Josh Schlesinger
Arts and Entertainment Editor
Bradley Nowell is dead, get over it.
Last Saturday I attended the Badfish concert at the State Theatre. Badfish is a tribute band to reggae/rock legend, Sublime. After hearing a few of Badfish’s songs, a lot of ethical questions started to emerge in to my head. Who are these guys to rip off of someone else’s legacy? Do these guys even know where Sublime ends and Badfish begins? The solos were dead on, and front man Dave Ladin’s voice is so identical to Nowell’s you could shut your eyes and see a ghost.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Sublime. One of the first CDs I ever bought was Sublime’s Robbin’ The Hood, and their self-titled album is an album I still listen to on a weekly basis. Sublime has some of the most beautiful, body moving, head banging, emotional music with an articulate, intelligent social agenda that many rock bands lack these days. However, when Nowell died in 1996, Sublime died with him. Needless to say when I knew Badfish was coming to town, I was pumped to see them and possibly get some closure on the fact that I have never actually seen Sublime live and (obviously) never will. My friends who had already seen Badfish had nothing but amazing things to say, and that they put on such an amazing concert. However, there was one variable that I had not taken in to account…I had never seen a tribute band before, and after that Saturday night night, I am not too sure that I will ever again. The ethics behind tribute bands was enough to boggle my mind. People who work so hard at being creative and stand out as individuals in the musical world are being blatantly ripped off by cheap wanna-be’s. There was nothing unique or special about Badfish. Great, they can play Sublime songs better than the avid Sublime fan, but if music is synonymous with art, and art is synonymous with originality than I believe you can’t even refer to the regurgitated notes, guitar riffs, and drum solos as anything close to what we commonly refer to as “music.’
The concert started off with a barrage of local bands, none of which seemed to appear to the audiences, unless you consider flipping off the band and booing a symbol of courtesy. However, before I go any further, small time band, Pushing Zero put an awesome set. They deserve a plug in an article that is laced with negative sentiment. Go see Pushing Zero, they rock! Anyways, Badfish took the stage at around 10:00, and began to play Sublime’s Garden Grove. As the band continued to play, my enjoyment went the way of the dodo. Badfish was so unbelievably unoriginal that it made me want to puke. I wanted to get on stage and ask these guys “honestly, who the hell do you think you are!? What exactly gives you the right to rip off someone else’s incredible talents!?”
Badfish, I have news for you: You are a glorified cover band. No more, No less. The whole concept of “tribute band” is an entirely twisted sub-culture that has no right to be placed in a musical genre.
Badfish’s saving grace was the fact that there was no line at the bar because the entire audience was probably born after Nowell died. It has been said that these tribute bands “preserve” the music that will never be heard again. Well, if by “preserve” you mean “plagiarize,’ then I would probably agree with you. Until then, I’ll stick to my Sublime CDs, at least I can listen them for hours on end without paying twelve dollars.