They're all just a bunch of fakers, but they're just giving the people what they want.

Tribute bands -- don't call them cover bands -- have been popping up at venues all over town recently.

Parrots of the Caribbean, a Jimmy Buffett tribute band from Ohio, performed at the Greenwood Amphitheater in August. Guns N' Roses mimickers Appetite for Destruction came from North Carolina to play the Music Mill in July, and Posin', a Hoosier tribute to -- you guessed it, '80s glam rock band Poison -- put on a show at Spin Nightclub in Broad Ripple last month.

And it doesn't matter that they're not the real thing. They can still charge upwards of $30 for a show -- and fill the seats.

"No matter who the tribute band is, people love it," said Loki Johanssen, bass guitarist "Bobby Dall" in Posin' and a former college-level instructor in human sexuality. "I know that a lot of bar owners will book us over an original band because there's already name-brand recognition."

Plus, fans of Poison can go see Posin' for much less than the real thing ($10, vs. 10 times that amount for the expensive seats when the real band came to Verizon Wireless Music Center in August.)

"You can't get up close to Poison," said Cassie Grove, 21, who watched Posin' perform at Spin. She's been following the band since attending her first show a few years ago. For young listeners like Grove, a tribute band cycles the music back through a new generation: "It keeps it young."

The Spin show, like many of Posin''s performances, attracted a lot of college-aged fans.

"A lot of people who come to our shows think they're going to come and see a lot of old dudes with mullets, and that's not true," Johanssen said.

Nationally, tribute bands are making a comeback. More than 1,000 are registered on www.tribute-band.com, a site that features a worldwide directory of bands, show schedules and reviews. About 10 Indiana bands are listed. "I'm a business owner, so it comes down to supply and demand," said Myles "Bret Michaels" Christopher, who owns a gym equipment company. "There's a demand right now and we're ready to supply it."

Local venues such as the Vogue have been bringing in more tribute acts. "We definitely have booked more in 2008 than in recent years," said entertainment manager Matt Schwegman, noting that the failing economy has played a part. Recent tribute acts that have come through the Broad Ripple venue include Frontier (Journey) and Who's Bad (Michael Jackson).

"No one's really going to probably see Michael Jackson play in concert," Schwegman said. "But they can pay $5 to get into the Vogue, and it's going to be a pretty fun live experience."

Legally, tribute bands could pose a problem if the acts start to infringe on the business of the original band. But Johanssen said few of the famous bands act on it.

"They want us out here doing it because it keeps their music alive. Everyone knows it's not the real thing," he said, adding that tribute bands can bring the more-famous ones some business. "When people come to see our show, they go out to buy Poison's albums."

A tribute band is all about playing a role and, as Christopher puts it, "you don't pick the tribute band, the tribute band picks you."

Of course, Johanssen's hair really is long like Bobby Dall's, and both band members consider their "roles" as rock stars a vital one on the local scene.

"People right now are hungry for real rock stars," he said. "I think you're seeing a backlash where people crave that '80s pomp and circumstance."

FauxPaul from local band Kist (who declined to give his real name because he takes his band role as Paul Stanley very, very seriously) agrees that tribute bands are filling a void. The touring band has two upcoming shows in Indiana: Oct. 18 in Brownsburg and Oct. 24 in Lafayette.

"It's a testimony to the weakness in today's music," he said. "We're bringing a rock 'n' roll circus to your town. That's kind of a lost art. It's all about seeing them."

FauxPaul said when he realized he could work as a musician, playing the music he loves while getting a small fraction of the benefits (yes, even groupies) Kiss gets, he jumped on the chance.

"If I did my own music, I'd want to base it theatrically on Kiss, so people would just say I was copying Kiss," he said. "I'm just telling you up front, 'Hey, I'm copying Kiss.'"

Amy Bartner / Indy.com