'Heaven and Hell' unleashed on Barrymore's crowd

Passion for music drives tribute performers

For the members of The Vibe Remains The Same and Majesty of Madness, stepping out onto a stage as part of a tribute band is their way of making the love for their favourite artists' music a tangible thing.

The Vibe, an Ottawa-based Led Zeppelin tribute band, was joined by Majesty, a Black Sabbath tribute band also from the national capital region, for the Heaven and Hell music event at Barrymore's Music Hall over the weekend.

While the members of these two bands spend their time emulating classic rock artists from noticeably different genres, what they have in common is a passion for music that borders on obsession - a fact they're not afraid to admit.

As The Vibe's vocalist Al Labelle and guitarist Dan Ferguson suggest, the obsession extends to the studying and live reproduction of the music.

"Our standards are high for ourselves," said Labelle. "It's about doing justice to the music that we love."

"It's been quite the learning curve," said Ferguson, "and the journey continues."

Majesty's bassist Marc, whose last name has been omitted at his request, completely agrees with this sentiment.



"Discipline is the key. Everyone in the band must do their homework and come to the practices having learned their individual parts to the best of their ability," he said. "We want everyone coming away from our shows to state that we are doing the artists' music justice."

For Labelle, the learning process is one that requires a daily commitment in order to learn the intricacies of Robert Plant's vocals. He admits that, even after 25 years of practice, it is something he is yet to master.

"Every day I'm watching videos and listening to it and there are always little secrets that pop up even over years of listening," he said.

"Plant's vocal style is primal. It's not politically correct. It's just very real," added Ferguson, who has watched Labelle's vocals develop and become more accurate over the 25 years that the two have known each other.

According to Ferguson, the high standards set by Jimmy Page have made emulating his style and performing the solos for songs like Trampled Underfoot a demanding task.

"Trampled Underfoot is a little odd. It has sort of an odd riff," said Ferguson. "So the solo is played on the fly every night."

But as Labelle suggested, Ferguson has worked hard to get into the head space of Jimmy Page, which has allowed him to stay within the mark.

"It helps if you know about their lives from their time," explained Labelle.

Marc and his bandmates consider revisiting the songs they've already learned and remaining open to constructive criticism to be very important in order to perform at the best of their abilities.

"We always go back and listen to the original songs again and again to ensure that we have added every subtle element," said Marc. "We also listen to the feedback from everyone who comes and sees our live show and take this into consideration as well."

At the end of the day, each member of the two bands hope that their audience derive as much pleasure from seeing them perform as they do when they're on stage.

"The bottom line is that we want to bring back memories to nostalgia seekers of good rock music," said Marc, "and (we) derive enormous satisfaction in performing the great songs of Black Sabbath."

"For three hours people forget about their crap at home and they escape. It's a gift to be able to do that for people," added Labelle. "For the time that I'm on the stage, I'm in the illusion as much as the audience."

Related Links
The Vibe Remains The Same - Official Site
Majesty of Madness - Official Site


Other Links
Stone Melodies - CD Release
The Architects - Interview