Queen Extravaganza Tribute Band Chosen by Roger Taylor
Queen‘s Roger Taylor has chosen the six young musicians pictured here in Brady Bunch fashion to serve as the band and singers for the 2012 Queen Extravaganza tour. (Guess that makes him “Michael,” huh?) After a nearly five-month long search for four musicians and two singers to form the ultimate tribute band, the drummer made his decisions on Monday in Los Angeles.
It’s no surprise that Marc Martel was selected as one of the singers. The Montreal born singer’s audition video went viral within days of it being posted to YouTube. He also appeared on ‘Ellen‘ and won an MTV O Award.
“Having gotten to know the other contest winners a bit in L.A., I’m confident we have what it takes to gel as a unit and give our best to do justice to some of the best rock music ever recorded,” Martel said after winning. “I am so thankful for the chance to do this. Gonna be fun!”
Canada is well represented. Guitarist Tristan Avakian is from Toronto and bassist Francois-Olivier Doyon calls Quebec City home. Rounding out the group are San Antonio, Texas singer Jennifer Espinoza, guitarist Brian Gresh from Tulsa, Okla. and drummer Tyler Warren from Camden, Tenn. Each member auditioned by recording video of themselves singing a pre-selected song, then passed through to the finals after singing a different song.
“As the audition videos began posting, we could see right away that the caliber of talent was very high,” Taylor explains. “When I got into the studio with the final 25 musicians, I realized that these guys are seriously good players. They went way beyond my expectations. It was an incredibly difficult decision to choose the final line-up.”