At the end of last year I reviewed Andy Watson’s book ‘Total Cover Band Domination’ which is in effect a manual about the best way to build, manage and make your covers band more successful. His new book ‘Your Band Is A War Machine’ takes things to the next level. If the earlier book was a GCSE level tome the new one definitely sits at A Level. As regular readers know, I am not a musician and have never been in a band, but I have always been passionate about music and probably always will be. I have met plenty of musicians who have spent time in covers bands and while they all have different levels of commitment and passion there cannot be many with the same level of passion for his covers band that Andy Watson has.
The advice in the new book is even more practical than the first, in particular the element of getting paid and negotiating gigs and contracts. I also love some of the heckles he has experienced and the advice given as to how to handle different types of heckler. My favourite quote from that part is the heckler riposte “Who ordered the Screaming Bellend with extra bitterness“. There are some obvious bits of advice, like being polite to all venue staff. It seems simple but I am sure there are a few bands that are a bit up themselves and think they are better than other people. Andy gets it and gives you the lowdown on how to behave to build the best relationship with other people.
Andy writes with clarity, confidence, passion and he does it all in an easy to understand conversational manner. This book seems to add more detail than the previous one when talking about keeping the band together, not just through rehearsals but debriefing, band socials and agreeing a fair share of income based on effort and input. i was a mobile DJ for more than thirty years (now retired) and some of this advice even resonated with me too. Particularly agreeing and confirming a fee and ensuring that you get paid on time. Along perhaps with making sure you refresh your playlists regularly so that you never stop having something fresh to hit the crowd with.
If you are in a covers or tribute band (or even a non covers or tribute band) investing just a few quid in this book will be prove to be very much worth your while. You can get the e-book for £6, the paperback for £15 and the hardback for £22. The easiest way to get your copy is via the yourwarmachine.com website, just click here to zoom straight there and tell Andy I sent you!
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