For Those About To Rock ... They Salute You
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Published: October 16, 2008
TAMPA If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then bands such as AC/DC and Pink Floyd should feel sincerely flattered.
Whether it's the Australian Pink Floyd Show scaling down a stadium-size extravaganza for sold-out theaters, or Highway to Hell slugging out three decades worth of AC/DC hits in a nightclub, tribute bands are filling a need for fans who can't get enough of their favorite bands.
Rich Rubin runs Maximum Bands, a booking agency with a roster of acts paying tribute to performers from Abba to Iron Maiden.
These bands' appeal to nightclub owners is a no-brainer, Rubin says.
"I call it the 'What's gonna happen next?' factor," Rubin says. "It's more of a show. You're not going to walk out of an AC/DC concert halfway through."
Tribute band audiences anticipate the next song the way a concert crowd would — will the next song be a familiar hit or an obscure number known only to hard-core fans? Will the faux AC/DC recreate the real band's stage moves?
It keeps the crowd in the club and, most importantly, buying drinks. That's something that gives a tribute band, designed to look and sound like a popular act, a distinct advantage over a traditional cover band.
"It's an easy sell," Rubin says. "Do you want somebody staying in the club for two hours or leaving after 45 minutes after they've heard 'Brown-Eyed Girl' and Lynyrd Skynyrd again?"
Some tribute bands have moved well beyond the bar scene. Highway to Hell, which still plays plenty of club dates, is a favorite at festivals and benefits.
The Australian Pink Floyd Show is even bigger, regularly touring the United States and Europe, wowing Floyd fans and even Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, who has given the outfit his thumbs up.
The band stops in Clearwater on Thursday.
Just be careful about calling this act a tribute band.
"Do you have a symphony in your city?" Steve Litman asks rhetorically. Litman is the U.S. promoter for the Australian Pink Floyd Show.
"When they play Mozart, are they a tribute band, or are they great musicians performing great music?" Litman says.
Not Only In It For The Money
That's a sentiment with which Jerry Outlaw would concur.
Outlaw is one of the mainstays of Bogus Pomp, a Tampa area outfit devoted to performing the music of Frank Zappa, not only a rock icon but also a composer whose works have been performed by some intrepid orchestras.
Zappa's works are notoriously demanding. Playing that music requires a tremendous amount of dedication, especially when the rewards are almost strictly artistic.
"Maybe it seems silly carrying a musical torch for Zappa," says guitarist Outlaw, whose other musical outlets include the non-tribute band Money Shot.
"But I think it's every bit as valid and important as the musicians of Bach and Mozart's era who performed that music and kept it going," Outlaw says. "We do this strictly for the love of the music."
Of course, performances of Bach and Mozart rarely include the sort of shenanigans Zappa's concerts did, especially his Halloween shows.
"Those are legendary among his fans," Outlaw says. "People like [radio personality] Dr. Demento would get involved; he'd have insane people participating in different parts of the show, lots of audience participation."
Bogus Pomp's "Zappaween" concert, Nov. 1 at the State Theatre in St. Petersburg, promises a similar feel without being a carbon copy.
"We don't try to do the same thing [a tribute] band might do," Outlaw says. "I don't try to look like Zappa. We try to re-create the music with the same spirit and high capability," he says, then adds, "with high abandon and no fear of buffoonery."
Similarly, the Floyd from down under seeks to "re-create the Floyd experience," Litman says, although no one in the band tries to dress up like Roger Waters or Gilmour (not that doing so would entail much more than a black T-shirt).
'One-Pack' In Black
Highway to Hell dresses up.
Rod Vincent straps on a Gretsch and hammers out riffs a la rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young. A gentleman who goes by the name Jangus dons the schoolboy outfit of lead guitarist Angus Young. And amiable Welshman Martyn Jenkins portrays both late singer Bon Scott and his replacement, Brian Johnson. Well, visually it's mostly Johnson. Being Scott would require doffing his shirt.
"I've got the traditional Welsh one-pack," Jenkins says with a laugh.
Jenkins' speaking voice has none of the rasp of Johnson's, and based solely on that, it's easier to believe that he once fronted a Queen tribute act than that he now apes AC/DC.
He was as surprised as anyone.
When a cover band he was with years back added some AC/DC numbers, Jenkins "found an intersection between my natural voice and my falsetto" that worked on "Back in Black" and other favorites.
With Highway to Hell, which is based in the Bay area, Jenkins stays in character only during the songs.
"I don't try to be Brian or Bon between songs," Jenkins says. "Although some people have come up and said, 'I can't believe you put on a British accent.'"
Jenkins' 9-year-old son has played drums with his old man's band. And there are plenty more kids showing up for performances by Highway to Hell and other tribute bands lately.
"We did Highway to Hell and [Black Sabbath tribute act] Supertzar at the Largo Cultural Center, and there were tons of 12- and 13-year-olds singing every word," Rubin says.
Classic rock in general, and classic rock tribute bands in particular, can thank the popularity of video games "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero," which have introduced a generation of players to the music their parents loved.
Venus in Furs, on the other hand, pays tribute to a band the classic rock generation ignored.
The Velvet Underground never got its due during its brief, late '60s lifespan, but it has inspired generations of musicians since.
Laura Taylor, development director with community radio station WMNF, 88.5 FM, began Venus in Furs as an all-female VU tribute with local musicians Rebekah Pulley, Karen Collins and Sandy Greco.
Greco has since departed, and the band has added guitarist-keyboardist Shannon Lyn and Taylor's husband, Drew Farmer, on drums.
The addition of a man to the ranks helps make the band "the negative of the photograph," as Taylor puts it. The Velvets' drummer, Moe Tucker, was the lone woman in the band.
Venus in Furs covers the range of the band's material, from the sweet pop song "Who Loves the Sun" ("Like a little Burt Bacharach in the middle of all the heroin gloom," Taylor says) to the noise epic "Sister Ray" (Taylor: "It doesn't feel like 18 minutes").
The Furs originally planned to have a vintage Velvets look, with wraparound shades and black turtlenecks, but locale changed their minds.
"This isn't New York; it's Tampa," Taylor says. "And it's really hot."
Bogus Pomp's "Zappaween," featuring former Zappa vocalist Ike Willis, takes place Nov. 1 at the State Theatre, 687 Central Ave. in St. Petersburg. Tickets are $21. Call (727) 895-6489.
Go to www.highwaytohell.info for the latest on Highway to Hell.
ON TOUR
The Australian Pink Floyd Show
WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursday
WHERE: Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 McMullen-Booth Road, Clearwater; (727) 791-7400
COST: $47.50 and $67
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