Anyone gigging a Tribute band?

[Doug P]

I was in a tribute band for 13 or 14 years. It takes time and must be willing to do more than just play the songs well for “bigger” shows. The look, backline, etc….
We made some good $$ over the years. There is an agency that only does tributes we used at times. Been around and covers all over the US. But like many agents……….. have fun.

 

[Michedelic]

I think that band in Animal House was a large part of his inspiration. Ya mind if we dance wif yo dates?

The “Otis Day and the Knights” thing was loosely based on Doug Clark and the Hot Nuts, a “party” band who played a circuit of college campus dances(and black clubs) in the early/mid 60’s…



...purveyors of would-be ribald/‘dirty’ R&B songs.

 

[Sternodox]

I've played in a Zappa tribute band and a Roky Erickson tribute band. Both great fun. It was disheartening that the tribute bands received 10x the booking of my original music bands.

 

[friskinator]

I’m always surprised that there’s a demand or audience for the niche tribute bands. Is a Staind tribute something people want? I truly have no idea.

 

[RGerhart]

Wild - I'm also in a No Doubt tribute called Tragic Kingdom

Clearly you have excellent taste, then, too.

Are you rocking the same gear as Kinal? I've been thinking about getting his Yamaha, but I'm also pretty happy with my current axe lineup.

 

[RGerhart]

I’m always surprised that there’s a demand or audience for the niche tribute bands. Is a Staind tribute something people want? I truly have no idea.

We have a pretty big tribute scene here in the Portland/Vancouver area, so we're starting to see niche tribute bands fill out shows. It's usually a "big name" act like a Nirvana tribute, or Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, etc, and then you have the secondary market tributes there as openers to start building audience interest. The Staind tribute is a good combination with Tool, or even the local Limp Bizkit tribute.

My dream tribute, but I'm not sure if it would have the interest? Mudvayne. I would love to cover some of Martinie's bass work. However, the actual costume/makeup would be a PITA.

 

[friskinator]

We have a pretty big tribute scene here in the Portland/Vancouver area, so we're starting to see niche tribute bands fill out shows. It's usually a "big name" act like a Nirvana tribute, or Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, etc, and then you have the secondary market tributes there as openers to start building audience interest. The Staind tribute is a good combination with Tool, or even the local Limp Bizkit tribute.

My dream tribute, but I'm not sure if it would have the interest? Mudvayne. I would love to cover some of Martinie's bass work. However, the actual costume/makeup would be a PITA.

My dream is a Faith No More tribute, but there would be zero market for it in my area. I can't even imagine trying to find players that would be interested.

 

[fclefgeoff]

I sing lead in a Pink Floyd tribute (5 years) and a Ween tribute (3 years). Neither tries to do the look but both completely nail the sound. As you might expect, the Pink Floyd tribute is much easier to book. Though, I typically gig 1-2 times a month in both bands.

 

[MrLenny1]

Yes, no wigs or hats. Just doing justice to the music.

 

[MrLenny1]

I'm in a Blues Brothers tribute band (see sig). Which is a little funny, because it's a tribute band of a cover band. But it's a great show and great gigs.



i guess the question is how much of a market there is for it. You and I are in the same area, and I know at least one well-established Petty tribute regionally. So I guess the question would be if there's enough demand for another one playing those theaters, or if it would be a better idea to find someone else to tribute. Band - BEING PETTY

Yes, Being Petty is Portsmouth based. I know Ben the bass player.
We will have to test the market for sure.

 

[MrLenny1]

Thanks for all your input TB'ers. This is a really good forum.

 

[lokikallas]

Currently a Slayer Tribute, formerly a Judas Priest Tribute. Fun times.

 

[VeryTallBassist]

Currently a Slayer Tribute, formerly a Judas Priest Tribute. Fun times.

I hope your Kerry is less of a bung hole than the real one

 

[Pacman]

Clearly you have excellent taste, then, too.

Are you rocking the same gear as Kinal? I've been thinking about getting his Yamaha, but I'm also pretty happy with my current axe lineup.

I pretty much just use a Stingray 5 nowadays, because our sets move pretty quickly, and the sound works great. I had a P/J at one point, too. But you know, nobody noticed With a Gwen on stage, everything else is window dressing

 

[MrLenny1]

Yes, Toto tribute based in Melbourne.
Snippets of our first gig here: https://www.youtube.com/@HydraTheAustralianTotoShow/featured

Really enjoying this, challenging (but extremely rewarding) to get everything note-perfect.

Cool, those are 2 tough bands to work up.

 

[MrLenny1]

Thanks again to everyone who wrote in. Local tributes that my buddies
are in, Bob Seger, J.Giels Band, Eagles.
We will give a go and hope for a decent outcome.

 

[Markshan]

A J Geils tribute would be a lot of fun.

 

[Mosthigh]

I currently play in a Rolling Stones tribute band, before that I played in a Bowie tribute band (Ziggy era only), before that I played in a much better Rolling Stones tribute band for 7 years.

With The Stones, it's easy to sell out small venues and get folks up dancing, even if you're only half-decent.

 

[oldandbold]

The other benefit of a Stones tribute is you can never be too old.

 

[BassGuyFL]

I’ve been in a very successful Billy Joel tribute for almost 8 years now. We are arguably one of, if not the top Billy tributes in the country. Fortunately we don’t have to do the wigs and the costumes. Not that dressing up isn’t fun, I’ve done it before with other projects, just not necessary for our case. It’s pretty lucrative too. The only real downside is most of our gigs are private events and we played to a much older crowd so there’s not that much eye candy at the shows.