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by Anne Mathey
It's a Saturday night at The House of Bricks. Saved by Zero, an '80s tribute band, has played their first set and is working their way through a second. "The Artist" leaves his keyboard for a shot at the microphone. The club is transformed into First Avenue in Minneapolis as he belts out the best Prince tunes. Vocalist Sheila Flash prances on stage behind him, hamming up to guitarist Blaine Mattson, who in his own right could win a Jesse Ventura look-alike contest. At one point, he licks Sheila's boot. The crowd in front of the stage dances drunkenly. The audience is a little older and cleaner than the regulars at The House of Bricks. Tonight, they're more frat and sorority than punk rock. But the standing-room-only crowd definitely rocks the dance floor. Nigel Scratch, the guitarist with a suspiciously heavy English accent, rips into some Billy Idol. The crowd eats it up. It is, indeed, a nice day for a white wedding. Max Metal, an L.A. glam rocker, dishes it out on the drums and Wang Chung works the bass in the corner.
"It comes from an earlier, simpler time, when decadence was in and excess was in," Mattson says. "(We're) having a good time, going back to a period of time when things were fun. Things were maybe more colorful. It's going back to a happier, more enjoyable time." Saved by Zero attempts to replicate in whole the characters and atmosphere of the music they're re-creating. "We're not a cover band; we're a tribute band," Mattson says. "A cover band is a bunch of guys who show up in their street clothes and play covers. A tribute band tries to take people back to an earlier time with their visual presence and their attitude." There are, of course, musicians who look down on both cover and tribute bands, Mattson says. But each of the Saved by Zero crew is involved in his or her own side projects. And doing covers well can be as challenging as performing original material. "I try not to look at things in an adversarial way: covers vs. originals," Mattson says. "They're two different universes. Both of them are cool. A lot of people who do their own stuff, maybe cover bands they look down on them. If they want to take it up with Blaine, they can certainly do that." Des Moines supports cover bands, says J.C. Wilson, House of Bricks owner. Locals are more likely to listen to live music when it's songs they've heard before, or songs they can dance to. "You don't have to do more than book them, and people show up," he says. "There's more listening, more dancing. An insanely popular tune gets people to perk up and tune in some more. "The guys that really want to do their own stuff leave. They realize it's not going to be Des Moines, Iowa. It's going to take a lot more than Des Moines, Iowa." (as published on the Feb. 19, 2003 edition of Cityview) |
Saved
by Zero has mirrored its images off the staple characters of the
'80s. It's a gimmick that works. The image, music and attitude
all come together to create a ridiculously gratifying jaunt back
in time.
