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Advice on starting a tribute band
- Thread starter kyral210
- Start date
If the lead guitarist dresses like Angus but he’s 6’4”, that could be a problem.
Is it me, or does it seem like Tribute bands is just cosplay for musicians…?
I recently saw a Fleetwood Mac tribute band. Lead singer looked, dressed, moved and sounded like Stevie Nicks. Also, they played other non FWM songs.
Here is the lead singer's pic. She made the band.
entertainment + nostalgia > music
To that end, a small investment up front in acting and movement coaching may be just the thing to separate your band from the pack.
To that end, a small investment up front in acting and movement coaching may be just the thing to separate your band from the pack.
Look the part…sound the part…act the part. Also, be prepared to travel far & wide to multiple venues as you won’t get many same-venue repeat engagements. It’s a novelty act and wears thin if viewed repeatedly.
Riis
Riis
- The backup vocal walk-up is critical. You know the chorus is coming when Malcom and Cliff strut up to the mics.
- Sonor, Stingray, Gretsch, and SG, Marshall and Ampeg are the weapons of choice.
- If your drummer has even half the feel of Phil Rudd, you're golden. If he's got no swing, he needs to shave his head and do the Chris Slade thing, which is a distant second.
Get your sounds and your volume under control before you gig... A lot of tribute gigs play in theatres and the union sound and lighting staff have absolutely zero patience for loud, immature, noisy musicians. I've seen some really amateur tributes shut down after the staff took db/volume readings that ended up being insane.
Get all your lighting cues down and figure out exactly what everyone is doing for every song. Look for an engineer who will travel with you, and hopefully someone who is well versed in DigiCo and most of the digital boards out there.
Think of group as a "show" and not just a band.
Get all your lighting cues down and figure out exactly what everyone is doing for every song. Look for an engineer who will travel with you, and hopefully someone who is well versed in DigiCo and most of the digital boards out there.
Think of group as a "show" and not just a band.
This. Think of it like this: if AC/DC was from your hometown, how many times would you have gone to see them? If you’re going to play regularly, you’re going to Ned to either live in a really large city with lots of venues, or you’re going to have to travel. My experience in a Beatles tribute band for ten years was that you should not try to play in the same town more than once an year - less frequently if possible.
I’d love to be Malcolm or cliff honestly.
Whatever it is, it’s the most lucrative way to make bank playing cover tunes these days.
JeezyMcNuggles
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- Feb 23, 2018
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You gotta look the part, sound the part (mostly), and try to put on their show. Homework. Lots of Homework...in a mirror.
I saw High Voltage a couple years ago. They nailed it.
Motley 2 was also dope
JeezyMcNuggles
Inactive
- Feb 23, 2018
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This is true, but the really good tribute bands are playing the casino circuit, i.e., real livable wages.
edwinhurwitz
Supporting Member
Lots of good advice here, although I have to laugh. I play in a Grateful Dead tribute band and we get to ignore so many of these rules! It's a side hustle for me, but we're starting to get really good gigs, selling out theaters and invited to the main GD festivals.
I don't think I would play in a tribute band that really needs to do the tribute thing, but it's a serious craft and some people are really good at it. As others have said, management is key and so is having the show down as well as all the tech. The bands that are emulated usually have a really tight show with lighting and sound cues and often signature moves. While I'm not burdened with all that, be prepared to take it on.
The advice about not saturating the market is a very good one. There are lots of GD tribute bands, but we've managed to carve out the Colorado niche by persistence and being good at what we do. We do bring the appropriate gear (although in my case, an Alembified Starfire can do so much more than this gig), which create the sounds our audience expects to hear. The GD musician subculture is strong and very supportive, so that part is fun. And we get to play different stuff every night, including the playing the same songs differently.
What I want to know is where are all the P-Funk tribute bands? That would be a lot of fun and they get to stretch out, too.
I don't think I would play in a tribute band that really needs to do the tribute thing, but it's a serious craft and some people are really good at it. As others have said, management is key and so is having the show down as well as all the tech. The bands that are emulated usually have a really tight show with lighting and sound cues and often signature moves. While I'm not burdened with all that, be prepared to take it on.
The advice about not saturating the market is a very good one. There are lots of GD tribute bands, but we've managed to carve out the Colorado niche by persistence and being good at what we do. We do bring the appropriate gear (although in my case, an Alembified Starfire can do so much more than this gig), which create the sounds our audience expects to hear. The GD musician subculture is strong and very supportive, so that part is fun. And we get to play different stuff every night, including the playing the same songs differently.
What I want to know is where are all the P-Funk tribute bands? That would be a lot of fun and they get to stretch out, too.
I would define your image up front. This will help you getting the right people on board.
There's three ways of doing it that I've seen by successful tribute bands in the UK.
There's three ways of doing it that I've seen by successful tribute bands in the UK.
- Go all in. Outfits, wigs, instruments, backline (even if it's dummy backline) - Guns 2 Roses, Bootleg Beatles, Counterfeit Stones come to mind (IIRC, the latter even replaced the cab grilles during their show, when the band switched from Vox to Fender)
- Not at all. Just go for the sound - but you really, really have to nail it to pull this off. - The Illegal Eagles and Jon Bovi do this very well
- Part way with one or two key members. There's a very good Queen tribute led by Gary Mullen who won Stars In Their Eyes years ago. He dresses up and does his thing, but the rest of the band don't try and emulate the other members look. He is the focus of this band and really sounds like him, so nobody minds. If you can nail the singers and Angus, this route may work for you.
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