How Christopher Seebeck went from karaoke to a Garth Brooks tribute band

A man walks into a karaoke bar and sings a Garth Brooks song. His friends say he did a great job. A man decides to create a Garth Brooks tribute band.

As World From Garth frontman Christopher Seebeck does a great impression of Garth – the voice, the mannerisms, the patter, the look, although he can be a bit heavier than the real thing.

Seebeck, who grew up in St. Paul and lives in Hammond, Wis., spends his days as a regional representative for a car company and his occasional nights with his pop band 8 Foot 4, which plays everything from AC/DC to Michael Jackson. The band will perform Saturday at Floyd’s Bar in Victoria, November 15 at Babe’s Hometown Bar in Lakeville and November 16 at Ziggy’s On Main in Stillwater.

About a dozen times a year, Seebeck dons boots and a cowboy hat to stage “The World Behind Hart.” He has been doing Mr. Friends in Low Places for about 15 years. Their next concert will take place on February 18 at the Medina Entertainment Center.

Although he’s seen Brooks in concert many times, he’s never met the country megastar. However, he had a chance encounter with the singer’s wife, Tricia Godwood, Ziebek explained. Here are the excerpts.

Q: Why did you decide to form a Garth Brooks tribute band?

A: I didn’t really like tribute bands. I was singing karaoke at Sidewinders in North St. Paul with a bunch of coworkers and they were like, “Wow. You really sound like Garth Brooks.’ A bunch of people came up and said, “You should do the Garth Brooks show.” My first thought was that going on stage and singing his songs was a lame idea. But I thought if we invested in it and did a good light show and a stage show and set it up as Garth and made it so we could play in theaters, it would sound fun. People incited me.

Q: How did you start studying it?