Do We Need Tribute Bands?

“Why Do We Need Tribute Bands?”

Article #150 August 2023By: RLSchwinden aka MrZerr0 

The Duluth Veterans Tribute Fest is 26 August 2023 at Bayfront Festival Park. So being in KISSin Time for the last 10 years I get  these questions:

 1. Why are you in a tribute band and not just a cover dance band? For me I was always a fan of a specific band and I loved playing just one band’s songs, keeping to a certain theme. The very first project I was involved with we just played songs by The Beatles. Also I never really liked playing a variety of songs, especially songs by certain bands. Just like nowadays, go to any club and you will see several different bands playing the exact same songs, what can be the differentiating factor, who plays this song the best, these guys or those guys? 

 2. Don’t you feel silly? No, I get to live out my childhood dreams, and most people never get that opportunity. I always liked dressing up for more than just Halloween. I also wanted to be an actor, I have appeared in several films since 2011. (check IMDB).

3.  Why don’t you play original music? Well I have been in several original bands over the decades and while I enjoyed playing music I created or helped create. It was hard to get booked to play shows after 1987. In addition, in most cases people were not getting into your music they  had never heard before. And for decades now, a band has to realize they are not really going to “Make It” in the music biz, so why not do it for fun and make a little money in doing so. 

4. Are tribute bands really necessary? 
Overall I say Why Tribute Bands. Easy answer.  These 4 for example; The world’s favorite band of all time Led Zeppelin stopped touring in July 1980. The Beatles stopped touring August 1966. Jimi Hendrix last show was in Sep 1970. Jim Morrison’s last show was Dec 1970. Van Halen performed their last show in Oct 2015.  This list could go on and on. The Sweet will be playing the Twin Cities soon, as the other 3 original members are dead, the only original member left is Guitarist Andy Scott (born in June 1949), and several new hires, true the music is still there but when it is down to just one original member, and not even the lead singer on the recordings,  how far off is it really from a band paying tribute to the original band? What if you’re a huge Tom Petty fan, well unfortunately he died in 2017, so you can not see him anymore, or if you love Fleetwood Mac, even though they have had over 18 full members, sad but true Christine McVie is gone, since 2022.  

In the late 60s there was a trend to put together 50s Rock N Roll Revival Shows, like having Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino and Jerry Lee Lewis on the same bill (program) even then those artists were in their 30s and 40s. Berry was born in OCt 1926, so in 1969 he was 43 on tour playing these revival shows.  

For example when the Monkees toured as a trio in 1986 they were crucified over the fact all 4 original members weren’t there and they were in the 40s, yet many of the 80s hairbands are now in their 50s and 60s and the touring bands are down to maybe 2 members or just the lead singer and a backing band example Brett Michaels, Tom Keifer, Geoff Tate. How about Quiet Riot, the band is down to its 2nd Bass Player Rudy Sarzo. Let us look at Foreigner the only original member to still perform with the band is Mick Jones (born Dec 1944) albeit occasionally at best even though lead vocalist Lou Gramm is still active he he is not in his own band, while there are a few other famous people in the band; Pilson & Hansen, in my opinion Foreigner is nothing more than an “Authorized Tribute Band”  For the record Brett Michaels was born March 1963, Tom Keifer born Jan 1961, Geoff Tate was born in Jan 1959.

How about the 90s bands most of those lead singers are dead, Cobain, Staley, Cornell, Hoon, Weiland, Nowell and Wood, yet some of these bands still continue on. Since most of these 90s singers are in fact dead you could go see “Wicked Garden” and get the 90s experience in a live setting. An example TOOL is a great band, unfortunately they do not tour that often, so if you’re a TOOL fan, you can go see “10,000 Days”  

I saw the Ronnie James Dio Hologram in June 2019, and to me, it was like a bad cartoon with a really good backing band. There was talk of taking the Jimi Hendrix Experience Hologram and the Michael Jackson Hologram backed by the remaining Jackson Brothers, but I never saw anything materialize outside of the Dio Hologram tour. 

How about the major Stadium Tours, such as KISS, where Paul Stanley’s vocals are pre-recorded backing tracks, I know I saw this myself from only several feet away in Milwaukee, May 2022, or Motley Crue, Lee’s drums, Sixx’s bass tracks and Neil’s vocals. Sure these are very expensive shows costing millions of dollars, so the companies really wouldn’t want anything to go wrong, but is it right to charge $150.oo to watch a pantomime?  

I ask this question when you see tribute bands, do you prefer them to dress the part or the band just walk out and perform in their usual attire, whatever that may be? For many it’s the music and they really don’t care who is up there, as long as they can drink and dance and have a good night out. Some want to relive their glory days or a time that has long since gone by. Myself I do want to the music to be correct, and sometimes it’s necessary to have a keyboard player off to the side to recreate the sound, and in many cases a tribute band needs to have a female singer to recreate the vocals of a 22 year old male from decades ago, but I am also going to watch the show, so I myself would like to see the band at least make an effort to look the part, and not have to watch what looks like 4 guys that just got off work and went to the club to play the favorite songs. 

I have been in the music biz since 1981 in one way or another, I started working full time in a recordstore in 1986, I sold thousands upon thousands of Led Zeppelin cassettes back then. They were done as a band for over 5 years, so how would a 16 year old kid who just discovered Led Zeppelin get  to enjoy the live experience of his new favorite band without the advent of “Tribute Bands”? Keep in mind there is not a whole lot of Led Zeppelin video footage out there as their manager Peter Grant wanted the fans to pay to go see his band live, not be  able to watch them for free on TV. Or a young person sees KISS on Scooby Doo and wants to learn more about them, yes there are tons of video on KISS, but to be there and see it live is a spectacle to behold. 

While there will always be a need for new original music and I fully support this, I feel there is also a need for Tribute Bands helping fans relive the past in a way they are able to. So until someone invents a time machine I recommend you go see the tribute bands while they are still around. 

Check out my WDGY Radio Show 8am Sundays on WDGY: Am740, Streaming, FM: 92.1, 103.7, 107.1. You can hear the last 90 episodes at www.MrZeroS.Com under Podcast. Check out Mr. Zer0’s “Evolation Show” (32 Episodes)  and “Hits And History Show” (17 Episodes) at www.MixCloud.Com. 
See you in Duluth.StarChild of: KISSin Time. 

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