Have there ever been tribute bands for bands that were not very well known or are pretty much all tribute bands based on well known bands?
There are tribute bands, like Chicago’s Tributosaurus, that do tributes to various bands, but the most obscure one they’ve done was the Velvet Underground.
I’ve missed their show, but there is a Utopia tribute band, and the review mentions a tribute to a band I’ve never heard of Neutral Milk Hotel.
Answer probably depends on what you consider “obscure.”
There are at least two cover bands based on Operation Ivy, for example–obscure to most people while they existed–but those were established after aspects of OpIvy’s sound had been popularized by Green Day and Rancid.
But normally, the “tribute to” concept is a marketing strategy for otherwise nondescript bar bands, and it doesn’t work if you’re not a tribute to somebody immensely popular.
I won’t be truly happy until i see a Wesley Willis tribute band.
Frankly, I have no idea, but this thread has me wondering how I can work a Right Said Fred tribute band into a story now.
Guided by Voices has a tribute band with the awesome name Voided by Guises.
Gonzo Dog-Do Bar Band are a Bonzo Dog Band tribute band. The Bonzos were much better known in the uK than the US, though, so they’re probably not considered obscure there.
There’s definitely some oddballs out there
Fired Up! = Par Benetar
The Hip Show (among many others!) = The Tragically Hip
Just About Done = Blink 182
Shanbala = Three Dog Night
The Reptile House = Siouxie and the Banshees
Now that is one I’d like to see!
There is a really excellent Kate Bush tribute band called The Hounds of Lovethat concentrates on Kate’s music, and several mediocre ones that concentrate on Kate’s theatricality.
Can I pleasure you slightly with this?
I checked, and the Siouxsie tribute band is actually Spellbound. Here is the eponymous song.
Reptile House is a Sisters of Mercy tribute band, not Siuoxsie, of course :smack:
Here’s an original Wesley Willis tribute by a guy named Lawrence Wise. Extremely NSFW of course.
Fans of a certain former Alaskan governor and people not familiar with Mr. Willis’s work should steer well clear.
that is one of the most awesome things i have ever seen! I’m on a harmonious joy bus ride now.
Let this be a lesson to you. Never ask for a stupidly impossible thing here. Someone always knows where it is 
Wow, a tribute to a cover band!
Bringin’ it Down is a Judge cover band. They recently went on an Asian tour with Bold. You’ve most likely never heard of either Judge or Bold, but they’ve both been around at least 20 years and Judge was important enough to have a tribute band.
http://ricecooker.kerbau.com/2010/02/06/bold-porcells-supergroup-in-sea/
Unfortunately they didn’t come to China.
I was once in a tribute band devoted to another local band. The local band was The Birthday Experience and we were Birthdays Happen. We would even play the same shows and get them to let us use some of their gear, as we were mostly a band by default.
That’s as obscure as it gets.