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Conference napalm::heavy_metal

Title:HEAVY_METAL - Talent Round-Up DayDay
Notice:Rules-2.*,Directory-7.*,Roster-3.*,Garbage-99.*
Moderator:BUSY::SLABB
Created:Wed May 04 1988
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1238
Total number of notes:65616

682.0. "Tribute Bands - What's The Appeal?" by LACV01::BUCHANAN (Is VAX9000 Hal's cousin?) Tue Jan 14 1992 17:24

    I think F. got the final word on that one.
    
    Okay, okay, here it comes....
    
    
    A real live WTF question that has TOTALLY to do with music and is in
    no way contraversial!
    
    
    Unless, of course, Frizkid is a roll, then anything's possible.
    
    
    Okay, way back in the hazy past, before there was Oliver Stone and Val
    Kilmer, there were the Back Doors (don't yack yet, Buck, I'm making a 
    point here!).  Morrison clone, sixties light show, all Doors tunes.
    
    Now we have Sgt. Pepper, Hotel California, Stairway to Heaven, Purple
    Haze, the Back Doors (they're still around) .... you get the idea....
    So WTF is it with tribute bands?  You can't see the Beatles, the
    Eagles, Led Zep, Jimi or the Doors, but you can get the next best
    thing?
    
    WHY?  Why not buy Hotel California, rent Dance on Fire or see The Song
    Remains the Same if that's what you want to see/hear?  He!! the Who got
    back together and did a tribute show to themselves!  Is this sick or
    what?    
    
    I know the reason: $$$$$.  But why does the public buy this?  Why not
    repeat concert tours?  Chris wanted to see an old Iron Maiden tour.
    Why not do it again for the right amount of dinero?  (Maybe they will
    next.  The Who did it.  Who's next? (good album, bad idea!)
    
    How do you musician types feel about this?  Would you play in a tribute
    band that made its money by covering one and only one artist?
     
    That's the WTF thought for today.                         
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name
DateLines
682.1WTF?COMET::FRISBYASweet CheaterTue Jan 14 1992 18:324
    I'll have to think about this.....hum?
    
             Frizkid
    
682.2SUBURB::COOKSLie,Cheat,StealWed Jan 15 1992 07:566
    I like tribute albums. I`ve got a tribute album to Kiss,which includes
    Nirvana doing "I want you",and the Hard-Ons doing "Detroit Rock City".
    Great stuff.
    
    Joe Strummer.
    
682.3They suckCAVLRY::BUCKREXX & RollWed Jan 15 1992 08:303
    >Nirvana doing "I want you"
    
    Blasphemy!!  They can't do that song justice!
682.4trumpet bandsSOURCE::ZAPPIAAdult Oriented NoiseWed Jan 15 1992 09:0944
    
    I had a similiar thought back in the old MUSIC conference and since
    it's now archived...	
    
              <<< TIMBRE::DKA300:[NOTES$LIBRARY]MUSIC_V3.NOTE;1 >>>
                                 -< Music V3 >-
================================================================================
Note 1739.0                       Tribute Bands                       24 replies
SOURCE::ZAPPIA "Dusted in Memphis"                   34 lines  26-JUL-1991 10:43
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The note regarding Yoko Ono's attempt to prevent Beatle	cover/tribute
	bands form performing prompted me about these type of bands in
	general.  I will give her credit for her efforts in making as much
	material as possible available to fans, Lost Lennon Tapes, etc. but
	I think this is ridiculous.  Good luck to her, it should consume all
	her time just trying to locate 'em all!

	One thing about tribute bands that I've never understood are the 
	ones who exist even though the band they pay 'tribute to still 
	perform.  
    
    	The Blushing Brides (but one could argue the Stones have been dead
    	for years! - {just kidding} have been around for 10+ years, likewise 
    	Diva Down and others perform even though the band exists.

    	Here's some, please add more that you know about...
    
	Blushing Brides   (Rolling Stones)
	Diva Down 	  (Van Halen)
	Physical Graffiti (Led Zeppelin)
	Four Sticks       (Led Zeppelin)
	Kashmir           defunct tribute band!
	Back in Black 	  (AC/DC)
	Motorhead 	  (Fat-something, anyone see 'em at Middle East last 
			   week?)
	Too many Beatles one to list...Revolver, The Acoustics (?), Ringer....
	- forget name     (Jimi Hendrix - worth seeing BTW.
	" "               (Lynyrd Skynrd)
	"                 (The Doors)
	The Machine       (Pink Floyd)
	...

	- Jim
682.5POWDML::GOLDBERGbone crackin&#039; feverWed Jan 15 1992 09:239
    
    
    Hey Joe Strummer!!
    
    What is that album?  Who is the record company??  I'd like to get it...
    
    
    
    Goddess F.
682.6braindeadSOURCE::ZAPPIAAdult Oriented NoiseWed Jan 15 1992 10:048
    
    	The title is "Highway to Hell" or half-way to hell or something like.
    	
    	I don't know what label it's on but it's usually in the compilation 
    	bins!  Bullet La Volta is laos on it  along with ? but of course
    	non of this crap belongs here but...
    	
    	- Who cares
682.7just checkingPOWDML::GOLDBERGbone crackin&#039; feverWed Jan 15 1992 10:437
    
    
    Thats the Kiss cover album name?
    
    
    
    Goddess F.
682.8Kiss CoverSOURCE::ZAPPIAAdult Oriented NoiseWed Jan 15 1992 11:204
    
    	Yes, something like that.  
    
    	- Jim
682.9SUBURB::COOKSLie,Cheat,StealThu Jan 16 1992 08:156
    Errr,i can`t remember the name of the label (I`ll try and remember
    to look over the week end).
    
    There`s no metal bands,mind. (All punk,or alternative or wot ever 
    the phrase is). There`s a great thrash version of 'Beth' on it n`all.
    
682.10covers for saleSOURCE::ZAPPIAAdult Oriented NoiseWed Jan 22 1992 11:3314
    
    	I can't say I care too much for bands doing covers of some what
    	recent songs, the Mighty Mighty Bostones (or whatever their name
    	is this week) come to mind and their cover of "Enter Sandman".  
    
    	Their covers of older Aerosmith and VH songs are a bit more 
    	understandable, I guess.  I don't necessarily dislike bands that do 
    	covers but somehow the bands that release recordings of primarily 	
    	covers doesn't do much for me.
    
    	Regarding tribute bands in general if a band still actively tours I 
    	don't see the appeal behind some tribute bands.
    
    	- Jim
682.11Diver Down lineupICS::CLELANDGPS easternThu Aug 17 1995 10:0036
    	To answer Bill's question in #22.151, here be 'da sitchewayshun:
    
    	Diver Down: Van Halen tribute
    
    	Charlie Bonanno - David Lee Roth
    	Chris McKenna	- guitar
    	Scott Martin	- bass
    	Patrick Cleland - drums
    
    	To answer the previous reply from 3 years ago, (I only joined
    	this past January) we're doing a tribute to the Van Halen that
    	was, so we don't consider ourselves a tribute to Van Halen.
    
    	We perform a tribute to Van Halen with David Lee Roth, which
    	leads to Charlie proudly proclaiming, "We are a Hagar-free zone".
    
    	I try my best to perform what is on the record, although I admit
    	that I'm not as good as the guy who recently joined Extreme.
    	Mike Mengini (sp?) was in Diver Down 6 years ago, and from what
    	I've heard from Charlie's old tapes of the band back then, the
    	guy was/is amazing. The next drummer was Steven Hart, if I
    	remember correctly, and no, I'm not as good as him either. But
    	I will say that I'm a good musician, and I play well with these
    	people on stage, because I listen, and respond.
    
    	How I got the gig...
    	I was lucky enough to be friends with Chris M., and performed on
    	some of his solo projects. He left a message on my answering
    	machine one day, asking me to start practicing the first six
    	Van Halen records. I went through two auditions, passed the
    	first one without problem, but still couldn't play the intro to
    	Hot for Teacher. They came back to my house for the second
    	audition, well, I passed. I still have trouble with the intro,
    	but I've nailed the rest of the song down.
    
    	Hope to see some folks at Spotlight's tonight, thanks...
682.12FABSIX::I_GOLDIEresident alienThu Aug 17 1995 16:369
    
    I always kinda fancied seeing Diver Down but you always play on the
    nights when I'm working!
    
    How much like DLR is your singer...I mean,does he leap about the stage
    doing the splits etc?
    
    
    					ian
682.13BUSY::SLABOUNTYHoly rusted metal, Batman!Thu Aug 17 1995 16:593
    
    	And, more importantly, has he lost most of his hair?
    
682.14HOZHED::FENNELLA cowboy&#039;s life is not for meFri Aug 18 1995 09:161
Does he buy dope a block from the Capitol from Cops?
682.15He even looks like Dave...ICS::CLELANDGPS easternMon Aug 21 1995 12:208
    	Re .12
    	He doesn't do splits, and he never spits (at least not on stage)
    
    	Re .13
    	Yes, he's losing his hair, he almost looks like Dave today...
    
    	Re .14
    	I hope not!!!!!!!
682.16FABSIX::I_GOLDIEresident alienMon Aug 21 1995 15:106
    
    
    the splits...yoiks.I can feel my eyes watering as we speak!
    
    
    						ian
682.17YESSONGSICS::CLELANDCCS Eastern SitesThu May 30 1996 07:2432
    	Well, I'm at it again...

    	Some friends have started a Yes tribute show, called Yessongs.

    	They were having trouble finding a drummer to fill the void,
    	when they asked me to help out, I said YES...

    	We've been rehearsing for 4 months now, will be playing at
    	a club on the south shore called the Sea Note, Hull, MA.

    	Set list:

    	Firebird Suite
    	Owner of a lonely Heart (9012-live)
    	Close to the Edge
    	Heart of the Sunrise
    	Yours is no disgrace
    	Long Distance Run Around
    	The Fish
    	Mood for a day
    	Changes
    	I've seen all good people
    	Roundabout  (9012-live)

    	BTW, I've been trying to find the 9012-LIVE video, I've been told
    	it is out of print. Anyone know of a copy available, buy it, it's
    	not easy to find.
    
    	I feel like some kind of sadistic imitator, playing Bill Bruford
    	or Alan White, or Alex Van Halen...
    
    	Face
682.18Tribute bands in LA areaN2DEEP::SHALLOWSubtract L, invert WFri Jun 21 1996 10:5242
    Tribute bands seem to be on the rise in the LA area, as sadly, there
    isn't too much original rock/metal around to go and see. It's a whole
    lot of new grunge bands, and alternative crap, and (UGH!) techno/pop
    disco dance bands, thrash, and of course, the punk scene. (more UGH!)
    
    FM Station in N. Hollywood has been on a roll of late with tribute
    bands. Here's a list of bands playing there:
    
    June 21:
    
    Operation: Queensryche, Street Survivors (Lynyrd Skynard tribute),
    Rainbow Bridge (Hendrix tribute), Grand Illusion (Styx tribute)
    
    June 22:
    
    "Youth gone wild" Skid Row, Pandora's Box (Aerosmith), Earth (the
    ultimate tribute to Black Sabbath, 68-78, the ozzy years)
    
    June 29:
    
    Visions (Rush tribute), Devils Child (Judas Priest tribute), Back in
    Black (AC/DC tribute).
    
    Wednesday nights: Polyester Pimps (70's disco dance party) and Sound
    Machine (Partridge Family tribute) 
    
    Whatcha missed last week:
    
    The Crue (Motley Crue Experience) Mother Mercy, Diamond Dogs, and
    Revlon Red. (non-tribute bands?) Atomic Punks (A tribute to EARLY VH)
    
    Other bands at other clubs:
    
    Duece (KISS tribute) Circle (Grateful Dead tribute), Caress of Steel
    (Rush tribute), Infinity (Journey tribute), Imagine (Beatles tribute).
    
    So it looks like tribute bands are happening in the San Fernando
    Valley. Yes, there still is a rock/metal crowd in SoCal, but it's
    been difficult to find good original bands to listen to. Sad.
    
    Bob
    
682.19LUDWIG::LUCHTIs it a passion or just a profession?Fri Jun 21 1996 21:446
    
    Come to Worcester Mass...this town is ridiculously chock full of
    cover bands.
    
    Kev --
    
682.20scrapCADSYS::FENNELLYuri! quit smooshing packagesSat Jun 22 1996 08:392
Yes but are they bring metal back to Worcester???
682.21SUBPAC::GOLDIEResident AlienSat Jun 22 1996 10:085
    they all seem to be at Sir Morgans Cove on friday nights!
    
    
    
    						ian
682.22EDWIN::HOOKERMon Jun 24 1996 15:2110
    Re: -1
    
    which is why we never got a headline gig there on the weekend.
    They always had Itchy Fish or some other tribute band playing 
    on the weekend.  We got to play 2nd a few weekend gigs which was
    cool cause the crowds are usually good for those shows.  But they
    would only let us headline there on Wednesday nights when nobody
    is out.  We held many a practice at Sir Morgans on Wednesday nights.
    
    Shane, who's bummin cause we haven't played out in over a month now...
682.23New England TributesNQOS01::16.125.32.41::faceToo many years, too little timeMon Jul 08 1996 16:2064
http://bostonphoenix.com/alt1/archive/specials/bandguide/bbg

New England Area Tribute Acts, including contact agencies & phone #'s

Back in Black			AC/DC
Beatlemania			Beatles
Bold as Love (defunct)		Jimi Hendrix
The Breeze			Lynyrd Skynyrd
Britannia			British Invasion (whatever that means)
Broken Men			Grateful Dead
Committed World Tour		The Commitments (actual members)
Crystal Ship			The Doors
Dead Ringer			Beatles (some original)
Destroyer			KISS
Bobby Diamond			60's - 80's & tributes
Dirty Deeds			AC/DC
Diver Down			Van Halen
Don't Look Back (defunct)	Boston
Draw the Line			Aerosmith
Eruption			Jimi Hendrix
Fabulous Mertz Brothers 	Beatles (60's covers)
Fanatics			Nat Freedberg
Fat Angus			AC/DC
Forever Young			Rod Stewart
Fork				Salinger Lewis
Full Moon Fever 		Tom Petty
Good Vibrations 		Beach Boys
HELP!				Beatles
Hotel California		Eagles
Inside the Nightmare		Alice Cooper
Joshua Tree			U2
Just Alice			Alice Cooper
Killer Queen			Queen
Lazy Lightning			Grateful Dead
Russ & Sandy Liben		Bruce Springsteen / Madonna
Loose Change			Grateful Dead
The Machine			Pink Floyd
Doug MacIntyre			Elvis / Roy Orbison
Sandy Martin			Patsy Cline
Midnight Ramblers		Rolling Stones
Over the Garden Wall		Genesis, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel
Jeff Pitchell & Texas Flood	Stevie Ray Vaughn
Physical Graffiti		Led Zepellin
Power Windows			Rush
Preservation			The Kinks
Rock Guitar Legends		General guitarist tribute
Saturday Night Special		Lynyrd Skynyrd
Scarecrow			John Cougar
Shakedown			Grateful Dead
Stan Jr.			Elvis
Sticky Fingers			Rolling Stones
Tinseltown Rebellion		Frank Zappa
Toys in the Attic		Aerosmith
Tres Hombres			ZZ Top
The Trouser Carrots		Bonzo Dog Band
True Martial Arts Academy	One Man Taller Than God
Ultimate Sin			Ozzy Osbourne
Use Your Illusion Too!		Guns & Roses
Van Hammer			Van Halen
Vitology			Pearl Jam
Warning 			Black Sabbath (Ozzy era)
The White			Led Zeppelin
Whole Lotta Led 		Led Zeppelin
Zoo Station			U2
682.24BIGQ::ZUIDEMAI sEe thE WoRld THRU blood SHot EYEsMon Jul 08 1996 22:4810
>New England Area Tribute Acts, including contact agencies & phone #'s

>Back in Black			AC/DC
    
    
    I saw these guys open for Physical Graffiti a few years ago at the
    Club Casino. I thought they were really good!! Unless I was really
    buzzed!!! ;-)
    
    Funny the list doesnt mention Touch too Much...another AC/DC cover.
682.25Boston Bands ListingCANING::16.125.32.41::FaceLove life, not deathTue Jul 09 1996 09:3341
    	This is the list from the Boston Phoenix web site, so the only
    	bands listed are the ones who have sent in their info.

    	Every Spring the paper publishes a HUGE Boston Bands listing
    	sorted by Genre. It also includes club listings, recording
    	studios, Producers, Publishers, Management Agencies, etc.
    	Definitely a MUST see listing for anyone trying to get a band
    	going in the Boston area, or Northeast for that matter.

    	I've heard of Touch Too Much, I also know about Itchy Fish,
    	(Pearl Jam tribute), and there's a Stone Temple Pilots band
    	floating around.

    	And I've seen Buck talking about his fantasy of putting together
    	a Dream Theater act, if he's not still designing Roller Coasters.
	I thought Buck was making up excuses when he passed on an offer
	to play a few gigs with Diver Down. Turns out he was serious!

    	I'm blown away by this Tinseltown Rebellion, anyone trying to
    	cover Zappa better be doing alot of studying, or be tremendous
    	readers. I'd be curious to know where they're getting the sheet
    	music.

	My friends in the Yessongs tribute don't use sheet music, so
	they're studying everything strictly by ear. They still don't
    	have a drummer so I show up once a week at rehearsals.

	And we don't bother with sheet music in Diver Down, I can learn
	99% of the drum parts by ear. Charlie has been singing this
	stuff for 14 years - "Those words are imbedded in my left nut".
	Our new guitar player Amos has the most difficult job since 90%
	of the people at the clubs are there to see him. There's always
	plenty of criticism at the end of the night. Charlie can sing
	off-key, I can blow the intro to Hot for Teacher, but Amos better
	hit every note in Eruption or he'll hear about it after the show.
	I'm just glad no one has ever compared me to Mangini, no one at
	the shows seems to remember the original Diver Down. We're
	trying to bring the show back up to that level...

	Anyone ever see this "other" Van Halen show called Van Hammer?
	I've never even heard of 'em...
682.26BUSY::SLABOUNTYCatch you later!!Tue Jul 09 1996 09:364
    
    	Angry Chair is either the Stone Temple Pilots tribute band or
    	the Alice in Chains tribute band.
    
682.27The definition of "Courage"DREGS::BLICKSTEINThe moment is a masterpieceTue Jul 09 1996 09:5920
>	Our new guitar player Amos has the most difficult job since 90%
>	of the people at the clubs are there to see him. There's always
>	plenty of criticism at the end of the night. 
    
    I simply can not imagine what it must be like to get up in front of
    hundreds of inevitably critical guitar players and play "Eruption".
    
    Now THAT takes balls.
    
    ;-)
    
    Joke (excerpt from long list of guitar player jokes):
    
    	Q: How many guitarists does it take to play "Eruption"?
    
    	A: 5, one to play it, and 4 to stand around and say how much
    	   better THEY could play it.
    
    	db - who defied convention decided to learn "Spanish Fly" 
    	     instead of "Eruption"
682.28EDWIN::HOOKERWed Jul 10 1996 12:1012
    Re: -2
    
    Angry Chair is the Alice in Chains tribute and they were quite
    good when we played with them in Springfield.  We played with
    them at a club called Mikara's.  Really cool place and nice sound
    system.  They did a lot of the earlier AIC...not that there's a
    lot of albums by them but I think most people started picking up
    listening to them with Jar of Flies which Angry Chair also did several
    numbers that were very impressive.
    
    Shane, who wants to go back on vacation