Lukas Rossi

TORONTO — Singing in a cover band was once considered a last resort for proud musicians who couldn't make ends meet, or couldn't make a go of it creating their own original music.

But today, thanks to the Internet, cover bands everywhere can be forgiven for dreaming big, even as they slog through someone else's songs in small-town bars.

Judas Priest, INXS, Journey and Boston have all famously reached out to their fanbases in search of new lead singers, and Yes became the most recent example when it pulled Montreal's Benoit David from the obscurity of his cover band.

It was after the English group's 40th anniversary tour was cancelled -- due to a serious illness that hit lead singer Jon Anderson -- that they were sent a tip online about David and started watching videos of his band, Close to the Edge.

"We saw him singing and we were flabbergasted," said Yes guitarist Steve Howe in a recent interview.

"It wasn't a question that we were looking for a tribute band for a lead singer, but we were certainly looking for a singer who had a similar sort of sound and approach as Jon, and that's what happened with Benoit, we had someone who was remarkably similar in tone and texture."

High-speed Internet access and the ability to stream audio and video online have empowered no-name musicians around the world to connect with their heroes and earn auditions with big-name bands.

The suicide of Boston's lead singer Brad Delp in 2007 saw the band recruit two vocalists, including Tommy DeCarlo, who was discovered through his MySpace page and took a leave of absence from his Home Depot job in Charlotte, N.C., to join the group.

He said he planned to go back to work at Home Depot at the end of this year's tour.

Journey found its replacement singer in the Philippines late last year after watching YouTube video of a cover band, the Zoo, and finding Arnel Pineda's voice to be a near carbon copy of former vocalist Steve Perry's, who led the band in its glory years.

"American Idol" has also helped spawn the concept of turning nobodies into instant music stars, and the "Rock Star" TV series made dreams come true for two Canadians who became famous on the talent-search show.

J.D. Fortune, who was raised in Westville, N.S., beat out 15 other singers to win the competition in "Rock Star"'s first season and joined INXS, which had gone through a string of singers after the 1997 suicide of Michael Hutchence.

A few months later INXS released their first album in almost a decade, "Switch," and launched a world tour. But the band subsequently lost their U.S. record contract and not much has been heard from them since.

The winner of the second season of "Rock Star," Toronto's Lukas Rossi, had a brief tenure leading former members of Guns N' Roses, Metallica and Motley Crue in an all-star band called Rock Star Supernova. The group released one poorly reviewed album, and then one by one its members went in different directions.

Still, Rossi said it was a great experience and he has no regrets.

"The people out here are treating the Canadian well," Rossi said in a recent telephone interview, as he sat poolside at his California home.

He's now back on the road with his new band, Stars Down, which kicked off a 17-date Canadian tour on Oct. 23. They're playing major cities like Toronto and Montreal but are also stopping in smaller centres like Grande Prairie, Alta., and North Bay and Norval, Ont.

"(The experience) definitely taught me a few lessons. It's been a long, hard road for me with 15-odd years playing in bands ... and I thought that road was over and there'd be no more struggle -- but I'd be lying if I said that was true," Rossi said.

"Music is full of ups and downs, it's a yo-yo, and when they chose me to be in that band I thought, `This is it.' That wasn't the case, but it was an amazing time in my life, we had a great time and went around the world."

For Yes, it's not the first time they've gone on tour with a new lead singer, and the previous experience didn't go off entirely without a hitch.

Trevor Horn, who was made famous for co-writing and singing "Video Killed the Radio Star" with the Buggles, toured with the band in 1980 with mixed success.

Howe said Horn was accepted by North American audiences but fans and critics back home gave him a rougher time.

Howe is hoping David will be granted a kinder reception on the upcoming Yes tour, particularly because Anderson released a statement on his website saying he was "disappointed and disrespected" over being dropped due to his illness.

"We really hope that people are going to understand that what we're doing with Yes, it's about keeping a great idea going," Howe said.

"We didn't want to replace Jon, it's nothing to do with us ... Life goes on and we have to design a new kind of Yes, and that's what we've done."