LOS ANGELES,CA. (Fab Faux) - It's an often-heard regret among music fans that they never got to see the
Beatles play live - a rarity even for those who were concert-goers back in the day, given the legendary band's short tenure and dearth of live dates. It's also a widely repeated maxim that NYC-based
Beatles tribute band The Fab Faux are the closest anyone can get to the experience today. Their mind-bending live recreations of the
Beatles repertoire have drawn raves globally, including at Liverpool's annual International Beatle Week, where cognoscenti regularly hail them as the world's best. And, with The Fab Faux's spellbinding performances of the band's later material - never played live by the
Beatles before their breakup - they're making magical concert history. On Fri., April 20, the Faux will do just that in Los Angeles when they play every note of every song on The White Album, in sequence, at the House of Blues Sunset Strip. The event marks their second appearance at the venue, following up a wildly sold-out show in
September 2006.
Calling them "the greatest Beatles cover band, without the wigs," Rolling Stone Magazine senior editor David Fricke wrote, "the Faux invigorate the artistry of even the Beatles' most intricate studio masterpieces with top chops and Beatlemaniac glee." At their 4/20 White Album concert - from "Flew in from Miami Beach BOAC ... " ("Back In The USSR") to "Everybody everywhere good night" ("Good Night") - The Fab Faux will send up the genius album's 30 songs with an accuracy to the original material in both musicianship and spirit that has to be heard to be believed. Released as a double LP in late 1968, when the Beatles were still physically intact but psychically estranged and about a year from disbanding, The White Album is a late career wonder that hit No 1, is their top-selling album and claims No 10 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time," where it was rightly called, "an exhilarating sprawl." On the occasion of the LP's 30th anniversary, NME added, "even stretched to the limit, The Beatles' riches were manifold. Their instinctive conceptual genius was unmatched in '68 and remains unchallenged 30 years later."
Fab Faux co-founder and lifelong Beatlemaniac Will Lee remembers, "I bought The White Album the second it came out - but I wasn't able to digest it all at once, I absorbed it over a couple of days. There are so many subtleties. And to us Beatles fans, when you really take it apart, you can tell they weren't hanging out or having a great time together. A lot of the songs are almost solo stuff." That air of creative separation serves to make the classic album ideally suited for the Fab Faux's stellar five-man collective, who all take turns on lead vocals in addition to their instrumental duties. Lee cites favorites including "I Will," "Blackbird," "Good Night," "Mother Nature's Son" and "Long, Long, Long," though every track is covered in rare form. The Faux first staged The White Album about five years ago at NYC's Irving Plaza, and most recently delivered it over two sold-out nights at Webster Hall in December '06. Though the group couldn't be more passionate about what they do, its esteemed musicians' "day jobs" prevent them from performing frequently, making their concerts not-to-be-missed events.
The Fab Faux first came about in 1998 when neighbors Will Lee - who's played with all 4 Beatles and is celebrating 25 years as the original bassist for Paul Shaffer's CBS Orchestra on the LATE SHOW With David Letterman - and Jimmy Vivino, guitarist/arranger for Late Night With Conan O'Brien house band the Max Weinberg 7, discussed the idea during an elevator ride in their NYC building. As David Fricke reports on his Rolling Stone piece on the Faux, Vivino was skeptical about another Beatles tribute band when Lee first proposed the idea, and then, "I realized he was serious," Vivino recalls. "He said, 'I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the way classical musicians start a chamber orchestra to play Mozart. I'm talking about playing the Beatles' songs and records live, as perfectly as we can.'"
Although Lee says that, "At heart, we're fans just like anybody, we're trying to do it for ourselves, we're trying to impress each other," what truly sets The Fab Faux apart from every other Beatles tribute band are the extreme high caliber of its components' musical pedigrees and their pure artistic dedication to the endeavor. Rounding out the line-up are drummer/producer Rich Pagano (Rosanne Cash, Patti Smith, Robbie Robertson, etc.), guitarist Frank Agnello (Marshall Crenshaw, Phoebe Snow, etc.) and ace keyboardist/guitarist Jack Petruzzelli (Joan Osborne Band, Rufus Wainwright). All five principals contribute lead vocals, making the Faux's soaring harmonies as resonant as their multi-instrumental chops, which are further enhanced by the Hogshead Horns (which includes Blues Brothers, Blood, Sweat & Tears and SNL band alums) and the Creme Tangerine Strings - who will all be on hand April 20 at HOB LA.
This month, TV audiences can catch The Fab Faux when they're the featured musical guests on CBS's LATE SHOW With David Letterman on Friday, February 9, the 43rd anniversary of the Beatles' historic U.S. television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. Founding Faux-er Will Lee holds the distinction of playing with Paul Shaffer, on Late Night with David Letterman and the LATE SHOW, longer than any other member of the CBS Orchestra, and is eternally jazzed that he gets to regularly inhabit the hallowed Ed Sullivan Theatre stage where that seminal pop culture event took place. He is also honored to be, "the first guy from the Letterman band to defect and have his own band on the show and to have the chance to play Beatles music on that stage is amazing!" The group will also be heard on March 28 on Sirius Satellite Radio when they once again visit The Howard Stern Show - Stern is a longtime Fab Faux fan.
Remarking on a previous hometown - NYC - Fab Faux show, Popmatters.com critic Gary Glauber once wrote, "As a New Yorker, I was skeptical ... [but] These guys surprise you, both in their choice of music and in their flawless performance of it ... we were blown away." Los Angelenos take note - the Faux's April 20 date, only their second Southern California appearance, is expected to sell out quickly. So don't "Cry Baby Cry," "Don't Pass Me By" - happiness is a warm ticket: for tickets, reservations & details, call HOB at 323.848.5100 or any Ticketmaster outlet.
For more information, log on to https://www.thefabfaux.com
