Can struggling, middle-aged rock musicians find happiness cloning classic acts? Does mimicking the maniacal Gene Simmons of KISS doom you to madness? Can the world's biggest QUEEN fan survive the breakup of his favorite QUEEN tribute band? SHOWTIME will provide the answers to these burning questions and more when it airs TRIBUTE: A ROCKUMENTARY, a new documentary directed and produced by Kris Curry ("The Family") and Rich Fox ("Big Brother," "The Family"), and executive produced by Steven Soderbergh ("Traffic," "Erin Brockovich").
The film, which appears under the network's SHO EXPOSURE programming banner for documentaries, delves into the sometimes strange, but passionate, subculture of tribute bands for such musical legends as KISS, Judas Priest, The Monkees and QUEEN. Although it includes a colorful cast of characters, TRIBUTE: A ROCKUMENTARY never condescends or "gawks" at its subjects. Instead, it shows us that these people are just dreamers and schemers like the rest of us, craving a sliver of satisfaction from their everyday worlds.
TRIBUTE: A ROCKUMENTARY's subjects include a man nicknamed "Superfan," who gets so fueled with excitement before a performance of the QUEEN tribute band Sheer Heart Attack, that he finds it hard to eat or sleep. Mark Luther, aka "Heavy Metal Mailman," is a 38-year-old postal worker who is known to start mosh pits at the gigs of the Judas Priest tribute band Bloodstone. And then there's Andy Patche, the original bass player in Larger Than Life, a band that pays homage to KISS. After losing himself in the character of Gene Simmons, Andy quits the band, finds religion, and barely escapes danger after allegedly setting his house on fire.