(Originally published July 17, 2007)

Listen to the Band

At the risk of alienating my skating-based audience, I am going to begin the Fanzilla discussion with the most dedicated Fanzillae I have had the good fortune to encounter -- the cover band.  For research purposes and also to sing along to "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" and "I'll Be Alright Without You." I managed to catch a show by Evolution, a Journey tribute band, last week.  These guys put every other Fanzilla I have met to shame.  They know every note, every pause, every dynamic, and every idiosynchratic gesture made by their alter egos.  The lead singer mastered Steve Perry's sound, hairstyle, moves, and tight jeans in a way that only a Fanzilla could.  I'm not sure if every guy with straight black hair would morph into Steve Perry if he grew the hair out, but I know that Hugo, the lead singer of Evolution, transformed himself into Steve Perry on a molecular level while he was playing.  Seriously.

And, I have to say, I think it was a labor of love on the part of Evolution, or at least of skill and commerce.  Nothing vaguely Single White Female about this at all, actually.  Well maybe a little SWF with the Hugo/Steve Perry resemblance, which is alarming.  That said, I think that the guys used their love of Journey, plus a helping of skill, and probably some repeated viewings of the videos, to make themselves into Journey.  The funny thing is that at least two band members also participate in other tribute bands, for Rush and Elton John.  Strange, eh?  Are these guys fans, as in abbreviated fanatics, or just really good friends? 

Probably a little of both.  Moving from great admiration and respect of a performer to actually transforming oneself into said performer and earning a living from such transformation speaks a little to the crazy, since most people are not going to be cherry picked into their favorite band a la Marky Mark in Rock Star.  So, a little crazy, right?  But Evolution can count two band members (ok, one is Gary Cherone) as fans of their work, and they probably help sell more Journey albums and generally promote the band in a meaningful way.  Them's friendly, no?

This does happen a little in skating, but not to such extremes.  We won't be seeing skaters grow out their hair to resemble Philippe Candeloro anytime soon.  That said, the partners of Artur Dmitriev are an illustration of the art of imitation.  We all remember Artur Dmitriev and Natalia Mishkutienok, gold and silver medal winners, creators of that famous spin where she is in a split under his leg, and all around good sports.  Once Natalia retired, Artur found Oksana Kazakova, who bore no resemblence to Natalia physically and did not try to, but who imitated Natalia's moves just like Hugo imitated Steve Perry last weekend.  Of course, it came off as a strange Dmitriev-as-Svengali moment, rather than Single White Female, but, believe me, it wouldn't be tolerated outside of pairs skating. 

The lesson: imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but go too far, and you're in a bad Bridget Fonda movie.