Felix Cavaliere's Rascals Play the Poway Tonight

Just the word "Groovin" gives it away. Felix Cavaliere's Rascals are coming to San Diego tonight, January 24, 2015. (In fact, tickets would make great stocking stuffers or Hanukkah surprises.) The band, led by keyboardist and an original lead singer of The Rascals Felix Cavaliere, performs at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts at 8 p.m.

The East Coast band The Rascals (briefly called The Young Rascals) would forever change music history, with "Good Lovin,'" "A Beautiful Morning," "Love is a Beautiful Thing," "I've Been Lonely Too Long," "How Can I Be Sure," "A Girl Like You," "Come On Up," "Carry Me Back" and many more.

The band was founded for one purpose - to unite people with their music. "We stood for peace, love and happiness," says Cavaliere. Their sound grew from blue-eyed soul (a term coined to describe them) to psychedelic pop and jazz fusion.

Adult tickets are $40 to $48. Senior tickets are $41. Due to its generous sponsorship, GEICO Youth tickets are $14 for age 18 and under with purchase of an adult ticket. Tickets are on sale now through www.powayarts.org and the box office. The 800-seat Center is located at 15498 Espola Rd. at the corner of Titan Way in Poway. The box office is open from noon to 5 p.m. on Fridays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays, and two hours before curtain. Discount tickets are available for groups of 10 or more by calling 858.668.4797.

Cavaliere takes joy from the emotions the audience feels during the show. He told music writer Ray Schweibert, "There are tears, laughs and pure enjoyment going on and people leave just

feeling good." As a solo artist, he enjoyed a big hit in 1980 with "Only a Lonely Heart Sees." He also inducted the band Vanilla Fudge into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame and toured with Ringo Starr's third All-Starr Band. Especially meaningful to Cavaliere was his induction in 2009 into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Cavaliere studied classical piano as a child. At Syracuse University, he was a pre-med major until he went to Europe and met The Beatles "when they were regular guys doing their thing and doing it well. That's when I felt like I can make a career out of doing this," he says. In early 1965, Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati, Gene Cornish and Dino Danelli met in Eddie's basement in Garfield, New Jersey and began hours of intense rehearsals. Just one year later, they soared to the top of the charts with their first monster hit, "Good Lovin.'" Soon, the hits kept on coming - "Groovin,'" "A Girl Like You," "How Can I Be Sure." Soon The Young Rascals became America's number one band, making many television appearances, including the ever popular Ed Sullivan Show.

Their album The Rascals' Greatest Hits reached number one. Their #1 hit single "People Got to Be Free" was a plea for racial tolerance in the wake of the recent assassinations of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Around that time, the group issued a statement that they would not perform on any live show that did not contain a 50% black billing.

Sadly, The Rascals went their separate ways in the early 1970s. But In 1997, the band was enshrined into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Steven Van Zandt, the guitarist for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. His animated speech gave "The Sopranos" creator David Chase the idea to cast him on the show (he ended up playing mobster Silvio Dante in all six seasons). Van Zandt told the Associated Press, "The Rascals are something else. They're up there with the Beatles and Stones and Byrds. That level of musicality."

The Rascals were the first American rock group to perform with an orchestra when they were backed by 40 musicians before a capacity crowd in Madison Square Garden. They also were extremely popular in Canada, even moreso than in the U.S. They performed before 55,000 people before they ever released a record - as one of four bands who opened for The Beatles at their August 15, 1965 show at Shea Stadium.

The Poway Center for the Performing Arts Foundation is a 24 year old non-profit organization that offers professional performing arts events, including concerts, dance performances, theater productions, and a children's theatre series. The Foundation operates through a special partnership with the City of Poway and the Poway Unified School District.