Hotel showcases Brisbane and local talent
Wed 02 November 2011
Jasmin Maastricht, Bachelor of Journalism
Brisbane band Double Jack is a thriving example of how popular cover bands are becoming across Brisbane City and the Sunshine Coast.
The lead singer of Double Jack, Simon Vermeulen, and lead guitarist, Tommy Drake, were showcasing their original music for almost five years until the start of January, 2011, where they decided to become a duo cover band, playing songs by Cold Chisel, Kings of Leon and Wolfmother, just to name a few.
Mr Vermeulen said it was time to move on to something else, as making it in the music industry in Australia is a very difficult task.
“We’ve been in bands for six years now, doing originals. You can only go so far without an income,” Mr Vermeulen said.
Caloundra’s CBX Hotel is where they mostly perform, and Double Jack is just one of the many bands the hotel hires for a Friday night.The CBX Hotel’s venue manager Shayne Daniel said Double Jack was one of the best bands playing at the hotel.
“Double Jack are good...They get a really good crowd response," Mr Daniel said.
"That’s the best one we have who plays consistently [sic].”
Mr Daniel also said it was mostly cover bands that played at the CBX hotel, but he was willing to give other bands a chance as well.
“If they have a really good demo, them I’m willing to give them a chance,” Mr Daniel said.
Mr Drake said they did many performances on the Sunshine Coast because it was where most of the work was at the moment.
“Being able to perform at venues is also a right place, right time kind of thing,” Mr Drake said.“It’s not really a job to us,”
Mr Vermeulen said the band’s manager was responsible for its current success.
“He trialled us with seven venues when we started, but they keep asking us to come back!” Mr Vermeulen said.
Mr Drake said the band’s music was very diverse, including ’60s,’70s,’80s and ’90s music, along with a few new songs.
“We play older type stuff, but it depends where we play. Up the coast is a younger crowd,” Mr Drake said.
Mr Vermeulen said they also played songs you would not normally hear from most cover bands.
“I had a girl come up to me and she was about 20 ... and she asked me to play, ‘You’re the Voice’, by John Farnham!” Mr Vermeulen said.
Mr Daniel said many cover bands had their own material, but making cover songs was where the money is at.
“They make their money doing covers, because that’s what everyone wants to hear,” Mr Daniel said.
“We’ve got 300 odd people in here sometimes ... and they want songs they can sing along to.”
Mr Vermeulen agreed cover songs had become popular.
“These days, it’s not like the 70’s, where you’ll go out to see original music. Covers are what people want now,” Mr Vermeulen said.
Double Jack offers advice for all bands starting out.
Mr Drake said the best thing a new band could do, whether it was an original band or a cover band, was to take its time.
“You want to come out with a bang!” Mr Drake said.
“The best idea is to wing it, really.
“You [sic] just got to try and get out there and try everything.”
Mr Vermeulen suggested producing a sound recording of the band’s music.
“You have to get a good quality sound recording,” Mr Vermeulen said.
“Don’t do it yourself.
“Two years of publishing our own, original music and we learned what not to do!”
Mr Drake said the best way to make it in the industry these days was by using social media.
“Facebook, Youtube, Myspace, a lot of those are helpful, especially Facebook, with social networking,” Mr Drake said.
“Recommend your page to your Facebook friends and pretty soon they’ll start passing it on to their friends.
“You want everything to be laid out.”
Mr Vermeulen agreed that the World Wide Web was the best way of getting a new band noticed.
“Embrace the digital world, don’t think it’s like it was in the 70’s,” Mr Vermeulen said.
“Just by making a phone call, it just happens, I mean, we ended up performing with the Screaming Jets!”“Get out there and put everything on the internet.”
Mr Vermeulen said they still had their own material and would like to try and make it again, as an original band one day.“We still write our own songs, but we don’t play them as much,” Mr Vermeulen said.
“If they ask, we will, but there’s really, only, The Tempo in Brisbane who pretty much do it now.”Image(s) designed by Jasmin Maastricht