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Tribute Bands?


Deeps

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I feel it odd to dedicate so much of one's efforts toward the emulation of one other group.

Buying clothes to look like the members of Queen and then travelling the world rocking out their tunes. I pretty much write all performers of this genre off as completely weird.

Their band's names get me a lot though.

Van Wailin' anyone.

Expand at will.....

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Part of me thinks that, if the musicians who obviously have the chops to attempt to accurately re-create a band's catalogue would instead devote their energies to creating new music, then the world might be a bit better.

That said, it can still be a lot of fun to go to, say, a Caution Jam or The Music Never Stopped show and see the music of a band I never saw (The Grateful Dead, in the case of these bands) made live in front of me, up close and personal at a club.

Aloha,

Brad

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Dark Star is phenomenal, in my opinion...

I agree, the taking on of personas/appearances is a bit disturbing.

I generally HATE cover bands; however, I do have respect for, say a DSO, or some band that is REALLY adept at playing the band's music. But lots of em just suck donkey balls.

The trend in the area I'm from is all these bands that just play cover songs of various bands, decades, whatever. Nothing I hate more... And people LOVE it... People, I think, who don't know what good music is, and think that they're SUPPOSED to love it...

Check out these choads...

And don't forget about these guys...

Although the latter band, it appears, does seem to have come up with some original garbage on their own after YEARS of rehashing other crappy songs...

Anyhow...

Edit to add: Regardless, whether I dislike what they do or not, I do recognize the fact that they do have, at least SOME musical talent, and, therefore have more right to do what they do than I would, or than I even have to criticize them. So, I guess I'm saying, even though they play sucky music, they still are musicians, and therefore have a right to perform whatever material they choose to. Likewise I have the right to NEVER go to see them...

SfC

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This isn't a cover band but when I lived in Mount Forest I almost bought tickets to see Waylon Jennings - then I realized that if I'd bought the tickets I would've been seeing the Wailin' Jenny's - your eyes see what they want to see

As for the cover bands - the one that I get annoyed with are the Zen Tricksters....I don't like it when I band throws one of their own in between some great songs they're covering. For example with them it isn't unusual to have them do something like;

China Cat Sunflower > (one of their own songs) > I Know You Rider

That's just rude!

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I mark a difference between a cover band and a tribute band.

I see cover bands (and I'll be the first to admit that I'm currently in at least one.. and have been in many, and probably will be in many more) as part time musicians who like to get together on the weekends with thier buddies and maybe get some gigs and make some coin.

Tribute bands are a different thing in my head. They are actually trying to re-create an experience that no longer exists. I think it takes a great deal of musicianship to pull something like that off convincingly. And I agree with Freak By Night that a lot of the guys in tribute bands use it as a way to make money to finance other projects. I bet if we looked into the histories of a lot of pro musicians out there we'd find tribute bands (and most certainly cover bands) on their resume.

And I'll tell you this, I'll take a cover band or a tribute band over a dance club DJ (not a good club DJ, but those crappy college dance club DJs that just spin whatever is hot in the r&b/mainstream rap charts) any day of the week.

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"...a right to perform whatever material they choose to..."

I, as principle songwriter of The Tummies, have never given permission to, and in fact am offended by the existence of, The Cat's On Crack Orchestra, a band that solely performs my music. But as musicians, do they have a right to play it anyways? And make their living off of it?

"They are actually trying to re-create an experience that no longer exists."

Not always. There are lots of tribute acts out there that are doing music by bands that still tour.

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Anything done well I'll give a chance without prejudice; some of the best (albeit, very, very drunk)times I've had in bars have been watching cover bands. I also thought that Dark Star Orchestra was amazing, I'd love to see them again (but somebody I was with went out to sleep in the car during the show, lol ;) )....

Funny to see this subject because I got a call last night to do a fill-in cover band gig this weekend. I was very hesitant at first, didn't want to do it but the pay is $140! I couldn't say no. I asked what kind of stuff they were doing and he started listing off all the usual schlock, The Hip, Wilcox, some Stones stuff (but none of the "good" songs by any)all the usual rock songs for idiots. The real, awful kicker came when the guy said to me, "so, do you know any of the Bon Jovi stuff?" Ouch. Call me a rock and roll slut for hire.

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...wording!
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When I was still in the Tragically Hip were just getting hyped up, along came a cover band called "Road Apples". Yep, they named themselves after the Hip's 3rd album, so they weren't even all that big yet.

These guys did a pretty good impersonation of the Hip and I hated every moment I accidentally heard. It was pathetic to see a band living off of the Hip. They were packing A.J.'s hanger playing hip tunes.

fcuk

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I remember seeing Road Apples too.....meh!

Funny thing is I also remember hearing someone from the Hip saying that the name Road Apples is a term coined to describe random horse shit you'd see on the road.

Oh....and Punk....you're a rock 'n roll slut for hire :)

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All i know is that the 90s in Ottawa were made WAY better by 4 Way Street gigs. They were SOOO much fun. You couldnt get that experience going to see CSN in a stadium. Believe me, i've tried. :)

My only point on Tribute bands is recently my 11 year old neice who LOVES Queen got to go see that Queen tribute band the other week. I think it was an awesome experience for her.

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Saw Comfortably Numb last year, maybe my 4-5th Floyd cover bad and BOY DID THEY SUCK BALLS!

wow, I never thought it possible to be a worse floyd cover band than Think Freud, but there they were. My friend who had purchused the $20 tickets to the show at the Opera house in TO didn't charge us anything for them as he realized his mistake in getting us tickets and going.

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The Blushing Brides were as big as cover bands get in Canada in the early to mid 80's. They were a Stones cover band that actually produced a Stones sounding original song that charted: "What You Talkin' About".

Green River may never have looked like CCR, but they sure had their sound down.

For the past three years, John Mayer has been doing a good tribute to Dave Matthews.

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