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Who do these guys think they are?
Tribute bands and the quest to be as good as the real thing
By Erica Febré efebre@hippopress.com
For the members of most tribute bands, the desire to be Van Halen, The Ramones or U2 started with a live performance.
Several band members remember being wowed by their idols and then saddened when those bands either stopped performing live or stopped performing in the area.
“When we started it, Van Halen wasn’t doing anything and there weren’t a lot of Van Halen tributes playing any Sammy Hagar material,” said Zander Carlson with Balance, a Van Halen tribute band. “I also wanted to build an Eddie Van Halen guitar and figured if I built the guitar then we had to play it too.”
“We didn’t start this to be the next Ramones. It was almost out of respect, like this is something that we should do to keep it alive for the people that love it just as much as we do,” said Bobby Ramoniac with The Ramoniacs, a Ramones tribute.
“Some of us here still remember The Ramones. It’s a place for the Ramones fans to get back together. But we’re also doing it for the people that missed what we were fortunate enough to see,” Bobby said.
As good as the real thing?
Not all tribute bands take the tribute idea to the furthest extent.
For some it’s just about playing the music, while for others it’s more about filling the role and acting the part as well as the music.
Balance, who has the Van Halen guitar, also has a member, Chris Audette, who looks exactly like Hagar. He easily fits the part of Hagar with Balance, curly hair and all.
While it seems like a lot of fun from the audience’s point of view — watching a band that looks, acts and sounds like the original — it’s not all fun and games from the band’s point of view.
“For the musician, it’s definitely a full-time gig to learn and keep up with the material — different time patterns and time signatures. It’s just as much a full-time job as being in an original band,” said John “Bo” Boroyan, lead vocalist with Triad.
Being a tribute band doesn’t limit a band to playing only that particular band’s music, though — some of the tributed bands, such as Tool or Grateful Dead, did a number of cover tunes of their own.
“The Grateful Dead did cover a lot of other bands so we can pull tricks that way too. We can do Grateful Dead while still doing other music and still be doing Grateful Dead,” said Joey Ruggiere with August West, a Grateful Dead tribute.
The live experience
Triad, a Tool tribute band based in New England, takes tributing just as seriously as the rest, but doesn’t try to appear exactly like Tool.
“We don’t try to replicate the band members. We’re not trying to be Tool. We mostly want to represent the live experience of their music. The caliber of this music is very challenging to learn and replicate too,” Boroyan said.
Boroyan said that the band members consider themselves a promotional element for Tool. If someone hasn’t heard a Tool song in a while, they might be encouraged to get back into the music after watching a Triad Tool tribute show.
“For us, we’re totally about the live experience. That’s what Tool is about and we’re Tool fans ourselves, obviously. If we went to see a Tool tribute band we wouldn’t want it any other way,” Boroyan said.
Being dedicated to the full live experience, Triad has actually taken a step beyond the typical tribute band and joined up with another Tool tribute band, Parabola, for the sole sake of filling out a live performance.
“Actually it’s rather unusual to find Tool tributes that are this positive and will play together. But we’ve been lucky enough to actually meet Tool and the guys were so nice and generous to us and it really influenced us. So we felt, as a Tool tribute, that we should be the same way. We’re in the same boat so why not help each other out,” said Peter St. Amant, guitarist with Parabola.
Parabola, from Rhode Island, features a female lead singer, Stephanie Larivee, an obvious difference from the actual Tool.
“Musically, we try and reproduce as accurately as possible. But vocally, it’s something different. Steph has such a strong style and pesonality of her own that she does the songs beautifully,” St. Amant said.
Since Tool is a band that does still perform, both of the Tool tributes will actually take a break while the band is on tour and hold off on the tributing.
Crowds for the copies?
At the moment, it seems that it’s not particularly easy to get gigs as a tribute band. Many of the tribute bands find they also need to cover the songs of other bands in order to keep getting gigs.
Most tribute bands find that most of their shows are part of specialty tribute shows or parties commemorating a particular band’s anniversary.
“The tribute thing is just not really working out these days, or at least that’s what we’re finding. It could just be the Grateful Dead thing. The clubs are dying out, wanting to hear more classic rock stuff,” said Ruggiere with August West.
“We were getting gigs but we want to play the bigger places. It seems there are plenty of places to play, just not the places we want to play,” said Ruggiere.
In southern New Hampshire, there are a number of venues that have featured tribute bands — Milly’s Tavern, Black Brimmer, The Yard, Penuche’s Grill and Uptown Tavern in Manchester; Whippersnappers in Londonderry; Slammers Sports Bar and Mark’s Rock Club in Bedford, and Shenanigans in Milford.
The staff members at Slammers Sports Bar, which normally books classic rock cover bands, said they have a particular crowd that fits right into the classic rock group so they’ll probably just stick with that. All of these venues have to keep in mind that not every night is someone going to want to listen to Van Halen, Led Zeppelin or whatever the tribute might be.
Whippersnappers, which features live cover bands every Thursday through Sunday, will book tribute bands every once in a while, but not on a regular basis.
“We’ll have a tribute band in every six weeks or so. When I book a tribute band, I look for talent. They have to be really good musicians, regardless of who they tribute. There’s a lot of tribute bands that just aren’t that good at tributing,” said Bob Badois, owner of Whippersnappers, which recently featured Four Sticks, a New Hampshire Led Zeppelin tribute band.
“We don’t do it every week so it keeps the people waiting for something and they actually look forward to seeing the tribute band come back,” Badois said.
• August West
Tributing: Grateful Dead (Grateful Dead did also cover a lot of other bands so they can do a Grateful Dead tribute while still covering other music)
Why: Because Grateful Dead is a jam band and anything goes when they play.
Playing out since: This is their third year tributing the Grateful Dead.
Hails from: Hooksett
Who’s who: August West doesn’t really stand in as exact members of the Grateful Dead; they just come together to make the music. Robert Johnson, Jr., is the drummer and founder of the band; Peter Ferguson is on lead guitar and vocals; Rob Farquhar is the bass player and lends backing vocals; Andy Boeckeler plays rhythm and lead guitar, and Joey Ruggiere is on the keyboard.
Songs they think sound most like the original: “[The Grateful Dead played] the same song many different ways. Whoever is a Deadhead will know exactly what song we’re playing.”
What they wear on stage: Just jeans and a T-shirt.
Where they play locally: They make the rounds but look for them at the Red Blazer in Concord on Friday, Aug. 24.
Why see them: “We’re all seasoned musicians, not regular hat-garage bands, we can play really well.”
For more information: bigman4x.com or myspace.com/augustwestband.
• Believer
Tributing: Ozzy Osbourne and his years with Black Sabbath
Why: “Because nobody cares about Ozzy anymore.”
Playing out since: Believer was formed in 1993.
Hails from: Adams, Mass.
Who’s who: Micky Towicz is Ozzy on lead vocals; Paul Auger is Randy Rhodes, the late Ozzy guitarist; David Chirico is on bass; Keith Hurtch, a former member of Believer, sits in on drums while the band still seeks another fill-in, and then there’s Ed the Road Dog, who is the ultimate Believer roadie.
Songs they think sound most like the original: They wouldn’t be known as the “ultimate Ozzy tribute” if their material didn’t sound exactly like the original. Their cover of “I Don’t Know” was on the European Ozzy tribute album Ozzified in 1998.
What they wear on stage: Micky, Believer’s Ozzy, will make you believe that he really is Ozzy Osbourne live and on stage — with his long dark hair and eerily identical voice, he needs only to put on a pair of dark shades to fit the role.
Where they play locally: Believer won’t be back in the region any time soon. But you can catch them every year at Believer Fest, held at various locations throughout New England to be tailored like Ozzfest.
Why see them: Many people have ranked Believer as the best Ozzy Osbourne tribute band in the country. Believer was the Ozzy Osbourne tribute band featured on MTV in February of 2000 on “The Ultimate Cover Band Battle.” They are also the only Ozzy Osbourne tribute band that has been endorsed by Ozzy himself.
For more information: believerusa.com or myspace.com/believerusa.
• Balance
Tributing: Van Halen
Why: “It’s a connection we all had as friends throughout high school. We were all big Van Halen fans. Van Halen isn’t doing anything and there aren’t a lot of Van Halen tributes playing Sammy Hagar stuff.”
Playing out since: Started rehearsing in the summer of 2003 and getting gigs in late 2005.
Hails from: Concord
Who’s who: Chris Audette is Sammy Hagar on vocals and guitar; Zander Carlson is Eddie Van Halen on guitar and vocals; Tom Sarabia is bassist Michael Anthony; and Kurt Ekstrom is Alex Van Halen on the drums.
Songs they think sound most like the original: “We were just going to do David Lee Roth stuff, but we kind of stepped into doing both eras, both Hagar and Roth — ‘Running Around’ … ‘Dreams,’ ‘Jump’ and ‘Pound Cake’ because you can still hear the Van Halen in those ones and any of the Sammy tunes.”
Why see them: “We put on a good show and don’t just stand up there like trees, and from what I hear we sound a lot like Van Halen. So if you want to hear some good Van Halen without paying $200 then come see us and you’ll get your fill of Van Halen.”
What they wear on stage: Audette dresses the part of Hagar because he’s the secret weapon. If Hagar were a couple inches taller or Audette were a couple inches smaller, they would be identical twins. He’ll wear some sort of “I Can’t Drive 55” shirt. Carlson also has a Van Halen guitar that’s painted and believes he could, if he wanted, pull off an on-the-heavier-side Van Halen.
Where they play locally: They’ve played at Penuche’s and Mad Bob’s Saloon in Manchester and at Penuche’s and The Red Blazer in Concord.
For more information: myspace.com/balancevhtribute.
• Riff Raff
Tributing: AC/DC
Why: “Because nobody rocks harder than AC/DC.”
Playing out since: Late 2006
Hails from: Manchester
Who’s who: Dave Morin on lead vocals, Carl Brooks on lead guitar, Gary “Gringo” Vigneault on rhythm guitar, Glen Vigneault on bass and Dan Lemire on drums
Songs they think sound most like the original: Anything from the old-school Bon Scot to the later Brian Johnson.
What they wear on stage: You might catch the members of Riff Raff wearing an AC/DC T-shirt purchased in the early ’80s, but other than that Riff Raff focuses more on just playing the music of AC/DC, not attempting to look like the band.
Where they play locally: Riff Raff has played Uptown Tavern and the VFW Sweeney Hall in Manchester.
Why see them: Riff Raff can play anything from a fun family picnic to a venue full of fans of AC/DC.
For more information: myspace.com/riffraffrox.
• Triad
Tributing: Tool
Why: “It’s just like how people in the ’60s and ’70s had their own bands to follow. We feel that we’re a promotional tool for the band, as if we’re promoting for them. If someone hears a song off their first album that they haven’t heard in so long, then they might go out and buy that album.”
Playing out since: Late 2005
Hails from: Members are from Manchester and Boston
Who’s who: Dave Nichols, guitarist, Scott Perkins on drums, Mano Khach bass, John “Bo” Boroyan vocals.
Songs they think sound most like the original: “‘Sober,’ ‘46 and 2,’ ‘Jambi’ — people tell us they totally [imitate] the sound. … We’re totally about the live experience.”
What they wear on stage: “We don’t try to replicate the band members. We’re not trying to be Tool. We mostly just represent the live experience of their music.”
Why see them: “We’re just big fans. We pay tribute to the music.”
Where they play locally: Triad has performed previously at Milly’s Tavern in Manchester and Mark’s Rock Club in Bedford.
For more information: myspace.com/triadtooltribute.
• The Ramoniacs
Tributing: The Ramones
Why: “Because we miss hearing the live performances of The Ramones.”
Playing out since: A little more than two years.
Hails from: Boston
Who’s who: Bobby Ramoniac is lead singer a.k.a. Joey Ramone; Danny Ramoniac is on guitar aka Johnny Ramone; Andy Ramoniac is DiDi Ramone; Tommy Ramoniac aka Marky Ramone.
Songs they think sound most like the original: The mainstream classics like “I Wanna Be Sedated,” and “Punk Rocker.” “Actually we think they all sound like the originals.”
What they wear on stage: “Sometimes doing a tribute band you get the comments of people asking why bother to dress like them. We don’t call ourselves their names because there’s only one of them but we do try to look like them. As a tribute, we’re trying to replicate everything they did in their live performances.”
Where they play locally: It’s been a while since The Ramoniacs have come up to the Granite State for a performance but they’ve played Uptown Tavern and Slammers in the past.
Why see them: “It’s a place for The Ramones fans to get back together.”
For more information: ramoniacs.com or myspace.com/theramoniacs.
Other tributes:
• Backseat Lover: A Pearl Jam tribute from Boston; myspace.com/backseatlover.
• Demolition Man: A Police tribute from Worcester, Mass. The band posts a performance schedule at socialweb.net.
• Four Sticks: A Led Zeppelin tribute based in New Hamsphire. For more information, go to four-sticks.com.
• Jett Sett: A five-person Joan Jett tribute from Rochester; myspace.com/jettsettrocks.
• Joshua Tree: A six-person U2 tribute band from Boston; http://www.myspace.com/joshuatreemass.
• Parabola: A Tool tribute from Rhode Island; parabolaband.com or myspace.com/parabolaband1.
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