In another thread I raised the idea of creating a thread devoted to female tribute bands of male bands. I had done something similar over at ETSG.
So, anyway, I'm gonna give it another go here. This is not a copy-and-paste from that forum. It's a fresh approach to the same idea. I'll be adding more to this thread as time goes on.
Female tribute bands of male bands are something that intrigue me. Now, to be honest, people either like tribute bands (male or female) or they don't. Generally, I don't dislike tributes, though I'm not extremely interested in them. But, the female tributes are an interesting idea.
The challenges for a female tribute are essentially the same as those facing any tribute band. There are the requirements to capture the musicianship, persona and stage presence, and vocals of the original band. Some bands do this well, some do well in parts, some are weak here or there.
This is what I've observed in the female tributes:
1. Musicianship. Musicianship knows no gender. Just like any good band of any type, the good female tributes perform the instrumental work very well. They often bring a little nuance of their own.
2. Persona and Stage Presence. Obviously, there is a major physical difference between males and females! This can present a challenge for a female tribute band when attempting to capture the same persona that the male original has. The best female tributes don't so much try to copy the original persona, as much as they establish their own. In some cases, this is very difficult, such as when doing a KISS tribute. Any band, male or female, could have challenges with that!
3. Vocals. The vocals are another area where there is a noticeable difference between the female and male band. Because of the differences in vocal range, parts that the male vocalist may have had to scream out may fall comfortably in a female vocal range and the female vocalist may actually sing the part versus screaming it! Also, there may be vocal qualities an audience may be used to hearing from a group. Again, the best female tributes don't so much copy the voice of the male original, as much as they bring the same energy with their own style.
For considerations of points 2 and 3 above, the interesting thing is to watch how the female tribute bands bring their own strengths to the table. This actually makes the female tributes more interesting to watch than the male tributes. The male tributes attempt to copy as closely as possible what the original band does. The good female tributes bring the same vibe, but with an, obviously, unique element.
So, let's get started. I will add more to this thread as time goes on, but here are a few of the female tribute bands that stand out to me. Unfortunately, there are few high-quality videos of some of these groups, so some of the videos may be rather low quality cell phone footage.
AC/DC
AC/DC is a band that has a few female tributes of differing qualities. Some make more of an attempt to copy the original, whereas others take more liberties. Most feature an "Angus Young" counterpart with a school-girl (as the counterpart of Angus's school-boy) outfit and an SG-type of guitar. The other members may vary a bit from the original.
Thund-Her-Struck.
I like this group. The vocalist has a lot of energy and the Angus character plays well. They've had a few lineup changes over the years. They tend to favor ESP instruments, though they play a few others. Their drummer is way more excitable than Phil Rudd!
I seriously believed AC/DC should have gotten this girl to sing for them when Brian Johnson was no longer able to sing with the band.
Playing Thunderstruck:
Playing Livewire:
Shoot To Thrill
This is another AC/DC tribute. The vocalist has that rasp in her voice to get that AC/DC feel going. All of the band members look to be approaching middle age, which is inspirational to me. These ladies have a good sound. Plus, they look like they're having a good time, which is important. The rhythm player performs in a more outgoing fashion than Malcom Young.
Back-N-Black
This is a pretty well-done video. I haven't seen a lot of this group's videos, but I'm interested. The musicianship is good, though some of the mixing is a little odd. The lead vocalist has good energy and tone, but the background vocals lack a little of the energy that Thund-Her-Struck has. The crowd is into it, though!
KISS
Kiss is a very hard band for any tribute band to emulate - female or male. The sheer magnitude of what it takes in terms of makeup, costume, energy, and stage presence is a tough act to follow.
I can't say I've seen any female tribute (or male tributes, for that matter!) that totally captures the vibe, but a few do well in areas. The hardest part for any KISS tribute to capture is Gene Simmons. Gene has a larger-than-life stage persona with an imposing character and a physically dominating size. Plus, he has deep, raspy vocals which are challenging for the female tributes to match or subsitute. But, there are some notable attempts.
PRISS
There aren't any really good videos of Priss. Either the video quality, itself, is poor, or the audio is overdriven. But, you want to think that they'd be good if you could find them. They've had some lineup changes here and there. The lady playing the Ace Frehley role is a little unique. She represents a departure from the way Ace looked, in that she's blonde, whereas Ace had brown hair.
This video has some bad audio but does sort of illustrate their product.
Playing Deuce:
Here's a studio recording of Rock and Roll All Nite.
Priss-Rock And Roll All Nite
Iron Maiden
I haven't watched a lot of Iron Maiden female tributes, but there is one band that seems to do quite well.
@eSGEe , This one's for you!
Iron Maidens
Iron Maidens (catchy name, huh!), do well. This is one of those tributes where the female vocalist does a very convincing job. She has a very strong voice and I like her energy. The instrumentation lacks nothing, either. With this band, you start to forget it's a tribute.
The Iron Maidens - Run To The Hills
Judas Priest
I'm not really a Judas Priest fan, but they do have a certain sound. Happening to run across a female Judas Priest tribute band was just one of those things YouTube decided I should have in my feed.
Judas Priestess
This is one of the best female tributes I've seen. All of the instrumentation is good and the vocalist is a powerhouse. She dominates the crowd and has tons of energy in her voice. She's like a heavy metal Tina Turner.
JUDAS PRIESTESS "BREAKING THE LAW"
So, there ya have it. I'll add more to this as I run across other female tributes.
However, in the end, what seems to make it or break it for the female tributes is the same thing that makes it or breaks it for any band...tribute band or not...female band or not...the persona and stage presence of the front person.
So, anyway, I'm gonna give it another go here. This is not a copy-and-paste from that forum. It's a fresh approach to the same idea. I'll be adding more to this thread as time goes on.
Female tribute bands of male bands are something that intrigue me. Now, to be honest, people either like tribute bands (male or female) or they don't. Generally, I don't dislike tributes, though I'm not extremely interested in them. But, the female tributes are an interesting idea.
The challenges for a female tribute are essentially the same as those facing any tribute band. There are the requirements to capture the musicianship, persona and stage presence, and vocals of the original band. Some bands do this well, some do well in parts, some are weak here or there.
This is what I've observed in the female tributes:
1. Musicianship. Musicianship knows no gender. Just like any good band of any type, the good female tributes perform the instrumental work very well. They often bring a little nuance of their own.
2. Persona and Stage Presence. Obviously, there is a major physical difference between males and females! This can present a challenge for a female tribute band when attempting to capture the same persona that the male original has. The best female tributes don't so much try to copy the original persona, as much as they establish their own. In some cases, this is very difficult, such as when doing a KISS tribute. Any band, male or female, could have challenges with that!
3. Vocals. The vocals are another area where there is a noticeable difference between the female and male band. Because of the differences in vocal range, parts that the male vocalist may have had to scream out may fall comfortably in a female vocal range and the female vocalist may actually sing the part versus screaming it! Also, there may be vocal qualities an audience may be used to hearing from a group. Again, the best female tributes don't so much copy the voice of the male original, as much as they bring the same energy with their own style.
For considerations of points 2 and 3 above, the interesting thing is to watch how the female tribute bands bring their own strengths to the table. This actually makes the female tributes more interesting to watch than the male tributes. The male tributes attempt to copy as closely as possible what the original band does. The good female tributes bring the same vibe, but with an, obviously, unique element.
So, let's get started. I will add more to this thread as time goes on, but here are a few of the female tribute bands that stand out to me. Unfortunately, there are few high-quality videos of some of these groups, so some of the videos may be rather low quality cell phone footage.
AC/DC
AC/DC is a band that has a few female tributes of differing qualities. Some make more of an attempt to copy the original, whereas others take more liberties. Most feature an "Angus Young" counterpart with a school-girl (as the counterpart of Angus's school-boy) outfit and an SG-type of guitar. The other members may vary a bit from the original.
Thund-Her-Struck.
I like this group. The vocalist has a lot of energy and the Angus character plays well. They've had a few lineup changes over the years. They tend to favor ESP instruments, though they play a few others. Their drummer is way more excitable than Phil Rudd!
I seriously believed AC/DC should have gotten this girl to sing for them when Brian Johnson was no longer able to sing with the band.
Playing Thunderstruck:
Playing Livewire:
Shoot To Thrill
This is another AC/DC tribute. The vocalist has that rasp in her voice to get that AC/DC feel going. All of the band members look to be approaching middle age, which is inspirational to me. These ladies have a good sound. Plus, they look like they're having a good time, which is important. The rhythm player performs in a more outgoing fashion than Malcom Young.
Back-N-Black
This is a pretty well-done video. I haven't seen a lot of this group's videos, but I'm interested. The musicianship is good, though some of the mixing is a little odd. The lead vocalist has good energy and tone, but the background vocals lack a little of the energy that Thund-Her-Struck has. The crowd is into it, though!
KISS
Kiss is a very hard band for any tribute band to emulate - female or male. The sheer magnitude of what it takes in terms of makeup, costume, energy, and stage presence is a tough act to follow.
I can't say I've seen any female tribute (or male tributes, for that matter!) that totally captures the vibe, but a few do well in areas. The hardest part for any KISS tribute to capture is Gene Simmons. Gene has a larger-than-life stage persona with an imposing character and a physically dominating size. Plus, he has deep, raspy vocals which are challenging for the female tributes to match or subsitute. But, there are some notable attempts.
PRISS
There aren't any really good videos of Priss. Either the video quality, itself, is poor, or the audio is overdriven. But, you want to think that they'd be good if you could find them. They've had some lineup changes here and there. The lady playing the Ace Frehley role is a little unique. She represents a departure from the way Ace looked, in that she's blonde, whereas Ace had brown hair.
This video has some bad audio but does sort of illustrate their product.
Playing Deuce:
Here's a studio recording of Rock and Roll All Nite.
Priss-Rock And Roll All Nite
Iron Maiden
I haven't watched a lot of Iron Maiden female tributes, but there is one band that seems to do quite well.
@eSGEe , This one's for you!
Iron Maidens
Iron Maidens (catchy name, huh!), do well. This is one of those tributes where the female vocalist does a very convincing job. She has a very strong voice and I like her energy. The instrumentation lacks nothing, either. With this band, you start to forget it's a tribute.
The Iron Maidens - Run To The Hills
Judas Priest
I'm not really a Judas Priest fan, but they do have a certain sound. Happening to run across a female Judas Priest tribute band was just one of those things YouTube decided I should have in my feed.
Judas Priestess
This is one of the best female tributes I've seen. All of the instrumentation is good and the vocalist is a powerhouse. She dominates the crowd and has tons of energy in her voice. She's like a heavy metal Tina Turner.
JUDAS PRIESTESS "BREAKING THE LAW"
So, there ya have it. I'll add more to this as I run across other female tributes.
However, in the end, what seems to make it or break it for the female tributes is the same thing that makes it or breaks it for any band...tribute band or not...female band or not...the persona and stage presence of the front person.
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