THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 3, 1994 TAG: 9406010139
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: S08 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JUDY PARKER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940603 LENGTH: Medium
Well, no festival-goer will need a ``Ticket to Ride'' and certainly no ``Help'' when ``1964 The Tribute'' will give it a ``Hard Day's Night'' Sunday at 4 p.m.
{REST} Too bad the mimicking Fab Four won't be in town ``Eight Days A Week.'' This gig is just a ``Day Tripper.''
The foursome, which will be making their fourth straight appearance at The Seawall Festival, has proved to be show-stopping crowd-pleasers.
``There's a special appeal to Beatles' music,'' said Mark Benson, who comes alive as John Lennon during performances.
``The Beatles music is positive and their melodies are timeless. I think those are two reasons why this is the first time that two generations have shared and taken as their own the same music.''
Singing songs with a Liverpool lilt, dressed in high-button jackets that show just a peep of necktie, and worn over long-waisted slender-legged slacks, ``1964 The Tribute'' is more like a clone than an impersonation. The detail is made complete with mop-top hairstyles, and high-heeled black boots tapping rhythms spewing from Vox amplifiers.
These guys do all they can to become The Beatles.
``We work very hard at getting into character and it would be foreign not to act like that person . . . for me, John Lennon.
``By dressing the way they did and creating the distinct sound they made, I think we've been able to prove that good rock 'n roll doesn't pass away. It just gets better.''
Others in the group are Gary Grimes, aka Paul McCartney, Bob Miller, aka George Harrison, and Greg George, aka Ringo Starr.
The group got its start when the high school buddies decided to start a rock and roll band in their hometown of Akron, Ohio.
``We started out playing Top 40 tunes and some original music. But we got to a point where we knew we wanted music and performing to be our careers.
``The Beatles have a good range of appeal and we realized we could format an excellent production based on their early years.''
Keeping their performances fresh has never really been a problem for ``1964.'' They don't seem to mind ``Anytime At All'' to ``Slow Down'' for a few bars of ``Yesterday.''
``This is no different than being in a long-running Broadway show,'' Benson said. ``When you've got the best material, it never gets stale.''
{KEYWORDS} PORTSMOUTH SEAWALL FESTIVAL
by CNB