----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Brian Hughes" <bryzo.hughes@ntlworld.com>
> Are tribute bands big business Stateside too??  Just wondered....

Nowhere near to the extent they are in the UK, a cultural oddity 
that's always puzzled me when I see pages of gig listings with tribute 
bands next to "real" acts in the back of magazines like Mojo.  Outside 
of places like Vegas and Atlantic City (Simpsons joke: "Now Playing: 
Knights in White Satin, a tribute to the Moody Blues. Opening act: The 
Moody Blues"), tribute bands play local bars that don't get many 
touring acts, and they're the sort of thing you go to when you just 
want to drink beer and shoot pool.

S