorize them. Because I've already memorized 20 of my own songs that I currently use. So songs with 5 different random chord progressions don't work for that. It's just not worth it to me to take the time to learn these!
- They need to match my general style, and work with my acoustic sound and my voice. So many current songs use all sorts of techno-inspired sounds, this part is a bit difficult... unless you go into country. And I'm not really a country girl. :-P
- They need to sound uplifting, and match what I want to convey through my music. This is the most difficult part once I get through the first three points. Most of the ones I choose don't have as strong messages as my originals do... so I at least try to make sure they don't conflict with my values and ideals.
If you're curious, here are the cover songs that I currently choose from at these gigs. Some are stronger on the inspiration, some are fun or silly, and some just work well enough. ;) I categorize them according to how I got them. haha
- Semi-recent popular songs I've somehow heard:
- Home - Phillip Phillips (courtesy of Amanda & Phil)
- Wake Me Up - Aloe Blacc (courtesy of The Voice. I liked him because he smiled a lot when he sang.)
- That's What's Up - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (courtesy of Lennon & Maisy)
- I Won't Give Up - Jason Mraz (courtesy of Lennon & Maisy)
- Try - Colbie Caillat (courtesy of the inspirational side of the internet)
- God Gave Me You - Dave Barnes (YAY Blake Shelton did a version, so people know it! haha)
- Taking you back, to when I listened to pop (or you know, taking you wayyy back--everyone knows them):
- Breakaway - Kelly Clarkson
- I Believe - Blessid Union of Souls
- Walking on Sunshine - Katrina and the Waves
- Stand by Me - Ben E King
- Singing in the Rain - Jamie Cullum version
- I know many probably don't know these people, but I like them enough and they work:
- People Should Smile More - Newton Faulkner
- Gone in the Morning - Newton Faulkner
- Free to be Me - Francesca Battistelli
- This is the Stuff - Francesca Battistelli
- All this Time - Britt Nicole
- This Year - JJ Heller