(RED BANK, NJ) -- For those of us who never got to see The Beatles in concert, The Fab Faux are the next best thing. The band has dedicated themselves to faithfully recreating some of the most extraordinary music ever written. The band’s current US tour continues throughout 2019, and includes an ambitious array of set lists that include songs The Beatles never performed in concert. On Saturday, June 1st the band will perform songs from the Beatles Psychedelia Years: ‘66 - ‘68 and a set of fan favorites at The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank. Showtime is 8:00pm and the night features The Hogshead Horns & The Creme Tangerine Strings.
Now in their 20th year performing together, The Fab Faux’s members are celebrated bassist Will Lee (CBS Orchestra/David Letterman, countless artists,) Jimmy Vivino, Music Director/Guitarist for 'Conan' and long time music partner of Levon Helm, John Sebastian, Laura Nyro, lead-singing drummer/producer Rich Pagano (Rosanne Cash, Roger Waters, etc.), guitarist, Frank Agnello (Marshall Crenshaw, Phoebe Snow, etc.) and multi-instrumentalist, Jack Petruzzelli (Joan Osborne, Patti Smith, etc.).
A recent Fab Faux mini-concert at SiriusXM was filmed via a ten-camera video shoot. Here is their performance of "Strawberry Fields Forever."
The footage conveys what sets The Fab Faux apart: 1) Their painstakingly focus on reproducing The Beatles’ recordings (instrumentals and vocals) down to the most minute detail, 2) They are a band that ‘takes their coat off’ and gets down to it, bringing the records to life with a focus on the music itself as opposed to showcasing the visual elements, 3) A core group of five of the hardest working musicians in NYC, tackling The Beatles’ most demanding material, live, in a way that has to be experienced to be believed.
Band member Rich Pagano told Elmore about the filming of the recent mind-concert: “Regarding the SiriusXM series, it's always fun to gather in their small studio and just perform songs that we feel like playing in the moment. The video series of six songs truly shows the intricacies of Beatles music and our passion for it. We kept it loose with no overdubs and made sure that our personalities are also injected into the rock and roll approach. This series is an enjoyable example of The Fab Faux playing some of the best music ever written. In the case of “Strawberry Fields Forever,” we stay very close to the record with some slightly exaggerated dynamics and intensities. Will Lee and I expanded on Ringo Starr and John Lennon’s multi-drum rumblings that we all know from the record as it fades out, yet we decided to turn it all into two drummers that are kind of having a conversation.”
Dating back to Beatlemania on Broadway in the 1970s to the more recent ‘Let It Be’ musical to an array of terrific touring shows, many worthy performers have recreated the looks, the outfits, the props, the hairstyles, the accents and the evolving eras of The Beatles, to bring their theatrical productions to life. The Fab Faux respects any effort that gets The Beatles’ music in front of audiences. However, they’ve chosen to focus on the albums solely, and to recreate the music itself.
With that in mind, and with a commitment to the accurate reproduction of The Beatles' repertoire, The Fab Faux treat the seminal music with unwavering respect, and are known for their painstaking recreations of the songs (with emphasis on the later works never performed live by the Beatles). Far beyond a cover band, they play the music of The Beatles so impeccably that one must experience it to believe it. Imagine hearing complex material like "Strawberry Fields Forever" or "I Am the Walrus" performed in complete part-perfect renditions; or such harmony-driven songs as "Because", "Nowhere Man", and "Paperback Writer", reproduced not only note- for-note, but with extra vocalists to achieve a double-tracked effect.
The Count Basie Center for the Arts is located at 99 Monmouth Street in Red Bank, New Jersey.
