Can there POSSIBLY be anything more fucking lame than a "tribute band?"

[Redstone]

Have those people no pride? Have they no shame?

Christ, if I couldn't do any better than IMITATING someone else, I'm afraid I'd have to admit that I'm no kind of musician at all, and hang up the guitar and the microphone, and go do some other job.

Jesus. You don't have to be a songwriter to be a musician; in fact Emmylou Harris said it well when she said "If all you sing is the songs you write, you end up sounding the same in all your songs." A valid idea.

But good God. Does ANYONE have so little pride that they'll spend a "career" trying to be someone else, rather than themselves?

That's offensive to any real musician. In my opinion, anyway.

Redstone

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear Redstone!

Um...you'll have to explain just what a "tribute band" is to me...

I am unfamiliar with this term!

And just what are you doing, still up?

I thought you were going to bed...

:hug:

[jeff30997]

3. Er...me too

I'm with the angel right over my post! :blush:

[Redstone]

4. It's a band that only performs the songs of a specific, famous band, such as

Led Zeppelin. I posted that because Letterman just had a "Prince Tribute Band" on, where the lead singer / guitarist even dressed and had a hairdo to look like Prince, in addition to doing Prince's songs note-for-note.

I'm sorry. I may not have been the best musician out there when I was able to play and sing, but I'd be ashamed of myself if the best I could do was to copy a famous band.

And I CANNOT understand why people would actually PAY to see one of those bands play (which they do, usually in fairly obscure local venues). Why spend good money to see a lame copy?

Redstone

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. Ah, thank you!

I get it, now...

Maybe people pay to see these bands because they know they'll never get to see the real thing?

:shrug:

[Redstone]

6. But jeez, Peg, would you want to watch a version of The Graduate with someone who was

just pretending to be Dustin Hoffman?

Redstone

[CaliforniaPeggy]

8. Oh, you're probably right, as usual...

Nope, I would not watch a version of The Graduate with a fake Dustin Hoffman!

Or Anne Bancroft, either!

[Jamastiene]

2. I find it offensive as hell to the real bands AND to fans.

Fans who want to look up information about the real band have to sift through piles of bullshit tribute bands to get to what they are really looking for. It's annoying as hell. There are about a ton of Blondie tribute bands. That's how I know. God, it's so freaking annoying. None of them have Deborah Harry's voice or even anything resembling it. They should stop...RIGHT FUCKING NOW. You don't mess with perfection.

[DarkTirade]

7. A tribute can be fun now and then...

but to make a whole band out of it? That's just a little weird.

[Fire Walk With Me]

9. A rant about them on New Year's Eve?

:hide: ;) :hug:

[Hanse]

10. Hey, it's the same music.

With much lower ticket prices, they spend more time on tour, and they haven't got the over inflated egos.

[leftyclimber]

11. Dunno.

I've been in my share of bands, and I've seen a couple of tribute bands that were quite good.

Saw a Genesis tribute band (The Musical Box) several years ago that reproduced to the tiniest detail The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Seeing as I was three years old when that album came out it was kinda cool to have the opportunity to at least experience a reproduction of the live tour when I was thirty and old enough to appreciate it.

I wouldn't want to do it for a living, but I appreciated the work they'd put into it, both on the production side and the musicianship side.

Although I wish they would have done The Knife as an encore. Then my born-too-late PG-Genesis geekitude would have been complete. x(

[harmonicon]

33. I've heard that they're really good

The band Giraffe used to also cover the entirety of "Lamb..", which was supposedly really good, but they did their own stuff too. I've never seen them either - the singer died from auto-erotic-asphyxiation - really.

[leftyclimber]

40. It was a really good show.

Giraffe? Auto-erotic asphyxiation?

...My mind is going some really weird places right now... :rofl:

[RagAss]

12. Yes....A Dean Martin impersonator !

[Lucian]

13. Amen.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

14. I agree.

I saw Purple Rain on Letterman too.

I wouldn't imitate somebody else note for note either, and I've been a musician since I was a wee child on two instruments, voice and choir. All classical.

[billyoc]

15. Yeah. Out of work musicians.

:hi:

[jobycom]

47. Win.

:thumbsup:

[SoxFan]

16. Oh, hell yeah

http://tampa.craigslist.org/hil/muc/951625203.html

[graywarrior]

17. How about the ones who make a living looking like someone else?

[Symarip]

18. I've played in cover bands. I'll tell you what the problem is:

People actually show up to see the cover band in question. For the musician, it may suck a little to be 'pretending' to be someone else, but alas, it's a paying gig. Some cover bands make a shit ton of money regularly because they can have weekly gigs at different clubs.

[TZ]

21. Cover bands are alright.

In fact my stepfather played in a cover band for years and years. They generally do lots of different groups though. And generally they don't try to become the musicians...In a way, they are more intellectually honest..Because they don't try to be what they are not.
I watched Purple Rain on Letterman too...Although I liked the sound (cause I like Prince) it was kind of creepy seeing them all decked out to look like Prince and the Revolution.

[KG]

19. yes. another Redstone pronouncement.

[Guava Jelly]

20. I saw a Beatles tribute band several years ago

It was the closest I'll ever come to experiencing the Beatles.
I'd pay to see a good Sinatra impersonator.

[Marrah_G]

38. Was it "Rain"?

[Guava Jelly]

51. It was a band called 1964

http://www.bluemoontalent.com/1964-beatles-tribute.html
They were awesome.. :)

[mitchum]

22. One should be able to pay the cover with Monopoly money

[alphafemale]

28. zing!

I don't really have a strong opinion on the subject one way or the other.

But that was funny as hell.

[redqueen]

23. Oh is it offensive to you?

Most of the musicians I've known who played in cover bands did so to pay the bills so they could do their own thing on their own time without having to hold down a "real" job.

Making a career out of sounding like another band... I dunno... whatever.

More power to em for avoiding the fucking rat race. That's what I say.

Fuck this "real musician" snobbery. I say that, too.

[Orsino]

32. Well, not being in a band at all is probably one step lamer.

And most of us get along just fine that way.

[redqueen]

42. Wha? No it isn't...

if you want to play music do it... if not, don't. It's simple.

[Orsino]

44. Well, if a lack of creativity is what is really being decried...

...non-musicians (or non-performers) would be first in line for lame.

[tigereye]

64. some folks have the inclination and/pr talent, and some folks don't

:shrug:

Although I have seen plenty of bands that maybe should never have formed! :rofl: The nice thing about punk is that it encouraged pretty much everyone to start a band, though, and give it a shot!

[mitchum]

79. I always say,"The only thing worse than not having a band...

is having a band"

Yet, I madly persist

[crispini]

24. Yes. Cover bands are more lame.

Good tribute bands can be kind of amusing, IMO. We have a really good Queen tribute band locally; the lead singer sounds FANTASTIC and you can tell he just has oodles of fun dressing and acting like Freddie Mercury. But COVER bands that try to cover all kinds of lame 80s or 80s songs and still act a little bit like they have their own schtick -- that's even WORSE.

And, here is the ultimate of lameness -- last night, at our city's "official" New Year's Eve celebration, the headliner act ... was a cover band. That's the lamest of lame. Ah, Big D, eternally plastic city. At least you're consistent. (Edited to add-- and it's not like we don't have lots of great good LOCAL bands, but no, people in Dallas can't be bothered to get off their ass and find out who the good local bands are.)

[dembotoz]

25. a little torn on this

i could see a version of hell being stuck for eternity in a room with elvis inpersonators.

on the other hand, there are some groups or other performers who i know i will never have a chance
to see perform.
That can be fun.

[Schema Thing]

26. Since the majority of people who can play instruments well

can't create music anyone would want to hear... we are better off with them covering the music people do want to hear.


That said, I don't pay money to go see cover bands.

[BarenakedLady]

27. Yes

Many things are more lame.

[Patiod]

29. From "KC & the Sunshine Band" to "The Doors"

So one year down at the Jersey shore, there was an annoying "KC and the Sunshine Band" tribute band that played at "The Rock Room" in Avalon.

The next year, we were there for Memorial Day, and realized that Jim Morrison from the Doors Tribute band was last year's KC. Did a number on "Jim's" credibility.

Because it was where everyone hung out that year, and because I didn't have a car, I ended up being forced to suffer through WAY too many bad renditions of "LA Woman" that summer.........

[ghostsofgiants]

30. I know people in tribute bands that are doing it as a fun side project from their other bands.

:shrug:

[Tabasco_Dave]

31. $8.00 cover charge

and some cheap drinks, can make a tribute band sound really awesome.:beer: :headbang:

[harmonicon]

34. I think there are some good tribute bands

There's a really good Grateful Dead tribute band called the Darkstar Orchestra that I've seen a few times. I think the musicians really enjoy it, and aren't just doing it for the money. They don't try to look like people that they aren't, but just play some great music that they really love and have passion for. Seeing them is totally different from seeing the Dead, and that's fine - it's not a secret or a replacement for the real thing.... just something else.

[MilesColtrane]

35. Many of the bands that are more than 15-20 years old are essentially tribute versions of themselves.

Really, they may have one, or two original members, but the rest of the band is different.

It can be fun to play a gig here or there with the right tribute band, but I wouldn't want to do it exclusively. Case in point: "Naked Lunch" a local Steely Dan tribute band always gets good players and has the songs charted out to the last detail.

A cover band, on the other hand, is one of the few ways to make any money at all as a musician. I don't begrudge those who do it, just as long as they have a realistic view of themselves and what it is that they're doing.

It's hilarious when I run across the occasional fevered ego who's so proud of the fact that they perform the best version of "Brick House" in the city.

[LynneSin]

36. Best tribute band I ever saw: Lez Zeppelin

And btw there is one thing lamer than a tribute band and that's someone who makes bootlegs of tribute bands.

Mind you, I never really wanted to go to this concert but my friend and her 11 year old daughter were going along with her sister and her sister's boyfriend (that later pair is a bit off if you know what I mean). BBKings on Time Square (a major tourist trap mind you) was doing a tribute band concert for Robert Plant's birthday. We were actually there to see the latter band, which was some really god awful group of men who thought all LZ songs was simply screaming at the top of your lungs. Oh and since this is a Time Squares tourist trap the beer was like $10 a glass (I switched to tequila, I figured if I was going to suffer thru this I might as well get the most bang for my bucks). There were 2 bands the tribute band headlining band of assholes and the opening act - which was Lez Zeppelin, a group of lesbians who do a tribute band for Led Zeppelin. Those gals were really good - they had all the nuances down and some of the songs they actually did a bit better than the original Led Zeppelin. Personally, after one song by the 2nd band (the main tribute band act for the night) I was ready to go but the guy in our group makes BOOTLEGS of the other band (had a getup stashed away in his sunglasses that he wore on his head. The idiot said he'd make me a copy but told him that I had bootlegs of the ORIGINAL band and that was enough for me thank you.

But seriously - if you ever have a chance to see Lez Zeppelin, personally they should ditch the tribute and do their own music because they were very very very talented.

http://www.lezzeppelin.com/

[semillama]

41. Other good tribute bands (who also happen to be composed of women)

Hell's Belles: http://www.hellsbelles.info/

The Iron Maidens: http://www.theironmaidens.com/

[Marrah_G]

37. I went to see a Beatles tribute show in the theatre with my daughter

It was an amazing show, extremely well done and incredibly respectful to the band they were portraying. It was half musical, half concert.

http://www.raintribute.com/

It is one of my favorite memories with my daughter :)

[DS1]

39. Since McCartney doesn't own his music anymore

Doesn't that technically make him a cover band?

[Radical Activist]

43. Any 80's cover band.

The kind that plays 20 different crappy 80's songs from different groups.

[Enthusiast]

45. The Pink Floyd knockoff,

Wish You were Here, is excellent. I really enjoyed seeing them twice and hope to see them in the future.

[buzzycrumbhunger]

46. I think there are exceptions

Zappa cover bands tend to be held to a higher standard--if they're not good, fans would never support them. Best band we've seen in recent years in the Tampa area is Bogus Pomp, who are amazing. (This clip is from one of their trips to Germany, so they're not as loose and raunchy as usual, but as always, very tight.) They're not pretending to be the Mothers, they're just performing the music--really well. Zappa himself was very instrumental (hah) in helping Ensemble Modern recreate his orchestral stuff (later touring as the Yellow Shark tour) in his last years. Their Greggery Peccary album is astoundingly accurate (though it's hard to listen to the wrong voice for the little swine).

What's really lame is that now Frank's dead, his family has decided to be extremely hard-ass about it, threatening anyone as if a freakin' cover band is going to cost them income. (There's actually a petition here asking them to chill the fuck out.)

[conscious evolution]

55. Its dweezils tribute band they are protecting.

How weird is that?The son leading a tribute band doing his fathers music?
There is another Zappa tribute band.Project Object.It actually has a MoI in it.And when they play in Atl Denny Wallie sits in with them.

[Bennyboy]

67. Zappa Plays Zappa is awesome

The Zappa family has long protected Franks Work and songwriting, even before Franks Death. he even got pissed when Phish covered "Peaches" and did not pay him for it. So not so much Gail, but Zappa policy....

[buzzycrumbhunger]

71. Dweezil. Pffft.

I've tried to cut those kids slack over the years because their dad has to be a tough act to follow, but damn--is it not ironic that they should all seem to suck in every way Frank made shit of?

And there are apparently lots of old Mothers who grace the tribute bands. Bogus Pomp often has Napoleon Murphy Brock and had Jimmy Carl Black a few times. The legal stuff didn't seem to impact them until recently (like the last six months), though, so I don't think it's Frank's legacy. They used to have dozens of videos up and now can't even advertise their annual Zappaween concert blatently without drawing ire from the family's legal team.

[Bennyboy]

73. Go see Zappa plays Zappa and then get back to me okay.....

They are freaking incredible. Dweezil relearned the guitar to be able to play like Frank. Online they take requests from the people attending the shows.

I saw Frank many times and this band is the real deal.

[Crazy Dave]

48. I dunno

I've seen a few tribute bands that sound better and can even remember all the words to their songs versus a few has-beens on their reunion tours

[johnnie]

49. I would never do it

My drummer and bass player played in a Zeppelin tribute band back in the 80s and although I'm not a fan of LZ they were good at what they did. They charged $2,000 plus a gig and got it. That's 500 bucks each for a two hour gig...not bad.

The drummer now is in a Garth brooks tribute band and they also make a lot of cash and play all over. It's amazing how many people show up at their shows and enjoy it.

My guitar player plays in a Beatles tribute act and they too are booked all the time. They play a lot of "private parties" and make a lot of cash doing it.

As for me, I never wanted to play in one of these kinds of bands and I even stay away from playing in cover bands. I don't play many gigs and I don't make the money my buddies make or have made. They like to gig, they like being on stage and they like the extra cash.

[Tighelander]

50. Snobbery? What about Classical Music?

Aren't all high culture orchestras essentially "cover bands"?

[baby_mouse]

76. Totally.

[tigereye]

52. I dunno, that band Purple Reign on Letterman the other night wasn't bad...

ordinarily I would agree with you. I think there is an all female Led Zep tribute band that might be worth examining as well.

[Shell Beau]

53. Musicians just try to make it. I don't think any of them start out thinking

that they want to cover another band one day. The music industry is hard to break through. It pays the bills I am sure.

[Mike 03]

54. LOL, beautiful. Thank you for giving me by biggest (and only) laugh of the day.

I couldn't agree more. I used to get dragged to these shows when I lived in Los Angeles and some friend would have a birthday and demand we see this crap. It was pure torture.

[Taverner]

56. Sometimes its about perfecting what the masters did

I have no problems with tribute bands

[Forkboy]

57. One of my favorite punk bands is basically a tribute to the Ramones...and hockey.

The Hanson Brothers are a side project of the band Nomeansno. Their music is totally in the same vein of the Ramones, three chord punk that's fun to dance and sing to. And it's all about hockey, with lyrics like, "I saw her driving the zamboni - I asked her out for some spumoni - And just when things were going well - They sent me to the AHL". What's not to like? :silly:

I think you're right to a point, and I think that point to me is when straight up cover bands do it to cash in on someone else to make up for their lack of talent, or they just aren't creative. Nomeansno is all over the place compared to this project and have some serious talent, so that isn't the case here. In the case of the Hansons, they do their own songs and, in the case of punk, covering up your lack of talent is frowned upon anyways. :)

But the Hanson Bros were clearly inspired by the Ramones, and are as close to a tribute band as one can get...and they're pretty damn cool.



Sudden Death!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnXpIIEpin0&feature=related

[Guava Jelly]

59. Tribute Bands RAWK!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rdpAvkmkkA
Tribute - Greatest Song In The World (Cover) - Mar, '07 (Tenacious D) :P

[Forkboy]

65. LOL

That's just crazy stuff. :)

[JimGinPA]

58. That Dwarf 'Kiss' Tribute Band Was Pretty Cool Though

B-)

[Locrian]

60. heres one for AC/DC

http://www.labonfire.com/pages/home.shtml

[Drunken Irishman]

61. Especially when the band is still around.

[Rob H.]

62. You should try hanging out on a guitarists' forum sometime

There are guys who obsess over the tiniest details of someone like Stevie Ray Vaughan's gear (his guitars, pickups, amps, magnet type of the speakers he used) so they can sound just like him. It's kind of funny but sad, too. Just 'cause you're playing a replica of his #1 guitar through the same brand of amp equipped the same brand and type of speakers and the same brand of tubes doesn't automatically mean you'll play as well as he did.

[mitchum]

70. Do you know what brand of batteries SRV used in his Tube Screamer?

I need to know!

That fetishism is weird...and amusing

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

63. Some are pretty good and way cheaper to see than the original. n/t

[Bennyboy]

66. It is not the band's so much, it is the people that see them.....

instead of seeing real original music.

Here in my town, tribute band reign king. they pack three clubs every night.

Put original music in those clubs and NOBODY comes out to see it. I know a lot of guys in tthe tribute bands and they all tell, it pays the bills. They all play original music but they cannot draw people to the shows.

But play some Stevie Wonder covers and 500 people are in the audience.

This is all about the radio. Classic Rock. They play that shit over and over over and over and that is all people want to hear. "tequila Sunrise".

[Bennyboy]

68. Dark Star Orchestra is great! (Grateful Dead)

They do one show from the Dead's history and recreate it. Not just the setlist, but use the type of instruments and sound used at that show. really mind blowing.

[PeaceNikki]

69. Yes, finding the most inane things to be offended by and bitching about them on the internet.

That qualifies as more fucking lame.

[dana_b]

72. they crack me up but

what is even more funny are the people who follow them. wtf? U2 isn't dead! Why does "Unforgettable Fire" have such a big following? very strange.

[hunter]

74. A lip-synching tribute band???

:shrug:

[ikojo]

75. Does Milli Vanilli have a tribute band as

well?

[abq e streeter]

77. i've always wanted to be in a Swingin Medallions tribute band

and just play Double Shot of My Baby's Love over and over all night

[mitchum]

80. I tried to talk a friend into forming a band called "Mustang Sally"...

and do nothing but vamp on "Mustang Sally" for four sets a night.
It really would have worked on that Carolina beach music/blues circuit.

[abq e streeter]

83. Ah yes, Mustang Sally--really enjoyed the first 3,000 times I played that,

after that, not so much...

[leftofthedial]

78. I've been playing for most of my living since I was a teenager.

I spent a couple of years playing in a "tribute." It was lucrative and one of the most musically demanding gigs I ever had.

I WAY prefer doing my original projects, but a tribute is no different from being in any cover band.

[mitchum]

81. Confession time: I became a songwriter/ composer/ whatever...

when I realized that other people's music can often be very hard to play. At least for me :)

[leftofthedial]

82. I have always done both, though more and more focused on originals.

Since signing my first publishing deal 12 years ago, I've been WAY more focused on originals, but haven't really done the singer-songwriter thing until recently.

[fishwax]

84. it pays the bills for many

and it doesn't mean they don't still work on their own material at other times. I don't see how it's worse than any other job. :shrug: