Covers are taking over.... Again..

[uncle duncan]

Originally Posted by joeydego

Strings, gas, tubes, tolls and guitars don't grow out of the earth. (THATS why I play covers).

I'm with you on that. I've been making a living (more or less) playing in cover bands for the last 30 years. I also work with a local C&W/Americana band that does strictly covers for corporate events, and occasional club work doing mostly originals. In my studio, I just finished recording a CD of a local group in the C&W scene that does 75% originals in their live show, and they're booked every weekend.

The OP did mention his success in an original band that had a steady local gig, but I'd suggest his experience was an anomaly rather than the norm. The fact that they got a record deal indicates they were doing something right that the other original bands in town weren't.

I was unclear of the OP's desire for "more bookings". Studio bookings? Band bookings?

One way to goose a local scene would be to encourage songwriter-in-the-round nights. For those unfamiliar with the format, you get 3 or 4 songwriters together on stage taking turns doing a tune. We just did one of those last weekend. All the performers had experience fronting their own bands, and some were a little apprehensive about doing their band tunes without a rhythm section, but they pulled it off just fine. The idea here is to get songwriters out of the house and in front of an appreciative crowd who might be inclined to buy a CD. Then you get the solo singer/songwriters thinking they need to record a CD with a bit of production, and suddenly, you have new studio clients booking time.