Monday, July 31, 2006
Beatles Summer
The summer of 2006 could very well be remembered by me as that great Beatles Summer. With two major events behind us and two major events right around the corner, I think this is the perfect time to share my Beatles Summer with you. America’s unofficial start to summer is Memorial Day weekend, which usually falls on my birthday and this year was no exception. I celebrated my new year and the new season in Louisville at Abbey Road on the River, a mostly outdoor Beatles Tribute Band Festival. On June 18, Paul McCartney finally got his big questions answered (Will you still need me? Will you still feed me?) almost 50 years after he wrote "When I’m 64." I celebrated the old geyser’s birthday at The Wise Fools Pub in Chicago, where Eric Howell threw probably one of the coolest Paul birthday bashes on the planet. The 2 events coming up are Chicago’s Annual Fest for Beatles Fans (August 11-14) and The Old Town School of Folk Music’s Brendan Hedges Scholarship Night on Friday, August 18. I will be performing at both events. Read On!
**Abbey Road On The River -This was my first year attending AROTR and what a great time I had! I was just attending as a spectator which is often hard for me considering how much I like being on stage! It didn’t take long before I became the official camera man for both The Yellow SubMorons and The Johnny Doughnut Experience In fact, I just went to the AROTR site and saw that my footage is posted on their site. Duncan Doughnut posted a video clip on July 9. I have my first YouTube video and it’s from BEHIND the camera. There’s also a great 5-minute video clip posted on July 22 by Jason, the AROTR web and video guy. Check it out. Chicago bands dominated the Festival with 8 bands and lots of other Beatle people we know from The Fest for Beatles Fans like The Jukebox from Puerto Rico and Gavin (George, Harry’s Son) who played with British Export in Chicago for a spell. Instant Karma always had a packed dance floor and special thanks to Jay Goeppner for convincing the Security Guard that I was with the band so I could be in the reserved seating section. There’s no way you can see all the bands so I can only report on the ones I did see. There was this band from Portland, OR called The Bad Dates. They did really good rockabilly versions of Beatles songs and the band was headed up by Col. Sanders! The lead singer bleached his hair and goatee, put on a white suit and horn-rimmed glasses and was a dead-ringer for the KFC founder. Nicole Nigh (as heard on many Danny Donuts recordings) served up wacky British humour with her Rutles tribute band, The YelowSubMorons. They drew an interesting crowd! I was proud of them for doing so great in their debut. And I felt like my Beatles family multiplied exponentially as I was immediately adopted into the Johnny Doughnut Experience family. The Louisville band had fun pointing me out as their cousin from Chicago. Johnny and his cousin Duncan (who has the COOLEST doughnut bass) along with drummer, Freddy Krueller and background singers Sprinkles and Jelly totally rocked out. They were a band I would stop and watch even if we didn’t have similar last names. They won the "We hope we passed the audition contest" last year. This year Chicago’s Apple Scruffs acappella trio (Wynona’s pregnant so they’re really more than a trio) made it to the top 3. I had to leave on Sunday afternoon to get back for Monday’s Cubs game so I missed the huge rainstorm and Woodstock-like mud fest. I’ll have to get more time off next year! Geez, I sound like a Cub fan- "Wait 'til next year!"
** Paul McCartney’s 64th Birthday Bash- My promotion idea for Eric Howell was to once again rent Trader Todd’s party bus, the Tiki Transit, except this time I would drive him out to the Rosemont Theatre and when Beatles fans exited the Ringo Starr concert, Eric could start his own rooftop concert from the roof of the bus and promote his Paul McCartney Birthday Bash the next night. Eric was out of town, so we can only wonder how long it would have been before he got arrested. And we can only wonder what the atmosphere would have been like at a packed Wise Fools Pub. Maybe it was because it was a Sunday night, maybe it was because it was Father’s Day, but the spectator turnout was fairly low. It was still an awesome night. I guess I could say "Baby, I was amazed!" I heard stories how The Rolling Stones would show up at a Chicago blues bar and they would lock the doors and whoever was in the club would get treated to an unforgettable intimate performance as The Stones would get up on stage and jam with their blues heroes. This was the closest thing I’ve experienced to something like that. Eric advertised it as Eric and The Implants with Casey McDonough sitting in on bass and other special guests. I knew we were in for a treat when Phil Angotti showed up with a guitar strapped to his back. And moments later Tony K walked in followed by Scott Ligon. This wasn’t going to be the typical Eric and The Implants show. It turned out to be an awesome McCartney and Beatles jam session. Tony, Scott and Casey play together in The Federales and they are all multi-instrumentalists who often switch instruments, sometimes even in the middle of a song. They were all over the stage taking turns at the keyboard, bass, guitar, and lead vocals. Perhaps it was Tony K with the most memorable moment of the evening when he pulled out the clarinet during "When I’m 64" (See Clip #5 at EricHowellMusic.com ) Eric has video footage posted on his website so check it out to kind of get a feel of how we celebrated in Chicago!
**The Fest for Beatles Fans- This will be number 10 for me! It all started back in ’97 in the pre-Danny Donuts days when I did "Lucy is Disguised as Linus" in the Sound-Alike contest and ended up in the finals, playing on a huge stage in a packed ballroom. It was like, "Toto, I don’t think we’re in Ludington anymore!" Well, after 8 appearances in the Sound-Alike finals and 5 Battle of the Beatles Bands appearances, I have chosen to remove myself from both contests. I’m making that choice because I’m moving up to something more insane! I sent a proposal to Mark and Carol Lapidos and they liked it enough to say "yeah." So Fest attendees will get a chance to see me on the main stage each night! On Friday I will be musically welcoming folks (back) to the Fest, Saturday will be my musical tribute to the special guests, and on Sunday the not-to-be-missed Fest wrap-up. I can’t even start writing that song until the Fest because the lyrics are going to be about what actually went on over the course of the weekend! Each year I’ve been challenging my creativity at the Fest and this year, I’m taking that to a much higher level. I invite you all to be there with me. I’m thrilled that the pool I get to play in will no longer be structured around competition. That opens up huge avenues for creativity, collaboration and sharing. I hope to see you there!
**Old Town School of Folk Music’s Brendan Hedges Scholarship Night- Friday, August 18. One week after the Fest for Beatles Fans will be another huge Beatles night. A few years before I started going to The Fest, Brendan lost his life on the" L," Chicago’s Public Transportation Train System. He was shot by someone who wanted his guitar. He was just a kid, but had already become a Fest regular and had a real love for music and The Beatles. Although I never met him, I’ve gotten to meet his family over the years. Every other year, the Beatles community comes together to put on a words-can’t-describe-it kind of evening lead by WXRT’s Terri Hemmert. They created a scholarship in Brendan’s name that allows kids from low-income families to be able to take guitar lessons. I performed there in 2002 and in 2004 made a special appearance as a bulldog during Eric and The Implants’ "Hey Bulldog" rendition. (Eric kept that surprise from everyone- including his band!) I’ll be doing a couple songs. Buy your tickets in advance. It could sell out.
This Beatles Summer is just beginning to warm up. See you at the Fest!
Peace, Love and Donuts,
Danny Donuts
**Abbey Road On The River -This was my first year attending AROTR and what a great time I had! I was just attending as a spectator which is often hard for me considering how much I like being on stage! It didn’t take long before I became the official camera man for both The Yellow SubMorons and The Johnny Doughnut Experience In fact, I just went to the AROTR site and saw that my footage is posted on their site. Duncan Doughnut posted a video clip on July 9. I have my first YouTube video and it’s from BEHIND the camera. There’s also a great 5-minute video clip posted on July 22 by Jason, the AROTR web and video guy. Check it out. Chicago bands dominated the Festival with 8 bands and lots of other Beatle people we know from The Fest for Beatles Fans like The Jukebox from Puerto Rico and Gavin (George, Harry’s Son) who played with British Export in Chicago for a spell. Instant Karma always had a packed dance floor and special thanks to Jay Goeppner for convincing the Security Guard that I was with the band so I could be in the reserved seating section. There’s no way you can see all the bands so I can only report on the ones I did see. There was this band from Portland, OR called The Bad Dates. They did really good rockabilly versions of Beatles songs and the band was headed up by Col. Sanders! The lead singer bleached his hair and goatee, put on a white suit and horn-rimmed glasses and was a dead-ringer for the KFC founder. Nicole Nigh (as heard on many Danny Donuts recordings) served up wacky British humour with her Rutles tribute band, The YelowSubMorons. They drew an interesting crowd! I was proud of them for doing so great in their debut. And I felt like my Beatles family multiplied exponentially as I was immediately adopted into the Johnny Doughnut Experience family. The Louisville band had fun pointing me out as their cousin from Chicago. Johnny and his cousin Duncan (who has the COOLEST doughnut bass) along with drummer, Freddy Krueller and background singers Sprinkles and Jelly totally rocked out. They were a band I would stop and watch even if we didn’t have similar last names. They won the "We hope we passed the audition contest" last year. This year Chicago’s Apple Scruffs acappella trio (Wynona’s pregnant so they’re really more than a trio) made it to the top 3. I had to leave on Sunday afternoon to get back for Monday’s Cubs game so I missed the huge rainstorm and Woodstock-like mud fest. I’ll have to get more time off next year! Geez, I sound like a Cub fan- "Wait 'til next year!"
** Paul McCartney’s 64th Birthday Bash- My promotion idea for Eric Howell was to once again rent Trader Todd’s party bus, the Tiki Transit, except this time I would drive him out to the Rosemont Theatre and when Beatles fans exited the Ringo Starr concert, Eric could start his own rooftop concert from the roof of the bus and promote his Paul McCartney Birthday Bash the next night. Eric was out of town, so we can only wonder how long it would have been before he got arrested. And we can only wonder what the atmosphere would have been like at a packed Wise Fools Pub. Maybe it was because it was a Sunday night, maybe it was because it was Father’s Day, but the spectator turnout was fairly low. It was still an awesome night. I guess I could say "Baby, I was amazed!" I heard stories how The Rolling Stones would show up at a Chicago blues bar and they would lock the doors and whoever was in the club would get treated to an unforgettable intimate performance as The Stones would get up on stage and jam with their blues heroes. This was the closest thing I’ve experienced to something like that. Eric advertised it as Eric and The Implants with Casey McDonough sitting in on bass and other special guests. I knew we were in for a treat when Phil Angotti showed up with a guitar strapped to his back. And moments later Tony K walked in followed by Scott Ligon. This wasn’t going to be the typical Eric and The Implants show. It turned out to be an awesome McCartney and Beatles jam session. Tony, Scott and Casey play together in The Federales and they are all multi-instrumentalists who often switch instruments, sometimes even in the middle of a song. They were all over the stage taking turns at the keyboard, bass, guitar, and lead vocals. Perhaps it was Tony K with the most memorable moment of the evening when he pulled out the clarinet during "When I’m 64" (See Clip #5 at EricHowellMusic.com ) Eric has video footage posted on his website so check it out to kind of get a feel of how we celebrated in Chicago!
**The Fest for Beatles Fans- This will be number 10 for me! It all started back in ’97 in the pre-Danny Donuts days when I did "Lucy is Disguised as Linus" in the Sound-Alike contest and ended up in the finals, playing on a huge stage in a packed ballroom. It was like, "Toto, I don’t think we’re in Ludington anymore!" Well, after 8 appearances in the Sound-Alike finals and 5 Battle of the Beatles Bands appearances, I have chosen to remove myself from both contests. I’m making that choice because I’m moving up to something more insane! I sent a proposal to Mark and Carol Lapidos and they liked it enough to say "yeah." So Fest attendees will get a chance to see me on the main stage each night! On Friday I will be musically welcoming folks (back) to the Fest, Saturday will be my musical tribute to the special guests, and on Sunday the not-to-be-missed Fest wrap-up. I can’t even start writing that song until the Fest because the lyrics are going to be about what actually went on over the course of the weekend! Each year I’ve been challenging my creativity at the Fest and this year, I’m taking that to a much higher level. I invite you all to be there with me. I’m thrilled that the pool I get to play in will no longer be structured around competition. That opens up huge avenues for creativity, collaboration and sharing. I hope to see you there!
**Old Town School of Folk Music’s Brendan Hedges Scholarship Night- Friday, August 18. One week after the Fest for Beatles Fans will be another huge Beatles night. A few years before I started going to The Fest, Brendan lost his life on the" L," Chicago’s Public Transportation Train System. He was shot by someone who wanted his guitar. He was just a kid, but had already become a Fest regular and had a real love for music and The Beatles. Although I never met him, I’ve gotten to meet his family over the years. Every other year, the Beatles community comes together to put on a words-can’t-describe-it kind of evening lead by WXRT’s Terri Hemmert. They created a scholarship in Brendan’s name that allows kids from low-income families to be able to take guitar lessons. I performed there in 2002 and in 2004 made a special appearance as a bulldog during Eric and The Implants’ "Hey Bulldog" rendition. (Eric kept that surprise from everyone- including his band!) I’ll be doing a couple songs. Buy your tickets in advance. It could sell out.
This Beatles Summer is just beginning to warm up. See you at the Fest!
Peace, Love and Donuts,
Danny Donuts
