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 tell him he did a great job. The man decides to start a Garth Brooks tribute band.

As the frontman of the World According to Garth, Christopher Seebeck does a remarkable Garth impression — the voice, the mannerisms, the patter, the look, though he might be a biscuit or two heavier than the real thing.

Seebeck, who grew up in St. Paul and lives in Hammond, Wis., spends his days as a regional rep for an automobile company, and his nights are occasionally devoted to his variety band, 8 Foot 4, which plays everything from AC/DC to Michael Jackson. That band will rock on Saturday at Floyd’s Bar in Victoria, on Nov. 15 at Babe’s Hometown Bar in Lakeville and on Nov. 16 at Ziggy’s On Main in Stillwater.

About a dozen times a year, Seebeck puts on his boots and cowboy hat to stage the World According to Garth. He’s been doing Mr. Friends in Low Places for about 15 years. Their next gig is Feb. 18 at the Medina Entertainment Center.

Although he’s seen Brooks in concert many times, he’s never met the country megastar. However, he did have a chance encounter with the singer’s wife, Trisha Yearwood, Seebeck explained. Here are excerpts.

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

A: I wasn’t really into the tribute band thing. I was singing karaoke at Sidewinders in North St. Paul with a bunch of co-workers and they said, “Wow. You really sound like Garth Brooks.” A bunch of people came over and said, “You should do a Garth Brooks show.” My first thought was that was a lame idea to get onstage and sing his songs. But I thought if we invested in it and had a good light show and stage show and choreographed it like Garth and made it so we could play in theaters, that sounded like fun. I was egged on by people.

Q: How did you go about studying him?