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These rockers run for cover

by Erik Broderick

Those who frequent live-music venues may have a shared experience - one in which the show definitely rocks, but something seems to be be slightly askew. Then, it becomes clear: The band is playing somebody else's songs.

Uh-oh, it's a cover band. But after staving off the unsavory stereotypes, relaxing and listening to the music, one may find that these groups are pretty good.

For those who have yet to experience a good cover band or are holding back, then tonight's show at The Blue Note with the Led Zeppelin cover band Zoso may be the best place to start.

Zoso formed in Los Angeles in 1995 and has been named the best tribute band in California by the Rock City News of Los Angeles. If you are wary of superlatives spewed forth from an unknown journalist, though, consider the apparent demand from the fans: Throughout the past eight years, Zoso has played more than 1,400 shows.

This support suggests that cover bands can be successful if the members are willing to invest the time and effort into the music. Zoso, like most cover bands that lack backing from a major record label, had to employ a grassroots effort to become successful. Without help from a label, the members of Zoso bore the brunt of the work to achieve their current status. Matt Jernigan, the Robert Plant of the band, says they wouldn't have it any other way.

"One thing is that nobody can take any of our accomplishments away from us," he says. "We've earned every inch of the way. You can say we got a lucky break here or there, but that is because of all the things we did prior to that moment."

This is exactly the rub with cover bands: They already face an uphill climb because of a general lack of support and respect. Their credibility may be questioned because these groups aren't writing their own music. In some instances wariness may be warranted, but other times the choice to be a cover band stems primarily from a fickle music business that is often after a certain look and sound.

But these bands do have their own fans - ones who don't doubt their talent level. Jimmy Tebeau, the lead singer and bassist for St. Louis-based Grateful Dead tribute band The Schwag, says his band's desire or credibility is never questioned.

"I burn onstage every night no matter what song I am playing," he says. "Nobody will say I suck as a musician. I do more gigs than the average musician and have made a living doing so, which is a lot more than most original band musicians can say."

On the other end of the spectrum, though, some cover bands accept any legitimacy questions and just have fun with the music. Steve Patterson, the drummer of Columbia-based cover band The Missouri Sex Offenders, which covers power pop from the late '70s and '80s, says credibility is not a factor for his group.

"What credibility? I mean, we're like the Rodney Dangerfield of local rock bands," he says. "We're usually drunker than our audience. It's hard to get too serious about a band that chugs beer bongs between songs."

But sometimes members of these cover bands take their music more seriously, and their identities fuse with those of the musicians to whom they are paying homage. However, Richard King, the owner of The Blue Note, has seen his fair share of cover bands and says most of the musicians are able to lasso their delusions.

"They are all different," he says. "I can say that some of them are great guys that like to have fun and others take their thing a little too serious, and you just scratch you head and say 'whatever.'"

Jernigan says the primary appeal of many cover bands is being able to see groups that have broken up and to relive the experience of hearing their music live.

"It is a live performance and a live feel being thrown at you," he says. "It's 1,000 times better than listening to a jukebox or a record."