Miscellaneous - Tribute City

  by Fiona Hutchings

published: 5 / 11 / 2010

intro

Our Website of the Month is Tribute City, a website especially for and about tribute bands

I love tribute acts. I know some people can be a bit sniffy about them but not me. I blame my long running love affair with 'Stars in Their Eyes'. I make no apologies for it either. Anyone who saw mousey little Garry Mullen transformed into the majestic rock god that was Freddie Mercury just by going through those magic doors wanted to believe it was true. I fully intended to apply but was hampered by a couple of small things: 1. - I wanted to be Suggs. He is a Southern male, I am a Northern female. 2. - The thought of actually singing in front of anything but my bathroom mirror induced panic attacks complete with vomiting. Just ask the band I used to be a singer in..... But I digress. Tribute acts give us the best bits of a career, the razzle, the dazzle and the hits. They look like their idols and try and emulate them in a slightly cartoonish manner. Sometimes I think even the real deal would struggle to live up to the larger than life image these bands portray. Of course in many cases this isn't an issue because the idols in question have shuffled off this mortal coil and T.Rextasy, One Night of Queen or the Bootleg Beatles are the nearest we will ever get to a live performance again. This month's Website of the Month http://www.tributecity.com is a one stop shop for all things tribute, offering advice, articles and a means to publicise and hook up with other likeminded bands. They caution that acceptance on to the site is based in part on you actually being a tribute band as opposed to a cover band. These guys know the difference. There are various message boards available. I particularly like the fact that bands can have their own individual message boards. Used properly this site can gain an act a lot of exposure as well as a lot of contacts with other like minded artists. And you know occasionally the tribute band has been called upon by the real band in times of crisis, ill health or death so you never know who might reply to a message! The only thing this site is missing is a name generator. The names tribute bands give themselves are part of their enduring appeal. I took to twitter to try and get some suggestions for possible tribute acts. Thanks @lindahusband for the following: JLLess, Sh-abba, Shadey Ga Ga, Then of course there is a host of well known tribute acts: Mini Kiss, AC/DShe, One Step Behind and No Way Sis (who even managed a top 20 single of their very own). I am storing these all away as possiblities so that when I finally learn to play my uke I can combine this with starting a Europe tribute band. You heard it here first.....