Tributesville IS Detroit Music News. 3 weeks to launch.
Information attached.
Genuinely,
Todd Stoney
Drums & Biz
Lookin' Back
The author of the press release has declared himself "MAYOR" of Tributesville, so at least he has a sense of humor. Also, this looks to be a quasi-unionizing effort, which I myself applaud. If these acts bring people into clubs but then get taken advantage of by unscrupulous venue owners, well naturally I'm on the side of the hard-working "note for note" tribute acts providing the entertainment — doing all that hard work to pack them in.
His press release follows. Make sure you scroll down to that impressive list of tribute bands (note that none of them are called "cover bands") slated to perform at this new weekly event in Pontiac.
Detroit’s Best Tribute Bands Unite In Tributesville
Commerce Township, MI: - Detroit is world-renowned for its music and the musicians it has produced going back to the earliest days of jazz during America’s Industrial Revolution. If you live here and are a live music fan, you already know Metro-Detroit is rife with outstanding talent. The 14 bands making up Tributesville proves this irrefutable fact in an entirely new way.
Tributesville “citizens”, as they affectionately referred to themselves, are like most self-respecting musicians who are deeply dedicated to their instruments and craft. However, after spending time with any Tributesville musician you quickly learn these individuals are a bit fanatical about their respective artists, and obsess over the music with a single focus of getting every nuance absolutely correct. The players in Tributesville strive to not only match their musical heroes note for note, but are out to exceed audience expectations and impress the musicians within their ranks. It’s a peer reviewed and supported community like no other we’ve seen. Two things are for certain with Tributesville bands; they are passionate about their respective artists, and you will realize their passion in concert.
Tributesville was conceived in 2013 by Todd Stoney, founder and drummer of Detroit’s Bob Seger tribute band Lookin’ Back. Stoney’s 6-piece band has become one of Michigan’s most successful tribute acts. The Commerce Township resident has logged 113 shows, sold out 24 of 28 ticketed events, performed for over 250,000 Bob Seger fans, and even performed with Silver Bullet Band members Alto Reed and Charlie Martin on four occasions since the group made its debut in Aug. of 2009. Stoney had this to say, “The Metro-Detroit live music scene is a complete and embarrassing mess and has been taking its toll on hapless musicians for far too long.” He continued, “When I decided to move forward with this concept this spring I had just enough clout around town among struggling tribes to actually hatch this idea designed to bring some of my favorite tributes together in order to share knowledge, experiences, and to help those players willing to work with me to improve their conditions, elevate our industry, and ultimately help our clients who constantly experiment on and exploit our passion with generally no winners in the final analysis.”
Stoney reveals his top five objectives that Tributesville is designed to accomplish: 1) Define some of Detroit’s most outstanding tribute band market leaders. 2) Unite a formally adversarial industry. 3) Take the mystery out shopping for Detroit-market tributes for quality-conscious entertainment buyers. 4) Provide live music fans with a single website, Facebook, and venue where Detroit’s best can be seen on a weekly basis. 5) Provide a safe place where musicians won’t be taken advantage of by unscrupulous club owners. Tributesville sets out to accomplish this and much more.
Tributesville launches its first show September 26 inside the Lafayette Grande in Pontiac, MI with RAPUTA, a world-class J. Geils tribute band. The Lafayette Grande was built in 1923/24 as the Masonic Temple Lodge and is registered with the U.S. Department of Interior and Michigan State Historical Preservation Offices. The banquet hall has been a successful wedding and catering business since the facility was purchased from the City Of Pontiac in 1997 by Travelling Chef Catering. Since then the building has been enjoying a slow and constant makeover restoring its intricate craftsmanship and old-world grandeur. Lafayette Grande will make an ideal setting for the Tributesville concert series scheduled to run through the end of 2015, if they get enough support from media outlets, and their coordinated social media efforts.
This seemingly spontaneous alliance of tribute bands has a website www.Tributesville.com and Facebook page by the same name where classic rock fans can discover if their favorite rock stars may actually have a local tribute act looking for them. Dan Neiwolak of Detroit’s Pink Floyd tribute In The Flesh, who recently announced a Pink Floyd Halloween Dinner concert on Oct. 31 said, “With 13 band members in our troop, and 5 audio/video/light/laser technicians, we really need any kind of free advertising and promotion opportunities to help us find more Pink Floyd fans. We’re confident that when fans eventually discover us they’ll appreciate the years of effort that we’ve already put into our extravagant Pink Floyd concert experience. The rest will take care of itself.”
The success of Tributesville will depend largely on a culture of unselfish cross-promotion of more than 100 band members willing to reach out to each other’s friends and families by sharing a common venue poster. Lookin’ Back friends will lead people to learn about Tom Jonesy and In The Flesh, while Teddy Petty’s tribe will share information helping their friends discover the Motown Eagles, whose band mates will in turn help Wreking Crue and Sins Of A Madman fans discover War Machine and More Alice who otherwise may have never learned about any of them without sharing information in this fashion. The goal is to make one venue willing to host these Tributesville shows very successful on a weekly and ongoing basis.
Thirteen bands sharing a common website and poster all over social media will help bring classic rock fans and struggling local tributes together. Stoney said, “We have a long range goal of expanding into live entertainment-starved locations across the state and beyond where Detroit tributes will find great interest among both musicians and classic rock fans wherever WE decide to call home”. As new venues and opportunities arise Stoney plans to add more bands as the market demands, but only after the Tributesville Founding Fathers approve applications based primarily on performance quality and a handful of value-added considerations.
All Tributesville shows start at 9 PM (except Eagles & Pink Floyd). All tickets are $15.00. No opening acts. Concerts are limited to 2 hours so people can be home at a reasonable hour.
Tributesville Founding Fathers Representing Tributes To These Original Artists:
Alice Cooper – More Alice
Bob Seger – Lookin’ Back – Todd Stoney (Mayor - Lead Contact)
J. Geils – Raputa – Herb Killian
Judas Priest – Metal Godz
KISS – War Machine
Motley Crue – Wreking Crue
Ozzy Osbourne – Sins Of A Madman
Pink Floyd – In The Flesh Detroit
The Beatles – The Beat Club
The Eagles – Motown Eagles
Tim McGraw – Allen as Tim (Sole Country Act)
Tom Jones – Tom Jonesy
Tom Petty – Teddy Petty
Queen – Simply Queen
