The Falling Doves play at Mulligan’s on the Blue on Friday, April 19, at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6. Tickets are $20 in advance, available online at mulligansontheblue.com/event/falling-doves/. Moniki Feil photo

The L.A.-based band Falling Doves have made pilgrimages to Liverpool in England to perform at the legendary Cavern Club where the Beatles began their career. These Beatles’ fans have played with the group’s initial drummer, Pete Best, and performed with Tony Sheridan, who was an early collaborator with the British icons. The Falling Doves’ founder Christopher Leyva even recreated the Cavern Club at a Beatles Fair in San Diego.

Leyva’s Falling Doves has had a relationship with the Cavern since 2015. “I reached out to the Cavern, and we ended up there,” Leyva recalled. “It opened up a whole Beatle universe for us. We got to meet Pete Best there, and here comes the impossibility of being a musician and dreaming. Our drummer couldn’t come so we were going to use a local drummer. I go ‘let’s see if we can go find Pete Best.’ We eventually found his house and knocked on the door and asked if Pete would come and play with us at the Cavern. He played with us and we went around as goodwill ambassadors of the Cavern and Pete Best at Beatles’ festivals around the world. We’ve been blessed to play in those circles. Were we any good? I don’t know. I think we sound more like the Ramones playing the Beatles. But it works for people.”

The Doves even traveled to the German port of Hamburg to play the Kaiserkeller club, where the Beatles honed their early sound in 1960. “We played an anniversary at the Kaiserkeller and we got a lot of the old people that came to see us that had seen the Beatles. They said, ‘this is how these songs were supposed to be played. They were very rough.’ Pete said that when they were there, half the time John (Lennon) was mimicking stupidity because he’s like, ‘they’re German, they don’t know what the hell we’re singing’.'”

While in the U.K. during the pandemic, the Doves recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios, working under the direction of engineer/producer Chris Bolster for a future album, called “Liverpool.”

“Chris Bolster’s resume includes Paul McCartney and Oasis, and he was one of George Martin’s right-hand men,” he noted. “Abbey Road, that’s kind of like getting your masters. We didn’t do the big room where the Beatles recorded. We did the back room where Noel Gallagher from Oasis does all his demos and recordings. It was awesome. I haven’t released the album yet.”

Previous Doves’ recordings include the EP “Isolation,” which featured covers of tracks like Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and “Wonderwall” by Oasis.

Asked to describe their sound, Levya suggested, “it’s a mixture of Brit rock and classic rock with a little bit of the Hollywood vibe. Leather jacket rock ‘n’ roll man. And it looks like we’re going to have to throw in a few Beatles songs.”

During one visit to Maui, Leyva recalled trying out some guitar equipment at Bounty Music when he was surprised to encounter Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler.

“This guy comes over and goes, ‘hey, play that thing again. I really liked the melody.’ It’s Steven Tyler and he’s like, ‘I really liked that, sing me a few bars.’ He’s got a little harmonica, and he’s jamming and he’s like, ‘that’s a single.’ So that’s a single called ‘On Your Own’ that I’m releasing later this year.”

The Falling Doves play Mulligan’s on the Blue on Friday, April 19, at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6. Tickets are $20 in advance, available online at mulligans ontheblue.com/event/falling -doves/.