|
American English to invade St. Cloud
They are acclaimed as the best Beatles band since the Beatles. They look, sound and play exactly as the Beatles did. Who are they? They are American English.
American English is the official tribute band to the Beatles and they are coming to St. Cloud's Paramount Theater at 8 p.m. Wednesday. Tickets are $19 for adults and $17 for students and seniors. Tickets the day of performance are an additional $2.
"You won't believe it until you hear them," said band promoter Debbie DeStefano. "These guys are great."
American English has slowly evolved over the course of the years, but for about the past four years, the current lineup has been playing a span of local Chicago bars and festivals to theaters and colosseums across the nation and around the world. They have won places in the sound-alike category at Beatlefest for three consecutive years.
Currently they are being hailed by the former Beatles manager and author of the book "The Birth of the Beatles," Sam Leech as "The Beatles Incarnate."
Recently, when original Beatle Paul McCartney played in Chicago, the hometown of American English, he was introduced to band member Martin Scott, who portrays George Harrison. Louise Harrison, George's sister, had heard American English play at the Pickwick Theater a month earlier, where she "was moved to tears." At the show in Chicago, Louise Harrison introduced Scott to McCartney, where they all reminisced about the Beatles.
"Louise Harrison heard the band and got into a strong relationship with 'George,'" DeStefano said. "She took Martin Scott to meet Paul. It was wonderful."
"It was strange," Scott said. "We (Louise and I) got along really well. We ended up hanging out together. She later stayed with me for the McCartney tour, we have a really cool bond. We did interviews and she took me to meet Paul. He was so normal. We had a normal conversation. He was a very down to earth person."
American English is heading to Liverpool, England in August to play in the annual Beatlefest, where they will headline the Beatle-crazed event. Beatlefest draws in an estimated 30,000 "Beatle-maniacs" from around the world. American English will close the show at the Cavern Club, where the Beatles originally performed years ago.
The band members include Eric Michaels as Paul McCartney, Martin Scott as George Harrison, Tom Gable as Ringo Starr and Ken Zemanek as producer George Martin.
Gable spoke candidly about the band and their work as both a band and as friends.
"We're more than just a band, more than just music," Gable said. "Being a musician and being in the public eye is always great. That's the passionate side of getting together, everyone's clicking."
Gable was not an immediate fan of the Beatles but when he began to listen to their music, he was hooked.
"I always liked the Beatles. It never hit me until the White Album," Gable said. "Then I went back and read all the books and realized the impact."
No band members, except for Michaels, have had formal training, just like the Beatles. Gable never had any formal training on drums, but he's been playing for years. Martin also never had formal training.
"I started at about 14 or so," Scott said. "I started as a drummer for a couple years and then I started guitar."
Since American English is a tribute band and they play for Beatles fans everywhere, they know that they must be accurate and specific. They also know they must always remember to enjoy what they are doing.
"There is a connection between us and the audience," Gable said. "We are tapping into sacred ground."
At each show they encounter every possible Beatles fan, including the trivia experts. The challenge is welcomed.
"To please the masses we learned a lot of obscure music, some of which has worked and we've kept," Gable said.
Of course, no career is without problems.
"What I've learned is that Beatles people, maniacs if you will, they take this stuff way more serious than I thought," Gable said. "We're always trying to make the music perfect. We know we're not the Beatles."
For American English, the benefits outweigh the problems.
"The reward is huge," Gable said. "Reaching mass audiences and reaching so many people in so many ways. We've brought people out of misery. It's like a giant family (American English). To see parents coming out with their children and bonding with their kids."
"It's a really great job," Scott said. "To play the best songs in the world. To make people smile. It's rewarding all the way around. We get a tiny little taste of what the Beatles had in those moments of hysteria."
The members of American English have been friends throughout the years.
Gable and Michaels had been friends for a long time. They played musically together as well.
"We were friends throughout the years and we played together for a long time. I watched American English awhile ago," Gable said. "I used to think 'I wonder what it was like (about the Beatles).'"
Then one day the call came. Michaels called Gable and informed him that "Ringo" was leaving and that they needed him to play for them in two days notice.
"They wanted me to join the group," Gable said. "He was like 'you have to' and 'you're being drafted'."
So Gable did and he's been part of the group for about seven years.
Dressed up in full costume, they play a variety of songs from the Beatles' career. They put on a one hour show starting from the beginning black suit era, progressing in costume and song into the Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts era, all the way into Abbey Road and end with the Roof Top performance.
While not every show is the same, they always use pieces that everyone knows.
"It changes from place to place," Gable said. "We stick to areas they (the audience) know. Like 'Help,' 'Hard Days Night' and 'Get Back.'"
American English are growing in popularity, going strong and will be around for many years to come.
"The music is timeless. It will be around for another 100 years," Gable said.
When will the band quit?
"Never. Only when the luster is gone from the people's eyes," Gable said.
Nissa Billmyer can be reached at: [email protected]
|
|
|
|
|
|
