It's still hard for Vamsi Tadepalli to believe that the King of Pop really is dead.


Talking about his Michael Jackson tribute band, Who's Bad, Tadepalli continually refers to Jackson in the present tense, catching himself only occasionally, usually when he's speaking directly about Jackson's death on June 25.

"I was just getting home (when I heard the news)," said Tadepalli in a recent phone interview as the group was heading to a show in Lawrence, Kan., before embarking on a five-show Colorado run that ends with Sunday show at the Aggie.

"We had two shows scheduled that Friday and Saturday - it was a Thursday when it happened - and we were leaving for (Washington) D.C., the next day so I was out running errands. I got a phone call from E'Casanova (another well-known Jackson tribute artist)... He called around 4:30 Eastern Time with the message 'Just wanted to let you know, the ambulance just came to Michael's house and picked him up and it's cardiac arrest and they're doing CPR. He's not breathing and they're taking him to the hospital right now.' "

As he began searching the Internet for information on what Tadepalli, who plays saxophone with the group, hoped was just a horrific rumor, the calls and texts began flooding his phone proving the surreal news true.

The band's Friday show sold out 20 minutes later. Soon after the club's owners were calling to find out about booking additional shows.

"All of these people just wanted to experience his music again, to be a part of something special," Tadepalli said. "We didn't want to deny them that."

The six-piece band, which features vocalist Joseph Bell as Michael Jackson, had been successful before but now finds itself in even higher demand. The fame is welcomed but it wasn't how Tadepalli saw it happening when he started the group just out of college at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

"I've always been a fan of Michael Jackson's music and... as I was putting together a set list, a lot of Michael Jackson songs just kept coming up," he said. "I thought all of it would be so great performed in a live setting. So I was like, why don't we just do all Michael; nobody else is doing it, somebody should be doing it and I wanted to be that person."

The shows feature as many of Jackson's hits as the band can fit into a 90 minute set, but there are certain songs that everyone is going to want to hear every single night, he said. Songs like "Thriller," "Beat It," "Billie Jean," "Don't Stop Till you get Enough," "Smooth Criminal."

"I mean the list goes on and on and on," Tadepalli said. "I talk about the music a lot but of course, we can't have a Michael Jackson show without having the choreography and the high energy that he put out there.

"A lot of people say about our shows - you have to see it to understand it because the whole band is engaged, every single member," Tadepalli said. "And it is a band. It's not like it's just some singer singing to tracks with (back-up) dancers. It's a full band and everyone's involved, and our biggest thing is going out there, having a good time and making sure that everyone in the audience gets up singing and screaming, and that when they leave they leave with a big smile on their face."

The shows are filled with emotional fans, many of whom dress up like their idol or carry Jackson's pictures and albums with them, he said. There definitely are tears but there also is a lot of celebrating.

"We've got a lot of moments in the show where people are crying, especially when we're singing a ballad or when we have a memorial video that we play near the end of the show, that always gets the tears flowing," Tadepalli said. "For the most part, it's a celebration of his music. That's what we started the band for, and that's what we're going to keep doing. We want to make sure we pick up this musical torch that Michael left behind, and we're going to carry it on and keep his legacy alive."