 How to Make Money in a Covers Band Part 2 In part 1 we
looked at the following topics, so if you need to refresh your memory, or didn't read it yet please start
at Make Money - Makin' Music Part 1
Tips on Picking a Make Money Set-List
Look around at the local venues available and see what's hot at the moment. Put your head(s) together
and try to come up with a versatile set list. Think of who'll be listening to them.
If anyone's new to singing, pick simple tunes that suit their voices. Don't be afraid to change keys if
necessary. If your frontman can pull off a lot of the gig already, then slowly introduce the newly acquired
lead-vocal contributions when they're at pro-level. Keep building up the repertoire over the coming
months.
Go to see other bands and see what's going down well. Get a vibe for the places you'll be working in. I
would suggest not to approach any of the staff or management about gigs, if you've just downed a
mountain of beer.
In general, I always find that a combination of Golden Oldies and Contemporary stuff that suits the
group and the gig, is a good way to go. Don't make the common mistake of including too many slow
and mid-tempo songs in the set. For a 2-hour stint expect to play about 25-30 tunes. Keep it around
20 fast, 3 slow, 7 mid-tempo songs.
If you can program MIDI, you can download songs off the 'Net and tweak them to suit your particular
lineup. For example strip out the guitars/vocal line or whatever's needed, and play those bits live.
Sometimes it's easier to build a song from scratch. You also buy various varying quality MIDI files.
These can be tweaked (funny word, but handy) to suit.
I'm sourcing a good place at the moment.
If you can't program MIDI, I would seriously suggest that you learn how to. If not you'll need to hire
someone to do it for you. That's exactly what we're trying to avoid. Here's a book, The Midi Files that
will interest you if you want to know more.
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The Dreaded Band Naming and Gig Hunting - Helpful Tips
Spend a long time on the name of the band. Don't stop 'til you come up with something you can all live
with for a while. Once you choose a good 'un, you'll be promoting it bigtime! So no moniker-changes
after a few weeks, it's too much wasted advertising and time.
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Make Money - PR and Gig-Hunting
- Gift of the Gab! It's easy if you have the goods to back it up. A great set and good reliable gear. A
well dressed band and a good demo pack made up especially for getting gigs. Include great 3 song
demo, photo's and a small blurb about the band. Oh yeh, write down part of your setlist including your
strongest and most popular songs. Think about 'pleasing the punter' songs - the venue owner will.
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Demo Recording/Design & Packaging/Artwork/CDs Do all this yourself on your PC. Use these
promo-packs to secure gigs, and sell the CDs on the night. Make a professional looking and colorful
portfolio of the band. Include photo's, set-lists, band-info, etc. Make it SELL the group. Try to imagine
looking at it through the eye's of a typical Venue's Owner/Manager. What's in it for him, and will it
improve his business.
You can package lots of gig hunting and promotional stuff easily yourself, with your PC and a bit of
artistic input. CD's can be recorded, burned and packaged no problem, so there's no excuse for us
anymore - boo-hoo.
You can easily set up a band Website and start promoting local and even worldwide if you want.
Transport/Driving
(A small Van or Hatchback should do the trick, ) Whichever one of you does it, It's fair to pay the going
rates as normal. Maybe everyone drives themselves.
Gear Set-up - - see our tips on set up Equipment/Skills
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Stage Lights/Show
Stage lights are a major asset to any band. A big plus I find, is that having a nice little (or big) moody
lighting-system, make's the gig a lot easier to play.
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