Topic: The Upside & Downside of "Tribute" Bands

This question kind of goes hand-in-hand with my previous post about American Idol.

Out here on Long Island, just about the only live music that is still viable for club owners and concert halls are "Tribute" bands that recreate - note-for-note - the music of classic rockers like Billy Joel, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, etc.  Some of these bands are so spot-on that they have attracted followings that rival the real thing.  The prevailing attitude is, why pay a couple of hundred dollars to see old, fat guys struggle through songs they recorded 40 years ago when you can pay $10 or less to see a group of young musicians in their prime play the crap out of those same songs?

I am glad to have these groups, as I can no longer afford to pay concert ticket prices for my favorite artists, but, as with American Idol, I wonder how long we can sustain any kind of music business as long as the only thing for kids to aspire to is to be able to deliver flawless copies of the same old songs year after year.

Does anybody have an opinion about this?  I suppose, on the one hand, it's good that these bands are keeping such great music alive; but, on the other, where is the incentive to make NEW great music to be emulated 40 years from now?

Me with my first ukulele, a Junior Beatles model, in 1966.  After Mom threw it down the stairs in a fit of rage, I became a drummer for life.  At age 43, I bought my second uke...

Re: The Upside & Downside of "Tribute" Bands

While i love music, the tribute bands do nothing for me..

My girlie friends and i followed a singer here for many years. We'd go on weekends away where he was playing. He was a fantastic entertainer, charismatic, and  generous . He died  suddenly 2 years ago now
After he passed there were all sorts of people singing his tunes and  putting on shows.  I went to 2 of these shows after Joe passed.
Never again !

I had also  been approached to contributed to a book in memory of  Joe, which i gladly did. I had great times and memories of this man over many years.  I also had the privelage of putting a Joe show on in our club just a wee while before he died.
It was a magical night.  The biggest crowd i'd ever seen at our club. Its still talked about as being one of his best. He actually was a shy kind of man i found as i got to know him over the years. But on stage ! magic !
Now the  real Joe Dolan is dead and gone,    i prefer to listen to Joes CDS.
I know this  may sound unchristian but,
The tributes !  BRUTAL EACH AND EVERYONE.
He "Joe Dolan and his band, were masters at there craft. Much loved here for many years on the showband scene.   Like Elvis and so many more great artist, They cannot be replaced.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0C1Vy_VXmk

Heaven be there Venue now.

Why Blend in with the Crowd ? When you were made to stand out !

Re: The Upside & Downside of "Tribute" Bands

I have to agree with the lady on this I dont care to much for bands or artists who use this "tribute" crutch to mask there own inability to be unique or original and some vicariously live there lives thru there idols gaining identity with false "tributes" these people are no better then sick bed lawyers waiting for the patient to die to profit from there demise the only one worthy of tribute is God Almighty the rest of these clones will inherit nothing more then mediocrity.

"Growing old is not for sissies"

Re: The Upside & Downside of "Tribute" Bands

What sickens me is that 'tribute band' will perform an exact duplicate of an artistes song and get paid handsomly for it yet if someone writes the words of that song down for free the copyright lawers are wanting blood.

Roger

"Do, or do not; there is no try"

Re: The Upside & Downside of "Tribute" Bands

Perhaps a short story will give my opinion.  I was at a local guitar shop testing out some guitars I apsire to purchase.  There was a young man - very young - in there playing on a nice Taylor.  He did an absolutely perfect rendition of some Led Zeppelin song or other (I've never been a big fan of theirs).  He looked up at me with a look on his face as young men will sometimes have when they are appealing to their elders for acceptance.  I said, "That was absolutely fantastic.  You played it perfectly.  Now, give it a try the way YOU think it should sound."  He did - and it was a marked improvement.  Not because the song or the music was better, but because for a moment the music and the musician were one and the same thing.  The musician expressed forth from his own essence something beautiful - and it was music.  His young friend with him said, "That wasn't the right way to play it."  I said, "Perhaps not, but it was beautiful."   

We need to keep alive these songs, but we need to express them as parts of ourselves.  Where musicians blend and the notes express something more than wavelengths of sound.  They express blended spirits, and essence of where the song came from at first and how it has changed through the telling from other hands and voice. 

Sometimes, we are lucky enough to hear a song we do not care for done by someone else and it is magic.  Jose Feliciano's version of The Doors "Light My Fire" is such an experience for me.  Some of All1Song's versions on YouTube are like this.  Mekidsmom shared a song from her bathroom recently via Facebook (I do not hang out in bathrooms hoping for songs) - and it took a song that has always left me flat on the radio, stripped it down, and gave voice to something beautiful and transcendant. 

THAT is how musicians give tribute, meager as it may be in some of our cases.  Precise replication is the realm of technicians.  It is also tributary, no question.  The effort and learning and practice that goes into something like that is significant and deserves our attention and appreciation.  It is more than I can do, and I am jealous of the talent.  But that does not change its technical nature.  Musicians MUST express music from within themselves.  And when it comes from within themself, even if it was first expressed by another it cannot help but change and morph and become something new. 

- Zurf

Granted B chord amnesty by King of the Mutants (Long live the king).
If it comes from the heart and you add a few beers... it'll be awesome! - Mekidsmom
When in doubt ... hats. - B.G. Dude

Re: The Upside & Downside of "Tribute" Bands

Zurf all of what you say is good as long as they dont get hung up with it as some are prone to do and identify themselves with the artist

"Growing old is not for sissies"

Re: The Upside & Downside of "Tribute" Bands

I like cover bands but not tribute bands. I don't mind the bands that cover songs especially if they have their own style. I like to see bands that do 50% original 50% covers. And if the covers are cleverly restyled even better. IMO

I used to be disgusted; now I try to be amused.
Elvis Costello

Re: The Upside & Downside of "Tribute" Bands

I like tribute bands if they are close to the original band.  Nothing wrong with them.  But, I also like original bands with their own methods and sounds.

You can see all my video covers on [url]http://www.youtube.com/bensonp1000[/url]
I have finally found happiness in my life.  Guitars, singing, beer and camping.  And they all intertwine wonderfully.

Re: The Upside & Downside of "Tribute" Bands

I am not too keen on tribute acts but having said that i went to see the Australian Pink Floyd not that long ago and they played "The Wall" in its entirety. It was a good gig. Obviously not and will never be the real thing but a good 25 quid well spent.

ps  i have a mate whose alter ego is Elvis Prestwick (not to serious but a lot of fun).

cheers

sinkybhoy

Re: The Upside & Downside of "Tribute" Bands

Hello All!!!!

Papa is right on target here. They are keeping great music alive. That is a must in our music stagnant world. Which brings me to my next point. Like Russell said, they have an inability to be unique or original. I have a hard time new music I like. It seems like everything is sounding the same. If you've heard a few new artists, you've heard the next 10. Isn't it about time for another musical revolution? Motown, Rock, Disco, Pop, Metal, Grunge, Bubblegum Pop, Hip Hop???????? I just haven't heard anything that is the next step in the evolution of music. Maybe we have run out of original and unique music. Kind of like movies, no new ideas so let's remake ones that have no business being re-made yet. So until the next big change in music takes place, I guess all we have are tribute and cover bands. Which, to come full circle here, is keeping great music alive.

Keep Rockin!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: The Upside & Downside of "Tribute" Bands

There's a guy standing in the general election here who is a Freddy Mercury impersonator for his day job. I would love to have been a fly on the wall when they asked - "Harry, can you tell us how your prior experience fits you for this post?"

http://www.newsletter.co.uk/politics/UU … 5855137.jp

"Don't play what's there, play what's not there." Miles Davis

Re: The Upside & Downside of "Tribute" Bands

Zurf, your writing is so eloquent.  smile

I'm not keen on tribute bands that only play ONE other band's music, although they sure can put on a good show.  To me, they're more like "impersonators"; something to see once but not over and over again.  I like bands that "do covers" and can play a range of music from different artists... these bands we see in local bars and at local music events... I do like to hear their originals in there too, not JUST covers.  I personally like to do songs that I somehow make my own, not just because I "can't" do it like the original but because I want to be able to speak through the song (I've never sang a song well that I couldn't relate to personally).  My husband gets terribly flustered with songs because they just aren't "perfect" compared to the original... I have yet to hear him play through an entire song due to getting hung up on that fact!

Art and beauty are in the eyes of the beholder.
What constitutes excellent music is in the ears of the listener.

Re: The Upside & Downside of "Tribute" Bands

>>>>My husband gets terribly flustered with songs because they just aren't "perfect" compared to the original<<<<

Talk about eloquent...that little statement says it all!  With creating the "perfect" copies as their primary goal, it seems there is little incentive for musicians to try to create perfect ORIGINALS any more.

Me with my first ukulele, a Junior Beatles model, in 1966.  After Mom threw it down the stairs in a fit of rage, I became a drummer for life.  At age 43, I bought my second uke...

Re: The Upside & Downside of "Tribute" Bands

Russell_Harding wrote:

Zurf all of what you say is good as long as they dont get hung up with it as some are prone to do and identify themselves with the artist

I think we can all agree that's just nuts.

Granted B chord amnesty by King of the Mutants (Long live the king).
If it comes from the heart and you add a few beers... it'll be awesome! - Mekidsmom
When in doubt ... hats. - B.G. Dude

Re: The Upside & Downside of "Tribute" Bands

A downside to tribute bands is when they peter out so does your money.
My best buddy had a Jimmy Buffet show he played on the college circuit ten years ago. He wowed 'em with a huge sound system, great backing tracks, launching T-shirts into the crowd with a rubber band ballon launcher - he even hauled in his own palm trees and island scenery.
He quickly ran his income up to well over a hundred grand a year.
The problem was, Jimmy Buffet got old and rich and slowed down his producion of C.D's and live shows. My friend's income decreased as college students moved on to other music heros.

We pronounce it "Guf Coast".
Ya'll wanna go down to the Guf?

16 (edited by PapaTom 2010-03-29 16:54:40)

Re: The Upside & Downside of "Tribute" Bands

>>>A downside to tribute bands is when they peter out so does your money.<<<<

Even more tragic, in my opinion, is that, when being someone else stops being profitable, you've also lost several years of your life that could have been spent being yourself.  If just ONE of the guys who spent the last 35 years milking their short stints in the cast of BEATLEMANIA had been successful at creating NEW music in the spirit of The Beatles, perhaps we wouldn't all be missing The Beatles so much!

Me with my first ukulele, a Junior Beatles model, in 1966.  After Mom threw it down the stairs in a fit of rage, I became a drummer for life.  At age 43, I bought my second uke...

Re: The Upside & Downside of "Tribute" Bands

Toots - From the interviews I've read and heard, Jimmy Buffett still digs doing shows as much as he ever did, but his sixty(ish) year old voice isn't holding up to doing concerts Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night every week for thirteen or sixteen weeks in a row any more. 

PapaTom - You said a mouthful, and every syllable true.

- Zurf

Granted B chord amnesty by King of the Mutants (Long live the king).
If it comes from the heart and you add a few beers... it'll be awesome! - Mekidsmom
When in doubt ... hats. - B.G. Dude

Re: The Upside & Downside of "Tribute" Bands

>>>PapaTom - You said a mouthful...<<<

Yeah, I know...sorry, but lately, I can't seem to say what I need to say in fewer than a gazillion words!

Me with my first ukulele, a Junior Beatles model, in 1966.  After Mom threw it down the stairs in a fit of rage, I became a drummer for life.  At age 43, I bought my second uke...

Re: The Upside & Downside of "Tribute" Bands

PapaTom wrote:

>>>PapaTom - You said a mouthful...<<<

Yeah, I know...sorry, but lately, I can't seem to say what I need to say in fewer than a gazillion words!

No complaints from me.  I suffer the same malady.

- Zurf

Granted B chord amnesty by King of the Mutants (Long live the king).
If it comes from the heart and you add a few beers... it'll be awesome! - Mekidsmom
When in doubt ... hats. - B.G. Dude