CoVer story
left to right: Dana hancock guitars, Vocals; Paul Weaklend - Drums, Percussion; Jason hopkins - Vocals, guitar; Brad Dienstbier - Bass guitar; Darren hopkins - Vocals, Keyboard
“
it’s a lot easier when somebody else writes the tunes.
”
16 march/april 2009 | the encounter
Band on the run Grand Theft Girlfriend is having fun heating up Omaha stages by Chris Aponick | photos by minorwhitestudios.com
O
n a Saturday night, Grand Theft Girlfriend is well on its way to winning over a bar full of patrons at No Dogs Allowed in northwest Omaha. The Omaha band says they jump around genres, always playing hits, but never really playing the worn-out standards that dot most cover band set lists. “With the musicians we have and the singers we got, especially, we are able to do a lot of songs that some other bands can’t,” drummer Paul Weaklend says. Even with some of the more well known songs on the Grand Theft Girlfriend song list, the band insists they’ve chosen them for their “fun factor,” rather than their familiarity, which is why one member keeps insisting that “Eye of the Tiger” should easily make the cut. Their eclectic rock play list is a compilation of works by many artists: Lenny Kravitz, U2, Train, Ozzy Osbourne and Daughtry, to name a few. Songs are distributed between the two vocalists, brothers Darren and Jason Hopkins.