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No Duh
By Ryan Beachkofski

If imitation is the finest form of flattery, Orange County’s own No Doubt has been paid the ultimate compliment by a local foursome of talented musicians and thespians that call themselves No Duh.
These players are made up of local cover rockers Band X (EJ Curse/bass, Mark Hawkins/guitar and Dave Sprock/drums) all adorned in costume with sweet-as-molasses starlet, Heather Lounsbury, playing the lead in this No Doubt documentary. The visuals are funny and witty, the attitude is eerily familiar and the sound is dead on – right down to incorporating samples they clip from Simple Kind of Life, Hey Baby and any current NBA promo on network television.
The chemistry between the members of the group is a product of great friendships, and maybe more. Heather claims she was brought into the act by the guy she was/is dating at the time, the bass player, naturally. This, for those who may have been living on Pluto for the last 10 years, is the story within the story for the heavily publicized No Doubt and their personal lives they unfortunately have to live in the public eye. Or, Heather and EJ could just be hamming it up for audience while they’re in character. Either way, the crowd gets the whole pomp and circumstance including the National Enquirer version, not just Spiderwebs and Bathwater.
There is a great backing story from February 2005 that endorses these entertainers’ talents and ability to mimic so credibly. Apparently word got out in the No Doubt camp some time back about a little South Bay tribute band trying to cover America’s playlist sweethearts. This piqued the curiosity of the members of No Doubt and the real deal began to follow No Duh in the local media and online. One story of admiration led to another and No Duh found themselves in mid-set one weekday night at the Lighthouse staring down at Tony, Tom and Adrian from No Doubt - staring right back at them. 30 seconds later Heather must have jumped over the moon from the excitement to find her artistic heroes climb up on stage to sit in and play along with her. There’s something to put on a resume.
Heather paraphrased the experience by saying, “My fourth gig with a band and I was on stage with No Doubt. It was surreal.” She continued, “I am a transplant from New York who made her way to UCSB to collect enough units to complete 7 majors and I end up singing with these great guys. I couldn’t be happier.”
The fan following for No Duh has been relentless for some time and the celebrity sightings don’t hurt. Having benefited from covering one of music’s hottest international selling acts, and doing it well, the band is in great demand. As such, the Lighthouse was in solid form last Friday with the dance floor full to capacity. And with the enviable list of hits to cover from one band’s litany of chart-topping singles, the audience was regaling.
I have a great deal of respect for tribute bands that can play up to their mentors’ high standards. Last Friday was a compilation of a decade of high standards. And much respect to No Doubt for giving back to those who recognize this talent and taking part in what was clearly a memory of a lifetime for a great tribute band.

www.TriniJungleJuice.com
Summerfest 2006
Date: Saturday 17th June 2006
Location: Pier 1, Trinidad & Tobago, West Indies
Promotions: 95.1 FM
Summerfest, Summerfest ... Summerfest!! This was a much anticipated event and TJJ was there as usual to bring you the inside scoop. Although gates opened at 7:30 pm, we bounced in at about 10 pm with our usual late selves, and my ohhhh my ... if you [ could ] see [ the ]people! We couldn't help but stop and gape a lil' bit. T&T truly has beautiful people yes.
...Next up on stage was No Duh (tribute band to No Doubt) and wow ... we had to look twice because we swore it was really Gwen Stefani. Aside from the looks, that duet had the voice down to a "T" as well. They sung hit after hit like "Hey Baby", "Holla Back Girl" and the song everyone was singing along to "Don’t Speak." There was only one word to describe their performance ... Cool!! No Duh really set the mood right and there was still lots more to come.

...Although 2U, No Duh, Queen, Separate Ways and Hells Bells were all tribute bands, they all could definitely pass as the real deal. It was a fantastic concert.

(For photos & the entire article go to :)
http://trinijunglejuice.com/summerfest/index_2.html

 

No Doubt Tribute Gets Respect
Press Telegram

Article Launched: 03/03/2006 12:00 AM PST

No Doubt tribute band gets respect from the originals
Ryan Ritchie, Staff writer

LOS ANGELES-based No Doubt cover band No Duh's live shows find the group dressing, singing and acting like the multi-million-album-selling pop rockers, but the quartet's tribute doesn't end there.
"Heather (lead singer) and I have dated for two years," says No Duh bassist EJ Curse, "and I didn't even know she could sing. In the real No Doubt, the bass player Tony (Kanal) and (lead singer) Gwen Stefani were an item for a good portion of the band. Hopefully, we won't have the same demise as them."

No Duh began on a whim, when lead singer Heather Lounsbury was asked to sit in with bassist Curse, guitarist Mark Hawkins and drummer Dave Sprock in their jam band named Band-X. The foursome performed a No Doubt song, and the rest is history, Curse says.

"As a fluke, I said we should start a No Doubt tribute band and call it No Duh," Curse says. "We laughed, and the next week I brought in a CD with a bunch of No Doubt songs and everyone said they thought I was kidding."

The members learned four songs and gave themselves aliases based on the real names of No Doubt members (Curse performs as Bony Yanow, Hawkins goes by Tom Doomee, Sprock as Aintso Young and Lounsbury as Spen Gjormani). No Duh were then asked by a staff member at Interscope Records to perform their first show at a Gwen Stefani album listening party on Nov. 4. The quartet learned a few more songs, and the publicity from that show has enabled the band to perform once or twice a week, Curse says.

Recreating the live show and sounds of a popular band was more difficult than expected, Curse says, but thanks in part to live DVDs and homemade costumes, No Duh has earned respect from No Doubt fans and was mentioned by name by Stefani in an interview for a UK publication in August. The group had the opportunity to meet Stefani


recently at a taping of "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and spoke with the singer at length, Lounsbury says.

"She walked straight up to me and said, 'I've been dying to meet you,"' Lounsbury says. "She introduced me to her parents and was so sweet."

The highlight of No Duh's short existence came in February 2005 when at their fourth show, No Doubt members Kanal, guitarist Tom Dumont and drummer Adrian Young not only came to a performance in Hermosa Beach, but sat in with Lounsbury for a rendition of the group's song "Spiderwebs." The experience was mind-blowing, Lounsbury says. She had had just a few live shows under her belt before playing with the real deal.

"I about peed in my pants," Lounsbury says. "I could not believe it. I kept telling myself, 'Just get through the song. Don't freak out." It was pretty darn amazing."

The show was also a unique experience for the rest of the band, as Curse believed No Doubt showed up not to support No Duh, but to keep them from performing.

"Rumor got out that No Doubt was there," Curse says. "Then I saw one of them and I thought they were there to sue us. We got a little nervous, and by about the third or fourth song into it, someone from their entourage came up and said they'd like to jam. People came in off the streets and started going crazy. They stuck around for the entire show and took pictures and had cocktails with us. They were in really good spirits and said they were honored because as far as they knew, we were the first to do it."

Ryan Ritchie can be reached at (562) 499-1257 or ryan.ritchie@presstelegram.com

NO DUH; KARMA DELUXE; HEARTLESS, 8 tonight. The Blue Cafe, 210 The Promenade, Long Beach. $10. 21 and over. (562) 983-7111 or www.thebluecafe.com

Campus Circle.com
‘Manicures & Martinis’ Featuring No Doubt Cover Band No Duh
March 23, 30 @ The Lighthouse Café, Hermosa Beach

By Kym Parsons

Ladies pay attention, this one’s for you! Diva night has arrived and it’s hella-good news. Featuring a full night of pampering, performance and plenty of alcohol, the famed Lighthouse Cafe in Hermosa Beach will transform its casual, beachy atmosphere into a relaxing yet hip retreat for the night.

If that doesn’t sound enticing enough, there’s more.

While spoiling yourself with tasty beverages, the tunes of No Doubt will be playing in the background. So even though No Doubt may be on hiatus, with Gwen starting her solo career, you can still get your No Doubt fix.

Cover band No Duh will be performing all of the band’s top hits. Despite the not-so-good reputation that cover bands usually acquire, this band is possibly one of the best things to come out of Orange County since No Doubt themselves.

If you don’t believe me, ask the originals. No Doubt recently showed up at one of their shows and rocked alongside the band.

At first glance it’s hard to believe that No Duh aren’t the real deal; the singer and the rest of the band emulate No Doubt in almost every possible way. From head to toe the band is decked out in full-on gear – even by the simple mannerisms it’s obvious that the band has done their homework.

Those who opt not to get a manicure or drink at the bar are still welcome at The Lighthouse. Those wishing to rock steady with No Duh can do.

Campus Circle

SUMMERFEST 2006

Trinidad & Tobago, West indies

Blogger.com

posted by Elspeth at Sunday, June 18, 2006

The featured bands were 2U (imitating U2), No Duh (imitating No Doubt), Almost Queen (for Queen), Separate Ways (for Journey) and don't-know-their-name-because-thankfully-we-left-during-their-second-song (for AC/DC). 2U opened the show and I wasn't impressed. They didn't look or sounded like U2. I was also unimpressed for 'Journey'. During their (second-to-last) performance I sat on the ground amidst empty plastic rum/beercups and water bottles and slept.

Out of all the bands, I found 'No Duh' did a good job. At least the singer looked, moved, dressed and sounded like Gwen Stefani - so at points it felt like looking at 'the real thing'. And they incorporated strong stage presence and humour into their act which made it at least more interesting to look at. I held my breath for 'Almost Queen' ... wondering if their Bulgarian lead singer would look like Freddie Mercury. He was somewhat shorter and not as angular, but managed to pull it off, getting the swarthy complexion, trademark sideburns & moustache, skinny legs, strut, the mannerisms and the pouting/open-mouth movements - but minus the famous buck teeth. He was also impressive on the keyboards. Breath was held again as they launched into the classic "Bohemian Rhapsody", which everyone must have been waiting to judge them on. Amazingly, they pulled it off, aaaaaaaaaaaalmost sounding like 'the real thing' and managing to turn a potentially sacriligeous opportunity into one worthy of cheers from the crowd.

http://nowiswow.blogspot.com/2006/06/queen-waves-tt-flag-for-soca-warrior.html