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May and June Schedule for 2013
May:
5/4-Houston,TX...Cypress Creek Foundation for the Performing Arts
5/10-Phoenix,AZ...The Celebrity Theatre “In the Round”
5/11-Las Vegas, NV....M Resort & Spa Casino...The M Pavilion
5/17-Muskogee, OK...Private Function
June:
6/1-Lac Du Flambeau,WI...The Lake of the Torches Casino
6/7-Hoquiam,WA...The Seventh St. Theatre
6/8-Hoquiam,WA...The Seventh St. Theatre
6/15-Grand Rapids, MI...West Festival/West High School 50th Anniversary
6/22-Kokomo, IN....The Kokomo Pavilion
6/23-Spokane, WA...The Bing Crosby Theatre
6/24-Port Angeles,WA...Port Angeles High Auditorium
6/25-Bellingham, WA...The Mount Baker Theatre
6/27-Anaheim,CA...Pearson Park Amphitheatre
6/28-Kent,WA...The ShoWare Center
"1964" returning to Carnegie Hall in January 2013!
"1964" will be performing at CARNEGIE HALL for the 12th time next January 12th, complete with orchestra.
Tickets are scheduled to go on sale on or about September 17th. As soon as this is confirmed we will post again.
If you'd like to reserve tickets in the first 10 Rows (center) or in one of the boxes (seat 8) please send a message to Mark Johnson before September 15th.
http://www.facebook.com/
Details on how and when to pay for tickets will be sent.
Happy Birthday Mark Benson
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mark!
06/07/Sometime Shortly After the Earth Cooled.
06/07/Sometime Shortly After the Earth Cooled.
1964's Ringo - Bobby Potter
Bobby was born in Indiana. He started taking snare drum lessons in the 5th grade and got his first set of drums in the 7th. Later, when The Beatles arrived on the music scene, he made it a personal goal to be like Ringo. He played in 3 bands through high school – a Tijuana Brass band, high school pep band and a top 40 band. He helped form a popular local band that performed in his home town and surrounding area teen clubs. He later moved to Champaign, Illinois and joined a band that performed in and around the tri-state area.
Wanting to spread his wings he then set his sights on the west coast and moved to Los Angeles where he helped form The Finders, then Shake, Rattle N’ Roll and played the nightclubs there for 10 years. He then moved to Las Vegas and played the Nevada casino circuit. Capitalizing on his experience he backed such greats as Chris Montez, Billy Swan, Jewel Akens, Al Wilson, J.J. Jackson, The Coasters, The Drifters, The Dell Vikings, 7 show/lounge acts and too many Elvis impersonators to mention.
Still wanting to achieve his personal “Ringo” goal he joined two Beatle tributes, spending 8 years in this endeavor. His personality shines onstage as he authentically reproduces every beat and moves his head to the music portraying Ringo with precision and style. This accomplished artist transports the audience to the carefree magical era with his voice when he performs “Yellow Submarine” and “Act Naturally”. Bobby is thrilled to be a member of “1964”...The Tribute! He states in his own words, “In the tribute world, you can’t get any closer or higher up than this for authenticity, style and sound in the same way The Beatles performed live”.
Beatles magic: Tribute band recreates the excitement of Fab Four concert
“1964” … The Tribute
will perform April 14 to benefit Our Father’s House, an emergency and
transitional shelter in Fitchburg. (SUBMITTED BY STEVEN GARDNER (“1964” …
The Tribute)
Watching “1964” … The Tribute perform is like entering a time machine, returning magically to the 1960s, when The Beatles were making girls scream and parents were shaking their heads wondering who these four guys with the long hair and the funny suits were.
The group that Rolling Stone has called “the best Beatles tribute ever” will perform in Fitchburg State University’s Weston Auditorium April 14 to benefit Our Father’s House, an emergency and transitional shelter.
Mark Benson is one of the founding members of “1964,” and he IS John Lennon when onstage. He was 11 years old when he first saw the Beatles on the “Ed Sullivan Show.”
“I only got to see the first half of the show. It was a school night and my parents let me stay up late then sent me to bed after they played the first time. So I missed the second half of the show, but I could hear my parents watching it from my bedroom,” said Benson who founded the band with Gary Grimes in 1984 in Ohio.
The band has meticulously recreated the look — the hair, the suits, the Beatle boots — and the sound of the Beatles during their touring years, from 1963 to 1966.
“We want to show people what the music was like, and have replicated that sound from the guitars and amps, to the cymbals and drums. Some of the equipment is not easy to find, but they are re-issuing a lot of it, which is testament to the timelessness of the Beatle’s music,” said Benson.
The suits that they wear are made from the original patterns of the Beatles’ tailor. The Beatles boots are made from the original lasts, although specially widened to suit American feet, according to Beatles maniac and “1964” press agent and photographer Steven Gardner.
Gardner discovered the music in the fourth grade listening to his grandparent’s “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and “A Hard Day’s Night” albums.
“There will be a moment during the show when you sit back and say, ‘These guys are good!’ It will give you a little tingling feeling, a little of that magic and you will know what it was to see the Beatles live. The music is all live, it’s raw talent. I knew it the second I heard the music the first time, it was home to me, and I get that same feeling when I hear ‘1964,’ ” said Gardner.
Benson says he sees three generations sitting together during the shows.
“This is a great family show, almost all of the songs are about love,” he said. “You can be new to the music, hear a song once, and walk away singing it. And the game ‘Rock Band,’ it has turned a lot of kids on to Beatles music. We see three generations of a family sitting together, everyone singing and happy. And what other show can you go to and scream, even if you are a 60-something grandmother!”
Benson and Alexander Graham, who plays Paul McCartney, are also expert at Beatle banter.
“It was a thing they did on stage. It was phenomenal how casual they were with each other, joking among themselves,” Benson said. “It was obvious they were just having fun and the audience gets it.”
Our Father’s House board member Steve Ciccolini of Leominster is a musician and he can’t say enough about the band.
“They’re the best in the world. They’re the only ones who have played Carnegie Hall. Behind the scenes, they’re great to work with and on stage, well, if you close your eyes you’ll think you’re back in the Ed Sullivan days. Their sound is impeccable. John (Mark Benson) even chews gum throughout the show,” said Ciccolini.
This is the charitable organization’s biggest fundraiser of the year and all ticket sales go toward funding emergency and transitional shelters for the homeless, mothers and children, street outreach and counseling services.
“It’s all for a good cause and you’ll go away happy,” said Ciccolini.
March and April 2012 Schedule.
March
3/9-St. Petersburg, Fl....The Mahaffey Theatre
3/10-Melbourne Beach, FL...Immaculate Conception Church, Taste,Toast,Tunes
3/23-Hamilton,Canada...Hamilton Place Theatre w/Orchestra
3/24-La Crescent,MN....La Crescent- Hokah-Community School
3/31-Beaufort S.C. ...Beaufort Town Center
April
4/13-Salisbury,MA...Blue Ocean Music Hall
4/14-Fitchburg,MA....Fitchburg State College
4/20-Pittsburg,PA...The Benedum Center w/orchestra
4/27-Fresno, CA...The Saroyan Theatre
4/28-Carmel,CA...The Sunset Center
3/9-St. Petersburg, Fl....The Mahaffey Theatre
3/10-Melbourne Beach, FL...Immaculate Conception Church, Taste,Toast,Tunes
3/23-Hamilton,Canada...Hamilton Place Theatre w/Orchestra
3/24-La Crescent,MN....La Crescent- Hokah-Community School
3/31-Beaufort S.C. ...Beaufort Town Center
April
4/13-Salisbury,MA...Blue Ocean Music Hall
4/14-Fitchburg,MA....Fitchburg State College
4/20-Pittsburg,PA...The Benedum Center w/orchestra
4/27-Fresno, CA...The Saroyan Theatre
4/28-Carmel,CA...The Sunset Center
Remembering Gary Grimes
As many of you may remember, today marks the 1 year anniversary of the passing of our good friend Gary Grimes.
Thank you Gary, for all that you have given us. We hope that you are proud of us for the work that you help start, and that we continue to do.
We love you and miss you.
Thank you Gary, for all that you have given us. We hope that you are proud of us for the work that you help start, and that we continue to do.
We love you and miss you.
2012 - January and February Schedule
January 2012:
1/14/2012 Key Largo, Fl Ocean Reef Cultural Center w/ Orchestra
1/20/2012 Woonsocket, RI The Stadium Theatre
1/21/2012 Woonsocket, RI The Stadium Theatre
1/22/2012 Manchester, NH The Palace Theatre
February 2012:
2/04/2012 Peoria,IL. Sheraton Four Points Hotel ( Private Function)
2/11/2012 Kalamazoo, MI The State Theatre
2/17/2012 Norman, OK The Paul Sharp Concert Hall W/ Orchestra
2/18/2012 Norman, OK The Paul Sharp Concert Hall W/ Orchestra
2/24/2012 Glenside, PA The Keswick Theatre
2/25/2012 Glenside, PA The Keswick Theatre
Introducing Graham Alexander
Photo of Graham Alexander taking from the Capitol Theatre in Chambersburg, PA.
Graham Alexander as Paul McCartney
Graham started his career in music after seeing a video of The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show at age 9.
Soon after he found the guitar (and eventually Bass, Drums, and Piano) and a year later started playing in bars and nightclubs.
Songwriting became his main interest and with his first band "The Roadrunners" he toured the Philadelphia, New Jersey, and New York area for several years.
After releasing two albums and gaining notoriety not only for their age, but also for the quality of music they were releasing…Graham and his band parted ways.
His love for The Beatles and their music lead him to join 'Beatlemania Now' a Beatles show touring company featuring broadway cast members of the Broadway hit "Beatlemania".
Graham (a right handed guitarist) taught himself to play bass guitar left handed for the 'Paul McCarney' role and toured the U.S, Canada, U.K, and The Netherlands for more than 4 years.
During this time Graham continued to write and record his own music for publishing by other artists even contributing a batch of music to a film by 10 time Emmy award winning director Kenneth Sheil. He also made cameo appearances in films (ie; 'Splinterheads' 2009), Television, and even Video games (Motion Capture actor ie; "The Beatles: Rock Band") to name a few...
In 2008, Graham joined the Broadway show "Rain" for its pre-broadway tour. With Graham onboard the show opened on Broadway in 2010 at the Neil Simon theatre (eventually moving to the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in 2011). The cast accepted the Broadway Drama Desk Award for 'Best Musical Revue' and a few months later the show closed on Broadway with Graham having performed 150 shows in both theaters.
Graham notes, "I love Rock n' Roll. After having performed on Broadway for a year, I felt I really needed to be able to play this music the way it was originally played by those four guys over forty years ago. Ive always loved the energy and the spirit of 1964: The Tribute and THAT coupled with the incredible level of musical accuracy is why I am here. I am as much a Beatle fan as I am a music fan and to me, any project I associate myself with is a reflection of how I feel this music should be perceived. In other words, There are a lot of shows out there performing this music, but there are none that perform it with the spirit, and ferocity of those four young men from Liverpool (as you saw them in 1964), quite like…..1964 The Tribute.”
Press from the DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE:
Tribute band loyal to Beatles’ legacy
by: Alyssa Ferris on September 1, 2011
by: Alyssa Ferris on September 1, 2011
The band 1964 the Tribute will re-create the early touring years of The Beatles. The Orem show begins Monday at 8 p.m. at The SCERA Shell Outdoor Theater. Steven Gardner, the press manager and photographer of the tribute band, said with a band as popular as The Beatles, there are bound to be imitators, but not many can do it this well.
The tribute band strives for authenticity, both in sound and appearance. The musicians that portray the Fab Four mimic the body movements and characters of the individuals, and work to look as much like The Beatles as possible. The musician portraying Paul McCartney imitates him by playing the bass left-handed, despite the fact that the musician is actually right-handed.
In addition to Beatles fans, those with an interest in history might also enjoy the tribute concert. Gardner said everything is done in its original form. The instruments are identical to the ones played by The Beatles in 1964 and the suits that the members of the tribute band wear for performances come from the same company that made the original suits for the lads from Liverpool.
The most recent 1964 tribute show drew a crowd of 7,000 people. Gardner said some of the people who came to the show are original fans who saw The Beatles, and some fans weren’t even born during the era. Sometimes, grandparents, parents and children come to the shows together.
Gardner said the reason young fans are interested in The Beatles is because they made good music. He said many musicians respect The Beatles, whether or not they are actually fans.
“People can identify with good music,” he said.
Gardner said something always felt right about The Beatles’ music and although times might have changed, kids haven’t. He said when kids today become fans of The Beatles, they are experiencing the same feeling people had when they first heard the band’s music in 1964, and that is exactly what the tribute show strives to re-create.
Short URL: http://www.dailyutahchronicle.com/?p=7403
