Paying Tribute Pays Off

It could simply be a matter of dollars and cents; $400 to see a rock legend or $40 for the tribute band. It might be the location; Earth Wind and Fire AND Kool and the Gang probably aren’t coming to San Joaquin County but their tribute act did. You might just want a trip down memory lane, listening to the music that impacted you in high school, college or early in your marriage.

Whatever the reason, numerous internet music sites seem to agree that tribute bands have never been more popular than they are now, with some of those acts actually outdrawing the original artist when they appear live.

Animals, based in Texas, recently boasted two other attributes that come in handy when they performed Maroon 5 hits at Jessie’s Grove in Lodi. Their musicianship was excellent and their lead singer could be a double, both in appearance and in vocal skill, to the actual famous lead singer Adam Levine.

“David’s an amazing musician, singer and frontman. So, I don’t want to diminish any of that talent. But it’s nice that he adds that additional factor as well.” That’s Animals keyboard player and co-band leader Mario Medina talking about singer David Gates. “David’s too modest to say this, but I see how women react to him and his voice. He’s got his own sound, but he also has the range of someone like Adam Levine. It’s a natural fit.”

Both women and men reacted instantly to Animals, named for the band’s 10th top 10 single that reached #3 on Billboard Hot 100. The tight and accurate arrangements had fans, young and old, jumping in unison and singing along with each well-known hit. That performance was even more notable considering the group performed the night before in Ohio and experienced travel delays of five hours getting to Lodi. Mario, David and the others were still on stage at 6:30 p.m. doing a soundcheck for a show starting at 7:00 p.m.

Tribute bands don’t just visit our area. Stockton and San Joaquin County have a rich history of producing tribute acts that play in local bars, restaurants, fairs and fundraisers. Music fans might remember being thoroughly entertained by the Abba tribute group Waterloo. These days, it’s Long Time, a Boston tribute band, now impressing those fans with soaring guitars and keyboards that come amazingly close to the sound perfected by Boston genius Tom Scholz in the mid and late ’70s.
The idea for Long Time, a song title from their debut album, sprang up at a Stockton Civic Theatre rehearsal for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. That’s where a drummer and guitar player agreed a Boston tribute band was worth exploring. Tim Boore was that guitar player and still leads the group today, 15 years later.

“I was a junior in high school in 1976, when the first Boston album came out and no one had ever heard a guitar like that,” said Boore. “Our first practice I think we had 12 players with backup singers, three guitar players, a keyboard player; and as time went by we went through five bass players, two drummers and probably six or seven other guitar players, to come up with the lineup we have today.”

There are agreements that tribute bands pay attention to before taking the stage. They can’t do anything with their name, logo or advertising that could lead fans to think they’re seeing the real thing. Boore said he heard from the management of Boston that their logo was a little too close to the original, so it was changed. Also, tribute bands don’t pay the original groups for the right to play the music. It’s the venues that pay licensing fees to performer rights organizations such as ASCAP.

After taking a break to refresh their batteries, Long Time has recently begun performing live again. As for Animals, they’re performing soon all around the country in Massachusetts, Louisiana and Oregon, but not in Boston, New Orleans and Portland. Appropriately, for tribute bands, they’ll be in places like Acton, Bossier City and Independence, hoping their travel arrangements get them there in time for a proper soundcheck.

Save the Date
Upcoming Long Time Performance
September 4, Swabbies on the River, Sacramento

I am always looking for new and exciting gigs to showcase musicians in our community who deserve recognition. Stay tuned!
Feel free to reach out: tim@dalyvideoservices.com.