Tribute bands

[BetaFunk]

I take it all back about not wanting to ever see any tribute band, but that was before i saw this..................


http://youtu.be/jZcFUYJUiQ8

[Dingus]

All I know about tribute acts is that my Latvian Black Sabbath project was a disaster. I would still give it another go though, and have got a sneaking suspicion that a Ugandan Emerson, Lake and Palmer could be a big hit on the college circuit .

[Dingus]

I wonder what happened to all the Gary Glitter tribute acts? Did they do four months in the nick and then run away to Cambodia? I suppose you have to be careful which mast you nail your colours to.

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1400693019' post='2456196']
All I know about tribute acts is that my Latvian Black Sabbath project was a disaster. I would still give it another go though, and have got a sneaking suspicion that a Ugandan Emerson, Lake and Palmer could be a big hit on the college circuit .
[/quote]
You could well be right Dingus but you could always throw in your lot with my James Last Tribute Band which will consist of Washboard, Kazoo and Tea Chest Bass. Last Chance.

[Dingus]

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1400693475' post='2456203']
You could well be right Dingus but you could always throw in your lot with my James Last Tribute Band which will consist of Washboard, Kazoo and Tea Chest Bass. Last Chance.
[/quote]

Last Chance would indeed be a great name for such an act, but unfortunately Mrs Dingus would almost certainly be unwilling to launder the apparently obligatory pristine white outfit with sufficient diligence due to her allegedly having" better things" to do with her life, mostly like wasting my money on useless crap, it would seem to me . I would be too ashamed of the state my uniform to perform in public and so my friend, as yet another casualty of feminist rhetoric, I must decline your kind offer to join the band.

Edited May 21, 2014 by Dingus

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1400694244' post='2456215']
Last Chance would indeed be a great name for such an act, but unfortunately Mrs Dingus would almost certainly be unwilling to launder the apparently obligatory pristine white outfit with sufficient diligence due to her allegedly having" better things" to do with her life, mostly like wasting my money on useless crap, it would seem to me . I would be too ashamed of the state my uniform to perform in public and so my friend, as yet another casualty of feminist rhetoric, I must decline your kind offer to join the band.
[/quote]
I can fully understand that. Domestic bliss must come first and unfortunately the other future band member has dropped out too so if i may have to go ahead on my own as 'One Last Chance'. Must go now because i have a medley of 70s poptasticness buzzing around my head.

[Painy]

Last one I saw was a Guns 'n' Roses tribute. 'Duff' was about 6'8", built like a brick sh*t house and was bald with a bushy beard but tried to look the part by wearing a very cheap looking blonde wig in a Jennifer Anniston style cut which was pretty hilarious (clearly tongue in cheek mind you). The singer was pretty good for most of the first half but then started to lose his voice so that by the end he sounded like a chipmunk with a sore throat. Did have a bloody good laugh though even if it didn't sound that great.

[Lord Sausage]

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1400509805' post='2454456']

I am the opposite of Jus Lukin. I cannot just play anything. Most 'popular' music bores me rigid and, if I am bored, the audience knows I am bored (suffice to say, I couldn't play poker).
[/quote]
Weirdly i was like that when i was in my late teens and 20's. It was all prog and vai and jazz fusion etc and pop bored me rigid. Now it's the other way round (not modern pop music tho, urgh!). However, i couldn't write a decent pop song to save my life. when i write it tends to have a jazz ish, prog ish, rock ish vibe.

[clarkpegasus4001]

I've played in a Wishbone Ash tribute, a Budgie tribute, and I am in the process of forming a Judas Priest tribute. I also dep in a Black Sabbath tribute. I also play in a rock/metal covers band and I write my own stuff which will probably never see the light of day.
The thing is, i've never done any tributes for the money, it's purely because I enjoy playing the music. Also i'm 100% certain that it's made me a much better player.
Another point is, (round here anyway) that pubs don't want to book bands playing their own material. Nobody is interested it seems, it's a shame but a fact. Pubs/clubs in general want to book cover bands and the odd tribute act. The fact is i've played some big venues doing tributes so there's clearly a market for it.
At the end of the day, folk will vote with their feet and their wallets. If the band play to a decent standard, and play what folk wanna hear they will come to watch and hopefully enjoy themselves, which they seemingly do.

[Raymondo]

Tony. You need to support your Budgie band with the Judas Priest one and re-create a gig I saw in Nottingham, at the Sherwood rooms I think it was ,....who'd have thunk it ...Budgie supported by Judas priest......my head never stopped banging all night!

[spinynorman]

The worst tribute I've seen was one for Queen. They were all quite unconvincing, but "Freddie" looked like Bruce Forsyth in a vest. The performance was sanitised, aimed at people who quite like hearing Bohemian Rhapsody on the wireless, but would find perspiration on a performer unacceptable. From conversations I overheard at the interval, it was going down well in Malvern.

[Len_derby]

[quote name='Raymondo' timestamp='1400701699' post='2456307']
Tony. You need to support your Budgie band with the Judas Priest one and re-create a gig I saw in Nottingham, at the Sherwood rooms I think it was ,....who'd have thunk it ...Budgie supported by Judas priest......my head never stopped banging all night!
[/quote]

I saw that same line-up the night before, or after, at the King's Hall Derby (actually the municipal swimming pool with a lid on). 1974??? I thought Judas Priest were shyte......

Back on topic, there's a very successful pub venue in my town. Speaking to them, it's the sell-out tribute act gigs that allow them to take the financial hits on up-and-coming original material acts.

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='spinynorman' timestamp='1400704939' post='2456349']
The worst tribute I've seen was one for Queen. They were all quite unconvincing, but "Freddie" looked like Bruce Forsyth in a vest. The performance was sanitised, aimed at people who quite like hearing Bohemian Rhapsody on the wireless, but would find perspiration on a performer unacceptable. From conversations I overheard at the interval, it was going down well in Malvern.
[/quote]
I was never a great fan of Queen so that sounds rather good to me. Are they still going as i wouldn't mind seeing them.

[Raymondo]

[quote name='Len_derby' timestamp='1400705626' post='2456354']
I saw that same line-up the night before, or after, at the King's Hall Derby (actually the municipal swimming pool with a lid on). 1974??? I thought Judas Priest were shyte......

Back on topic, there's a very successful pub venue in my town. Speaking to them, it's the sell-out tribute act gigs that allow them to take the financial hits on up-and-coming original material acts.
[/quote]

Yes it must have been about 1974.
I didn't think Judas Priest were .shyte but they were no where near as good as Budgie....if you had to bet on who was going to have hits around the world and sell gazillions of albums your money would have been on Budgie that's for sure!.

[Dr.Dave]

[quote name='spinynorman' timestamp='1400704939' post='2456349']
The worst tribute I've seen was one for Queen. They were all quite unconvincing, but "Freddie" looked like Bruce Forsyth in a vest. The performance was sanitised, aimed at people who quite like hearing Bohemian Rhapsody on the wireless, but would find perspiration on a performer unacceptable. From conversations I overheard at the interval, it was going down well in Malvern.
[/quote]

We shared the bill with one , went into their dressing room to say hi to find the singer on his knees in front of a Freddie poster. Drummer told us to bugger off while he 'invoked Freddie's spirit'.

What can you do ? !

Edited May 21, 2014 by Dr.Dave

[xilddx]

[quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1400710130' post='2456402']
We shared the bill with one , went into their dressing room to say hi to find the singer on his knees in front of a Freddie poster. Drummer told us to bugger off while he 'invoked Freddie's spirit'.

What can you do ? !
[/quote]

I suppose it depends if they blew the roof off the joint or not as to whether the invocation was justified.

[clarkpegasus4001]

[quote name='Raymondo' timestamp='1400701699' post='2456307']
Tony. You need to support your Budgie band with the Judas Priest one and re-create a gig I saw in Nottingham, at the Sherwood rooms I think it was ,....who'd have thunk it ...Budgie supported by Judas priest......my head never stopped banging all night!
[/quote]

Ha, that would have been good fun! However the Budgie tribute band has finished. It's quite true that Budgie and Priest toured together in the early/mid 70's, even jamming together at gigs. I didn't see Budgie until 1978 myself. I've never seen Priest unfortunately. I would have liked to have seen them after Sad Wings came out like my mate did at the Albert Hall, Nottingham around 1976.

[Dr.Dave]

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1400711716' post='2456415']
I suppose it depends if they blew the roof off the joint or not as to whether the invocation was justified.
[/quote] Dustin Hoffman. Marathon Man. I believe the tale goes that he stayed awake for 3 nights to look dog rough for the torture scene and moaned to dear , dear Larry Olivier , luvvy how much he suffered for his art but felt it was required to get into character convincingly. Olivier tutted and said ' Then learn how to act , dear boy , learn how to act'.

[xilddx]

[quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1400743614' post='2456497']
Dustin Hoffman. Marathon Man. I believe the tale goes that he stayed awake for 3 nights to look dog rough for the torture scene and moaned to dear , dear Larry Olivier , luvvy how much he suffered for his art but felt it was required to get into character convincingly. Olivier tutted and said ' Then learn how to act , dear boy , learn how to act'.
[/quote]

[JTUK]

Tributes don't really work in pubs round here. Not enough money in it...
and you have to be really careful with the chosen act as you can bore
your audience silly, once you have gotten past their 3 hits.

If the band you tribute has a very good and large reportoire, then you'll
do well pretty quickly, otherwise you;re playing to 3 men and a dog
and I can't see the point in that.
I also don't get the thinking that you have to fake the image as well.
That, to me, sounds ridiculous... you aren't the real band ..

Having said that, a friend of mine gets some very good gigs with their
Zep act.. I think they make a living at it, so..???

I blame it on the Blues Bros....

[KevB]

The main music pub I frequent usually has its busiest nights when a tribute act is on. Len has a good point, many venues probably subsidise putting on low-draw originals acts with the full house tribs and covers. The truth is that as a whole there probably wouldn't be as many venues able to put music on for the originals bands if the tribs and covers weren't pulling in the numbers to make them viable as venues at all.
Bugger, I've now contributed to a thread I wasn't going to again as it's come up 4 or 5 times before in various guises....

Edited May 22, 2014 by KevB

[lonestar]

[quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1400710130' post='2456402']


We shared the bill with one , went into their dressing room to say hi to find the singer on his knees in front of a Freddie poster. Drummer told us to bugger off while he 'invoked Freddie's spirit'.

What can you do ? !
[/quote]

I stopped reading at singer on his knees and had to go back and read the rest of the post after id finished my sandwich

[lonestar]

Nearly Dan and zappa plays zappa are my favourite tribute bands.

[rushbo]

Three words I thought I'd never see in a sentence in 2014...


...."Budgie tribute band"


Please don't take that as a slagging - my current band does "Breadfan" and I love every minute of it. Maybe the time is right to start up that Be Bop Deluxe trib....?

[Bilbo]

Everyone I know who tried the tribute band route has failed to make any money at it (too much money spent on production, booking rehearsal rooms etc). Includes 2 Floyd acts tribute who subsequenlty split.

Life's too short