As if I wasn’t going to get my fill of Pearl Jam in less than two weeks, I decided to catch a Ten Band performance on Saturday night at BB Kings in Times Square. Despite the stormy weather, the guys had a great turnout and put on an incredible show. If anyone in the audience had any reservations about a Pearl Jam tribute band, they were silenced that night. The crowd was rockin’ out to every one of the 19 songs played, and some guys up front even brought a bottle of red to offer the band’s frontman, Nick Rhodes, in between songs.
I had the chance to sit down with the band before their show and talk to them about their performances, their plans and their seemingly never-ending love for Pearl Jam. Here’s a glimpse of what they had to say.
wanda medina: How and when did you guys start ‘Ten Band’?
todd kaczorowski (Bass): Craig Resnick (Rhythm Guitar) and I were writing original music and looking out for band members but we were having some challenges keeping all that together. One night I was driving home and was talking to a friend that was in a tribute band and thought that might be fun. I started thinking about it and thought there was only one band I could pay tribute to. Everyone always said everything I wrote sounded so much like Pearl Jam and Jeff Ament’s, so I called Craig and told him this was what I wanted to do and he was down with it - that was in February 2003. We got together 15 songs and went out and played. We had a huge first night, put up a website and then all of a sudden people from all over started calling.
ray jones (Drums): I’ve known Todd since he was 12 in Pittsburgh. We were in a band together in high school but we went off and did our own thing. He approached me and asked if I wanted to join and I said yeah because I was a big Pearl Jam fan. At the time I was playing in other bands and gave up a lot of them to be in this one.
nick rhodes (Vocals): After ‘Riot Act’ broke up (*Nick was RA’s lead singer) I went to their [Ten Band’s] website and loved it. I found out that the singer was not part of the band anymore, and so I emailed Todd and asked if I could come down for an audition. I sent him a tape of me singing PJ karaoke and they liked what they heard. They asked me to come down, so I went over to Ray’s basement, played a bit and they offered me the position.
wm: Do you remember what songs you played?
nr: We played Once.
wm: Was that it?
nr: That was it.
wm: How do you choose which songs to cover?
tk: Well first of all, you have to play the songs that are on the radio, we’re on top of that right away. I watch the bulletin boards and all the sites, and start to get a vibe for what everyone’s favorite song is and try to give that to them.
wm: Did you guys cheat and listen to any of the leaks for the new album before it was officially released?
tk: Yeah, we had to. We had ‘World Wide Suicide’ before it was released. We were jammin’ on it and figured it out. Not only did we have it and had learned the song but we had also performed it once before it even hit the radio.
wm: Venue and market are obviously important for any band. Is there more pressure to play in a city like New York than somewhere like Mobile, Alabama? Are the fans more skeptical?
tk: Every place you go they’re skeptical. First of all, there’s a stigma with a cover band or tribute band. Most of the people that come out to see us, their first thought is “These guys are gonna suck and I can’t wait to rip them apart.” You have to go out and just bring it really hard the first few songs and let people know that we’re serious and we’re pretty good musicians. If you watch the boards, they are critical of the idea, but we’re not trying to be the band and we’re not making any money off of them. Any money we get is only to cover our expenses, so for us its truly just the chance to party with the fans.
rj: I’ve never thought of that. It’s more like we’re just entertainers for the party. We’re all fans. [Pearl Jam’s] not at our back door every time -- they haven’t even come to New York City this year, so its just a chance for everyone that likes them to get a little fix and have a little party.
wm: How did you hook up with the Wishlist Foundation and the CCFA?
tk:. The ability to give back is something we’ve always enjoyed doing. I’ve never heard of another band that had a fan group that formed a charitable foundation on behalf of the band. I thought it was a way cool idea, so I called Laura (of the Wishlist Foundation) and told her whatever she needs to let us know. We helped out in Pittsburgh during the pre-show parties. We’ve come up with this idea for merchandising and all proceeds will benefit Wishlist. There was also a Guitar World special called Guitar Legends that featured Pearl Jam and they called us. They heard all our mp3s and were so excited about Dave (Lewetag, Lead Guitar). They gave us all kinds of kudos on that and wanted us to be a part of the special [in an ad]. So what I thought was well if we’re gonna be a part of it why don’t we donate the ad space back to Wishlist?
wm: If Pearl Jam didn’t exist, is there another band you could see yourself covering?
rj: I wouldn’t mind being in a Police, Led Zeppelin or a Soundgarden cover band.
craig resnick: Definitely The Police.
tk: We talk about this every once in a while, the only one I could do well would be Soundgarden or Stone Temple Pilots. I’d love to be in a Zeppelin tribute but i can’t play that well!
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