VH tunes for covers?

[yomaster]

Hey guys..what do you think are the best CVH tunes to cover that would go over with a crowd that are not over played? Everyone plays really got me, ice cream man, aint talkin bout love. And as a VH fan what would blow your mind to hear someone play that you would not expect. I've been working hard at getting my DLR screams back in shape. We cover a lot of music. But I really want to pick like 2 more VH tunes that will get people going.

Our band is currently playing running with the devil, and really got me. Really got me is a filler tune cause we are trying to get that giant song list together. It will be axed ASAP. I'm doing RWTD well and most people can't pull that one off well, so that is probably a keeper.

I'm thinking unchained, take your whiskey home, beautiful girls. something like that. somebody get me a doctor has always been a personal favorite cause of all the cool screams.

Sadly we had to drop.. no pun intended "drop dead legs" the jam at the end just kept sounding a little off and was eating up a lot of rehearsal time to repair. And we wanted it to sound perfect and did not want to let anyone down with it sounding half ass.

[Sarge's Little Helper]

Hi yomaster and welcome to The Diamond David Lee Roth Army! We are a website created by fans of David Lee Roth for fans of David Lee Roth. IT’S THAT DAMN SIMPLE. The next beer is on us!

[chefcraig]

Are you playing and singing? If so, you might want to try the easier tunes in the catalogue. We used to do "So This Is Love", mainly because it was relatively simple compared to many classic era VH songs, which are (quite frankly) difficult to play and sing at the same time. "Beautiful Girls" went over pretty good as well, but was a pain in the neck to perform. The riffs go this way and that while your vocal has to sort of float over the chaos.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Welcome....

[yomaster]

Nah. I'm just singing. And we have two guitar players so that helps. As you said some songs are rather complicated and we are trying to get to that 50 song list. So we can't spend countless hours on the songs. So looking for something that rocks but isn't a total beast to polish. "So is this love" is cool as hell but I'm sort of worried it might be too obscure for the general public tards. But it might be worth a try.

[yomaster]

sorry I'm not new.. should have picked a different forum for this.. I figured it shouldn't go in main.. wasn't sure where to put it.

[chefcraig]

I'll put in the Gear section, as the guys there certainly would have some suggestions for ya.

[yomaster]

I'll put in the Gear section, as the guys there certainly would have some suggestions for ya.

Thanks Chef! BTW.. who is that smokin hot babe in your avatar?

[PETE'S BROTHER]

Thanks Chef! BTW.. who is that smokin hot babe in your avatar?

she goes by the screen name "imapus sylicker"

[chefcraig]

Thanks Chef! BTW.. who is that smokin hot babe in your avatar?

She goes by a few names (due to contracts in different countries for her images), but the most common names are Merilyn Sakova and Anya Zenkova. Be careful when searching her images at work, as it is quite difficult to find a photo with her wearing any clothing. Definitely NSFW.

[kwame k]

she goes by the screen name "imapus sylicker"

[ThrillsNSpills]

I'd say do ones that you really like and that your guitarists can do justice.

If they can't play I'm the One while sliding on their knees then I want an audition.

I was in a cover band and got up to an hour and a half of stuff down and the singer vanished.
You're name wouldn't be Gino, would it?

[yomaster]

she goes by the screen name "imapus sylicker"

Seriously? lol

[yomaster]

I'd say do ones that you really like and that your guitarists can do justice.

If they can't play I'm the One while sliding on their knees then I want an audition.

I was in a cover band and got up to an hour and a half of stuff down and the singer vanished.
You're name wouldn't be Gino, would it?

haha.. and nope. And I live in Tampa, FL

Backing vocals on I'm the one are pretty intense if I remember correctly. I'll have to go have a quick listen.

[yomaster]

Man.. fucking lag on the net...christ

[PETE'S BROTHER]

Seriously? lol

nope

[Anonymous]

I'm gonna find Pete. I'm gonna find him & make him tell me who his brother is.

Then I'm gonna hunt him down & make him pay.

Ye're dead, brother of Pete! DEAD!

Oh, by the way...

http://www.wankspider.com/search?q=Merilyn+Sakova

Cheers! :bottle:

[PETE'S BROTHER]

dead? come now...(not really) :tongue0011:

[Etienne]

Maybe Panama would be nice...

[ThrillsNSpills]

haha.. and nope. And I live in Tampa, FL

Backing vocals on I'm the one are pretty intense if I remember correctly. I'll have to go have a quick listen.

the solos are also but with 2 guys they could go back and forth and you could make something great out of it.

or you could go the Dave route in the old days and do the most dance-able stuff possible so the people are moving and more drinks are sold.

[kwame k]

The biggest problem I've had covering VH tunes is.....most guitarists concentrate so hard on the solos and forget all about Ed's rhythm parts! Ed's a hell of a rhythm player and getting that right should be top priority.

As for suggestions? Playing the popular hits will get a positive response from the audience but.........pick the deep cuts and the stuff you guys love. You're already playing covers that everyone knows and likes so why not throw in a couple tunes for the band.

[PETE'S BROTHER]

The biggest problem I've had covering VH tunes is....drummin'.

you know i'm just kiddin'

[kwame k]

You're such an ass.........back in the day, I could never get Mean Street and Dirty Movies right but in my defense I was only 13

[Sensible Shoes]

Thwack.

[PETE'S BROTHER]

kwame has more musical talent in one of his broken drumsticks than i could ever hope to have.

[kwame k]

Someone tell Pete's I'm not talking to him anymore

[Anonymous]

Pete's Bruv, Kwame told me to tell you that he thinks you're a faggot.

Cheers! :bottle:

[kwame k]

Pete's Bruv, Kwame told me to tell you that he thinks you're a faggot.

Cheers! :bottle:

Thanks......I see the grapevine is still a very useful and accurate way to get your message across

***edit*** forgot the fucking vid!

[ThrillsNSpills]

I believe that cover band peeps that make mistakes playing live should get a pie in the face.

House of Pain would be good. Prepare a pie for the drummer cos that part sounds harder than the guitar. (even with the 2 false harmonics in the solo)

[PETE'S BROTHER]

Pete's Bruv, Kwame told me to tell you that he thinks you're a faggot.

Cheers! :bottle:

says the fleshlight owning (pic) poster........

[ThrillsNSpills]

Hang em High ?

[jhale667]

My last couple of cover bands tried to go more into the catalog than the standard "YRGM" "ATBL" fare... I can attest "Mean Street" and especially "Romeo Delight" make bar audiences go NUTS...and then people come up to you after and say "I was NOT expecting you guys to cover THAT Van Halen tune!" Actually, the band I was in with Larry/"Alex" in Fan Halen did both...he brought the gong out in those days too, it was epic...

[ThrillsNSpills]

[jhale667]

Nyuknyuknyuk

[VAiN]

Maybe Panama would be nice...

Yes, and, you'd have to nail it... Also in the awesome song, and, 'you have to nail it' catagory IMO are: Romeo Delight, Everybody Wants Some!!, Unchained, D.O.A, .. those are the first that come to mind for me..

[jhale667]

Yes, and, you'd have to nail it... Also in the awesome song, and, 'you have to nail it' catagory IMO are: Romeo Delight, Everybody Wants Some!!, Unchained, D.O.A, .. those are the first that come to mind for me..

Agree, you have to nail 'em...and not just you nailing (or best humanly-possible approximation of, best most of us can hope) the guitar parts, the WHOLE band...if you try 'em and they don't work, throw in the towel pick another one....ever tried 'Unchained' and actually tried to get the Flanger-Chugs correctly timed rhythmically? Not easy! For "Romeo Delight" you have to do the low E string tap-by-the pickup trick after the solo during the "Feel my heartbeat" bit coming back in to the chorus...."D.O.A." also way fun to play live, but possibly tougher on the singer than the guitarist, getting the DLR-howls right. I've worked with singers over the years that probably had better technical ranges that said Dave is "unique" and hard to nail.

IMO doing VH tunes or anything that cool as a guitarist is a two-part undertaking: Getting the licks right, and then getting the tones as close as possible. I'm glad I picked up the MXR EVH Phase90, the 'script' mode gets pretty close to the classic chewy solo sound, and I have an MXR Flanger model programmed as a preset on my pedalboard's MM-4...I was annoyed with the fact that my last band only wanted to do the "safe" ATBL YRGM stuff. While I was still happy to be playing CVH tunes, I'd rather have been playing some of the (non-'standard') cooler tunes... too bad I didn't have as involved a pedalboard in the earlier band, would have been better utilized then.

Having said that, I'd still rather be playing any CVH tune over some of the bland 80s-90s-contemporary shit some cover bands in LA want you to play...ugh. But another interesting bit about playing the heavier stuff in bars: The owners/management loved that they did well over the bar with us, but on more than one occasion said we got the crowd, and I quote "too rowdy" - like Van Halen tunes aren't supposed to put people in a festive mood...?


But yeah CVH tunes and Rhoads-era Ozzy you don't really put a "spin" on...you PLAY THAT SHIT.

[ThrillsNSpills]

Agree, you have to nail 'em...and not just you nailing (or best humanly-possible approximation of, best most of us can hope) the guitar parts, the WHOLE band...if you try 'em and they don't work, throw in the towel pick another one....ever tried 'Unchained' and actually tried to get the Flanger-Chugs correctly timed rhythmically? Not easy! For "Romeo Delight" you have to do the low E string tap-by-the pickup trick after the solo during the "Feel my heartbeat" bit coming back in to the chorus...."D.O.A." also way fun to play live, but possibly tougher on the singer than the guitarist, getting the DLR-howls right. I've worked with singers over the years that probably had better technical ranges that said Dave is "unique" and hard to nail.

IMO doing VH tunes or anything that cool as a guitarist is a two-part undertaking: Getting the licks right, and then getting the tones as close as possible. I'm glad I picked up the MXR EVH Phase90, the 'script' mode gets pretty close to the classic chewy solo sound, and I have an MXR Flanger model programmed as a preset on my pedalboard's MM-4...I was annoyed with the fact that my last band only wanted to do the "safe" ATBL YRGM stuff. While I was still happy to be playing CVH tunes, I'd rather have been playing some of the (non-'standard') cooler tunes... too bad I didn't have as involved a pedalboard in the earlier band, would have been better utilized then.

Having said that, I'd still rather be playing any CVH tune over some of the bland 80s-90s-contemporary shit some cover bands in LA want you to play...ugh. But another interesting bit about playing the heavier stuff in bars: The owners/management loved that they did well over the bar with us, but on more than one occasion said we got the crowd, and I quote "too rowdy" - like Van Halen tunes aren't supposed to put people in a festive mood...?


But yeah CVH tunes and Rhoads-era Ozzy you don't really put a "spin" on...you PLAY THAT SHIT.

It's good to see someone understands the importance of attention to detail!
And also I've known singers who could nail every kind of singer's style and can't come close to Dave's.

[Coyote]

Damn you guys... I'm jealous. Around here, "Jump" is the only song most coverbands dare to touch. Anything else would be "too heavy", "too difficult" or "unknown".

Albeit, I've yet to see anyone nail the solo. (myself included. )

[jhale667]

Oh yeah, that cooler of the cover bands I was in also did "Where Have All the Good Times Gone", also got an enthusiastic response...you almost can't go wrong with a CVH tune...IF the whole band can pull it off.

Geez, this is really making me want to find/form a new "cock-rock" (as our set list was referred to as...lol) cover band...

[yomaster]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Lot's of good ones. I'll keep you posted. Our last video footage from a gig last week was bad cause the sound guy did not get the mix right. The guitar and bass were really low. Part of Runnin with the devil turned out decent though. lol. I'll have to post it, you guys would get a kick out of it. I even had the plastic whistle from a cereal box.