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Serious question on 'Tribute Bands'
- Thread starter ThudThudThud
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I personally feel that if you are going to market yourself as a "Tribute" band, then you go ALL IN. The look as well as the sound.
If a band is not willing to achieve the "look" of the band they are paying tribute to, then they are not fully vested and not giving 100%
If a band is not willing to achieve the "look" of the band they are paying tribute to, then they are not fully vested and not giving 100%
In New Haven, CT in the late 70s there was a country-rock band that used to book themselves into local clubs for a 3 night run. Thursday they performed as themselves, doing their own material. Friday they were a Creedence clone and Saturday a Neil Young clone. It's nice to be able to eat more than ramen noodles, eh?
No matter what type of Tribute band it is, IMO it's all about the music & vocals first. I'm in an acoustic Beatles band myself, and for us it's all about having fun and sharing and creating the music we all love (which I believe we do pretty well.) We are by no means a costume & wig band, as we have 8 members, different instrumentation, are all north of 55, and would look silly and disingenuous wearing Sgt. Pepper outfits.
There are some killer Beatles Tribute Bands out there like RAIN and The Fab Four who nail the full boat costume & wig thing, and really put on a fantastic show by with the music & vocals. Another one of my favorites is The Fab Faux (Will Lee's band,) who just dress as themselves and deliver Beatles material BIG TIME. The thing these bands have in common is there is a genuine quality in how the deliver the music and the experience they provide.
More power to the bands that can pull off the full on look and deliver on the music where it counts most. I'm sure the guys who miss on the delivery are still having fun, but it irks me to hear a BAD band no matter type of music is being performed. I admit I do enjoy watching the show World's Greatest Tribute Bands on AXS TV on occasion, and enjoy when I see/hear a solid performance no matter if the band is a costume & wig tribute band or not. However, it surprises the heck out of me to see see many of the tribute bands (no matter what type) that I have heard of for years, and see how bad many of them are. Many are flat out awful, and come off as poseurs rather than performers. I'm truly impressed when it all comes together.
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I don't think its someone living someone else career. There are just those groups of guys that are THAT inspired by said band and want to share their music and their own musicianship with others is the way I see it. It's admirable in certain ways. I wouldn't want to do it. But I can appreciate why some would. It is not easy being in a cover band exclusively and pulling it off successfully. It's kinda weird I stumbled on to this thread right now, I JUST saw Lateralus, a Tool cover band, this past Sat. You really have to play the songs the way people are used to hearing them or you will not be very well liked by many.
I saw a Marilyn Manson cover band that night as well. They were pretty good too. The singer sounded EXACTLY like Manson and the rest of the band all dressed up for the most part and played well. I have to say though, of both bands, there was one guy in each band that didn't really dress up or try to fit the part of the said band member they were "playing". One of the guitar players for the Manson band, not a huge deal, and the bassist from the Tool band. Now, I will start by saying this, both bands did wonderful jobs playing the covered bands material overall. I really do have to give it up to them for that. But I look at Lateralus, the drummer, guitarist and vocalist all had the same gear as their respective counterparts, Adam, Danny and Maynard. The vocalist sounded a lot like him and he even came out dressed like a woman the second half of the set which I thought was hilarious. But on the bassist, he played very well and his performance was pretty good. And I also recognize that JC's rig is not cheap or easily acquired, but come on man!! He had a 6 string Ibanez and a MarkBass rig. I was sorta disappointed in that. Plus his tone was not very befitting to JCs which was the main issue I had. It's like you could everyone else in the band went the extra mile to get the same gear and tones as the real deal but the bassist was just like, Eh, whatever. Again, his playing was great. But IMO, if you're going to go through the trouble of being a cover band like that, you really should go the extra mile and get as authentic as you can. Some cover bands charge good money to see them, I know I paid $12 which isn't terrible, but it's a cover band. I can listen in my car for free, so you better go out of your way to impress. I mean, the band even had a kick ass light show and smoke show to go with it all! That stuff ain't cheap by a long shot either. Idk, the bassist rig bothered me. But I guess me being a bassist and REALLY into gear goes a long way on that score too.
I saw a Marilyn Manson cover band that night as well. They were pretty good too. The singer sounded EXACTLY like Manson and the rest of the band all dressed up for the most part and played well. I have to say though, of both bands, there was one guy in each band that didn't really dress up or try to fit the part of the said band member they were "playing". One of the guitar players for the Manson band, not a huge deal, and the bassist from the Tool band. Now, I will start by saying this, both bands did wonderful jobs playing the covered bands material overall. I really do have to give it up to them for that. But I look at Lateralus, the drummer, guitarist and vocalist all had the same gear as their respective counterparts, Adam, Danny and Maynard. The vocalist sounded a lot like him and he even came out dressed like a woman the second half of the set which I thought was hilarious. But on the bassist, he played very well and his performance was pretty good. And I also recognize that JC's rig is not cheap or easily acquired, but come on man!! He had a 6 string Ibanez and a MarkBass rig. I was sorta disappointed in that. Plus his tone was not very befitting to JCs which was the main issue I had. It's like you could everyone else in the band went the extra mile to get the same gear and tones as the real deal but the bassist was just like, Eh, whatever. Again, his playing was great. But IMO, if you're going to go through the trouble of being a cover band like that, you really should go the extra mile and get as authentic as you can. Some cover bands charge good money to see them, I know I paid $12 which isn't terrible, but it's a cover band. I can listen in my car for free, so you better go out of your way to impress. I mean, the band even had a kick ass light show and smoke show to go with it all! That stuff ain't cheap by a long shot either. Idk, the bassist rig bothered me. But I guess me being a bassist and REALLY into gear goes a long way on that score too.
So i can learn his most popular tracks, dress like Collins and go on tour and make money?
Actually i would love to start a Level42 Tribute band
is it legal to make money playing other artist music?
Course it is. You just pay your PRS rights, same as every other band in the county playing 'Rusty's Beer N' BBQ Shaq' on a Friday-Saturday night, except it's all by one artist instead of whoever's in the charts that week. Don't know if Collins or Level 42 are the right kind of market for you to turn it into a full-time career, but weirder things have happened!
When I saw Australian Pink Floyd they seemed to strike a good balance between honourably replicating Pink Floyd's sound, their visual stage show and putting a humourous Australian spin on the proceedings. The problem with Pink Floyd, and even more so Led Zeppelin, is that some of your crowd will want your tribute band to sound like the records and some of you will want you to recreate the stage show captured on bootlegs. For Pink Floyd this would be the four-man Floyd (with Snowy White and/or backing singers) playing their concert re-workings of tracks recorded using multi-tracked parts in a studio environment. Should Shine On sound like the studio cut or the sometimes fairly hairy live renditions played from 1974 to 1977? Pink Floyd's stage show is maybe easier to capture as they were four scruffy dudes in black t-shirts with their heads down, playing in front of a giant screen. All you need is a giant screen!
- Oct 7, 2000
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I play in a Zep tribute that doesn't imitate the band. I love doing it because I love playing Zeppelin and making money. We don't dress the part because the BL doesn't come close to looking the part, and claims he wouldn't want to even if he did. I would, if he did 
.
Tribute bands that look like the original bands and sound most like them make the most money. In all honesty, those bands weird me out and I don't like watching them at all... but enough people do that I wouldn't have any problem dressing up.
Bottom line for me I guess is this-- My purpose when playing other people's music is to make money and to entertain. I'll do whatever it takes to earn the most money. If I love the music I'm playing, that's a bonus.
.Tribute bands that look like the original bands and sound most like them make the most money. In all honesty, those bands weird me out and I don't like watching them at all... but enough people do that I wouldn't have any problem dressing up.
Bottom line for me I guess is this-- My purpose when playing other people's music is to make money and to entertain. I'll do whatever it takes to earn the most money. If I love the music I'm playing, that's a bonus.
Lotus Land Rush Tribute
this is some real musicianship in action, and I'd happily pay to see it up close and live. I don't care who wrote the songs. It's as honorable a pursuit to play Rush or insert your favorite artist here as it is to play Beethoven symphonies (different, but not lesser).
I know of a Rush tribute band -- our soundguy also does sound for them -- that has five people in it. I don't care much about looking the part, but five people to play the music of a three person band? that's not quite enough looking the part for my taste.
this is some real musicianship in action, and I'd happily pay to see it up close and live. I don't care who wrote the songs. It's as honorable a pursuit to play Rush or insert your favorite artist here as it is to play Beethoven symphonies (different, but not lesser).
I know of a Rush tribute band -- our soundguy also does sound for them -- that has five people in it. I don't care much about looking the part, but five people to play the music of a three person band? that's not quite enough looking the part for my taste.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
If the music is good, the music is good. There are a number of bands I would love to hear live on stage - if the originals are touring, generally it includes at least one of the below:
- few original members (if most of the players are not the original, aren't THEY a tribute band?). C'mon, the best two parts of the Who are dead, and the remaining members are just of shell of their former selfs. Many other bands tour with so many backing musicians, it isn't really the band - when I saw the Beach Boys a few years ago, they had 15 musicians on the stage;
- they no longer have the chops
- too expensive and/or playing in a huge stadium, where you are mostly looking at the video board
- few original members (if most of the players are not the original, aren't THEY a tribute band?). C'mon, the best two parts of the Who are dead, and the remaining members are just of shell of their former selfs. Many other bands tour with so many backing musicians, it isn't really the band - when I saw the Beach Boys a few years ago, they had 15 musicians on the stage;
- they no longer have the chops
- too expensive and/or playing in a huge stadium, where you are mostly looking at the video board
I say what is the harm, big deal, and why is it a concern? Are you responsible for them? If no, don't worry about it.
You had this with FOREIGNER. No founding member there anymore.
When I heard this week, the "trio" AWR, Anderson, Wakeman, Rabin, I heard one thing definiteley. I'd rather see them than any of today's "Yes" incarnation. By large. Actually it was the first gig, and Andersons voice held out well. Well, they had too, anonymous backing musicians, drummer, and bass player, but they sang harmonies too.
I found no drop in keys to accomodate lower register and no slowing of tempo, or "skimping" sections or fillins as latter Yes did even when Chris Squire was in it.
So, are AWR a better tribute band to Yes, than Yes is?
Each year we have a big summer concert series here which is mainly all tribute bands. For the most part they are very good and professional. They all look the part and sound really good. Its all still weird to me but people here love them and really pack the place. The bands are paid very well.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
What I have wanted to try is a band playing sets of different bands. One example is BOSTYX - they do half Boston, half Styx. You may not want an entire gig with one band, but two or three would be fun. One thing I thought of would be Springsteen, Billy Joel, and Huey Lewis. It would be the same lineup (drums, bass, keys, guitar, and sax). I would think that might be more marketable.
Personally, I think it's pathetic. I thought so when Beatlemania pioneered the genre in the early 70's. I think so now. I will never personally pay a red cent to watch someone ape another artist. There is a difference. True most music consumers cannot tell the difference. That's not my problem.
For those of us who believe in the virtue and nobility of music as art, well... I'll leave it at that.
This is strictly my personal opinion. Any society I want to live in has to be free enough to people to think, say and do things I might disagree with. This includes liking tribute bands.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
And when you go see an "original" band like:
Foreigner - ALL non-original members
The Temptations, when there were at least two groups with original members, and rights to the name
Pink Floyd - did you see Floyd, with lots of extra musicians, or Waters (also with lots of extra musicians)
The Who - with their two most important performers dead and replaced by session musicians
The majority of the touring bands, with multiple replacements, and extra musicians
What do you call that, and where do you draw the line?
My band sometimes stumbles through Beatles covers in rehearsals. I've sometimes thought it would be funny, in a subversive way, to make an intentionally poor, non-committal Beatles tribute band. The sort of evening's entertainment you imagine they would put on in some grotty, sub-Butlins type of holiday park. Dreadful, hammed up scouser accents, ill-fitting and incorrect Sgt Peppers suits, dodgy wigs, the band arguing on stage or playing drunk and either fumbling the lyrics or inserting malapropisms or commonly misheard words into the lyrics. Basically Andy Kaufman's Tony Clifton character, but as the 'Drab Four' or similar.
