# Is there any such thing as a tribute band for an obscure band?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-such-thing-as-a-tribute-band-for-an-obscure-band/541326
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [May 30, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-such-thing-as-a-tribute-band-for-an-obscure-band/541326 "2010-05-30T22:49:26Z")
**Posts on this page:** 18
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-such-thing-as-a-tribute-band-for-an-obscure-band/541326/1 "2010-05-30T22:49:26Z")
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?
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### Author:  [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2010, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-such-thing-as-a-tribute-band-for-an-obscure-band/541326/2 "2010-05-30T23:06:20Z")
There are tribute bands, like Chicago’s [Tributosaurus](http://www.tributosaurus.com/been/index.cfm), 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](http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2010/05/07/three_bands_cover_their_favorite_acts/?page=full), and the review mentions a tribute to a band I’ve never heard of _Neutral Milk Hotel_.
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### Author:  [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2010, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-such-thing-as-a-tribute-band-for-an-obscure-band/541326/3 "2010-05-30T23:14:13Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@pope\_hentai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pope_hentai)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2010, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-such-thing-as-a-tribute-band-for-an-obscure-band/541326/4 "2010-05-30T23:57:04Z")
I won’t be truly happy until i see a Wesley Willis tribute band.
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### Author:  [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)
#### Post date: [May 31, 2010, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-such-thing-as-a-tribute-band-for-an-obscure-band/541326/5 "2010-05-31T00:25:40Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)
#### Post date: [May 31, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-such-thing-as-a-tribute-band-for-an-obscure-band/541326/6 "2010-05-31T00:30:53Z")
Guided by Voices has a tribute band with the awesome name Voided by Guises.
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [May 31, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-such-thing-as-a-tribute-band-for-an-obscure-band/541326/7 "2010-05-31T01:06:48Z")
[Gonzo Dog-Do Bar Band](http://www.catmachine.com/perretandlimb/gonzo.php) 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.
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### Author:  [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)
#### Post date: [May 31, 2010, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-such-thing-as-a-tribute-band-for-an-obscure-band/541326/8 "2010-05-31T01:54:44Z")
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
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### Author:  [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)
#### Post date: [May 31, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-such-thing-as-a-tribute-band-for-an-obscure-band/541326/9 "2010-05-31T02:27:53Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#):
>
> There’s definitely some oddballs out there
> 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 Love_](http://www.myspace.com/391753277)that concentrates on Kate’s music, and [several](http://www.myspace.com/fakebush) [mediocre](http://www.myspace.com/thedutchkatebush) ones that concentrate on Kate’s theatricality.
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### Author:  [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)
#### Post date: [May 31, 2010, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-such-thing-as-a-tribute-band-for-an-obscure-band/541326/10 "2010-05-31T02:30:06Z")
> [@pope\_hentai](#):
>
> I won’t be truly happy until i see a Wesley Willis tribute band.
Can I pleasure you slightly with [this](http://www.archive.org/details/Loved_Like_a_Milkshake-A_Tribute_to_Wesley_Willis)?
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### Author:  [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)
#### Post date: [May 31, 2010, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-such-thing-as-a-tribute-band-for-an-obscure-band/541326/11 "2010-05-31T05:17:25Z")
I checked, and the Siouxsie tribute band is actually _Spellbound_. [Here is the eponymous song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZPuwcChTh8).
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### Author:  [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)
#### Post date: [May 31, 2010, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-such-thing-as-a-tribute-band-for-an-obscure-band/541326/12 "2010-05-31T13:17:31Z")
Reptile House is a Sisters of Mercy tribute band, not Siuoxsie, of course :smack:
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### Author:  [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)
#### Post date: [May 31, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-such-thing-as-a-tribute-band-for-an-obscure-band/541326/13 "2010-05-31T20:29:01Z")
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.
[Prez. Palin](http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=667984&songID=7002249)
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### Author:  [@pope\_hentai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pope_hentai)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2010, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-such-thing-as-a-tribute-band-for-an-obscure-band/541326/14 "2010-06-01T01:55:55Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#):
>
> Can I pleasure you slightly with [this](http://www.archive.org/details/Loved_Like_a_Milkshake-A_Tribute_to_Wesley_Willis)?
that is one of the most awesome things i have ever seen! I’m on a harmonious joy bus ride now.
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### Author:  [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2010, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-such-thing-as-a-tribute-band-for-an-obscure-band/541326/15 "2010-06-01T02:03:18Z")
Let this be a lesson to you. Never ask for a stupidly impossible thing here. Someone always knows where it is 😃
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### Author:  [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-such-thing-as-a-tribute-band-for-an-obscure-band/541326/16 "2010-06-01T02:17:34Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#):
>
> Shanbala = Three Dog Night
Wow, a tribute to a cover band!
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### Author:  [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2010, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-such-thing-as-a-tribute-band-for-an-obscure-band/541326/17 "2010-06-01T03:28:11Z")
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/](http://ricecooker.kerbau.com/2010/02/06/bold-porcells-supergroup-in-sea/)
Unfortunately they didn’t come to China.
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### Author:  [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-such-thing-as-a-tribute-band-for-an-obscure-band/541326/18 "2010-06-01T17:10:05Z")
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.