Imitation Rock

New film Tribute gives praise to the best cover bands

by Jim Rendon

Filmmaker Richard Fox knew that he was onto something the first time he saw the Queen tribute band Sheer Heart Attack play in Los Angeles. He expected a terrible show. Instead, he found a club packed with rabid Queen fans who sang along to every tune and a band that merited the crowd's adoration. Fox became obsessed. "I was disturbed by how much I was into it," he says. "I just had to keep going to see them." Hundreds of hours of footage later, Fox and his filmmaking spouse, Kris Curry, completed Tribute, a documentary that will air on Showtime in April.

The film tracesthe fortunes of Kiss, Queen, Judas Priest and dueling Monkees tribute bands as egos flare, bands split up and musicians balance their rock-star dreams with monotonous day jobs in tire shops and warehouses.

The tone is deadpan satire. Band members in their forties learn the music, squeez their beer guts into spandex and study concert footage to make sure they nail every move, inflection and pyrotechnic stunt. One fan of Sheer Heart Attack gets so worked up that he can't eat the day of the group's shows. The Kiss band's "Gene Simmons" even battles to retain his own identity; he feels Gene taking over before he alegedly sets fire to his home and quits the group, renouncing Kiss as Satan's spawn.

Tribute's dark, compassionate vision seems to strike a nerve. Steven Soderbergh is the film's executive producer. Vince Vaugn, Matt Damon, Paul Thomas Anderson and Dwight Yoakam are avid fans of the movie. Not that these bands are in it for stardom: According to Curry, "It is about being a dreamer and the fear of being misunderstood and laughed at, and continuing on in spite of all that."

Febuary, 2004