Holy shit!" exclaimed a girl wearing a large amount of black eyeliner, her Abercrombie-clad boyfriend in tow as she dragged him towards the bathroom, "You’d think he was actually Thom Yorke!"

The Karma Police, a local Radiohead tribute band, had just taken the stage at Broadway Joe’s on Main Street. They launched head first into their set with "15 Step" off of Radiohead’s most recent project In Rainbows. The crowd diverted their attention away from the crumbling pool tables to watch the rhythmic jerking and swaying of Jason Clark as he gently caressed the microphone, emulating one of modern rock’s most esteemed frontmen.

The crowd remained captivated by Clark’s performance as he gently yelped out the last lines of "15 Step" in the falsetto that Thom Yorke made fashionable in Radiohead’s 1992 hit "Creep." "I’ve seen Radiohead live," said Kirsten Kaufman, an Albany, New York native who made the five-hour journey to Buffalo for the show, "and these guys are so close to the real thing, it’s ridiculous."

The Karma Police, named after one of Radiohead’s biggest hits, got together in 2005, and each member of the band has a Radiohead alter ego. Jason Clark is the singer, and therefore Thom Yorke; Kyle Peck is the guitarist and keyboardist making him Ed O’Brien; Steve Matthews rocks the bass like Colin Greenwood; Jeremy Franklin is another guitarist and puts together all the electronic loops just like Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood; and Joe Stocker plays the drums a la Phil Selway.

All the members are Western New York natives, hailing from Lewiston, about 30 minutes north of Buffalo. Clark is even a 2001 University at Buffalo alumni. They all met in the Buffalo area, though Clark calls himself the "point of reference" in the group. Clark and Peck went to high school together, and Clark has played in bands with every other member except Stocker, the drummer, who replaced their old drummer six months ago.

The guys have stayed local, too, renting a studio in Niagara Falls to practice twice a week. They mostly tour the Northeast, playing shows all over New York, Vermont, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. The Karma Police occasionally venture outside the U.S. borders to play in Toronto, Mexico, and maybe even Puerto Rico in the fall. The band also hopes to go overseas to London or Japan. "Radiohead has a huge following in Japan so it’d be fun to play there," Clark explained.

The Karma Police played their first show at the Brickyard Pub, in Lewiston, in 2005. Their very first show was standing room only, as upwards of 300 people packed the bar that night. "I remember looking up in the beginning of singing ’Planet Telex’ and all I could see were people from right in front of me, packed shoulder to shoulder all the way to the front door," Clark said. "Having a wall of people that close to you and around you is totally fun, but still can be a bit intimidating at times."

Their shows grew from there, and since, they’ve played Niagara University, Hobart and William Smith, and soon will play Rochester University and Binghamton. They often book BB King’s in New York City, a venue that holds roughly 1,000 people. "It’s probably one of the nicest venues you can play from not being Radiohead yourself," said Clark. "They treat you really well…they even have a masseuse backstage."

The Karma Police came together in 2005. "We all loved Radiohead, especially after Hail to the Thief came out," Clark said. "One day we were just hanging around, and I decided we should get together, have some fun, and play some Radiohead songs." His idea was a hit with the group. "It just sounded so good," he recalled, "they were like, ’Let’s give it a shot! Let’s play out!’ and it just grew from there."

They even have groupies. "There have been some serious Radiohead fans who are really into the band and come to every show, just watching your every move, stealing set lists," Clark said. "I once stumbled upon a blog that detailed a three show tour we did of Albany, NY to NYC. I was referred to as ’Fake Thom.’"

One local super-fan is much adored by the band: "Her name is Andrea and we are her number one fan. The reason I say that is because without people like Andrea, the Buffalo music scene would be even worse off than it has become over the years. She spreads the word about our shows and usually brings out 10 to 20 people to each show. Plus, she’s always at the shows dancing, hanging out, and brings an energy to the crowd around her. Now that’s a groupie any band would live and die for," Clark explained excitedly.

Clark first heard of Radiohead when they played at EdgeFest in 1993. "This band came on called Radiohead. I had no idea who they were but they blew me away and it’s been a love affair ever since," he said.

Clark and the rest of the band believe that Radiohead are leading trendsetters. "They do what they want," said Clark, "they don’t answer to anyone else." Radiohead released their latest album (In Rainbows) on their website last fall with an unusual "pay what you want" deal. It became one of the best selling albums of 2007, and now other established bands like Nine Inch Nails are following suit. "Kid A broke a whole new genre of music," Clark explained, "’Paranoid Android’ off OK Computer is like modern opera in a six-minute song, and the way the promoted their new album was simply brilliant," he said. "They totally broke away from the record label."

Since 1993, Clark has only seen Radiohead live one more time, in 2001. "In 2006 I had two tickets on ticketmaster.com, but then 30 seconds later they were gone and the show was sold out," Clark said.

This ticket debacle in 2006 is just one of the reasons the guys are more than content being a tribute band. "We’re all huge fans," said Clark, "We want to reach out to all the fans of Radiohead and connect with them because either you can’t get tickets, or they’re too expensive. Plus, it’s fun." Clark is also involved in a solo project and says that a tribute band is a great way to open doors. "It’s a good way to network," he explained. "You get fans, and from that you can create an original project."

The main premise The Karma Police play by is to be as true to the band as possible. Clark often pours over YouTube videos of Radiohead shows to, as he put it, "get Thom Yorke’s spasms down." They are even trying to get involved in Greenpeace and the Big Ask. "Radiohead tries to help the environment, so we’re trying to also," said Clark.

Perhaps their biggest Radiohead achievement is in their performance of "Idioteque." To put "Idioteque" together, Radiohead member Johnny Greenwood took the first piece of electronic music and looped it throughout the song. Karma Police member Jeremy Franklin recreated these same loops for the band, giving them a really authentic Radiohead sound. "He’s our looping master," said Clark with a sense of pride. "We try to be as authentic as possible, especially with equipment."

The Karma Police are local boys on a mission. They’d love to expand their audience, and not only hope to play at UB, but to play large festivals, too. All the band members have day jobs. Clark is a graphic designer, Peck is a customer service representative at a CD manufacturing company, and Matthews manages a bar in Lewiston. "Channeling Radiohead takes a lot of time, it’s full time," said Clark, but the bills have to get paid somehow. "Our friends and family are really supportive, too," he added.

As with any up and coming band, life at the bottom isn’t very glamorous, although the group is lucky to even be able to tour, something few smaller bands are able to do.

Clark recounted a show they played in Albany a few weeks ago. "We didn’t make enough money to spend on a hotel, so I ended up sleeping in the floor of the guitar player’s girlfriend’s house."

"It was rough," he admitted, "but you have to sacrifice to do what you want to do."