would you choose?And why?(re Adams thread) Me I'd opt for a Paul Butterfield tribute band. Why: 'cos i love his style and tunes but just as importantly i could get away with it as far as my abilities allow. A little Walter one eg would be way out of my comfort Zone plus i guess i enjoy the the more Rock side of blues harp especially if i was going to be playing the same stuff every week.(To vast audiences ;-)) Ok:Me Paul Butterfield.
Big Walter Horton (for harp) Lightnin Hopkins (for guitar) Jimmy Reed (just begging to be mentioned) I keep it regular. ---------- Hunger is the best spice.
Grateful Dead - I'm jealous of Garry (see eyes of the world thread) though 'tribute band' is a bit off - in that I wouldn't want to try to sound exactly like them. Blues, New Orleans, Country, - all relevant,- but the freedom to explore musically - jam collaboratively - beyond the typical blues band constraints, is what I'm drawn to. Yeah - that kind of thing can be self indulgent, - then again, it can be transcendent. ----------
I pray the great Jason Ricci be with us for the eternities...But God forbid, something ever happened...I would want to front a Jason Ricci tribute band and play All his greatest recordings ever made...Would you come to that show - I'd have to charge more then what Jason does for you to get in the tribute show though :0
For guitar I would love to play a Wes Montgomery tribute show but as a long term band not particularly.
For harp I would love to do a miles Davis thing. Bitches brew is probably one of my desert island recordings.
However the issue is I'd have a hard time being that rigid. Staying in the shadow of greatness. I'd feel compelled to make either my own. I hold Wes Montgomery's riverside material in such high regard that I focused on it so it bleeds through my playing when improvising on guitar. The complete riverside collection box is one of the greatest collections of music ever recorded to my ears.
As for a tribute band of living artists who still tour I think that is a disgrace. I can see covering a song but more and it is just wrong.
I don't know. There is actually a cool show concept that is popular here in Portland that I have done. Where you play a full album of material start to finish by a band of your chosing then play a full album of your own material. You cover it as close to the original as you can with your band. You can embellish some there aren't rules per se.
I'm with Willspear on the Miles Davis thang...however, I would like his "post Bitches Brew" stuff - the "Time After Time" post TUTU stuff.
I have tons of live recordings of these last years and Miles did have the baddest band in the land. Also have a rare bootleg type recording of Miles working with new musicians and teaching/talking to them about how to play in the ensemble. It's a text book course in Zen Musical Teaching. ---------- The Iceman
Isn’t the most important attribute regardless of what were playing- that we play with a genuine love and appreciation for who ever is listening and that includes ourselves…If were playing for reason/s that are meaningless should we be surprised that we are miserable at the end of the day…If a musician is pleasing their audiences leaving them feeling honored and paid attention to by the music shared with them, is not that the goal – to spread some love… if its fresh original musical love you have to offer or refried musical love, the important ingredient is LOVE!
EVERYBODY - All we need is love, love, love is all we need:)
Last Edited by on Dec 16, 2012 9:37 AM
Were a Boy George/ Culture club tribute band------------ -----------------------------Don't Think So !!!!!! Actually Darrell Mansfield would be my choice. Playing harp for the glory of God !!! ---------- And I Thank You !! KCz Backwoodz Bluz
Last Edited by on Dec 16, 2012 10:03 AM
Killer joe I don't know what's so depressing about a group of successful musicians and band leaders paying tribute to the music they love. It is made up of members of Conan and letterman's bands and they often feature a horn section and or strings. They play material never performed live by the Beatles and nail it.
If you don't like the Beatles that is fine if you despise covering music in any aspect that is also fine aswell. Though if one is "depressed" by covers then you should never attend jams or listen to covers or learn riffs or hell let's take it to anyone performing a song written for them. If it isn't played by Willie Dixon himself and performed by him or he being in the band than it wasn't legit. Burn your muddy waters records people because he had other people writing his material.
If they were just doing lousy covers and had not much else I wouldn't think highly of them. However they were long proven working New York musicians long before this.
All that being said I am not the biggest Beatles fan. I am a staunch fan of original live music but I am also a fan of technical mastery and some bands doing the tribute thing do actually nail that.
I've heard some bands do some pretty Beatlesey Beatles covers. They were really good. I think if I was in a Beatles I'd become schizophrenic. There is such a huge difference between their early stuff and their old stuff.
My band used to cover several Nirvana tunes. I don't think I'd want to be a straight 'sound like them' band. I like making the song sound different. We started our 'Molly's Lips' (Nirvana covering The Vasolines I think) with a slow, gentle three part harmony before crashing into a speedy harp driven uptempo piece. ---------- Nate Facebook Thread Organizer (A list of all sorts of useful threads)
No one is mucking it up Kjoe...Their making beautiful music - I wouldn't steer ya wrong. If you haven't seen the Beatles tribute yet, honestly it's awesome!
Early Stones....so I could smell all the little girls pee pee streaming down the auditorium. LOL that was some crazy stuff. ---------- Sun, sun, sun Burn, burn, burn Soon, soon, soon Moon, moon, moon
the problem with tribute bands, vs. cover bands, is that there are so many great songs, by so many great bands. i'd hate to cut myself off from any of them. my band covers dead, allmans, petty, phish, blues traveler, dylan, beatles, the who, etc. all great stuff. i plan on adding some butterfield, hot tuna, traffic, and more.
I'd like to start a Doc Boggs tribute band, because his lyrics are awesome and nobody in the general public has heard of him. "they'll spend all the money you can save. From your heart strings weave silk garters, Build a doghouse on your grave."
If you're doing a tribute band of somebody well known, Dread Zeppelin is a perfect example how to do it.
---------- David
____________________ At the time of his birth, it was widely accepted that no one man could play that much music so well or raise that much hell. He proved them all wrong. R.I.P. H. Cecil Payne
Realistically, I couldn't pull anything off. I would, though, think a 90's tribute band could do really well right now. I'd do something like the band Hairball, but limit it to 90's pop-rock. I'd get to play a couple of harp tunes, but in reality, would need to be a multi-instrumentalist. I also wouldn't sound like any of those singers...I just couldn't do it.
@KillerJoe re: " I think the Beatles were one of the most unique and instantly recognizable bands ever. I love the Beatles. That's why I think their music should be left alone. It's beautiful the way it is. Why would I ever want to hear ANYONE fuck that up? It makes no sense."
If nobody ever covered material that had been done before THERE WOULD BE NO BLUES MUSIC TODAY. It is possible to cover tunes out of love and respect. It is possible to try to play it just like the original (how many harp players try to master Juke?) or to make it their own with a new twist. Good music is good music and should be kept alive! Emphasis on LIVE. Not just on recordings.
Why? A better question would be, why not? When you see him play, he looks like he is having a good time and people love him. He is still alive and he lives nearby, which would make it extra creepy.
@KillerJoe "I think the Beatles were one of the most unique and instantly recognizable bands ever. I love the Beatles. That's why I think their music should be left alone. It's beautiful the way it is. Why would I ever want to hear ANYONE fuck that up? It makes no sense."
Have you never seen or heard a group called "American English"?
If you see these guys live and shut your eyes, you'd swear you were listening to the real thing.
In response to the OP, I think I'd either wanna tribute Huey Lewis & The News, or Norton Buffalo.
----------
Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by on Dec 17, 2012 7:58 AM
I find at least some level of irony in this. People want to rip cover bands or tribute bands, when in fact, as others have alluded too, many blues bands end up doing the same things...it just isn't as popular to audiences.
In fact, contemporary blues playing often expects there to be a level of tribute. How many players go out of their way to develop cred by sounding like the original "masters"? IMO, many blues bands fit right between being a cover band and tribute band.
I'm in complete agreement with you Killer, which is why I wrote in the other thread, I love cover bands, hate tribute bands. Some of the best versions of songs for me are by bands that covered them. Hendrix's take on Dylan's Like a Rolling Stone, Aersosmith's take on the Beatles' Come Together (try telling people that one if you want to start an argument). I love listening to the different arrangments and the creative differences.
I'm even OK with it if a band incorporates one or two tunes into their set where they try and play some classic note for note. It goes off the rails for me when the whole show note for note, vocals, dress, physical appearance, mannerisms the whole shebang is attempted. It's creepy. And it's exponentially creepier if that artist/act is still alive and performing themselves. I think if those two bands try to occupy the same stage at the same time the universe blows up (or something like that).
I know there's money to be made doing that etc., still creepy to me. There's something circus sideshowy about it to me. Step right up and see: The bearded lady, the dogboy, and the guys who look, sing and act just like the beatles!
I'm busy trying to find some local guys to form a band to be called The Devil Doctors, we will be playing songs by The Red Devils and Dr Feelgood plus a few of my own. I'm gonna try and play to my strengths i.e. the funnier stuff that I wright coupled with the high energy good time vibe of these two bands, plus the Feelgood harp stuff is'nt too complicated and I will do my best with the Red Devils! I recon with some good guys behind me I could give the folks a good time.
Last Edited by on Dec 17, 2012 12:40 PM
----------It would be a ZZ Top tribute band, except with blasting, gutys, blues harmonica dominating the mix. Ted Burke http://youtube.com/watch?v=-VPUDjK-ibQ&feature=relmfu
@KillerJoe: I was offered a chance to play in a ZZTop tribute band several years ago. I worked on the harp parts for about 6 weeks before my first rehearsal and then told the bandleader I couldn't get myself to do it. I couldn't get past the formulaic nature of alot of the music-- even after admiring the beauty of the harp parts. I felt like it was an exercise in bar counting: listening to the music until it was "my turn", and then doing my best to perform those great harp parts and then returning to bar counting. I did have a great time listening to their early blues stuff though. Part of my decision WAS due to the fact that I knew these guys were playing gigs 70-80 miles away until 2AM, breaking down, and gettin' home after 4AM... all for mebbe +/- $100 for me, & then I was teachin' Sunday School at the time, startin' at 9:45 AM.
I personally try not to do too much "dancin' with the devil", but I think most of us try to live our lives by some kinda good code...Christian or not. It was the hours that could kill me, not the blues, lol!
I'm not really interested in tribute bands. I like to mix it up, in fact, I rarely listen to a CD all the way through.
Last Edited by on Dec 19, 2012 9:15 AM
I might want to do a tribute a particular period of music instead of playing only one artist.
I am thinking of starting a band of 60 garage band music, that great, proto-punk rock and roll America was rich in during the mid sixties: MUSIC MACHINE, STANDELLS, SEEDS, COUNT 5, so many others. Grainy, fuzzy, agitated. And I would sing, with occasional harmonica . ---------- Ted Burke http://youtube.com/watch?v=-VPUDjK-ibQ&feature=relmfu
Paul Thorn. And for all of you who know of Paul Thorn and say that his band doesn't have a harmonica player in it I only have one thing to say. His tribute would have one. Yessir, it would. ---------- snakes in Snohomish
