Some of my friends have recently developed a disturbing obsession. They are addicted to  an ACDC tribute band in LA called Bonfire. It started out as a joke, you know, fun to go and audience watch, but then the boys I was with started really getting into the band. A few beers and they were singing along in front of the stage with their fists in the air. These are hip guys with hip bands but that inner fifteen year old comes out to head-bang to San Fernando Valley boys playing ACDC (really well).

Now my friends seek out Bonfire in the local show listings and ask me to go along. I roll my eyes and ask what is the appeal, and then I remember the tribute band skeleton in my closet. I am a complete sucker for Bjorn Again, the Abba tribute band from Australia. The band is intentionally funny, but once those songs get going I'm no longer laughing, I've got my eyes closed, totally rocking out and singing along.

Cover bands seem relatively easy to do but covering a song is a far more difficult animal. The safe route is to simply try and mimic the original arrangement but a really good cover is when an artist makes another artist's song their own somehow. My band has been working on some covers the last few months and believe me, it ain't easy. From the B52s to Ray Davies, nothing's quite clicked yet. What cover tunes are in your Spin this week?