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Tribute Bands


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if you're good enough

to re-engineer someone else's song...why do you not have your own song?

I should probably be seeing a therapist but, something about glomming on to someone else's

material gives me the creeps.

 

Because I'm a guitarist, not a poet. I couldn't write a song if my life depended on it.

 

"We all steal. Steal, but don't copy".

- Ella Fitzgerald

 

"If you copy, that means you ain't got nothing to say".

- Billy Holiday

 

If you play cool, you are cool.
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In the movie "RAY" it was made clear that Ray Charles did start out being known by locals to be able to "sound like" this well known "star" or that, but he came to realize that HE wasn't being appreciated for who HE was, and then strived to find his own "voice". Which of course, meant in both singing AND playing.

 

Singer/actress Bernadette Peters once said she hated, in her early career, to be known(in some circles) as, "the next" this person or that. Saying, "Well, we already HAVE one of this or that person, so WHY in the hell do we need ANOTHER?"

 

I'd say that it might be better to shrug the idea of letting some musician be your influence, and instead let them be your inspiration. To me, it seems that would make it less likely for you to copy them too much. ;)

Whitefang

I started out with NOTHING...and I still have most of it left!
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I don't know of any band I admire enough to want to try and play their stuff and only their stuff, note for note, every time I play out. I like to many artists too well to choose just one.

 

Besides, I am more interested in doing versions of songs I like MY way.

 

Just call me Frank Sinatra, I guess...

Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.

 

 

 

 

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I don't know of any band I admire enough to want to try and play their stuff and only their stuff, note for note, every time I play out. I like to many artists too well to choose just one.

 

Most of the guys I know who do Tribute bands also do other projects, including a cover band, and maybe even other tributes. Especially if you don't travel, there isn't enough demand to play a Journey Tribute, for example, every weekend. You set up maybe a half dozen larger shows per year, and fill the time between with other projects. Most of the guys in our local Pink Floyd Tribute also do a Led Zepplin Tribute. One of them has an original band. Between them all, they come from 3 different local cover bands.

 

In my original progressive Metal band, half of them play in an Iron Maiden Tribute that does a handful of shows a year. Our drummer and the bass player from the Tribute have a cover band that plays regularly. So for the drummer - that's a tribute, and original band, and a cover band. That's pretty common.

Dan

 

Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth.

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Good comments J. Dan. I've never been a performing player. I had a full time career in electronic engineering and now that I'm retired I'm playing the guitar more than ever and doing some recording projects. A lot of these musicians are doing what they feel they need to do just to play music. Whether it be in a bar or in a tribute or cover band, or whatever. It's very competitive out there and some guitar players and other musicians will do what they need to do to escape a desk job.
"Let me stand next to your fire!", Jimi Hendrix
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A lot of these musicians are doing what they feel they need to do just to play music.

This is true, but if you truly love the music you pay tribute to, it's more than that. You're connecting with a large and appreciative audience who share your passion. And playing in very nice venues and hopefully getting well paid to do it.

 

Imagine a musician playing a wonderful classical piece as part of a symphony orchestra, or an actor getting a chance to play the lead in a Broadway production of West Side Story. Just because you didn't write the work, there's no shame in working hard to lovingly and respectfully recreate it for people who want to experience it live.

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I don't know of any band I admire enough to want to try and play their stuff and only their stuff, note for note, every time I play out. I like to many artists too well to choose just one.

 

Most of the guys I know who do Tribute bands also do other projects, including a cover band, and maybe even other tributes. Especially if you don't travel, there isn't enough demand to play a Journey Tribute, for example, every weekend. You set up maybe a half dozen larger shows per year, and fill the time between with other projects. Most of the guys in our local Pink Floyd Tribute also do a Led Zepplin Tribute. One of them has an original band. Between them all, they come from 3 different local cover bands.

 

In my original progressive Metal band, half of them play in an Iron Maiden Tribute that does a handful of shows a year. Our drummer and the bass player from the Tribute have a cover band that plays regularly. So for the drummer - that's a tribute, and original band, and a cover band. That's pretty common.

 

Yep. So following this " I don't imitate other people" line of thinking... if you can have a spot as the guitarist in an established band, or backing up a well-known artist, you're going to force your playing on it instead of playing what has been a hit? Right...

 

My mother is a classical pianist. What a waste... she just plays note for note covers from centuries ago.

 

There's just musicians who play gigs and musicians who don't.

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A lot of these musicians are doing what they feel they need to do just to play music.

This is true, but if you truly love the music you pay tribute to, it's more than that. You're connecting with a large and appreciative audience who share your passion. And playing in very nice venues and hopefully getting well paid to do it.

 

Imagine a musician playing a wonderful classical piece as part of a symphony orchestra, or an actor getting a chance to play the lead in a Broadway production of West Side Story. Just because you didn't write the work, there's no shame in working hard to lovingly and respectfully recreate it for people who want to experience it live.

 

I have to say that when I play a song - even one I loathe like "Brown Eyed Girl" - in that moment it doesn't feel like a cover and I don't play it like one... meaning you find the passion in it and make it fun for yourself.

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My point was that guys who do this also have other creative outlets. You don't always have to put your mark on everything every time. I like to cook, and usually just wing it and come up with my own dishes. That doesn't mean that I refuse to ever follow a recipe. A tribute show is one thing, a cover band is another thing, and an original band is something else. No reason somebody can't do all three. They each have different rewards.

Dan

 

Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth.

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My point was that guys who do this also have other creative outlets. You don't always have to put your mark on everything every time. I like to cook, and usually just wing it and come up with my own dishes. That doesn't mean that I refuse to ever follow a recipe. A tribute show is one thing, a cover band is another thing, and an original band is something else. No reason somebody can't do all three. They each have different rewards.

 

+1000

 

I was saying you'll find more people actively doing all kinds of those gigs than just doing one type...

 

I'm also thinking about growing up with a jazz musician dad and step dad, and hearing about how John Coltrane would wake up and go play a jazz brunch gig doing trad listener friendly stuff, then head to an orchestra pit and play charts for Broadway musicals... then when that was over he'd go to gigs in late night jazz clubs and push boundaries in that environment.

 

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I have to say that when I play a song - even one I loathe like "Brown Eyed Girl" - in that moment it doesn't feel like a cover and I don't play it like one... meaning you find the passion in it and make it fun for yourself.

Precisely. I cover a song or two I dont personally love but one should never short change the customer with a disaffected performance.

 

In saying that I personally wouldnt play in a tribute to an artist I disliked. Way too hard.

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I would submit that the terms "Tribute" and "Cover" are marketing tools to position the expectations of the audience. At least when I see a band advertised as a "Tribute" band, I expect to hear music written and recorded by the original. It may be rearranged but will be highly recognizable as the original's music. I would be greatly disappointed if the music by the Tribute Band included other band's covers or original music to the lack of the band that is being honored.
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I'll add another term to the mix: "Theme Band".

 

I used to play in an 80s band that we called a "tribute" to the 80s, but in reality, it was a Theme Band. We treated it similar to a Tribute in that we tried to cover the songs EXACTLY as the original, as well as dress and look the part. There are other theme bands out there as well.

 

So I would kind of define things this way:

 

Cover Band: play a mix of other peoples' tunes with varying degrees of closeness to the original and embellishments that suit the talents of the band.

 

Theme Band: Song list is limited to the theme and either played exactly as the original, or modified purposely to fit the theme - i.e. country versions of rock songs, acoustic versions of metal songs, reggae versions of pop songs, etc.

 

Tribute Band: Pick one artist and represent their catalog replicating as precisely as possible either their studio or live performances, including band members representing actual members of the original. i.e. in a Beatles tribute, members specifically play the parts of John, Paul, George, and Ringo, and sing/play the same parts they did.

Dan

 

Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth.

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I have to say that when I play a song - even one I loathe like "Brown Eyed Girl" - in that moment it doesn't feel like a cover and I don't play it like one... meaning you find the passion in it and make it fun for yourself.

Precisely. I cover a song or two I dont personally love but one should never short change the customer with a disaffected performance.

 

In saying that I personally wouldnt play in a tribute to an artist I disliked. Way too hard.

 

I do not play a tune unless I really like the tune. The vocalist picks the material that he or she is going to sing. They also pick the key that fits their vocal range best. The backup band has to stay under the vocals. I like to be versatile so playing in a tribute band does not interest me. I do not like to play just like the record or note for note, so playing in a cover band does not interest me. Playing solo, duo or with like minded musicians is what works for me...I like country, country rock, rock and roll, rockabilly, jazzy standards, improvisation, arranging, etc. I like to have fun and enjoy having fun with an audience... :cool:

Take care, Larryz
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Don'tcha just love semantics? :laugh:

 

I for one, would designate a "theme" band as one that plays a wide variety of songs by a wide variety of artists that address a particular or similar "theme". (subject matter, for lack of better....).

 

I'd possibly stretch it to "protest", "novelty" and/or "parody". all songs of course, addressing the same "theme". ;)

 

Blame WEBSTER for this...... :P

Whitefang

I started out with NOTHING...and I still have most of it left!
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And sometimes the "themes" are religious and/or political.

Nothing wrong with that, as long as they're upfront about it, IMHO.

 

Please, I'm NOT trying to start any religious or political arguments. I hear enough of that everywhere I go, LOL.

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Here's another "concept", if you will.......

 

Jazz drummer LOUIS HAYES heads up an ensemble he calls "The Cannonball Adderly Legacy Band". Their playlist consists of tunes made popular by the late Cannonball, his arrangements and such, and the band includes a few alumni of Adderly's bands. Others might just call it a "tribute" band, but I thought the use of "legacy"(since whom they're "tributing" is dead.) a bit clever and more respectful. :)

Whitefang

 

 

I started out with NOTHING...and I still have most of it left!
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I don't know of any band I admire enough to want to try and play their stuff and only their stuff, note for note, every time I play out. I like to many artists too well to choose just one.

 

Most of the guys I know who do Tribute bands also do other projects, including a cover band, and maybe even other tributes. Especially if you don't travel, there isn't enough demand to play a Journey Tribute, for example, every weekend. You set up maybe a half dozen larger shows per year, and fill the time between with other projects. Most of the guys in our local Pink Floyd Tribute also do a Led Zepplin Tribute. One of them has an original band. Between them all, they come from 3 different local cover bands.

 

In my original progressive Metal band, half of them play in an Iron Maiden Tribute that does a handful of shows a year. Our drummer and the bass player from the Tribute have a cover band that plays regularly. So for the drummer - that's a tribute, and original band, and a cover band. That's pretty common.

 

Yep. So following this " I don't imitate other people" line of thinking... if you can have a spot as the guitarist in an established band, or backing up a well-known artist, you're going to force your playing on it instead of playing what has been a hit? Right...

 

My mother is a classical pianist. What a waste... she just plays note for note covers from centuries ago.

 

There's just musicians who play gigs and musicians who don't.

 

Your Mother probably doesn't think it's a waste. Just be happy that she's still playing. Music isn't just about entertainment. It goes much deeper than that.

"Let me stand next to your fire!", Jimi Hendrix
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Sure. Classical music wasn't composed as musical guidelines, but intended to be performed verbatim. And another way to look at all this stuff( "note-for-note" v "loosely" covering...)----

 

1. Some are so full of themselves they think they can make the song BETTER by doing it more THEIR way...

 

2. They're actually not GOOD enough to do the song "note-for-note" and assuage their wounded egos by saying their fallen short efforts were intended( like Pee-Wee Herman claiming, "I meant to do that!" )

 

Plus, I don't think any classical pianist of healthy mind would purposely change the notes around in Rachmaninoff's 3rd in the presumption they can make it better. ;)

Whitefang

I started out with NOTHING...and I still have most of it left!
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Oscar was the man! He could tickle that ivory like nobody else, and a lot of it was improvised. He was a great artist from Montreal. We have a plethora of tribute bands just south of us in Daytona Beach that play at an Atlantic Ocean beachside bandshell. Many of the artists they tribute to I've seen. There's one coming up in August that I want to see. A Doors tribute band called The Dirty Doors.
"Let me stand next to your fire!", Jimi Hendrix
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I kinda think that p90jr meant the opposite of how you guys are taking his comment regarding his Mother's Classical piano playing...

Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do?

 

~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~

_ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _

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I would HOPE so!

 

And LARRY

 

Posting an OSCAR PETERSON clip is hitting below the BELT! :cop:

 

Loved that guy for decades. But more to the point....

 

Those guys didn't BILL themselves as a "Bach tribute band", did they? ;) And too, WHICH Bach?

 

JOHANN SEBASTIAN?

JOHANN CHRISTIAN?

JOHANN CHRISTOPH?

 

Or one of his other 12 children? ;)

 

They too, WERE after all, composers.

Whitefang

I started out with NOTHING...and I still have most of it left!
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@ Caevan, it's the great never ending note for note vs. improvisation issue. I think classical piano should be played note for note and it is a gift from above to those that excel at it. I think "tribute" bands should also play note for note. My musical interest lies elsewhere and I would rather listen to improvisation even when it involves classical and/or any band's take on an old tune. I still love the originals as well (on those that I love in the first place). :cool:

 

@ Delta, +1 Oscar is one of the greats! He can play classical anyway he chooses IMHO. :thu:

 

 

@ Fang, I never said anything about Oscar's trio billing themselves as a "Bach tribute band." Just making my point that classical can be improvised and in many if not all cases, I would rather listen to it that way. You will have to answer your own Bach questions as you know more about them than I do. The title of Oscar's trio clip is a "Salute to Bach" and that's what they were going for. The Bass and drums really come into play in the 2nd half and they do a great job of playing their "stuff". If you want to hear some great guitar takes on classical improvisation check out the Trans Siberian Orchestra.

 

[video:youtube]

 

Note for note? :cool:

Take care, Larryz
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And another way to look at all this stuff( "note-for-note" v "loosely" covering...)----

 

1. Some are so full of themselves they think they can make the song BETTER by doing it more THEIR way...

 

2. They're actually not GOOD enough to do the song "note-for-note" and assuage their wounded egos by saying their fallen short efforts were intended( like Pee-Wee Herman claiming, "I meant to do that!"

Whitefang

 

I know I've told this story before, but it speaks directly to WF's comments.

 

As I've freely admitted, I don't "Rock". I am a Blues and Jazz player. When I was teaching I taught some rock tunes to younger students who wanted them. One day one of my students brought in a lead sheet and a CD of Ozzie Osbornes' Crazy Train and asked me to teach it to him. I took the chart and CD home and worked through it. I taught him what I had come up with. I asked him, "Well, is that pretty close"? My student smiled and replied, "Actually, I think it's an improvement".

 

Several people have told me that they prefer my arrangement of When You're Down And Out to Eric Clapton's (my arrangement is much more melodic).

 

I have an arrangement of Leadbelly's Blackgirl that is light years ahead of Curt Cobain's, who like other "grunge" players was actually proud of being unskilled.

 

Do these things make me "full of myself"? I don't think so. I have invested years of formal study with four highly skilled and very demanding teachers and THOUSANDS of hours of practice into acquiring my guitar skills. Is it unreasonable or egotistical for me to take some pride in my accomplishments? Again, I don't think so.

 

Professional musicians are just flesh and blood human beings. They might play a solo one way on Monday and differently on Tuesday. Their musical thinking on any particular take may me a function of how much/little sleep they've gotten, which intoxicants they've ingested and when they last had sex.

 

Being famous and successful does not necessarily equate with skill or "talent". For example S.R.Vaughn was a brilliant guitarist. I really don't think his brother Jimmy is very good at all. I find his playing very predictable and sophmoric.

 

 

 

If you play cool, you are cool.
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