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Tribute bands


ChunkyMunky

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I was wondering when someone would come along and - in an excess of feeling - step firmly upon on the tribute band landmine. It's always fun when that happens.

The thing about tribute bands is that they are merely a variation on the time-honoured practice of musicians playing other peoples' songs. Indeed, until the Rutles came along pretty much the entire industry was predicated on the idea that songwriters wrote songs and musicians performed them and seldom the twain did meet. To my uncertain recollection the greatest popular singer of all time (Frank Sinatra) wrote (and subsequently performed) only one song in his career. If it was good enough for Francis Albert, it's good enough for me.

In any event, the point is moot when it comes to bass players; apart from ten or so household names nearly all bassists have to dutifully play what they're given by The Talent, even when - as in the case of most 'originals' hobby bands - The Talent is a technically incompetent dullard with an Epiphone Lester and Himmler's way with a tune.

All of which is is to say that my ranked musical preferences for a local Friday night out would be:

1. A tribute band
2. A covers band
3. Red hot needles in the eyes
4. An 'originals' band

Edited by skankdelvar
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1 hour ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Furthermore, if you're going to transfer the analogy to 'tribute' food and 'tribute' cars, a hell of a lot of time and money, not to mention a large portion of this site, are wrapped up in 'tributes' to the trusty old Fender P and Fender J bass shapes/sounds/legacies. 

Not to mention the many replicas of the likes of the AC Cobra, E-Type Jag, Lotus 7 etc which while not BEING the original, often,TBH, perform better......

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I was listening to a radio talk show a few months ago that brought up the subject of tribute bands.

There were a few callers who were slating them saying they were cashing in on other peoples success.

Then someone phoned in and made the point that there has been some fantastic music over the years from bands like Zep, The Who, Floyd etc who are being rediscovered by a younger generation. That younger generation would never be able to experience them live (the environment that said bands excelled in) and a good tribute band could get 90% of the way there if they took it seriously enough to recreate the stage show. This was the lightbulb moment for me - its keeping some great and influential music alive for a new generation to experience, and because of this its a winner for me.

Ps i played a charity festival a few weeks ago along with a fabulous Bon Scott era AC/DC tribute band (PureDC). They absolutely nailed the look and attitude of the earlier ACDC and i thought they were excellent.

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On 14/05/2018 at 16:19, walshy said:

Just started The Saviors with a few guys from some different bands playing grunge/rock stuff and strictly no dad rock! Even though some dad rock is cool!

We have just wound up our band “smells like Seattle” doing a grunge “tribute”. Some amazing songs to go at there mate!

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29 minutes ago, Damonjames said:

We have just wound up our band “smells like Seattle” doing a grunge “tribute”. Some amazing songs to go at there mate!

Ah cool, yeah got some great tunes to choose from👍

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I wouldn't have really thought of a '80s tribute group' or a 'grunge tribute' group as tribute groups, I would just take them as 80s or 90s themed cover bands. To me a tribute is a one group thing, beatles or oasis or whatever.

We have an 80s themed cover group down here, and they are pretty good at at and always fun to watch. 

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4 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

"Tribute" bands = sad nonsense. Don't care how good/"accurate" they are. Does anyone eat "tribute" (i.e. fake) food or drive a "tribute" car? Ridiculous.

I guess that makes any current orchestra playing Mozart or Schubert etc just sad nonsense. The Caterham Seven must also fit into your banding too. Perhaps troll should also revert to being an ugly dwarf to avoid being sad nonsense 

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28 minutes ago, Bobthedog said:

I guess that makes any current orchestra playing Mozart or Schubert etc just sad nonsense.

How true. The Academy of Ancient Music are bad enough with their baroque re-treads (shudder) but the London Mozart Players take the absolute biscuit for nonsensical sadness. 

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47 minutes ago, Bobthedog said:

I guess that makes any current orchestra playing Mozart or Schubert etc just sad nonsense. 

Although not agreeing with the sentiment of the sad nonsense, I would say an orchestra is not a tribute band, it is much more a cover band. Unless it is one of those Mozart only orchestras in the wigs!

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31 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

... I would say an orchestra is not a tribute band, it is much more a cover band. Unless it is one of those Mozart only orchestras in the wigs!

 

Vienna Mozart Orchestra

5afb69bf846a3_viennamozartorch.jpg.041a591a6a048b1c0571c42c69969dad.jpg

Wig-bedecked tribute act. Will accept payment in cake, prefer Sachertorte

 

London Mozart Players

5afb69f254f2f_londonmozartplayers.jpg.870cbaafcfb1bfd5b08af11f9d62fe52.jpg

Cover band (actually look more like a function band)

 

Barry Gosser

5afb6a600c8c4_mozartcostume.jpg.57e7ba77e7c56794c78e71309df325b7.jpg

Mozart impersonator and pervert

 

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It's a shame that there has been a post belittling tribute bands , music people love is heard everyday through headphones on the move and LPs in peoples homes so why would the visual and live performance recreation not be a next step for some fans.

The one thing I love about the musicians I know and call friends both weekend warriors and pros is their love of life and tolerance of people just being into whatever it is they love, be it tributes , originals or running a Sonia fan club 

Edited by lojo
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Providing they hit it musically, I like tribute bands, especially when they try to look like the band, and play the same type of instruments. Best I ever saw on a pub-level was The Likeness, they just nailed the sound of The Darkness, best all round was Bjorn Again, just amazing. Another great band are The Ramonas, an all-girl Ramones tribute band, though they do now do their own material as well.

Edited by Lozz196
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I certainly see the appeal of tribute bands and done well can be great fun, I'm never going to see Metallica in a tiny venue, but I've seen tribute versions in small venues.

I remember going to a tribute night in Camberly a few years ago - High On Maiden, Mentallica and a Rammstein tribute

The Rammstein were awful but the other two were great, particularly the Maiden tribute who used wigs to great effect :biggrin:

Edited by Graham
unable to complete a coherent......
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I was a founding member, and spent 26 years, with a KISS tribute band. We wore the full outfits and boots (custom made and VERY expensive), had custom guitars made (and existing guitars customised) and took the musical/vocal/arrangement accuracy very seriously. To me, that's what makes a 'tribute' band, rather than a 'cover' band. I even went as far as to learn firebreathing and we filled our performances with the expected pyrotechnics too....

It all paid off though...

We were the first KISS tribute to perform all over Europe & Scandinavia and played numerous international fan conventions too. Over the years we played with, played for and/or appeared with almost all original and latter members of KISS as well as appearing on both of Gene Simmons worldwide TV shows. We performed for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Def Leppard, headlined festivals and launched products (Volvo etc). We also performed at music 'trade shows', played Halloween at the Cafe De Paris in Monaco and toured Japan with The Bootleg Beatles, Counterfeit Stones, T-Rextasy and Royal Family (Queen show), gaining endorsements from Washburn, Ibanez, Cort and Spector along the way....

We even discovered that KISS were keeping up date with our performances and later found that a mid song breakdown/arrangement I had created had been adopted by KISS themselves in their live show!

It was very hard work, but great fun and gave me life experiences that will stay with me forever. I also spent spare time in originals bands and cover bands over the years so have seen both sides....

Tribute haters gonna hate...... usually from their bedrooms...... but I guarantee I worked 10 times harder during every 2hr tribute show than haters ever have onstage....

Edited by cetera
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I'm in a Bowie Tribute band, but we're a bit different as our lead singer is female. Jane (for that is her name) does a bit of dressing up and uses the jagged metal tie on 'Man Who Sold the World. The rest of us just wear mostly normal clobber as you can see....that's me in the hat btw!

We don't replicate the music note for note and have written an original tribute to Bowie song.  Best part is we all take it seriously but also have a laugh, work hard on performances and audiences seem to like us.

MB.png

http://www.facebook.com/missbowieband

 

Edited by ricksterphil
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On 13/05/2018 at 17:06, ChunkyMunky said:

So, how many of you play in a tribute band? Tell us all about it.

 

Many years ago I was playing in a 'mostly originals' (for want of a better phrase) blues rock three piece. At one gig - where alongside our own songs we did play rearrangements of a Hendrix song, a Hambone Willie Newbern song, and a Robert Parker song - as we came off stage ...

 

Punter (male, late teens): "Have you always been a tribute band?"

Me (male, not late teens): "Tribute band? Why do you say that?"

Punter: "You did a Hendrix song."

Me: "Er....yeh. What's that got to do with being a tribute band?"

Punter: "If you play someone else's song, you're a tribute band."

Me: "I don't think so but whatever..."

Punter (as I start packing gear): "You were really good for a tribute band."

Me: "Thanks."

 

I'm guessing that he was unfamiliar with Hambone Willie Newbern and Robert Parker or we would have been labelled a triple tribute band.

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On ‎14‎/‎05‎/‎2018 at 17:44, bigjohn said:

I'm in a Neil Young tribute. https://www.facebook.com/rustforglory/

We just dress as ourselves and sometimes stick a hat on "Neil". Our drummer is a good lookalike for Billy Talbot but he ain't no bass player. 

 

Bloody good too......Close your eyes and it's like Neil is in the room!

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