I've long been a devotee of even the most obscure kind of original band performing even just the occasional cover in order to "ease" an audience into their own material when playing gigs.
Another vote n favour of this strategy comes from Hugh Conrwell ex front man with the Stranglers. He talks in Performing Musician mag this month about when the Stranglers were starting out and how they had to learn covers and then "sneak in" a couple of their own numbers around the covers. "And before they knew what we were doing" adds Hugh, "we were back doing something else they knew".
The important point, as Hugh says is:
"It kept the crowd interested".
Playing covers as a means to an end is NOT selling out. You're using them to help people digest your own material. Assuming you own material is any good, pretty soon they'll become covers anyhow.
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