Trending
Beatles’ fans on Maui have been lately enjoying the Lonely Heart Shakers Band, which returns to Mulligans On the Blue on Saturday.
Fronted by Steve Craig, who played John Lennon in the Fab Four Beatles tribute show in Las Vegas, the Shakers also feature Lenny Castellanos on bass and vocals, guitarist Kenny Geiser and drummer Pat Wellington.
The Lonely Heart Shakers Band was formed around a year ago, inspired by Craig’s passion for Beatles’ music.
“I’m a huge Beatle fan,” he explains. “I had older brothers and was raised on classic rock, and especially the Beatles. They were a huge influence, but I never thought about being an impersonator. I knew that world existed, but knew very little about it. I saw the original ‘Beatlemania’ show on Broadway in the late ’70s on my 12th birthday.”
After playing Lennon for a decade in Vegas, Craig opted for a more relaxed life on Maui, soon forming a new band to present Beatle music.
“We don’t do the suits or wigs or accents,” he notes. “We are a tribute band.”
Opening with some of the biggest early hits like “Please Please Me,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “She Loves You,” the Shakers transition to the landmark “Sgt. Pepper,” with the epic “A Day in the Life.”
“And I play piano on ‘Lady Madonna,’ epic songs that not many bands will cover,” Craig continues. “We do stuff that Ringo would do like ‘Act Naturally.’ We’re going to do ‘Glass Onion’ and ‘Helter Skelter.’ “
As far as the “White Album,” they’re playing “Back in the U.S.S.R.” – “It’s a crowd favorite,” says Craig – and “Blackbird.” And from “Abbey Road,” they include “Come Together.”
“The shows have been really successful,” he reports. “We’ve had an excellent response.”
Craig grew up playing in various bands and was signed to an indie label, which led to a European tour.
“There were all sorts of cliche rock ‘n’ roll stories, very ‘Spinal Tap,’ ” he recalls. When they were dropped by the label, “I ended up being pretty depressed.”
A friend, wanting to lift his blues, invited him to see a Fab Four Beatles show in Los Angeles.
“I said, ‘I don’t want to see guys in wigs.’ I was pretty cynical about it.”
Finally persuaded to take the plunge, his friend promised, ‘These guys are as close as you’re going to get and not be cheesy.’ Bottom line, I was blown away.”
The Fab Four began as a California-based Beatles tribute band founded in 1997 by Ron McNeil, who impersonated Lennon. Praised by the Los Angeles Times as “the best Beatles band on Earth,” a second cast of musicians was brought in later to perform a show in Las Vegas.
“I met the leader, Ron McNeil, and said, ‘I heard you were looking for a Vegas cast, I think I can do this.’ I had spiky blond hair and he said, ‘Well, Rod Stewart, I’m a little jaded from people telling me how capable they are, but here’s my address, send a demo.’ I took two weeks and grew my Sgt. Pepper mustache and watched their video, and I had a friend make me a good wig.”
Craig sent off his demo tape and got a call three days later, informing him “to fly to Vegas immediately. I flew there and got Beatle boot camp. I watched the show for six nights a week over five weeks, and on the last week they put me in the show.”
“I filled in for Ron and went down to Mexico and played in front of 10,000 people. I couldn’t believe a tribute band could attract that many people. They love the Beatles. I toured off and on while I was training, and I signed a contract and did it for 10 years.”
Moving to Maui, he formed the Lonely Heart Shakers Band with three veteran local musicians.
Well known to Maui audiences, in the last few years Castellanos has recorded and toured with the Mick Fleetwood Blues Band, including playing on the Grammy-nominated album “Blue Again.” With Fleetwood Blues Band keyboardist Mark Johnstone, Castellanos performs weekly at the Thursday Night Blues show at Charley’s Restaurant & Saloon.
With roots in the Bay Area, Geiser has played the guitar for more than 40 years. He has recorded with and/or performed with members of Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Steve Miller Band, and in Hawaii he has performed with Mick Fleetwood, ZZ Tops’ Billy Gibbons and Willie K. Wellington, the group’s drummer, currently gigs with the Benoit JazzWorks.
“These are great musicians,” Craig enthuses. “I’ve brought years of Beatle experience into this, which elevates the band.”
*****
Another opportunity to see Willie K perform is coming up July 23, when he begins a Thursday evening engagement at the King Kamehameha Golf Club in Waikapu. Fronting the Warehouse Blues Band, Willie’s show includes a prime rib and seafood buffet dinner. And there is a dance floor.
* Dinner seating will be at 6:30 p.m., and Willie will begin his performance at 8 p.m. Dinner and show costs $60 and show only is $25. Call 243-1025 for reservations.
*****
San Francisco Symphony Orchestra first violinist Sarn Oliver will present a free concert, “Sarn Oliver and Friends,” at 5 p.m. Sunday at Seabury Hall’s ‘A’ali’ikuhonua Creative Arts Center in Makawao.
Presented by Ebb & Flow Arts, the program also features San Francisco Symphony Orchestra first violinist Mariko Smiley, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra cellist Margaret Tait and special guest violist/conductor Shinya Abe, who recently conducted two Mahler Symphonies in Japan.
The program comprises three great string quartets from the late 19th and 20th centuries. Samuel Barber’s string quartet contains the famous “Adagio for Strings,” which was described by Classical Voice as “full of pathos and cathartic passion.” Claude Debussy’s only string quartet (composed in 1893) revolutionized the medium. And Henri Dutilleux, the recognized successor to composer Olivier Messiaen in French music, composed “Ainsi La Nuit” (“Thus the Night”) in 1976. It is considered one of the most difficult, yet poignantly beautiful string quartets of the 20th century. Dutilleux spent five years composing it.
Oliver has performed as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician throughout the United States and Europe. As winner of several competitions, he has appeared in solo performances with numerous orchestras such as the Dallas Symphony, Sacramento Symphony and the Shreveport Symphony. He was a featured artist on the PBS television program “State of the Arts,” and his concerts have been broadcast on radio stations throughout the country.
Oliver’s violin playing has been described by San Francisco Classical Voice as “simply phenomenal.” His performances can be heard on many recordings including his 1991 recording of the Benda and Stamitz Violin Concertos with the Montpelier Chamber Orchestra, and on the 2002 Fish Creek Music recording of Eric Ewazen’s quintet for English horn and string quartet.
An avid chamber musician, Oliver performs at chamber music festivals and series throughout the United States. He has also been a member of the Archduke Trio and the Ansonia Trio in New York and is a founding member of the Tilden Trio, which performs throughout the country. Other accomplishments include the creation of the jazz group the Continuum. He plays a 1703 Joseph Filius Andrea Guarneri violin and a modern Grubaugh and Seifert violin.
In 2012, he collaborated with Ebb & Flow’s Robert Pollock and Mariko Smiley for the recording “Tangled Flow.”
Oliver will lead a free workshop, “Introduction to Modern Music,” for children (and their parents and general public) from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Maui Music Conservatory in the Queen Ka’ahumanu Center. The event is suitable for children 5 and older.
“This is Sarn Oliver’s fifth appearance in Hawaii since 2007, care of Ebb & Flow Arts,” says Pollock. “He always gathers superb musicians from the San Francisco Symphony and elsewhere to grace our concert presentations.”
* Sarn Oliver and Friends will be presented for free at 5 p.m. Sunday at Seabury Hall’s ‘A’ali’ikuhonua Creative Arts Center in Makawao. A pre-concert discussion will be held at 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.ebbandflowarts.org.