The document discusses various tribute bands that perform music from popular artists like Journey, Bon Jovi, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Kiss. It describes how the members of these tribute bands strive to perfectly emulate the vocal styles and appearances of the original artists. While tribute bands allow fans to enjoy hit songs at a lower cost than the original artists, band members also find personal fulfillment in paying tribute through their performances.

1. COVER STORY By BRIAN NIEMIETZ - New York Post Online E... http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/64592.htm
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COPY CATS: Steve Perry, Jon Bon Jovi and
Stevie Ray Vaughan are muses for Hugo, Steve
Sage and Eddie Jelley, photographed at Canal
Room.
Photo: J. Scott Wynn
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COVER STORY
By BRIAN NIEMIETZ
June 3,
2006 --
HOOKED ON PHONIES
THERE'S a big difference between a cover
band and a tribute band, in case you were wondering. "You have to have the
look and the sound to be a true tribute band," says Mark Weis. He should
know. Weis is a talent
manager, and from his Long Island office he books a number of tribute bands,
including Eddie Jelley and Cold Shot (playing the songs of Stevie Ray
Vaughan), Evolution (honoring Journey) and Rocket Man (Elton John, duh).
According to Jelley, going the tribute route is more than mere imitation.
"It's more like acting - you're playing a character," he says.

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And the character he's playing - a
hard-drinking blues rocker who died in a
plane crash - is a far cry from his day job
as a sales associate in Bay Shore, L.I.
Still, his commitment to verisimilitude is
impressive: The 51-year-old
commissioned an exact replica of Stevie's
guitar, complete with cigarette burns.
But don't get the wrong idea. Guys on
the tribute circuit play an endless series of
crowded bars, fairs and cruises - all in the
service of a good time.
"They do it for fun," Weis explains.
To hear Marcus Linial tell it, they deliver. Linial is co-owner of the downtown
venue Canal Room.
The first time he hosted Evolution, in March, he had to hype the show
personally and comp a few tickets so the room wouldn't look empty. When
Evolution returned a month later, word of mouth alone attracted 250 Journey
fans. By their third show in May, an audience of 300-plus lined up outside to
buy $15 tickets.
"It's a fun night of hits," Linial says. "Everyone sings along." He admits the
genre can be a little cheesy if taken too seriously - but that will hardly matter
when, as he expects, 500 fans paying $20 each will fill his club to capacity
Aug. 19 when Evolution returns.
"When Journey played the Beacon eight months ago, tickets were going for as
much as $137.50," he recalls. Journey's current singer, Steve Augeri, "is great,
but for the price, I'd have to go with Hugo."
That would be Hugo Valenti. When not fronting Evolution, the 43-year-old runs
an appliance repair shop in Suffolk County, L.I.
"I'd always been compared to Steve Perry, so I figured, 'What the hell? I can
sing it,'" says Valenti (who, as a performer, goes solely by Hugo).
Before he, well, evolved, Valenti had a taste of rock stardom with his '90s
band, Valentine. He says he was signed to three major labels before getting
"burned out" reaching for - and missing - the brass ring. One of those near
misses, he says, was when Steve Perry left Journey and the arena-rock
supergroup's manager contacted him about filling the void.
"No disrespect to anyone, but I think I could've taken them where they wanted
to go," Valenti says.
Part of the tribute-band appeal is accessibility - sort of like Minor League
Baseball.
"People like that, they get to meet us and hang out," says Steve Sage, who
heads Bad Medicine, a Bon Jovi act based - obviously - in New Jersey. Dix
Hills, to be exact.
Fans don't consider them second-best, and neither does management, says
Daniel Stanton of Coallier Entertainment, who manages Bad Medicine. "I treat
them the same way I'd handle Twisted Sister, Foreigner or WASP," the band
he's currently touring with.

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Stanton also handles Who's Next (a tribute to The Who) and Almost Queen
(Queen).
For whatever reason, the most popular band to honor is Kiss.
"There's a lot of competition for Kiss bands," says Tom Pressaro, the Gene
Simmons stand-in with the tribute band Kiss Alive.
What gives his Simmons an edge?
For starters, Pressaro notes that, like Simmons once was, he is an N.Y.C.
educator (of English at Clinton High School). "I'm following in the demon's
footsteps."
For another, he is perfecting the signature Simmons expectoration. He uses a
recipe of yogurt and food coloring to spit blood and is currently working on
spitting fire.
Joey Fatale's genes makes his Simmons stand out - and does it ever. The
founder of little people tribute band MiniKiss even played a party for the Kiss
bass player he idolizes. "It was the greatest thing in the world playing for the
God of Thunder," he recalls.
Having started the outfit in 1996, Fatale says his band today travels the world,
and has signed on with Universal Germany.
"I've always been a performer, I've done Oompa Loompas and all that stuff -
but I'm having the time of my life," he says. Nor has he forgotten the little
people: "After we play, we go and party with our audience."
But as appreciative as audiences are, says Almost Queen's Mercurial Joe
Russo, "Europe is where the real fans are." He should know - the band's off to
Budapest to play a $30,000 gig.
Jet lag isn't the only price Russo pays for his art. "I have to constantly wear a
mustache, which is a pain, but I do it," he says.
Russo tries hard to maintain perspective.
"It's a great impetus to stay in shape," he says from the garden of his 1-acre
South Jersey property, where he relaxes when touring allows. "I'm still looking
for the ballet outfit."
Fame in a name
HALF the fun in tribute bands is in the name. Here are some of the best:
- Unforgettable Fire: Local legends will have their annual U2 tribute cruise
June 16, departing from the 41st Street pier.
- Sabara Cadabra: A local Black Sabbath tribute with an awesome Ozzy
frontman.
- AC/Dshe: Cali-based female rockers who will shake you all night long.
- Hell's Belles: Catfight coming unless the West Coast has room for two all-girl
AC/DC tributes.
- Hammer of the Gods: Long Island's Led Zeppelin tribute is always a crowd
pleaser.

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- Hotel California: This Eagles tribute should be a big draw at Atlantic City's
Fake Fest, June 23-25.
- Big Shot: Billy Joel band is a big draw at Wantagh's tribute Mecca, Mulcahy's.
- Cheap Chick: L.A.-based female band that wants you to want them.
- 2U: Tired of seeing Bono pretend he's Jesus? See 2U's singer pretending to
be Bono pretending to be Jesus.
- Dark Star Orchestra: What's worse than being the Grateful Dead? Wanting
to be the Grateful Dead.
- B.N.
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