OT: Outta touch

[Garrafon]

It seems that many (but, not all) of us on this forum are aging classic-rockers. I know I am. And I continue to enjoy listening to, and playing, that style of music. That is not to say that we do not play any newer music. We have, including covering songs from groups such as Five for Fighting, John Mayer, Train, etc. I am not, however, blind to the fact that the average age of persons attending the clubs at which we play tends to be younger than I.

 

Assuming, arguendo, I was interested in catering to the tastes of the younger crowd (and I am not), what kind of music would we be playing? I am, admittedly, out of touch to the kinds of music that would go over well with today's younger club crowds. Any thoughts on that?

[Dave Horne]

Several things - from what little I know of the younger crowd, the places they go to over here don't have live bands, just a DJ and a f****** loud sound system.

 

It's been my mentality that the younger the crowd the less money they have to spend. I'd advise playing to your aging crowd. If you play it right, you'll all die around the same time. Problem solved.

[Dana.]

Consider doing a rock version of a recent R&B hit. "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley, "Umbrella" by Rihanna, and "No One" by Alicia Keys are examples. Also consider playing a Radiohead song.

[MikeT156]

garrafon:

 

I think you have some younger groups/players music on your list already, and are on the right track. I would like to know of more groups that I could learn news songs to play too. So I have the same question that you do.

 

Dave Horne IS probably right though. Its great to play to the baby boomer crowd, they tend to go out to clubs and belong to private clubs a lot more than my parents generation did, so we still have an audience. AND we probably will all die about the same time as Dave Horne noted. What I find interesting is that a lot of club goers from the younger generation know our music as well as we do. Their parents probably played their LP's at home and the kids know the music.

 

P.S. Don't overlook Green Day. I think they have some interesting material.

 

Mike T.

[JinVA]

Well, I guess you could try and appeal to the younger crowd, playing or arranging the hits off the top 40 or whatever, but I encourage you to continue playing the "classic rocker" stuff that you are used to. I am 23, and in our band, we do very few current cover songs. We are in the classic rock vein, although we do a lot of originals.

 

We play stuff like sublime, and throw in a re-worked jam of something like beck or John Mayer or whatever every once in a while, but we are really trying to get people to dig on the classic rock/ blues style, while throwing a little bone out in the form of a current cover song.....but we never just try and throw out a bunch of top 40 hits.

 

I would say listen to todays stuff....find something decent...and make it your own. But keep on rockin man. It's bands/ musicians that bring the classic rock style that inspired me and make me want to play.

[Gary75]

I like the way Dave manages to put an uplifting conclusion at the end.

[Sven Golly]

I'm in the same boat, Garrafon, and often we'll roll in to a bar that doesn't necessarily want to hear us do "Suite Madame Blue" by Styx (swear to God, it's in the set list of one band I'm in... ).

 

One of the best-received 'new' tunes of late for us is "Starlight" by Muse. This thing kicks... our bass player gets to use his often-neglected distortion setting, and if the dance floor is packed (as it often is), we can segue into a few different options. The drummer absolutely loves laying the groove down, and it's got a pretty simple but catchy keyboard riff.

 

Not sure about your neck of the woods, but "Santeria" by Sublime and "Home For A Rest" by Spirit of the West (good Canadian folks!) always are huge hits, no matter the age (well, under 50 at least ).

 

 

[Moonglow]

I certainly fit the category of aging classic rocker (46 years old). Earlier this week I auditioned for a band (side project) of 30-something-year-old musicians, with the exception of the drummer, who is 45. Prior to the audition, I did not know how to play ANY of the songs on their list. The list included songs by Evanescence, Daughtry, Nickelback, Alanis Morisette, Lacuna Coil, Red, Carrie Underwood, The Mars Volta, Metallica, Slipknot, 30 Seconds to Mars, Sublime, Fergie, Bush, Tool, The Mars Volta, All American Rejects, No Doubt, Violent Femmes, and Creed.

 

 

P.S. I got the gig......

 

[ProfD]

As expressed, continue playing the set-list in order to satisfy the core audience.

 

Adding "remixes" i.e. newer tunes will let the younger folks know the band is still hip too.

 

Also, older folks hear these "newer" tunes being played by their children, relatives, etc. While they may not consume it, they appreciate some of the songs too and will be surprised to hear it covered in their setting.

 

MTV/VH-1 and classic radio stations provides a new generation with constant exposure to "old" music. So, young folks can appreciate those tunes too.

 

DH's rationale of playing to the audience giving it up around the same time makes sense.

[mate stubb]

Slipknot

 

And do you have to put on a bloody mask to play these "songs"?

[Eric VB]

It's been my mentality that the younger the crowd the less money they have to spend. I'd advise playing to your aging crowd. If you play it right, you'll all die around the same time. Problem solved.

Well, since you put it so eloquently, let me tell you (what little I know) about Jamie Coe.

 

If you're not familiar with him (he's your generation, right?) go read his bio. (He was on Bobby Darin's record label if that name is more recognizable.)

 

He had his own bar and he was the house band. As you suggest, performer and fans were both of similar age. The fans were very loyal and came out every weekend.

 

Except the bar wasn't doing well. Turns out all those fans (a) weren't big drinkers anymore and (b) didn't stay out late anymore. Not like when they were 20-somethings. So, yeah, it doesn't matter if you pack the joint if they don't fill the cash register and the place is empty at 11pm (instead of 2am).

 

In an attempt to draw a "younger crowd" the bar installed a pool table. Obviously this had no effect.

 

But I do give them credit for housing a living legend. Even if it meant losing money.

 

There still were plenty of fans when Jamie passed in January of '07.

[Eric VB]

As I related on another thread (not sure if it was KC), the "usual crowd" for us starts with the dinner crowd. This seems to consist predominantly of "older" people, families with children, and practically no young, single people. They eat their meal and -- just like at most wedding receptions -- leave when the music starts.

 

We do play more classic rock in the first set to cater to this crowd. And, if necessary, censor or skip entirely any songs with adult lyrics if any children are present. (FWIW the kids are probably our biggest fans so we go all out and even sign posters for them. They leave tickled way beyond pink.)

 

Sometimes the older crowd stays a bit. One table was getting ready to leave as we started and they ended up staying through 3 sets! So never count them out.

 

However, the place doesn't just empty out. The "young" drinking crowd comes in after the dinner hour. Sure, they like classic rock, too, except every other bar band in town plays almost exclusively classic rock. I guess if as an audience member that's all you know then there's no problem. Except 20- and 30-somethings grew up pretty much after all the classic rockers' careers were already over. So they heard whatever new stuff the music industry threw their way.

 

Quick question: Which is more profitable for a bar, selling food or drinks? Of course the answer is drinks; otherwise they'd just be a restaurant. Which crowd drinks more? The younger crowd with, as DH claims, "no money". So bars actually make more money from the younger crowd ... as long as you can draw them in and keep them there all night.

 

So give them what they want, keep 'em happy, and keep 'em drinking.

 

Sure, some of the college crowd is going to be into hip hop, which is better served up by a (often too loud) DJ. [According to another thread patrons drink more if the music is louder, and the patrons don't seem to mind the volume, so the venue doesn't mind it, either. FWIW the same was true in the '80s when house music was in fashion.]

 

But other young adults like to hear current rock songs (along with the classic stuff). They're the ones that are going to go to a bar with a live band.

[eric]

My band has a similar plight, starting out as pretty much a '70s funk group doing a few classic rock songs and also a bit of Motown, but really nothing current or Top 40. We've found that as time goes on, the crowds at weddings/parties/clubs are getting younger and so our older setlist was getting a bit long in the tooth. Most of the guys in the band are upper 3rd or 4th decade of life, so we don't really represent the younger target audience so well.

 

We started slowly adding newer material this year, to make us more current and to diversify our list. Not everything is brand new, but makes us more of a selling point to a broader audience. Here are some new tunes on our list as of '08.

 

- Love Shack

- 1999/Kiss setlet (we originally learned 1999 just for the Y2K NYE party and never played it again until this year)

- Love Song by Sarah Bareilles (amazing tune and our Aretha-esque singer takes it to another level)

- Sunday Morning (Maroon 5)

- This Love (Maroon 5)

- Michael Jackson setlet - Rock w/You, Billie Jean, Thriller.

- New Sensation (INXS)

 

There are more, but that's all I can remember now.

 

We are getting ready to work on some more '90s stuff and current stuff as well. Just lining up the picks this weekend.

 

Regards,

Eric

[Moonglow]

Slipknot

 

And do you have to put on a bloody mask to play these "songs"?

Actually my reaction was, Slip who?

[Eric VB]

Back to the OP.

 

Not sure where you're located, but see if any FM radio stations carry the "modern rock" or even "adult hot contemporary" formats. At least in my neck of the woods these formats don't play hip hop (but "Top 40" does). [i'm not suggesting there is anything wrong with hip hop, but often times it doesn't fit a guitar/keyboard band, especially one designed to play classic rock.]

 

If you have satellite radio you should have even more choices.

 

I just found this site yesterday: Maguire Online. It's the efforts journalist/author/raconteur James Maguire and includes a list of "Top 100 Songs, 1950-2006". Except it's really the top 100 songs of each year over that time span. So, for example, you can get the top 100 songs from 1999.

 

Since Mr. Maguire covered Top 40 for About.com there are going to be hip hop and rap songs listed in the more current years as they started to chart. You can always cross-reference a recording artist's name with Wikipedia or just bravely go right to YouTube.

 

But you'll also see plenty of chart-topping songs that your band can cover. All the names listed so far on this thread and more. (Except it really is Alanis Morissette, Moonglow. )

 

Some things you'll notice:

 

1. No more extended wanky guitar solos. 99% of classic rock lead guitar players complain about this; 99% of audiences are relieved they don't have to hear another uninspired wankfest for the next 2-4 minutes. If you have to, tell your lead guitarist to get over himself and save all that creative noodling energy for one great performance of "Freebird" at the end of the night instead.

 

2. Less polish, more "raw". It may remind you of an early '60s sound in its "garage band" abandon. (Well it does to me.) What it is really is a punk influence. Go back and listen to The Ramones "Sedated" to hear what I mean. (While you're at it add that song to your set list.)

 

3. Many influences and new interpretations. You've missed a lot of pop styles if you haven't heard anything new since classic rock started giving up the airwaves pretty much in 1980 with the death of Led Zeppelin's drummer, John Bonham. I remember the rock stations switching over to metal or hanging on with the likes of Phil Collins until synth-inspired '80s music, punk and rap took over. Rock fought back by incorporating these competitive sounds. (Some of the early rap attempts by rockers were quite amusing.) Finally rock got some cohesion when Seattle's grunge took the lead, and later when alternative went mainstream (and thus was no longer true to its label so I believe they call it indie now). Meanwhile, rap evolved into hip hop and we saw the rise of the singer/songwriter (e.g. John Mayer, Alicia Keys) who often brought acoustic instruments back into the fold. [i'm probably missing a lot with this brief overview.]

 

As far as new interpretations there are plenty. A group called The Ataris have a popular cover of Don Henley's (from The Eagles) "Boys of Summer". Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane" gained new popularity as a cover by Cowboy Junkies. Plenty of examples if you go looking. (It's the same as when Aerosmith gave their updated versions of classics such as The Beatles' "Come Together".)

[mate stubb]

They are from 30 miles down the road in Des Moines, so I have heard of them.

 

http://muzyka.onet.pl/_i/metal_hammer/inne/slipknot_d.jpg

[Garrafon]

They are from 30 miles down the road in Des Moines, so I have heard of them.

 

http://muzyka.onet.pl/_i/metal_hammer/inne/slipknot_d.jpg

 

I think I'll take a pass on them and look into some of the other suggestions.