{"id":24303,"date":"2019-05-17T08:59:35","date_gmt":"2019-05-17T12:59:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=24303"},"modified":"2019-05-17T08:59:43","modified_gmt":"2019-05-17T12:59:43","slug":"on-stage-fab-faux-focus-on-the-sound-of-the-beatles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=24303","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Fab Faux focus on the sound of the Beatles"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, <\/span>Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Fab Faux<\/p><\/div>\n

Beatles fans will never be able to see the Beatles perform live — unless John and George somehow come back from the dead. But the band\u2019s music lives on with a wide array of tribute acts performing songs from the foursome\u2019s impressive catalogue.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of these tribute acts put on stage shows in which they try to look and sound like the Beatles. Others are content with providing an \u201cas-accurate-as-possible\u201d re-creation of the Beatles\u2019 music.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Fab Faux, who will be performing on May 17 at the Keswick Theater (291 N. Keswick Avenue, Glenside, 215-572-7650,\u00a0www.keswicktheatre.com<\/a>), fall into the latter category.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Fab Faux\u2019s members are celebrated bassist Will Lee (CBS Orchestra\/David Letterman, countless artists); Jimmy Vivino, music director\/guitarist for \u201cConan\u201d and longtime music partner of Levon Helm, John Sebastian, Laura Nyro; lead-singing drummer\/producer Rich Pagano (Rosanne Cash, Roger Waters); guitarist Frank Agnello (Marshall Crenshaw, Phoebe Snow); and multi-instrumentalist, Jack Petruzzelli (Joan Osborne, Patti Smith).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt started 20 years ago with Will Lee and Rich Pagano,\u201d said Petruzelli, during a phone interview Tuesday afternoon from his home in Harlem.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey were on another gig and they started messing around with Beatles songs at sound check. It was Will\u2019s idea. He said \u2013 we should start our own Beatles tribute band.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWill recruited Jimmy Vivino. Will lived in the same building as Jimmy Vivino at the time. It started there. It took off and now has been going on for 21 years.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I tell people I\u2019m in a Beatles tribute band, I have to tell them that we don\u2019t dress up. There\u2019s nothing wrong with dressing up. We know Beatles tribune bands that look and sound great.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Even the best plastic surgeons in the world couldn\u2019t make the members of the Fab Faux look like John, Paul, George and Ringo.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe just try to bring the records to the stage \u2013 to recreate the records as close as we can. We approach it from a studio environment. It\u2019s all about the music.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Fab Faux has been doing a good enough job of playing Beatles music that it has survived more than two decades. The Fab Faux now has an amazing number of Beatles songs in its repertoire.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Beatles had 211 recorded songs and we can do 209 of them \u2013 maybe 210,\u201d said Petruzelli.<\/span><\/p>\n

The band not only plays songs, it plays entire Beatles album in one show. It also has other themed shows.<\/span><\/p>\n

On its current three-show run, the Fab Faux played \u201cThe White Album\u201d in its entirety last weekend in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This Saturday, it will be performing \u201cAbbey Road\u201d and \u201cA Hard Day\u2019s Night\u201d in their entireties.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor our show at the Keswick this week, one set features the solo years \u2013 songs from each of the Beatles\u2019 solo careers. The second set will be \u2018Abbey Road\u2019 in its entirety. It\u2019s always one of our favorite albums to play.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for the Fab Faux — https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=D5BDZpVMQ_w<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The show at the Keswick Theatre featuring The Fab Faux with The Hogshead Horns, The Creme Tangerine Strings, Erin Hill & Jim Boggia will start at 8 p.m. Ticket prices range from $49.50 – $99.50.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other upcoming shows at the Keswick Theatre are \u201cThe ELO Experience — Strange Magic\u201d on May 18, and Damien Escobar <\/a>on May 19.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

KT Tunstall<\/p><\/div>\n

Things will be rocking hard at the World Caf\u00e9 Live (3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, 215-222-1400, www.worldcafelive.com<\/a>) on May 17 when KT Tunstall headlines a show that also features Maddie Ross as the opening act.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tunstall released her sixth album, \u201cWAX,\u201d via Rostrum Records in October 2018. Since then, she has been on the road \u2013 touring in support of the well-received LP.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tunstall is a singer-songwriter-musician from Edinburgh, Scotland who burst onto the music scene in 2004 with a live solo performance of her song \u201cBlack Horse and the Cherry Tree\u201d on the popular British TV show \u201cLater… with Jools Holland.\u201d
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

In the decade that followed, she released four full-length studio albums, along with a few EPs and live recordings.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Tunstall has had her songs featured in a number of hit movies such as \u201cThe Devil Wears Prada,\u201d as well as television shows such as \u201cGrey\u2019s Anatomy\u201d and \u201cCriminal Minds.\u201d Her album sales are approaching 10 million and she has been nominated for a Grammy Award, the Mercury Music Prize and several BRIT Awards.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

A few years ago, Tunstall thought she was done with music.<\/span><\/p>\n

She had reached a turning point in her life and she called it quits for her music career.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy did I quit — it was really the circumstances,\u201d said Tunstall. \u201cMy father passed away. I broke up with my ex. I was miserable. I created my own story. I was a success musically, but I didn\u2019t feel happy.\u201d
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

So, Tunstall halted her career as a rock musician, left the U.K. and relocated to Southern California.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had visited Santa Monica (CA) before,\u201d said Tunstall. \u201cI had rented a bike and rode around. I realized I could find sanctuary in Southern California. So, I sold everything I owned and moved to Venice Beach. It was the best thing I\u2019ve ever done.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had been defined by music for 20 years. Who I was had become lost in that identity. I wanted music to be what I do not who I am. So, I cut the cord.\u201d
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Tunstall relocated to Los Angeles, abandoned the world of rock music and set her focus on writing music for films.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI started composing film music and did some great work with film,\u201d said Tunstall.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

She studied composing soundtracks at the Skywalker Ranch and composed and performed the following soundtracks — \u201cWinter\u2019s Tale,\u201d \u201cMillion Dollar Arm,\u201d \u201cTinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast\u201d and \u201cAbout Ray.\u201d
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I moved to California, I spent a lot of time chilling out and reflecting,\u201d said Tunstall.\u00a0 \u201cI love listening to music in my car. I spent time driving through Laurel Canyon and Topanga Canyon — listening to the music that was made there by acts such as Fleetwood Mac, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI got inspired. I began writing these really big choruses. At the same time, my mind and my body said \u2018No.\u2019 I was making very unfettered music that wasn\u2019t self-conscious. I was writing muscular, emotional pop songs that I would be foolish to have ignored. The writing began around the beginning of 2015. After doing a few tracks, I thought — this is really good material.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI went to Taos, New Mexico. I chopped wood in the morning and looked at the snow. I did eight hours a day of just writing — writing on acoustic guitar by the fire. The fire was really a great birthplace for the songs. The landscape in the Southwest was a big inspiration.\u201d
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Tunstall had hopped off the train before in her career.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2008, Tunstall\u2019s career had been moving along like an express train. So, she decided it was time to hop off the train and get on a boat \u2013 to Greenland. She was part of the Cape Farewell Project, living on a boat with a group of artists, writers and musicians who were invited to create their own response to the harsh landscape and the specter of climate change.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat was incredible,\u201d said Tunstall. \u201cIt was a great place to start writing a new record. After that, I kept traveling for a while.\u201d
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Over a course of three months, Tunstall went horse riding with gauchos in Chile, explored the wild nature of the Galapagos Islands, walked Peru\u2019s Inca Trail to the ruined city of Machu Picchu and visited the Barefoot College of Tilonia in India, where women from villages as far away as Africa are taught how to build solar equipment from scratch.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Tunstall also jammed with local musicians in the Rajasthani desert and traveled through New Zealand in a vintage VW camper van. She arrived in Auckland and collaborated with Johnny Marr, Wilco and musicians from Radiohead at Neil Finn\u2019s \u201cSeven Worlds Collide Jamboree.\u201d
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very magical in the desert,\u201d said Tunstall. \u201cAfter that, I went to Kerala. I really started to write again in India and then wrote more when I got back in my home space in the English countryside. After getting off the road and having a break, there was a re-ignition of the subconscious.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, the \u201curge for going\u201d has found Tunstall once again.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still living in California \u2013 but not for long,\u201d said Tunstall. \u201cI realized that I need to take off and go — go where it\u2019s wild\u2026. where there is more nature. I\u2019ve been living in Venice Beach for four years so it\u2019s time for something new.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen this happened, I decided that \u2018KIN\u2019 was going to be the first album of a trilogy \u2013 spirit, body, mind. \u2018KIN\u2019 was the album for spirit.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKIN\u201d was written in L.A. and produced by Tony Hoffer (Beck, Fitz and the Tantrums, Air, M83). \u201cKIN\u201d is guitar pop at its best.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTony had been high on my list of people to work with,\u201d said Tunstall. \u201cHe understood the world of commercial music — and how to push the borderline. Tony and I spent a couple of months working on the album.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWAX,\u201d the second installment of the trilogy, was produced\u00a0by Nick McCarthy of Franz Ferdinand.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018WAX\u2019 was recorded in the latter part of 2017 and early 2018,\u201d said Tunstall. \u201cIt\u2019s a real living and energetic record. I recorded it in London with a three-piece \u2013 me, Nick and a drummer named Kay Myers. We recorded it in a garage full of synthesizers and vintage gear. It\u2019s loud and rock-and-roll.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tunstall knew what she was looking for and that\u2019s why she headed to London to work with McCarthy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI recorded it with Nick at Sausage Studio in East London,\u201d said Tunstall. \u201cWe spent three weeks and recorded it live \u2013 which I much prefer. I didn\u2019t wear headphones a lot of the time. I like it better when I sing and play guitar at the same time. It\u2019s a rhythm thing. My singing becomes a little more free.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the way I started. Years ago, I was busking in Dundee (Scotland). I was on the streets with my guitar \u2013 singing and playing at the same time \u2013 the guitar bone connected to the throat bone. I carried that feeling into the studio for the new album.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a really lo-fi recording. I wanted to make a rock-and-roll record, so I wanted to make it in a rock-and-roll environment. It was recorded digital with a lot of analog gear. The guys from the band My Riot added some textural stuff. They injected some audio steroids. They used the computer in a real musical way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For Tunstall, it\u2019s two down and one to go with her latest project.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in the middle of a trilogy,\u201d said Tunstall. \u201c\u2018KIN\u2019 was soul. \u2018WAX\u2019 is body. The third one will be mind.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI felt stagnant after the album before \u2018KIN.\u2019 I felt that it was repetitive. With \u2018KIN,\u2019 I wanted to be a musician. \u2018KIN\u2019 felt like a soul record. \u2018KIN\u2019 was the soundtrack of my life at the time. It\u2019s really exciting to be involved in a long-term project.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith \u2018WAX,\u2019 I wanted it to be about the body. With body as the subject matter, I wanted the music to be more visceral. I wanted to explore electric guitar. Thematically, I wanted to keep to the story of the album. I love writing an album. I was being creative writing songs about physicality and sexuality. It\u2019s a very physical record.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The third part of the trilogy will take the upper road.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe writing had just begun for the \u2018mind album\u2019,\u201d said Tunstall. \u201cIt\u2019s about the machinations of our own brain \u2013 about life within your own head.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the second tour that pairs Tunstall with Ross. They were on the road together last fall.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was looking for someone to open for me on my U.S, tour last year,\u201d said Tunstall. \u201cI came across Maddie and reached out to her via a tweet.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In a phone interview Tuesday, Ross said, \u201cKT contacted me and asked if I wanted to go on tour with her. I was really happy with that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Maddie Ross<\/p><\/div>\n

Ross, an indie rocker from L.A., writes pop-punky love songs and guitar-driven anthems about her producer, co-writer and longtime girlfriend Wolfy<\/a> (aka Madison Sheckel). In early 2017, Ross came to the attention of Billboard Rock writer Chris Payne, who featured her on Billboard.com<\/a>\u2019s home page as \u201cThe Best DIY Rock Star You\u2019ve Never Heard Of\u201d. Her single \u201cYou\u2019re Still My Sugar\u201d was named Billboard.com<\/a>\u2019s #9 Rock Song of that year.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been obsessed with music all my life,\u201d said Ross. \u201cI watched the Selena movie and the Spice Girls movie when I was young. Movies about singers got me into music. And, so did my family.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up in Toronto and my dad \u2013 Mark Ross \u2013 used to be in a band called The Picture. \u00a0My parents moved to California right before I was born \u2013 to Novato, a town in Marin County<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad showed me how to play guitar when I was in sixth grade. The first song I learned was \u2018The First Cut Is the Deepest.\u2019 I started writing immediately. Every time I learned a new chord, I\u2019d add it to a song I was writing. I have a sister who is a year-and-a-half older. We\u2019d write songs together and she\u2019d sing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always liked writing. When I was in middle school, I wanted to be a novelist. I got really serious about playing music when I was in high school. I spent a lot of time in my room writing and playing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ross was serious enough about making music that she chose music \u2013 pop music — as her major in college.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was in high school, I heard that USC (University of Southern California) offered a pop music degree,\u201d said Ross, referring to USC\u2019s Thornton School.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI decided to apply there. I made videos of a couple songs and sent in an audition tape. In 2010, I started my college studies there at Thornton. It was a pretty immersive program.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI released my first EP in 2014. My girlfriend Wolfy produced it and co-wrote with me. In 2016, I recorded a three-song EP called \u2018Making Out Is Easy.\u2019 That was a turning point musically.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had finally come out to my family and friends. That was my first moment of realizing that I could sing about girls instead of using obscure lyrics. Still, coming out was very challenging. We slowly came out as we got comfortable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The props from Billboard helped Ross\u2019 career accelerate and touring with Tunstall amped things up even more.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn October 2018, I put out my EP, \u2018Touch Hands, Touch Bodies,\u201d said Ross. \u201cI made it quickly to have something for the tour in the fall with KT. \u2018Loners,\u2019 the second single from the EP, is an ode to our love story.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ross\u2019 latest release in \u201cNever Have I Ever,\u201d was made entirely by women, produced by Wolfy and co-written between the couple. It follows Ross\u2019 most recent release, \u201cTouch Hands, Touch Bodies\u201d EP, which debuted at BlackBook<\/a> and was Number 25 on Billboard staff\u2019s \u201c25 Best Rock Albums of 2018<\/a>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ross seems to have found a good trajectory \u2013 out and then onward and upward.<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for KT Tunstall \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/Dxf0lhz1dJo<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for Maddie Ross \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/nKf1hWNEv0c<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The show at the World Caf\u00e9 Live will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Angela Sheik<\/p><\/div>\n

Girls who rock will also be a main attraction when Angela Sheik and sisters Nalani & Sarina headline Gable Music Ventures\u2019 \u201cEighth Anniversary Show\u201d on May 17 at The Queen (500 North Market Street, Wilmington, 202-730-3331, www.thequeenwilmington.com<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

Gable Ventures\u2019 Facebook entry on the event stated \u2013 \u201cGable Music Ventures launched our business with an event at the Siegel JCC creatively called the “Original Music Showcase” on May 21, 2011. It was a great lineup headlined by Baltimore’s Joe Keyes “The Late Bloomer” & the Late Bloomer Bands, and featuring sets from Rory Sullivan, The Hold Up, and more.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo say we\u2019ve learned quite a bit over the last eight years is an understatement. We\u2019re now a team of eight people that work tirelessly to find opportunities for musicians to perform. But on Friday, May 17th, we\u2019re taking a night to celebrate this big milestone. And we couldn’t think of a better way than bringing back our 2011 headliner — Mr. Joe Keyes & his Late Bloomer Band. We\u2019ve also asked Nalani & Sarina to perform as they’ve been such a huge part of our business. PLUS witness the debut of Gable\u2019s Director of Special Events Lauren Kuhne\u2019s new band, Lauren & the Homewreckers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The celebration at The Queen will get underway at 7 p.m. with Jacopo De Nicola (with Jeremy on cajon) followed by Lauren & the Homewreckers<\/a>. Angela Sheik will take the stage at 8 p.m. and then there will be an \u201cEP Release\u201d set by TreeWalker. Nalani & Sarina will start their set at 9:05 and then Joe Keyes and The Late Bloomer Band will be the final act starting at 10 p.m.<\/span><\/p>\n

General admission tickets are $15.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Beatles fans will never be able to see the Beatles perform live — unless John and George somehow come back from the dead. But the band\u2019s music lives on with a wide array of tribute acts performing songs from the foursome\u2019s impressive catalogue. Some of these tribute acts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24305,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5166],"tags":[8854,3912,5585],"class_list":["post-24303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-fab-faux","tag-featured","tag-kt-tunstall"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24303"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24304,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24303\/revisions\/24304"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}