I made the original posting on Xroads after I'd gotten a MySpace bulletin from David announcing the concert. I thought it was a great idea, mainly because what I've heard of David's recorded music is really good - over on his MySpace he has his own version of "Chilly Winds," which is interestingly different from anyone else's. I knew David had done a brief stint with the KT (I hadn't known how brief until Bob's post above), but I also believ that David was an occasional member of the loose configuration called the Shane Gang around 1968 and 1969 before Bob started the New Kingston Trio. I have to confess to being puzzled by Bob S's response quoted by Banjodan above. Of course I'd prefer to see an actual KT concert - and I certainly will see the current group when it's in my area. But as Bob H notes, people on Xroads and elsewhere have gone around and around on the "tribute group" thing. Bob nails the legal definition aspect in his post above, but I can say (as likely could we all) that out in KT land there are plenty of people who believe the group ended as a viable entity in 1967 with the disbanding of the Stewart troupe - and I know of people who never listened to and won't listen to anything after Dave Guard's 1961 departure. But tributes are another thing entirely - and here I'd distinguish what Bob H. does as he describes from what, say, one of those Vegas imitation acts of the Beatles or the Temptations or whoever does. Neither Bob nor David nor we Chilly Winds are trying to recreate the Kingston Trio - we're just doing our versions of their songs, with our own personal licks thrown into selections from that great repertoire. And that - along with the entire pop folk movement that Bob notes - is a kind of tribute in itself. The current KT has a show tentatively scheduled in Denver in February, so maybe Bob S. was referring to that show as preferable to David's. Based on their YouTube videos, the current troupe throws some of its own interesting wrinkles into those old NBD and NBJ arrangements. But I'd think that there's enough audience and interest to go around - there is such a dearth of this kind of music being played that I'm sure there'll be plenty of people who'll want to see both shows and Bob H's Concerts For A Cure Show in December as well - as I would if I lived handy to Denver. In any event, I wish both Bob H. and David the best in their upcoming shows!
and a post script - in the list of "tribute" type groups that Bob H mentions above, no list would be complete without the Bay Area's County Line Trio, who have been together for 35 years, play together regularly, and have some excellent CDs on the market.
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