A slight exaggeration of course but it seems like bands doing cover versions of songs have been around since the beginning of time – or at least since the creation of the first enduring pop song. For some time there’s been a lively debate over cover bands not being regarded as ‘legitimate’ musicians. There’s almost a stigma of being in, going to see or even hiring a cover band.
There’s a danger that a perfectly good – even very talented – cover band has musicians who reduce themselves to playing naff songs that everyone’s heard a million times over. Also, that cover bands only attracted obnoxious, drunk people who never cared about the music, only that the band played that one song they knew and could sing along with. Drunks singing along, too loud and off-key, at the top of their lungs never make for a good show.
Is this what the public wants? The fact is, look at a cover band’s audience and it will be double if not more than the crowd at a regular live band’s show. The thing is cover bands need to do more than just perform other peoples’ songs. They need to bring these songs to life and perform them as if you were listening to the original hit. A big ask perhaps, but it doesn’t happen overnight.
Years of practice
It takes years of practice and study of these perennial songs and the way these were put across by the originating star artistes. In all respects, great cover bands are tribute bands but don’t, as tribute bands do, concentrate on the hits and style of a single celebrity artiste or group. Once the technique of ‘cover’ is grasped and employed in the direction of an audience, then they’re doing what cover bands should be doing. They’re emulating the sounds and style of the bands whose hits they are playing and in the process remind us why we like the music in the first place.
However, when you have waded through the bewildering choice of cover bands available in your area – which is best done by a localised search on the Internet – you will finally get to a point when you make a firm your choice. There are many considerations to be made before settling on a particular covers band which you think may fit the bill for your special event – things like cost, type of band, the music they play, size of performance area required, arrival and setting-up times, performance times and how long they will play for.
Cover bands satisfy wide range of tastes in music
Of these, really your first consideration should be the type of music you want. For example, wedding bands usually need to satisfy a broad range of tastes in music and ages, sometimes at different times of the event day. In fact during the afternoon the choice might be a jazz or swing band, even a string quartet, while in the evening some wider choice in music is the order to suit the guests. A party covers band playing a variety of hits would certainly be appropriate. All types of music genres can be performed by covers bands centred on perhaps soul hits, well-known rock songs, even some traditional Irish or Jewish music.
A cover bands range should be comprehensive, taking in all types of popular music and songs – from either a particular decade or a certain musician or band. The strength of such bands is in playing hit music and songs written by recognised chart bands and performers and mastering that sound.
Music skills of SensationBand
This is something SensationBand does terrifically. Their musicians have played with some of the biggest pop names around – Lilly Allen, Mark Ronson, Tao Cruz, Incognito – as well as a host of other pop stars who have performed on worldwide stages. SensationBand’s talent and energy among London’s top cover bands are shown in their versatility and music skills in every performance they’re booked for.