Under ‘cover’ in the Q.C.
Thursday, November 5th, 2009First off, I’m not going to be bashing cover bands. I’ve played in cover bands and can think of many songs that I’d like to cover in my band. Instead, what I’d like to do is pose a question that I hope will get some discussion going.
Charlotte has many cover bands and many events that pay them well to perform. They pay them well because there is a reliable cover-band audience in Charlotte. A classic-rock tribute band is a guaranteed sell in the Queen City but an indie band that plays it’s original music is often a risk.
Not all cities are like this. Audiences in Asheville and Athens, Ga., for example, would likely laugh a cover-band off of the stage since they only want to hear original music. They simply don’t want to hear a band that is trying to sound like an established act. Now that’s a curious fact and I don’t want to speculate too much about it. After all, it’s difficult to make safe generalizations about a city since many individuals and groups feed into a city’s identity. I’d like to look at this another way. (more…)
