While some music fans may choose to disparage the art of the cover band as a cheap, been-done or exploitive genre, this ageless mode of musical performance is unquestionably making a comeback in the 21st Century — if it ever even really went away in the first place.
Petty Theft
Dec. 27 | 9 p.m.
Crystal Bay Casino | Crystal Bay, Nev.
Back in the early 1950s when electric rock first took the world by storm, it wasn’t unheard of for musicians to make a living as composers and many popular groups of the day earned their keep covering songs written exclusively by fellow professionals in the craft.
Somewhere along the line, perhaps during the cultural revolution of the 1960s, there was a movement toward bands writing their own songs. While this undoubtedly pushed the envelope of rock creativity over the decades, it also encouraged the recording of infinite universes of mediocre songs by unknown artists and many of those songs will never live to see the true light of day.
With the advent of the self-promotion, post-Myspace era, presently displayed in the ubiquitousness of free-streaming platforms such as Bandcamp and Soundcloud, the concept in action of everyman’s art is surely reaching an anticlimax of sorts today. This leaves something to be said for the professional cover band.
Case in point: Petty Theft.
A combination of rock icon Tom Petty’s death and 15 years of steady touring have steered this workaday Bay Area group into one of the most well-regarded cover bands in the nation.
“I think people have been wanting to gather with like-minded souls to celebrate Tom Petty’s music,” says guitarist Monroe Grisman. “When you play this music as long as we have, you feel like you lost a relative.”
Like most Petty fans would tell you, Grisman was drawn to the artist born in 1950, son a Gainesville, Fla., tax worker and grocery store clerk, for one main reason: his undeniably catchy, yet transcendent catalog of compositions.
“It’s all about the songs; what else?” says Grisman. “He was a master of his craft and I think any songwriter would tell you that. Of the 22 songs we play each night, 18 of those are big-ass hits. We try to rotate some hardcore deep tracks into each set, but there are a lot of songs that you just gotta play.”
The first incarnation of Petty Theft was founded north of San Francisco in 2003 by lead singer Dan Durkin and bassist Django Bayless. They’ve since been joined by drummer Adam “Bagel” Berkowitz and guitarist Michael Papenburg.
“He’s Mike and I’m Campbell,” says Grisman on the six-string duo’s approach to the legendary Heartbreaker lead guitarist, Mike Campbell’s sparse, yet poignant, signature jamming style.
Grisman, as the son of bluegrass mandolinist David Grisman, grew up around traditional music. He also plays in one of the Bay Area’s most promising original rock groups, American Drag.
“A lot of people have a stigma with tribute bands,” he says. “I used to be one of those guys pissed off at the local cover band when people weren’t coming to my gigs because they were going to theirs. The bottom line is I like to play music and have a good time.”
Since Petty’s passing on Oct. 2, 2017, at the age of 66 from an overuse of pain medication following an overwhelmingly successful 40th anniversary tour, countless tributes to Mr. Integrity have come out of the woodwork, some better (and more authentic) than others.
Even though Petty Theft sometimes doesn’t sound a thing like the original group, they are without a doubt one of the best versions in the lands.
“We worked our tails off for years playing shithole bars to gradually grow to where we are now,” says Grisman “We’ve taken a lot of time and care to learn these songs. We don’t dress up like Tom Petty or try to play with the musicians’ specific gear. That’s not our style and, personally, it feels un-Petty-like to try and do that. We just try to make the music as great as we can every night.”
No matter what, this music will live on well beyond any one musician’s existence, says Grisman.
“In the end, people will remember Tom Petty as a great lyricist who had a song for any situation,” he says. “His songs are relatable to almost any human being you’d ever care to comment on, but he makes it easy to understand. That’s a fine art. Tom’s not with us, but his music lives on forever and I’m proud to be a part of that.” | pettytheftrocks.com
