Explain the concept. W ebony porn as it a conscious decision not to dress and look the part as well?

Yes. We didn't want to do the look alike type of tribute. I really wanted the audience to focus on the music and not the people that were performing it, and I think we've achieved that. Now since we've been playing for all these years, people have come to know the guys in the band, and it's no big deal, which I like a lot. People actually come to listen to the songs, and every time we learn a new song and present it to the crowd, it's real nice. For example, the last time we played The Town Line we did "Strawberry Fields" and that was the first time we ever played the song, which was great because we have a lot of regulars who see us there. Each time I ask people in the audience to raise their hands if it's the first time they're seeing us, and about three hands usually go up. I recognize a lot of the faces in the crowd. It's real nice to have a following like that; I really enjoy giving them some new material that they haven't heard from us.

The end of "Strawberry Fields" is very close to the original. Were those actual sampled sounds from the record?

At the end of "Strawberry Fields", there are a few things, either instruments or sounds, that The Beatles used which run in an endless loop at the end of the song. We have a sort of unwritten rule about doing as much as we can live. All the vocals and guitar are live; there is nothing programmed or pre-recorded. The great thing about keyboards is it allows us to do things like "I Am the Walrus", which features strings, cellos and a wide variety of horns. That is a luxury that The Beatles didn't have, of course. If they had tried to perform that music live back then, they would have had to take a full orchestra on the road with them, and that is really the reason they stopped touring. So although I love doing the early stuff, it's nice to know we are performing things that they were not able to do live. And I just think that this music lends itself to being heard in the intimacy of a small club atmosphere.

Your sets and song selection are not ordered from the early 60's through the 70's. Is there a reason for mixing it up?

We originally tried to do that, and for a long time we did it fairly chronologically. The first set was filled with early material like "Please Please Me" and "From Me To You", which would go up to about "Hard Day's Night". Then we would present the later stuff in the second set. The problem was that the band was feeling a little predictable, and our regular following would know exactly what was coming next. So we decided to change everything around. Now, consequently, it's not sequential. We had a set list the last time we played The Town Line of about 60 songs; during the past seven years, we've played over 100. We used to have a set list of about 75 songs on stage, and we could never get to them all. The difficult thing is trying to figure out which songs to leave out during the course of the night. But I enjoy mixing things up and sitting things down for a while and then bringing them back. For instance, we did "Lucy In The Sky" the other night, which we had not played in a while. That keeps it fun for us and hopefully keeps it less predictable for all the people who are loyal enough to come to all the shows.

I listen to you sing a Paul McCartney lead vocal, and I'm convinced he's your main influence. Then you do a John Lennon lead vocal, and I change my mind. Which Beatle was your main influence?

When I was growing up, it was probably Paul because I've always had a relatively high voice. (I guess I'm a tenor) I learn music; I don't read it. When I was a kid in bands, it was my job to figure out the vocal harmonies in the songs we were doing and assign the parts to each member of the band. So, initially, Paul was the influence, but as we began with this band, I started looking more closely and gravitating toward the John Lennon songs. Regardless, it is all so much fun for me. I mean, when you get into those songs that put you right back to where you were when you first heard them, it makes you feel like a 15-year-old again.

When you're on stage performing the various Beatles songs, are you consciously trying to imitate the lead vocal style? How much Brad Delp are we actually hearing?

I hope very little. I saw Beatlemania when it came to Boston way back, and those guys had an uncanny ability to create the image.... from the wardrobe to the left-handed bass player who looked and sounded like Paul. Can you imagine how difficult it must have been to find someone like that? I give them a lot of credit for covering all those parts. I actually saw The Beatles in concert back in 1966 at Suffolk Downs, so when you see someone that is almost an eerie sort of representation, there is something that happens in your mind that says, "Yeah, but it's not them." I think to appreciate what we are doing, someone needs to hear a complete set; it tends to grow on people as the music goes along. We really try to capture what I hope is the spirit of the music. We try and get the music as close as we can, in addition to projecting our own enthusiasm. If you're a fan, you remember every little inflection. You also remember things like when John would sing the wrong words or sing different words than Paul on a lot of those records. We don't always do that, but I feel we truly capture the spirit. The biggest compliment someone can give us is to say, "When I close my eyes, it really takes me back to those times."

blog comments powered by Disqus