Saturday, March 22 is a big day for Beatles' fans. It marks the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' first album, Please Please Me which was rush-released in 1963 following their first singles, "Please Please Me" and "Love Me Do". To celebrate this great milestone, the Grain Exchange will host a very special event to commemorate the legendary rock band. World-renowned Beatles tribute band, American English, will perform to commemorate the rock 'n' roll greats. Late Wednesday night, Paul McCartney tribute artist and American English frontman, Eric Michaels, took the time to share his experiences with the band and give a preview to their anniversary performance.
American English has performed across the globe from Mexico to Vietnam, and are critically acclaimed wherever they go. But it takes a lot more than singing a Beatles song to reach the kind of success the American English have achieved today. Each member of the band studies the Beatles and the individual voices, movements, and mannerisms. This enables the band members to impersonate the Beatles and get into character in a subtle, believable way. In this way, they have to be both skilled musicians and actors. Michaels started as a keyboard player and had to actively work to develop the McCartney persona he portrays.
I had to work hard for everything I learned so I appreciated it more.
Although the 50th anniversary celebration will certainly focus on the early music, there will be a range of the Beatles for all to enjoy.
It's going to be a full show. We are going to do all three eras, we're bringing all of our regular a gear in, we are not renting anything… We'll sound great because it's not a huge room. It's really rare that we'll play a smaller room so it's going to be really personal.
This performance is particularly special for Michaels, not only because of the significance of the Beatles in his life, but also because it is his birthday! He is also quite fond of Wisconsin and praises the dairy state for having the best musical equipment. He is quick to endorse the small stores of Milwaukee that take pride in building Beatles equipment and have been doing so all their lives.
The Beatles are a common, unifying thing.
Tickets are $100 each for dinner and the band, or $25 without dinner, although an English-style, three-course dinner with this incredible band is surely worth it to commemorate the timeless music of the Beatles. As Michaels puts it:
Tickets might be a bit expensive for the dinner and a show, but you could go see another band that charges a lot of money and you get the show and the strings and have some video going, but we are going to give you the music.. 110% music and you can eat like a king and a queen! You can't beat that, that's a great thing!
For more information about the event, please visit http://www.bartolottas.com/news-events/events/the-50th-anniversary-of-the-beatles-first-album. For more information and future tour dates for the American English, visit http://www.americanenglishbeatles.com/.
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