Jason McNeil

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Mom always told me I'm a winner, but it's nice to have outside validation once and a while.

I dialed the WROV.FM contest line Jan. 27 and suddenly found myself the bona fide winner of a pair of tickets to the next night's show at Awful Arthur's at Towers Mall. The band was Paradise City, which performs a full-bore re-creation performance of one of my favorite rock 'n' roll groups of all time, Guns N' Roses, circa 1991-ish. Fond as I am of the GNR, though, I was kind of back 'n' forth over whether I'd be going. Not being much of a "going outer," it took a bit of persuading from my buddy John "J.D." Merrix, but his logic eventually proved inescapable.

"OK, sure they're a cover band," J.D. argued, "but it's not like you can see the real Guns N' Roses anymore, right?" True enough. In the past decade, lead singer Axl Rose has metamorphosed from one of music's great front men into the Punxsutawney Phil of rock stars; poking his head out only once a year or so, presumably seeing his shadow and fleeing back to the safety of the studio where he's said to have been working on the same album for the past 13 years. "Second," J.D. continued weaving his intellectual snare, "the real Guns N' Roses is, like, one member away from being a GNR cover band themselves, right?" True again. Axl has used a steadily rotating stream of session players under the old Guns N' Roses moniker, and now stands as the only original member. "Third," J.D. concluded, "I'll go with you. We'll have a good time." Unable to resist the Jedi Mind Trick level of rationalization being hurled my way, I soon found myself, with J.D. as my "plus one," enjoying the vocal and instrumental stylings of Paradise City, live and on stage at Awful Arthur's.

And enjoy them we did. The show, in a word, rocked. Axl Rose has one of the odder vocal ranges, and his songs are hard to sing, but Axl doppelganger Tony McAlfee pulled it off with style to spare. After the show, I found my way backstage, where Paradise City's manager and bass player, Josh Winebrenner, was kind enough to put off packing up his ax to grant me a bit of a chat. The obvious question, of course, is why play in a cover band? Why dress up like somebody else and play someone else's songs? His answer was pretty direct and no-nonsense.

"Money," he said. "You can make a lot more money and get a lot more bookings playing in a tribute band than struggling along trying to get over with your own stuff. Of course, we love the music and love to play it. The fans love it, too -- and it's not like you can go and see Guns N' Roses play anymore, right?" Right indeed. I told him he wasn't the first one to point that out.

"Playing in Paradise City has taken us all over America, coast to coast and points north and south, and even to Mexico, South America and Spain. They fly us in style and pay us well. Not too bad for a bunch of guys from Kansas City."

According to Barry Caldwell, general manager of Awful Arthur's at Towers, he couldn't be happier about the show Paradise City put on and the turnout it generated. "We were at capacity, with people waiting outside just to get in for this show. Everyone loved it! We've got a bunch of music acts coming up -- originals and tribute bands -- with everything from hip-hop to rock, blues and reggae."

May 6, Awful Arthur's will present Toys in the Attic, an Aerosmith tribute band that has rocked bars and packed houses all over the United States. I suspect that you'll find me there, as well, with or without J.D.'s persuading.

Paradise City's Web site is www.gnrrocks.com. Call 777-0007 for info about upcoming shows at Awful Arthur's.