Today we’d like to introduce you to Rich Abronson.
Hi Rich, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
It was early 2021 when I first decided to create the best Iron Maiden tribute band possible, and I knew that success depended upon finding great like-minded musicians. I knew a fantastic drummer who knew another guitar player, Scott Ramsay. Scott recommended our bass player, Danny Knapp; and our vocalist, Paul Duncan, found us through our Craigslist ad. Later, that original drummer got too busy, and another musician friend recommended our current drummer, Adrian Aguilar.
The Los Angeles live music scene has changed a great deal since my first gig on the Sunset Strip in 1990. All members of Maiden United are veteran musicians, and we’ve all witnessed the same thing. There are fewer venues, and demand for traditional cover bands has dropped dramatically. For musicians still waiting for their “big break” or those (like me) who do this as a serious avocation, the tribute band scene is the best way to perform regularly in front of good-sized audiences. The key, in my opinion, is to pay tribute to a band with a large, built-in fanbase. Iron Maiden is arguably the biggest metal band in the world, and their fans are rabid. They are also my favorite band.
When we started, the city was still in the grip of the pandemic so we first met each other on Zoom. We even managed to rehearse virtually using an application called JamKazam. As restrictions later loosened we began rehearsing in-person, and we quickly discovered that we had great group chemistry.
In August, 2021, we booked some studio time to professionally record our renditions of a few Iron Maiden hits, and we followed that up with a professional video shoot so that we could showcase ourselves online to venues and booking agents. From there, we booked ourselves into bars to develop our show and get our “stage legs” working. Based on the audience’s enthusiastic reception at our first gig at the Universal Bar and Grill in November, 2021, we knew we were going to become the best Iron Maiden tribute band in Southern California.
It has been a steady rise since that first gig. We’ve performed throughout L.A. County, including the Whisky a Go-Go about a half-dozen times. We play throughout California and Nevada, and our next gig will be the 2,500-seat Riverside Municipal Auditorium on July 5. Discriminating Iron Maiden fans throughout the region consistently tell us that we do an amazing job providing an “Iron Maiden” experience, and we see many of the same people repeatedly coming to our shows wearing Maiden United t-shirts.
On May 30, 2025, we released an EP to all the major streaming services including Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/album/1Do6AmqoLjwv54mcMtL1Dh?si=8xKprXUrSNSRSqiz0u-vbQ) which features our heavy metal version of Skyfall, the James Bond theme originally recorded by Adele. We asked ourselves, “What would it sound like if Iron Maiden wrote and recorded it.” Here’s the press release: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/iron-maiden-tribute-band-maiden-united-releases-heavy-metal-cover-of-adeles-skyfall-302472808.html?tc=eml_cleartime&fbclid=IwY2xjawK2-0pleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETF0c0I0RTNrclZxcXNLRUtKAR7KKphj6NNX4GFe3jTQ7bWGxk–fO7j4GPXjAwSftY74E9DPu75ydycNI3Hbg_aem_cg-ykQltpIq6UAljGCR82Q
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As bands go it’s been relatively smooth. That said, establishing a band—tribute, or otherwise—takes a great deal of consistent effort, rehearsal, and aggressive promotion. We demand from ourselves dynamic and note-perfect performances. The economics for tribute bands is not great—mediocre bands drive the compensation down, and often the profit margins are slim for venues and booking agents. In that light, musicians need to love it in order to do it. Certainly, it’s a great way for younger musicians to get in their “10,000 hours” on the way to rock and roll stardom, but some of us middle-aged folks need to keep our day jobs. Still, the top tribute bands can do fairly well if they have good agent representation and are willing and able to tour. I’d reckon that we are on the cusp of that.
The other main challenges are the travel and physicality of being in a regularly performing band. Often, we need to carry our own gear (no roadies), and a late-night drive home from a gig comes with the territory.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Los Angeles is home. Where else can you surf in the morning and ski in the afternoon? We have everything here—great weather, beaches, mountains, culture. Los Angeles never gets boring, but if there’s a need to escape from the city then all one has to do is pick a direction—along the coast, up to the mountains, or out to the desert.
What do we like least? Well, we could rant about the same urban problems everyone else reads about, but as musicians I think we lament most the decline of Los Angeles as a “music town.” We still have a music scene, but it’s a shadow of its former self. When we were young musicians in the late 80’s and early 90’s we could zigzag west from DTLA to Santa Monica and pass dozens of venues cranking out live music from every genre. I think people are hungry for its return, and we’ll do our best to keep the fire alive until then.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://maidenunitedband.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MaidenUnitedBand
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maidenunitedband
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@maidenunitedband
Image Credits
We own all the images. Copyright 2025, Maiden United, LLC. All rights reserved.
