Abstract

The best example of a Saturday Night Live (SNL) impressionist who goes beyond "spot on" to offer a creative impression is Dana Carvey. Just consider his impression of George H.W. Bush. Carvey performed Bush in cold opens and other sketches, developing a character that was not, in the ordinary sense of the term, spot on. To better understand the difference between creative representations and spot on representations, readers should consider for a moment the subject of music, and specifically the phenomenon of tribute bands. A tribute band is one that attempts, as accurately as possible, to represent a famous band to a concert audience. Some might argue that Darrell Hammond was one of SNL's greatest impressionists, but the author argues that he was much like a tribute band. Hammond was available to offer a spot on impression of whomever the show might need for a given sketch.