Was it around the same time that:

"Used cars" became "Pre-owned Vehicles"
"Fat Girls" became "Full Figured"

etc etc . . . .

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

There is actually a difference. Cover bands cover songs from many bands and/or styles. Tribute bands just cover one band, and usually try to look like the band they are a tribute to. I mean there are some cases where the band may be a tribute to a certain movement or era, like Grunge or LA Hair Metal. But there is a difference. Anyone who says, for example, they are a Zepplin tribute band, but do not dress or look like Zepplin is not a tribute band, they are just a Zepplin cover band...While a band that dresses up like Kiss from the 70s, complete with pyro, while yes, could be called a Kiss cover band, is in reality a tribute band, as they are paying tribute to Kiss by imitating, which is the sincerest form of flattery. The question should be when did flattery become paying tribute...

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RAMA LAMA FA FA FA

I understand the distinction you are making, howver it's really just semantics. Tribute Bands are at heart just fancy cover bands that want to pretend they are Rock Stars (IMO).

My feeling is, and has always been, play covers when you have to but otherwise create your own music.

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

Led Zepplin was a cover band...

But I do agree, Tribute bands are fancy cover bands...But there are cover bands who will admit they are just cover bands, and not a tribute band, while all tribute bands are essentially cover bands of just one particular band...

And while it is just semantics, there are differences...Like steak and ground beef are both beef, but are they the same? Yes, on a broad level they are, but as much as they are the same, beef, they are both just as different as to how they actually are and how they come to be...Tribute and cover bands are yes, both essentially cover bands because they don't play their own music, but then once you look at why there are 2 different terms for what seem to be the same thing, they are different...

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RAMA LAMA FA FA FA

To me:

A Band - A group of musicians who play their own material.

A Covers Band - A group of musicians who play various material that is not their own.

A Tribute Band - A group of musicians who emulate an entire show and dress like the parts they play. They (try to) look and sound like the act they are a tribute to.

CC

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Fender Stratocaster (parts build)
Fender Telecaster 72 Custom RI
Fender Telecoustic Deluxe
Gretsch Electromatic Pro-Jet
Gibson Les Paul Standard Plus
Gibson ES-135
Zenith Type-17
Marshall 70's JMP Superbass 100w
Blackstar HT-5

Well Bowl my friend we shall have to agree to disagree on this one.

I agree that doing covers is a necessary part of "where you come from" (almost everyone starts out doing covers) but to take it to the level that these "Tribute Bands" do is just pathetic. To me it indicates that they either lack confidence in their ability to create original music, or lack the ability to create good original music.

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

if they're lovin' what they do, doin' what they love, and makin' a livin' at it... good for them!
i'm with you on the idea of making your own stuff, but if that ain't buying your lunch, do what you gotta do. simple as that.

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Well Frankie if that's the case (their own music not paying the bills) I'd suggest that they look into a different line of work because they don't have what it takes. Plus in the long run, (as you get older) being 40 years old and still in a "tribute band" would be REALLY sad.

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

I disagree. I see it as the highest form of flattery and a worthwhile endeavor in and of itself. It's not unlike a stage performer playing a role in a Shakespeare play. It's a learning experience that allows you to get a glimpse of the genius that created it. Besides there's no longer any such thing as original music. Absolutely every song you hear today is a rehash of someone else's work. Sometimes it's a rehash of the combined efforts of a great many musicians but to come up with something completely new and seminal is extremely rare and getting rarer every day.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

Instead of something truly and uniquely original then how about something they created themselves rather than just parroting someone else.

As I said earlier we all start out crawling (playing cover tunes exclusively) then we walk (mix in songs that we created), a few lucky souls get to run (make a living playing our own music).

Covering a song or two is one thing. But if all you can manage is playing stuff someone else wrote, get off the stage and go back to jamming in your garage. If I want to hear Zep, or the Stones, or Van Halen, or whomever, I'll grab my MP3 player. If I'm in a club watching you play I want hear what YOU'VE got.

Can you tell I don't go see "Tribute Bands"

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

Just like cars and fat girls need self esteem, so do cover bands.

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-Kc
"Payin' dues."

CC,
I agree with you bro!! The thing is as long as they sound good and have fun...it's all good!!!!

my car don't need any self esteem

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Its far worse than that mate. We've had tribute bands over here for quite a few years now (early 90's). Its the ultimate mass betrayal of musicians by musicians. They have pretty much killed originality in England. Which non musician is going to go and watch a upcoming talented young dedicated band. When they can go and see a load of has-been's playing and dressing like their favourite top40 losers from twenty years ago. I've half a mind to lobby parliament to introduce a bill to allow tribute band hunting. They've banned fox hunting, they should replace it with something. I can think of no better substitute except maybe nazi skinheads. Can you imagine the fun of charging down a load of George Michael look alikes. On horseback armed with golfclubs in the shopping center carpark. All of a sudden you hear the line "well you gotta have faith", and off you go. Horses nostrils flaring, hounds baying, as you plough through a mountain of shopping trolleys. Swinging this club wildly at some bad impersonator.

I reckon it would make a good day out for everyone and give us all something to do with a sunday afternoon.

Their not even beaten in the lowness stakes by karaoke specialists who love to croon along to their oh so precious hero. Because Robbie william's (example) lyrics mean so much to them. You know the kind, they sometimes cry as they sing along and pretend to be their z(h)ero and their significant other pretends to be appreciative that whatever dirge of a song is for and about them.

A boozer I used to use had tribute bands on from time to time. I used to stand up at the front and laugh at em. Shower of jokers.

The only tribute artists I've any time for are Elvis impersonaters. The King's so utterly inimitable, you cant take em seriously. Even an old punk like me likes to hear 'when I was a lad and old Shep was a pup' once in awhile. And they are atleast a foundation for international Elvis day.


(Please dont take too much of this very seriously. Except the bit about em stifling talent)

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No no and no

I'm not saying I don't think tribute bands are lame, because by all means, I hate tribute bands. I was a radio DJ who had to do weekly promotional appearances at a bar for a couple years where they pretty much booked nothing but tribute bands, and I've seen all kinds from Doors to Ozzy to Metallica to GnR to grunge-era tribute bands to hair metal tribute bands...I cannot stand them...but I had to be there for work...

All I am saying is, a tribute band and a cover band are two different things, though there is some overlap between what the two are, tribute bands take it to another level of whatever you wanna call it.

It may be absurd or pathetic to you, but if they like doing that to make a living, and other people pay to see it, I don't think the issue is with the person performing, I think the issue is the person paying to see the performance. To me what is more pathetic than someone who starts a Metallica tribute band because they sort of look like a chubby James Hetfield is the person who not only pays to see the chubby James Hetfield fronted Metallica tribute band, but then proceeds to go totally apesh!t like they were actually at a Metallica concert. Seem too crazy to be true? I've seen it happen...you wanna talk absurd? No wonder the terrorists wanna kill us...

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