Jason Bonham thinks being in a cover band isn’t that bad.
Drummer Matt Starr recently posted a video on Instagram with the caption:
“Cover bands (bar bands) are the dishwashers of the music business (check out follow-up post 7/29) Sick of $100 gigs? You can break the cycle with the right information. It starts with setting your rate. Grab my free PDF, Link in Bio.”
Bonham commented on the post with a laughing emoji and wrote:
“I make good money lol.”
Matt replied to Jason’s words, saying:
“Ha ha and you should, you’re great! Saw the show at the Ridgefield Playhouse it was a beautiful evening. For some reason people took this post as saying only original bands matter, I don’t play original music, as a hired gun I play other people’s music. I’m talking about our guys stuck making $100 a night playing three sets of covers in a bar. There’s a lot of talented musicians who are dying to get out of that scene but they don’t know how.”
What Did Starr Exactly Mean?
Starr further explained what he meant in the video:
“Here’s what I mean by that. If you’re in a cover band, I’m not calling you a dishwasher. What I’m saying is if wantnted to get into the restaurant business, the entry-level position is a dishwasher. It requires the least amount of skill and it pays the least amount of money. So, if you want to get into the music business and start making money playing music, the easiest thing to do is to learn a few songs and go play in a bar.”
He continued:
“It’s the easiest thing to do for musicians and it pays the least amount of money. Now, if you’re a dishwasher, but your dream is to be a chef and you’ve been a dishwasher for 5, 10, 15, or 20 years, and you haven’t gotten a raise, and you’re making the same amount of money, and you’re desperately wanting to be a chef, that’s a huge problem. That’s what happens with a lot of guys in cover bands. They get stuck. Get unstuck. Learn how to set your rate. Please click the link in my bio.”
Bonham is currently on tour with Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, and Joe Satriani, playing Van Halen classics. After performing in different cities of the United States, they will also have shows in Japan in September.