ction Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Good bit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Somnambulist Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 There's no point between the Beatles and Beethoven. I'm not sure what that means. I agree, it's not a perfect comparison, but I think what they had said they wanted to do was to keep this particular music alive through playing it in person much as playing Beethoven's music has kept his music alive. I'm not saying I agree or disagree with what they're doing or find it entertaining or not. I just thought it was a unique perspective to cover bands. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Somnambulist Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Here's that article I read a few years ago on them: Rolling Stone 8/11/05Fab Faux are the greatest Beatles cover band-without the wigs BY DAVID FRICKE ONE DAY IN EARLY 1998, JIMMY Vivino, guitarist and arranger for the Max Weinberg 7, the house band on Late Night With Conan O'Brien, ran into his neighbor Will Lee, bassist for Paul Shaffer's CBS Orchestra on Late Show With David Letterman, in the elevator of their Manhattan apartment building. "We were going to our shows," Vivino says, "and Will goes, 'Hey, I'm starting a Beatles cover band.' The first thing I said was 'Why? There are plenty of Beatles tribute bands out there.' "Then I realized he was serious," Vivino recalls. "He said, Tm 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.' I said, 'Without the wigs?' " Lee's reply was quick: "Sure." Seven years later, the Fab Faux Lee, Vivino, guitarist Frank Agnello, drummer Rich Pagano and multi-instrumentalist Jack Petruzzelli, all of whom sing lead and harmony vocals - are the most accomplished band in the Beatles-cover business. Since debuting at New York's China Club in May 1998, the Fab Faux have mastered and played more than 160 of the 211 songs in the official canon according to Agnello, the Faux's resident Beatles statistician and most are complex hits and post-'65 LP tracks the Beatles never performed in concert. The Fab Faux are surely the only Beatles tribute band that has never covered "She Loves You," "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "I Saw Her Standing There" but has re-created the complete White Album collage "Revolution 9" live. The Faux don't do the obvious, says Lee: "We do the impossible." They do it to the letter. At a June club date in New York, augmented by small horn and string sections, the Faux went the distance, from the chiming guitars and high brassy vocals of "Please Mr. Postman," on 1903's With the Beatles, to Petruzzelli's perfect take on Paul McCartney's soulman howl in Abbey Rood's "Oh! Darling." Pagano vocally evoked John Lennon tripping through watery reverb in "I Am the Walrus," while drumming in strict Ringo Starr time. And in "Penny Lane," guest trumpeter Lew Soloff blew the brief, closing cadenza found only on the rare promo version of the single. "When we play the early stuff, it's fun," Pagano says one day before a Faux rehearsal. "But when we play the later stuff, it becomes an enigma, this dream state - how it would have been." The Faux are religiously attentive to vintage studio detail. Lee recently bought a cowbell that matches the exact pitch of the one the Beatles used during the recording of "I Call Your Name." But Agnello insists, "We're not that exact. We learn all the parts from the records, but we sing the songs in our own voices." And when all five voices spread out in full harmony in "Nowhere Man" or when Vivino spins out on lead guitar at the end of "Paperback Writer," the Faux invigorate the artistry of even the Beatles' most intricate studio masterpieces with top chops and Beatlemaniac glee. "It's not just a cover band," Pagano claims. "This is the greatest music ever written, and we're such freaks for it." Ranging in age from forty (Petruzzelli) to fifty-two (Lee), the Fab Faux are all veteran session players, song-writers and touring sidemen who were already pressed for spare time when they met at Lee's home for their initial practice. The first thing they tried: the ornate waterfall vocals of "Because," on Abbey Road. "And we nailed it pretty well," Lee remembers. "But this is not a band of weekenders. Other Beatles bands have the same love for the music, but they don't have the edge. They don't do what we do for a living." Pagano, who oversees the Faux's booking and financial affairs, hopes the band can start doing more than its current two dozen or so gigs a year and meet a growing demand for appearances outside New York. (The Faux's next big local shows are September 11th and iath at Webster Hall, where they will perform Ex-Factor, a thematic salute to the Beatles' solo years.) "We get so many requests to play in other big cities," says Pagano. "But Will and Jimmy never know when their vacations are coming up, and touring is a big part of Jack's and my life." In June, Petruzzelli missed only his second Faux gig in six years because he was in Europe with Rufus Wainwright. (The Faux have understudies for such rare occasions.) The Fab Faux long ago learned to live with the stigma of being a cover band. "The first thing I tell people is 'We don't dress up,'" says Petruzzelli. "Some people are just not open to it, period." But for the past few years, the Faux have been a top attraction at the annual Beatle Week in the real Fabs' hometown of Liverpool. "These are people who had seen the Beatles," Lee says. "They tell us, 'We saw the Beatles many times, and they were never this good.' " He laughs. "That's kind of hard to take." [sidebar] Not your average cover band: Vivino, Pagano, Petruzzelli, Lee, Agnello (from left). The Fab Four in 1964 (inset). [sidebar] "This is the greatest music ever," says Pagano. "We're freaks for it." [sidebar] The Fab Faux (in New York, on June 1st, 2005) have played more than 160 of the 211 songs in the Beatles canon live. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Derek Phillips Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 I'm not going until they play Revolution #9. Poseurs! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 I'm not going until they play Revolution #9. Poseurs!The Fab Faux are surely the only Beatles tribute band that has never covered "She Loves You," "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "I Saw Her Standing There" but has re-created the complete White Album collage "Revolution 9" live. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Synthesizer Patel Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 You wouldn't criticize the New York Philharmonic for playing note for note recreations of Beethoven or Vivaldi, no, that's what the New York Philharmonic does. No; it does piss me off when they play Beatles songs, though. Personally, it's not really my thing, this Fab Faux, but if people want to go and see it then let them. The only negative points I can think of are that the article took up column inches which could have been about an actually exciting new band, as could the stage be better used for such things. But, we don't live in an ideal world, do we? Not yet anyway. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Derek Phillips Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Fuckers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 We look at it totally, totally from the music side, the way a chamber orchestra does Mozart or Beethoven.I think this says it all. I'm down. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Here is a couple of related releases: Meet The Smithereens! Lost Songs of Lennon & McCartney Quote Link to post Share on other sites
danelectro Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 I was expectiing more from the MTS disc but I still enjoyed it. I love Beatles tribute bands. We go to the 1964 The Tribute show at Red Rocks every year, always a great time. They do the "wig and nose" thing and I get a kick out of it, they even have the stances and moves down. Great fun. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cryptique Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 I love Beatles tribute bands. We go to the 1964 The Tribute show at Red Rocks every year, always a great time. They do the "wig and nose" thing and I get a kick out of it, they even have the stances and moves down. Great fun.Yeah, those guys are actually pretty good. Their "George" has that little dance down perfectly. Plus, they have a left-handed McCartney, which is a bonus. They're a good act to see from the back of the balcony. Up close ... not so much. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Is Chicago Is Not Chicago Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 they play "you know my name (look up the number)" enough said. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SarahC Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Yeah, those guys are actually pretty good. Their "George" has that little dance down perfectly. Plus, they have a left-handed McCartney, which is a bonus. They're a good act to see from the back of the balcony. Up close ... not so much.i saw them once when i was about 12, they were great. i got mad because dad wouldn't let me go up close, but now i see why Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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