The big debate: tribute bands - yay or nay!?

toothie96

Junior Member
Would you see a tribute band?
Have you seen a tribute band?
What's your take on it - ripping off the original artists with the same, notorious four chords, or a fresh spin on old classics.

Personally, i like em'. Saw a ac/dc tribute at the local bar a few weeks ago, and they blew me away. Live music is exactly that, live! It's the atmosphere, the company, and the solid tracks, not just a teenage band looking for some quick cash. It's all an experience, personally, i always learn something new from each tribute band i see.

So, ladies and gents, discuss....
 
As long as they're all midgets, I love tribute bands.
 
I've mixed a couple of tribute bands as an audio engineer at the happiest place on earth, and we've hosted one of the bigger Beatles tribute bands some time ago. I like them - but I only like them in the cases where the original band is no longer around. AC/DC is still around so I find it strange to see those types of tribute bands. However, Elvis Presely and the Beatles aren't. In a way, I considered the recent Queen reunion with Paul Rogers in the role of Freddie Mercury a kind of tribute band since Freddie is gone (sorry).
 
I enjoy tribute band and have seen many Beatles tribute bands. My brother is in a successful local one actually. Thing is, many are getting too big for their britches. Charging $35-75 a ticket??? A bit excessive. Bands like Rain, 1964. They are good but some just charge too much per ticket. Not sure if they gotta pay royalties and all the legality involved, but there's a place for them, yes.
 
I stumbled into a bar in Manhattan a few years ago only to be blown away by a KISS tribute band called Dressed To Kill

they were amazing

I mean they nailed it

huge full stacks behind them
the giant KISS lit up sign behind them
the costumes were dead on
the playing was dead on (actually probably better than kiss to be honest )
spitting blood
blowing fire

the works

these guys obviously drop mad loot on gear (even though Im sure most of the stacks were dummy speakers)
but all the candelabras , the huge sign, the costumes, the light show...etc etc

I mean these guys were dedicated

I cant imagine ever doing that...but it was entertaining for sure

check out some videos of these guys....they are off the meat rack

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iFt6ZJRQW0
 
Will I go out just to see one? No. Am I against them? Nope, if the people that are doing it are happy who's to say they can't do whatever they want to have fun. I just will not be in the crowd.
 
I have little interest only because I see no point in seeing a band do what I can do. (In fact, I have trouble with lots of types of music for the same reason).

But if people want to hear a live band doing their favorite music, then who am I to stop them?

I would play in one of the money was right, but if someone asked me to dress up like Gene Simmons or Peter Criss, I think I'd pass.
 
Live music is exactly that, live! It's the atmosphere, the company, and the solid tracks...

That's the thing, it's a live band. If you like live music, in the context of a show/concert, and you happen to like the music they're playing, and they play it it well, then it's a good thing. I think it's a bit shortsighted and cynical to castigate the concept or the players just on the principle of it being a tribute, or cover band, or whatever. I mean if they're not doing it well, that's quite another matter.

I have no inherent or pre-conceived aversions to the idea of playing one other band's music (or, playing many bands' music in a cover band) whether it's me doing it, or watching someone else. I like popular music, and some that's not so popular. Why wouldn't I want to play it or hear it? I think it would be fun to play all Monkees, Beatles, Stones, Doors, Who, Neil Diamond, Turtles, Creedence etc etc on a given night!

Obviously seeing the real thing is preferable, but with so many artists/bands, there's just not that option anymore. Even where a band is still alive, if they're older and rough around the edges, and/or have too many non-original members, it's almost a tribute anyway. And often, a bit sad. Sometimes it's better to see someone re-create the heyday of a band, in a way that the actual band can no longer do.

The difference between simply listening to the original recordings is that seeing a band is "live", and it's a different experience and energy. I have to explain this concept to players who flippantly suggest that cover bands shouldn't stick to the originasl versions, that people could just turn on the jukebox instead. Again, it's not the same as a live performance, and a litrtle curious that musicians would ever suggest that a jukebox is a suitable replacement for them, especially when a paying gig is at stake! I only bring it up because it does tie-in to the concept of what a live performance brings to people in the audience.

Bermuda
 
I have little interest only because I see no point in seeing a band do what I can do. (In fact, I have trouble with lots of types of music for the same reason).
So on that basis, continuing self improvement ultimately could mean you listening only to yourself :)

I can cook up a mean steak, but I have no issue with someone else cooking one for me to the same standard. & as you're a good player, how curtailing is it to restrict yourself to watching only players higher up your personal interpretation of a hierarchy. How about the joy of a child's performance, or incredible emotion form a (theoretically) lesser player. Guess I can count you off the guest list if you're ever in my part of the world ;)
 
I split acts that cover only 1 band into 2 categories: tribute bands and clone bands. “Tribute” bands play the material with a little (or a lot) of their own twist. “Clone” bands (try to) play covers note-for-note like the original band did.

Both approaches are ok, I guess, but in the case of clone acts, I’ve never understood why somebody would put so much effort into pretending to be someone else. Oh sure, it can be impressive when I think about all the effort required, but why not put that same effort into developing your own thing instead?

Recently I saw a friend of mine play with a Supertramp clone band. He’d previously been trying for months to get me to join. They were close to note-for-note (I’m told; I wouldn’t really know), and they were all great players, but as entertaining as they were, I still spent much of the show thinking “if I want to hear it exactly like the album, I can just go home and put on the album!”

To me, a clone band seems like a waste of effort, and a tribute band seems too narrow a focus.

(By the way, the local Craigslist has been looking for a Neil Peart clone for a couple of weeks now. Any takers?)
 
I split acts that cover only 1 band into 2 categories: tribute bands and clone bands. “Tribute” bands play the material with a little (or a lot) of their own twist. “Clone” bands (try to) play covers note-for-note like the original band did.

to me that would be tribute bands and cover bands

a tribute band doing one bands material...a tribute .... sounding and looking like them

a cover band playing many different bands material and having their own schtick
 
Recently I saw a friend of mine play with a Supertramp clone band.

Really? Please divulge their name if you can. Looove Supertramp. Both guys are still active and touring, though separately I believe. Hodgson and Davies, if memory serves me correct. They wrote perhaps the catchiest music of the late 1970s. Breakfast in America LP is a true classic.
 
Last year I saw The Musical Box playing a replica of Genesis' 1975 Lamb Lies Down On Broadway tour. Not only was it a spectacular show, but tribute bands are the only way anyone is ever going to see that on stage again.

So, barring the invention of a time machine, I'm totally in favor of tribute bands. There's something so satisfying about live music and when you're able to hear the music of bands you like, especially if it is something the band no longer does itself it seems like a perfect substitute to me.
 
So on that basis, continuing self improvement ultimately could mean you listening only to yourself :)

I can cook up a mean steak, but I have no issue with someone else cooking one for me to the same standard. & as you're a good player, how curtailing is it to restrict yourself to watching only players higher up your personal interpretation of a hierarchy. How about the joy of a child's performance, or incredible emotion form a (theoretically) lesser player. Guess I can count you off the guest list if you're ever in my part of the world ;)

Not analogous. In your scenario you're getting product and service. I don't think of music as either. It's deeper than that -- even if it's just dance music.

And a child's performance is something altogether different as well. I didn't think we were talking about that.

It's also not about hearing people "better". It's just that I don't need to hear a cover band because I have the records and yes, I can play the parts myself. I'd rather hear original music that's interesting. It doesn't matter if it can be executed. It doesn;t matter if it's the simplest thing in the world, as long as it reaches me in some way. It's a matter of being nourished with art.

So...if your band can do that -- get me on the guest list. : )
 
I think we'd probably fail miserably ;) Test link at the bottom of my post :(

You know I'm gently pulling your string in this thread, right? :)


Actually, I think the band sounds great. The drums sound great. But I have to admit, I'm not a fan of that song. : (

Now, I presume you're not a Prince tribute band. As for "just playing covers" -- hell, that's what 95% of all musicians do. I mean, musicians with gigs that is.
 
Actually, I think the band sounds great. The drums sound great. But I have to admit, I'm not a fan of that song. : (

Now, I presume you're not a Prince tribute band. As for "just playing covers" -- hell, that's what 95% of all musicians do. I mean, musicians with gigs that is.
It's a simple song, & easy to play, so long as the arrangement's good. Not featured on this clip, we build this song into a very different vibe from the original. Key thing is, it goes down really well, even though it stands differently to most of our set.

Anyhow, cover bands. This is my first ever cover band. Aside from giving up playing for over 20 years, everything else I played was original stuff, at least, in a band context. I earned my living playing other peoples original material, often with little notice, or straight off the dots. I kind of liked that spontaneous creative/interpretive pressure. Much to my surprise, I'm actually liking playing covers, although the band is starting to do originals. I must confess, I like that even more.

As for tribute acts, I think they're mainly a product of a commercial good thing that's on a roll. They've found a niche, & the public seem to lap it up. Not really for me as a punter (other than admiring the dedication needed to pull it off convincingly), but I do think it's great that an avenue has fired up where players can earn a good living. For that reason alone, it's a good thing.

All that said, a good band, be they cover, cover/original mix, or tribute, can get work if they put enough effort into the business side & put on a good show. Our band travels with top touring pro gear, full lighting rig, crew, etc, & we bring a larger gig experience to smaller/medium sized gigs. It pays for itself, because we buck the trend, & have no bother getting bookings at many times the average rates. Ultimately, we pull punters into venues. Once you've got that, you have leverage.

Only a few months ago, I got into a bar conversation with two guys who are in a local band. They were complaining bitterly about how cheap the local bar owners were. Well, I checked them out a couple of weeks later, & guess what, they were cheap too, so IMO, they got what they were worth, if not more. Zero effort, crappy sound, no lights, looked like shit. Mediocre playing, & about 50 punters in the place. They got $300. I say they did pretty well considering.

Sorry, off on a little chirping session :)

P.S. the drums in the clip aren't Guru (except the snare), & at this small gig, not close mic'd, just kick & OH's.
 
Paying to hear someone play someone else's music is as old as music itself. As long as it's done well then bring it on. The only thing that doesn't sit well with me is when tribute bands try a little too hard to look exactly like the people they're paying tribute to. I mean, with a band like KISS their costumes and characters were part of the act so dressing like them is part of the show - yet when I see a guy in his 50s in leather trousers and an ill-fitting wig trying to look like Jim Morrison I just think it's creepy.
 
I say "yay". The bands I have seen, for the most part, have been totally entertaining. And that's why I go to shows. To be entertained.​
 
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I have seen a few tribute bands.
The one's that come to mind are the Almost Queen Tribute (great) and a Led Zep Tribute called ZoSo (twice, better the second time).

I play in A Cheap Trick Tribute/clone band. We dress, and play the songs as close to original as possible.
Playing a headlining show tomorrow night actually at a large festival right after the Fireworks, and my other band is opening for Buckcherry an hour or so earlier at the same festival.
 
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