The Fab Four, Sunday, March 14, 4 p.m., F.M. Kirby Center (71 Public Square Wilkes-Barre). Tickets: $30-$50. Info: thefabfour.com, kirbycenter.org, 570.826.1100.
If you weren’t around in the ’60s or never got to see The Beatles perform, you are in luck. The Fab Four might be the next best thing to the real Beatles because they live a day in the life of the Beatles everyday when they perform hits such as “A Day in the Life,” “Penny Lane” and “Hey Jude.”
The Fab Four, The Ultimate Tribute to the Beatles, will perform Sunday, March 14 at 4 p.m. at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre. During the show, the band will change costumes representing different eras of The Beatles.
The Fab Four began with Ron McNeil as John Lennon, Ardy Sarraf as Paul McCartney, Michael Amador as George Harrison and Rolo Sandoval as Ringo Starr.
“We were big fans ever since we were kids,” said McNeil.
Amador still performs from time to time and also helps out with technical aspects such as lights and sound. However, Gavin Pring has now taken over as Harrison.
“Gavin looks exactly like George,” said McNeil. Pring is even from Liverpool, England, where the Beatles are from.
The Fab Four also have different casts.
“We get such a demand to be the Beatles that we don’t have enough Beatles,” said McNeil. The Fab Four is a full-time job leading to a hard day’s night. They perform at least three to four days a week to make a living.
Their love of the Beatles paired with their similar voices and looks brought the Fab Four together. McNeil went to a Beatles convention in California where Sarraf was performing in a contest. Eventually, they started their own tribute band together.
“We actually have guys that sound and look like the Beatles,” said McNeil. He explained that other Beatles tribute bands might have one or the other, or just wear wigs, but the Fab Four have both. “We work hard to make it real,” he said.
The band believes that makes it different from the other tribute bands. McNeil also stressed that they never add personal touches.
“We entertain using technology of today, but we never change a note,” he said. The Fab Four prides itself on its uncanny resemblance to The Beatles.
The tribute uses technology to recreate the Beatles experience, but it does everything live. The band members do not use tapes or back tracks. If the Beatles brought somebody into the studio to add keyboard or any other instrument, the members of Fab Four do it right on stage.
The Fab Four will be used for the performance footage in the “Yellow Submarine” 3-D remake by director Robert Zemeckis.
“We’re real flattered,” said McNeil. The tribute band auditioned for the acting jobs in the film.
“We invited the casting crew to one of our shows, and they chose us to be motion-capture,” he said. The music used in the film will be that of the real Beatles, and the film is set to release sometime in 2012. “We’re excited about it,” said McNeil.
The tribute band has performed here, there, and everywhere in such places as Japan, Germany, Mexico, France and Australia. McNeil said Australia and Hong Kong were his favorite places to perform.
His favorite Beatle had always been Paul McCartney, and he learned every instrument McCartney played, though he plays Lennon because he looks like him, and “Ardy sounds exactly like Paul,” McNeil explained.
He loves The Beatles’ music so much that he doesn’t even have a favorite Beatles song. “It’s too hard to pick out one song,” he said.
While the Fab Four twist and shout on stage, McNeil said he loves watching people’s faces. He explained that he is not old enough to have an original Beatles memory, but he enjoys bringing their music to new generations.
“I like playing the best music of all time,” said McNeil.
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