Byrds Tribute Bands

byrddog · Post by **byrddog** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 3:50 am

The BRYDZ...thanks Graham I enjoyed that link. I'd like to hear some of the Mockingbyrds too. One could only dream of doing something like that, a tribute band, hmmm..how about the Kansas Jaybryds? (now wouldn't that be cool if each state had a BYRDS trubute band named after the state byrd)...na just kidding...I'll just stick to my 370.

jimk · Post by **jimk** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 6:33 am

If I had my Ric, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I live in Kansas, Ron. I thought about a dream band using some sort of Jaybyrds version in its name.

JimK

byrddog · Post by **byrddog** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 7:44 am

Jim, I live in Kansas also..about 25 miles south of Overland Park. If I had enough time to devote to a BYRDS tribute band I'd do it. Got too many irons in fire right now.

jimk · Post by **jimk** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 4:31 pm

Aw, what a shame, I just live over in Lawrence. Well, I don't have a Ric yet anyways.

JimK

Don Miller · Post by **Don Miller** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 7:55 pm

I never understood the tribute band thing..whether it be the Byrds or Beatles or AC/DC or Led Zep or Freddy and the Dreamers...

Ive been in bands since I was 15..played alot of Byrds in most of them...everything form "Here Without You" and MTM on thru "Your Gentle Way of Lovin Me" and "Tulsa County" to "Truck Stop Girl" and "Buglar" and we would "Byrds-up" some country tunes like "Amarillo By Morning" and such but I guess I cant see putting together a whole show and pretending Im David or Roger or Clarence or whatever.

I do admire the skill and talent of folks who can dissect a tune, learn the parts and play it just like the record...but I always wondered what they could do without those constraits. I always liked the rule that if you like the style of a player, learn all their parts and then never play any of then again....but incorporate what youve learned into eveything else you play....

byrddog · Post by **byrddog** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 3:27 am

Agree..I would just stick to the music and instruments where the real tribute is...and save myself some embarrassment.

byrddog · Post by **byrddog** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 3:33 am

...What I mean is I wouldn't have a problem just playing BYRDS songs but without the dress-up or acting out part. Can't be someone else no matter how hard you try.

stephena · Post by **stephena** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 7:31 am

In the Mockingbyrds, we don't dress up as the Byrds. I've got a Rickenbacker 360/12 and our other guitarist has a Tele with a b-bender, and they help us get the sounds, but I don't pretend to BE Jim/Roger, nor does he pretend to BE Dave or Clarence. We don't sound just like the records, either. Those are are starting points, and we try to keep the spirit, but it's still definitely us up there. Heck, we've even got a Gyrl Singer, and there's no way she could pretend to be Gene.

The drummer started this when I suggested it would be fun to be in a band that does Byrds songs. We just have fun, and hope that the audience does, too. And so far it's working.

doctorwho · Post by **doctorwho** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 11:26 am

I saw an Eagles tribute band, and they didn't try to look like the original members, but they did do a darn good job of sounding like them.

stephena · Post by **stephena** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 11:35 am

I've been joking around about doing a Beatlemania tribute band. Not the Broadway Beatlemania... but an INCREDIBLE simulation!

"No, the Mitch Weissman look-alike has to be RIGHT handed! We've already got the right-handed Hofner for him!"

jimk · Post by **jimk** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:07 pm

I always liked the rule that if you like the style of a player, learn all their parts and then never play any of then again....but incorporate what youve learned into eveything else you play....

I don't know if I'm that talented to play all of McGuinn's parts. I could hint at them, I could steal a few licks here and there. But somewhere, somehow I know all of his signature tunes, the ones we all know and love, would in subtle ways be changed from performance to performance.

I never thought that a tribute band had to be just like the Byrds, but merely cover their hits, and some of their B sides to qualify as a tribute band.

JimK

drumbob · Post by **drumbob** » Tue May 22, 2007 10:43 am

As big a fan as I am of The Byrds, I don't see much commercial potential in a Byrds tribute band, at least in northern NJ. Those guys in Virginia aren't working very much are they? They look silly too; middle-aged men dressed up like California twenty-somethings! In my band, we play Byrds material, but definitely not note-for-note recreations.

crosbyguy · Post by **crosbyguy** » Wed May 23, 2007 7:59 am

I guess it all depends on one's purpose. If I am going out to hear a Byrds tribute band, I'm gonna want to hear the songs as I know them, with the correct parts, vocal and instrumental. I dont care if they dress the part or not, but I'm not much interested in hearing Byrds material where the players play it any old way. Anybody can do that.

drumbob · Post by **drumbob** » Mon May 28, 2007 12:24 pm

Steve...We do respectful recreations of The Byrds tunes, don't get me wrong, in fact, we re-recorded "My Back Pages" on our debut CD. We often change the arrangements slightly, as many cover bands do. We added harmonies that were not on the original version, and an organ to the mix, and it came out quite well. What we do retains the flavor of The Byrds but with our own touches.

crosbyguy · Post by **crosbyguy** » Tue May 29, 2007 6:28 am

I think adding one's own touches to the already existing arrangement is pretty cool.