Keeping it real

So close to the original, you might mistake these bands for the groups they seek to emulate. Playing the songs of everyone from The Beatles to Pink Floyd, many local musicians believe in Yesterday

By MARK CARPOWICH
Staff Writer


Late 1970s, Sunset Strip: A local rock band, led by some guy named David Lee Roth, blows away The Whisky with a rocked-out version of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me." Late 1990s, Sunset Strip: A local rock band, led by some guy named David Lee Ralph, blows away The Whisky with a rocked out version of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me."
Atomic Punks are a tribute to early Van Halen, and are among many area cover bands that make a living bringing fans back to the stage shows of acts of the past. With costumes, hairdos and instruments that in many cases are dead-ringers for the originals they portray, Los Angeles' tribute acts are plentiful and popular.
For a few dollars, kids and adults, students and seniors can go back in time and come face to face with musical icons of the 1960s, '70s and '80s. And whether it's a band whose original lineup is no longer intact, whose members have died, or is still touring, patrons of local venues can still hear the songs they grew up with.
"When the '80s rock scene went under, a lot of people were still into the rock, but they weren't into seeing a new original band because the genre had died out," said Michael Wilson, booking manager at The Whisky.
Thanks to the cover bands around town, they don't have to. As was the case 20 years ago, the songs of Van Halen consistently pack in crowds at The Whisky and other venues around Los Angeles. And tribute acts are not the exclusive domain of hard rock. Everyone from Neil Diamond to the Beatles, the Doors to Pink Floyd can be seen around town on any given night - sort of.

Come Together

How does a tribute band form? The answer varies, and each group has its own story. More than once, however, the members of local acts found each other through sheer fate.
The creation of Atomic Punks came about as "a complete accident, a fluke," said Bart Walsh, the band's guitarist. While auditioning singers for their original band, Walsh and drummer Scott Patterson brought in Ralph Saenz, and played a few Van Halen tunes to try him out. Upon listening back to the tape they had recorded, the three realized they actually sounded like Van Halen. Born were David Lee Ralph and Atomic Punks, a group that has grown so successful that Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony once joined the band on stage for seven songs.
Swan Montgomery grew up in Ireland admiring Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant, but says he "had a bit of a giggle" when he was first asked to sing some Zeppelin tunes for a friend's band. Years later, Montgomery - complete with '70s wardrobe - takes on the persona of the singer for a living on stage, handling vocals for Ventura-based Led Zepagain. Though its current lineup has been together only a couple of months, Montgomery has been singing Led Zeppelin covers for eight years.
The members of a Pink Floyd tribute, Which One's Pink?, found each other through an ad placed in a local publication, and its members are separated in age by more than 20 years. Still, that hasn't stopped them from putting together an uncanny presentation of the classic rockers' music. Maribel Chavez, a 29-year-old Which One's Pink? fan from Hollywood, said that "if Pink Floyd were to come to town, they'd want to come see them."
A little networking spawned L.A.'s Fab Four, a Beatles tribute whose members joined forces through what drummer Rolo Sandoval terms the "Beatle business," made up of people across America playing in Beatles cover bands.
What all the groups have in common, however, is their members' commitment to the music. For bands like Which One's Pink?, whose counterparts are not largely known for their individual appearances and cannot have their large-scale stadium shows replicated in L.A.'s smaller clubs, the music is most important.
"We're dedicated to achieving the sound because we love the music so much," said Which One's Pink? guitarist Gary Thomason. "There are so many bands that do covers, but if any band has had timeless music, it's Pink Floyd. They deserve to have their music heard live."
Ron McNeil, who portrays John Lennon in the Fab Four, is also dedicated to replicating the Beatles experience, but leaves the Lennon persona behind the mic. Some criticize tribute-band players for assuming too much of their counterparts' personality in their own lives, but McNeil points out that when the show ends, so does his Lennon side.
"We're just regular guys," he said. "When it's on stage, yes; when we're off stage, no. I mean, we can't take it home with us. That's ridiculous. But it is my job, and I take it seriously when I'm on stage."
Walsh agrees, saying Atomic Punks take "a great deal of pride in the music. We don't take ourselves seriously, but we take the music seriously."

The Song Remains The Same

Playing in a full-time tribute band is no small task - just ask the musicians who spend hundreds of dollars getting the right look and sound. With so much attention paid to the production of a show, learning every note of every song in a rock band's catalog is only half the battle.
"You've got to get the right thing if you're going to do it right," said Ardy Sarraf, who is the Fab Four's Paul McCartney. "People do notice it."
Sarraf plays a vintage Hofner bass, uses Pyramid bass strings and - a natural right-hander - even learned how to play left-handed, just like McCartney. The result: a near-dead-on appearance in both sound and look. The band's obsession with details carries far: its members wear custom-made boots, costumes and wigs, and even took the wigs to a hairdresser to have them cut into the famous "Beatles haircut."
In addition to the personal look, onstage mannerisms are also key. McNeil, for example, had to adopt a new posture while playing guitar in order to replicate the 90-degree angle at which Lennon held his guitar. "When I first started," McNeil said, "it actually hurt."
Montgomery attributes his onstage accuracy to watching plenty of video of Led Zeppelin in concert, crediting an old bandmate who supplied him with bootleg tapes of too many concerts to count. Wearing gaudy jewelry and a puca-shell necklace, Montgomery's appearance is further complemented by the leg-tapping, teeth-gritting and lip-puckering made famous by his boyhood idol.
"The two things people can't believe are the guitar sound and the singer," said Walsh of Atomic Punks. Adding that Saenz is "just like the original," he credits years' worth of playing Van Halen songs as among the most important ingredients of the band's success. Saenz and Walsh both sport naturally long-flowing locks, and while the band's bassist and drummer don't look like their counterparts, their musicianship, as well as the skill and appearance of their bandmates, makes up for it.

Whisky Bar

Known more for its legendary status and for showcasing today's top rock acts, The Whisky has booked Atomic Punks into a once-a-month rotation that draws larger and larger crowds at each show. Wilson tends to avoid booking many tribute acts at The Whisky, but other venues around town are happy to pick up the slack.
"How often do these types of bands play around town, and when they do, how often can you afford to see them?" said Kristan Orr, co-owner of Scruffy O'Shea's, a Marina Del Rey nightclub that regularly hosts the area's best tribute acts. "Here, people are getting a small bite of reality when they see them. People just love the Beatles, love the Rolling Stones and love to hear that kind of music. And once people like that kind of music, there's no stopping them."
No stopping them indeed - lines regularly stretch down the block at Scruffy's for bands like Atomic Punks and the Fab Four, the latter of which plays there every Tuesday.
John Henzl manages Club Caprice in Redondo Beach, where Doors-tribute Wild Child played last month, and while he does not like to book cover bands frequently, he admitted that "they're a slam-dunk for a good show when we don't have anything else."

Dance The Night Away

"It's a lot of fun," said Elizabeth Helms, a 20-year-old student at Santa Monica College who is a frequent visitor to the Fab Four's weekly all-ages gigs at Scruffy O'Shea's. "It's a good time, I like to dance, the music's great, and it's just fun."
Helms is hardly alone. Tribute bands' performances are typically well-attended, especially for the better, more-established acts. Though many shows are held at 21-and-over bars, some venues feature all-ages engagements, which contributes to a wider variety of fans.
Helms, who is too young to have seen the Beatles, usually goes to see the Fab Four with her mother, who actually did see the original band. For the people playing the famous songs, keeping the audience in mind is a major part of the experience. Some, like Atomic Punks, purposely play more obscure songs because "it gives the hardcores a special treat," said Walsh; others, like the Fab Four, play the songs most fans know and want to hear.
Regardless of how they compose their set lists, the musicians of local tribute bands give fans their money's worth, and are a remarkable re-creation of rock's days gone by. And, perhaps most importantly, they love what they do.
Portraying Ringo Starr on stage is "the best job in the world," the Fab Four's Sandoval said. "I always tell people it's better than working, and it's true."

Copyright 1999 by the Daily Trojan. All rights reserved.
This article was published in Vol. 136, No. 54 (Wednesday, April 14, 1999), beginning on page 10 and ending on page 11.