Def Leppard ‘Hysteria’

I don’t quite understand why I have always been intrigued with tribute bands… I’ve been this way since I discovered rock n’ roll. And that should ballpark it at around 9 or 10 years old.

I find it odd that musicians with the same love for an artist will put aside their own abilities to celebrate someone else’s music in order to make a living. But unlike the cover bands that make up most of the musical landscape; a tribute band will forsake all others and assume the personalities of the band they represent.

There’s a certain sickness in it that I find irresistible. Is that wrong?

And the band members are not exclusive members of a country club with barred windows and orderlies because the fans in attendance seem to appreciate the music as if the tribute band were the original band. It’s really the damnedest thing, especially at a KISS tribute show. The fans yell and scream as if nothing was a copy or mimicry.

Or is it like professional wrestling?

Most fans know that just about everything is a ruse in professional wrestling. Boxers wouldn’t be able to work three to four days a week beating the crap out of each other. The innovators of professional wrestling realized a moneymaker… Faux fighting performed to look real and rivalry storylines to keep the fans coming back and oiling the green-machine.

Who cares? Right?

I’ve attended shows for tribute bands like Strutter (KISS), KISS Army Band, and Zoso. I’m really looking forward to seeing a visiting Guns N’ Roses tribute band. Appetite For Destruction will perform for the drunken masses this Friday at Bands In The Stands. It’s happening at First Horizon Stadium at 5. I plan on being one of the mass. Are you?

I’ve heard good things about them… The faux Axl isn’t as crazy or moody. I just want to know if he can sing his ass off like Mr. Rose.

Say what you want about W. Axl Rose, but that nut can SING. And when he sings, you can see him burn with every note. If some cat in a tribute band can match that, I want to see them.

My favorite member of the Guns N’ Roses is Izzy Stradlin.



Izzy was the talented and silent sideman with a 100,000-watt mouthpiece. And his solo albums are some of the most treasured CD’s in my collection. The songs he performs on Use Your Illusion I & II are my favorite tracks from those albums. And if Appetite For Destruction breaks out “Dust And Bones”, I could very well surprise myself with a bowel movement.

In my mind, I think that it would be cool to switch the members around to represent the constant turnover in Guns N’ Roses through out the years. It would be ultra-bitchin’ if a Buckethead tribute guitarist sat in and played a few songs with Appetite For Destruction.



I’ve never understood why a KISS tribute band never had a Vinnie Vincent or Eric Carr.





One day… Call it my dream if you will… But one day, there will be Vinnies and Erics in KISS tribute bands. There WILL be Bucketheads in Guns N’ Roses tribute bands.

Are there tribute bands dedicated to The Who? And if so, is Kenny Jones being represented?

One final question that I’ve never reached a conclusion with… Is Dread Zeppelin a tribute band?