FRI & SAT 2 & 3 | Unofficial music lore puts responsibility for tribute bands on Australia. A million miles from nowhere, the great outback was too remote to attract big British or American acts, so she was forced to make her own copies.
Aussiebands.com lists no fewer than 70 tribute groups, from the suicidally awful Bjorn Again (ABBA) to the expected ACCA/DACCA (AC/DC) to the suicidally awful, The Absolute Kylie show (Kylie Minogue). But the real history of the genre begins elsewhere. If any band can lay claim, that’s The Beatles, whose tribute act The Buggs released their first (and only) album, The Beetle Beat, in 1964. Then sometime around the turn of the century, tribute bands evolved into a viable genre of their own.
For Las Vegas native Kace King, a punk-rocker in his youth and now the lead singer for The Knockouts, a Social Distortion tribute band, the transition was driven by necessity. “Fast forward from my punk rock band days to trying to make money, because local bands don’t usually make money,” King recalls of his days in Pimp and Never Was, both successful Las Vegas punk acts. In Las Vegas at least, the answer was clear, if not entirely satisfying. “You jump into the casinos, but you can’t play your own music, because people don’t want to hear it… this was the start of the tribute band movement that you see in Vegas every single day. It’s just tribute band fuckin’ fever… I always wanted to put together a tribute band to Social D because I just love the band. And I didn’t care if I made money or not, so that’s what I did on the side to have fun.”
That was 12 years ago, and in fits and starts, The Knockouts have been playing together ever since. Two of the original members – including King – are currently killing time in Cambodia, backed by the terrifyingly talented power drummer Marcus Tudehope.
WHO: The Knockouts
WHAT: Social Distortion tribute band
WHERE: Sharky Bar, Street 130 (Aug 2) and The FCC, Sisowath Quay (Aug 3)
WHEN: 9pm August 2 (Sharky’s) and 3 (The FCC)
WHY: It’s all about the tributes, baby