Classic Rock Revival By: Michael Wang.

Classic Rock Revival

By Michael Wang

If you’ve ever wondered why my hair looks like a breeding ground for fruit bats and other crawling obscenities, perhaps the guidance office is good place to start. But since they’re usually busy with more pressing matters, you should probably read this article instead.

It might have started two summers ago when I was volunteering in a historical site in the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE). I didn’t really think much of the place at the time, aside from it being a way to meet new people and gain volunteer experience. Things were slow one day and it was pretty much a stroke of luck when I flipped through the event guide and “A Tribute to Led Zeppelin” caught my attention. Knowing that the original band would never tour again, I grabbed the opportunity and decided to hear a group called Michael White & The White perform their songs live. The bandshell where they were performing was pretty much packed, and the band was accompanied with a youth orchestra for most of the songs. When the music started, I was blown away with the intensity of the playing which lasted for the entire night. After the show was over, I looked up the group online and found out that they were one of the first ever to call themselves a “tribute” band. But what is that exactly? According to an online source, a tribute band is a musical group that plays the music of a well know band that is usually disbanded or deceased. I was fascinated with the concept and promised myself that I would return the year after to check out some more.

When the next summer rolled along, I went to the CNE again with the intention of not only volunteering but going to see tribute bands as well. Unlike the experience the year before, these shows helped me develop a personal connection with the musical community that is hard to access on a normal basis. After seeing another Led Zeppelin tribute band named Ozone Baby, I got to meet the lead singer Phil Naro. We’ve sat down to talk on a few occasions and I later learned that he used to share a stage with bassist extraordinaire Billy Sheehan and later, former KISS drummer Peter Criss. And remember a certain cartoon on television called 6Teen? Phil sang the theme song for that as well, which he eventually won a Daytime Emmy award for. As it turns out, one of his sons attends our rival school down the road, Northern Secondary. Needless to say, Phil Naro is by far one of the coolest and most talented songwriters and performers I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and talking to.

A couple of days later, I went to see Think Freud, a Pink Floyd tribute band. To put it briefly, it was incredible and far more than I was expecting. I got to meet the band’s lead singer and guitarist as well, which was definitely a memorable experience as well.

Although some people consider tribute acts as leeching off a retired or deceased artist’s material, it is hard to consider that the case at all. Tribute bands are just what the name implies: a tribute. Playing in one requires a large amount of talent, spare time, and an enormously thorough knowledge of a band’s history, material and mannerisms. As a result, extremely few people have a full time job playing in one, and those who do don’t just do it for the money. For the most part, they’re just regular people who want to express their love for rock and roll.

Sadly, the tradition of paying tribute to musicians isn’t always displayed in a clear and concise way. Last summer, my family and I stopped in Cleveland to visit one of the most monumental and controversial landmarks in rock and roll: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. You might be wondering why an institution dedicated to preserving the spirit of rock and roll has recently gained such negative criticism. Most of it has to do with the small group of individuals who run the organization, and how the chosen inductees reflect their own opinions and not the ones of the general population. Or maybe how the inductees have started gravitating towards rap and pop groups while entire rock genres like funk, metal and progressive rock get left in the dust. But the one thing that gets fans frustrated the most is the growing list of rock groups who have become neglected by the Rock Hall altogether. Among them are Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Deep Purple, Guns ‘N Roses, Heart, Iron Maiden, Journey, Kansas, KISS, Nirvana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Guess Who and Yes, with too many others to name. Prior to induction, the Sex Pistols even described the organization as “a piss stain,” (as well as other colourful comparisons) and refused to attend the ceremony entirely.

Our national treasure Rush is perhaps the most famous example of shameless exclusion demonstrated by the Hall of Fame. For those who aren’t familiar, Rush is a progressive rock group formed in Toronto, way back in 1968. From a sales standpoint, they are ranked third behind The Beatles and The Rolling Stones for having the most consecutive gold and platinum albums. The band members are all virtuosos of their respective instruments and were the first group to be made Officers of the Order of Canada. Despite their long history, the members of Rush are still touring regularly with a new album due out sometime this year. If you understood any part of this paragraph, congratulations; it is something the individuals at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame couldn’t do.

In addition, the organization has a policy that only permits a group from being inducted 25 years after the release of their first record. But most importantly, fans are wondering why a small group of unknown individuals have the right to judge musicians based on arbitrary numeric values, and get to decide which ones are deserving enough to be remembered and which ones are not. Who do they think they are? The Rock and Roll Hall of fame sounded like a legitimate non-profit organization that was dedicated to remembering the lives and achievements of musicians. Upon my arrival however, it resembled a business with the primary intention of making money.

So what do tribute bands and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have in common? One of them is an appropriate way to honour the musical community and the other is somewhat questionable. But I cannot resent the Hall of Fame entirely since their intentions were primarily positive. It houses a large archive of information and memorabilia that have helped shape the sound for popular music today. On the other hand, tribute bands are a great way to both respect the achievements of others and bring love and happiness to the world. And in some exceptional instances, they can be just as good as the original. A list of local tribute bands can be quickly accessed through an internet search and a fair number of them appear at the Canadian National Exhibition every year in August and September. Or if you’re just curious, YouTube isn’t a bad place to start either.

Although the main intention of this article isn’t to draw attention to my hair, you should now have a reasonable idea of why it has remained the way it is. But most importantly, it’s not because I’m getting a new VH1 reality show called Wanging for Love or anything like that (so please stop asking me about it). However you choose to interpret it, just remember that people before me and around me have done the same for their own individual or personal reasons. Peace, love, and for those about to rock: We salute you.