The Fab Faux Celebrates Abbey Road's 50th Anniversary At The Soraya

By: Aug. 14, 2019
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The Fab Faux Celebrates Abbey Road's 50th Anniversary At The Soraya

Consummate fan favorites, The Fab Faux will return to The Soraya for the fourth time to pay tribute to the 50th anniversary of The Beatles' landmark album, Abbey Road along with the Hogshead Horns and The Crème Tangerine Strings. The Fab Faux's first set of the night will be a string of their fan favorites. The second set will be the phenomenal record, Abbey Road, in album order. Rolling Stone senior editor David Fricke calls The Fab Faux "The greatest Beatles cover band - without the wigs...The Faux invigorate the artistry of even the Beatles' most intricate studio masterpieces with top chops and Beatlemaniac glee."

Abbey Road was recorded at Abbey Road Studios during the summer of 1969. Number 14 on Rolling Stone's "Greatest Albums of All Time," the magazine calls Abbey Road, "a collection of superb songs cut with an attention to refined detail, then segued together (especially on Side Two) with conceptual force...there was no thematic link, other than The Beatles' genius." In an interview with Northeast Public Radio, band member and founder Will Lee said, "The record still resonates so strongly for so many...it's in everybody's cellular system, at this point."

Tickets (starting at $48) for the one-night-only performance of The Fab Faux are currently on sale at The Soraya, (818)677-3000.

The musical virtuosity of The Fab Faux - in actuality, five of the hardest working musicians in NYC - completely up-ends the concept of a Beatles tribute band. Far beyond being extended sets of cover versions, their astounding shows are an inspired re-discovery of the Beatles' musical magic, as The Fab Faux tackles the group's most demanding material live onstage in a way that has to be experienced to be believed. In addition to their rotation for note-for-note accuracy, The Fab Faux is also famous for blurring the lines slightly and injecting their own musical personalities into the performances, thus furthering themselves from the plethora of cookie-cutter replication Beatles bands.

With a commitment to the accurate reproduction of The Beatles' repertoire, The Fab Faux treat the seminal music with unwavering respect, and are known for their painstaking recreations of the songs (with emphasis on the later works never performed live by the Beatles). Far beyond a cover band, they play the music of The Beatles so impeccably that one must experience it to believe it. Imagine hearing complex material like "Strawberry Fields Forever" or "I Am the Walrus" performed in complete part-perfect renditions; or such harmony-driven songs as "Because", "Nowhere Man", and "Paperback Writer," reproduced not only note- for-note, but with extra vocalists to achieve a double-tracked effect
The adrenaline rush of "Helter Skelter" is delivered spot on.

The Fab Faux are a labor of love that was born in 1998 when celebrated bassist Will decided that he was determined to organize the greatest Beatles band without any props (sans period wardrobe, wigs) and focus on the intricacies and soul of the music.

Rounding out the line-up are Jimmy Vivino, Music Director/Guitarist for Conan and long-time music partner of Levon Helm, John Sebastian, Laura Nyro; lead-singing drummer/producer Rich Pagano (Rosanne Cash, Roger Waters, etc.); bassist Will Lee (CBS Orchestra/David Letterman, countless artists); guitarist Frank Agnello (Marshall Crenshaw, Phoebe Snow, etc.); and multi-instrumentalist, Jack Petruzzelli (Joan Osborne, Patti Smith, etc.).

All five principals contribute vocals, making the Faux's soaring harmonies as resonant as their multi-instrumental chops, which are further enhanced on select shows by the four-piece Hogshead Horns (with Blues Brothers, Blood, Sweat & Tears and SNL band alums) and The Creme Tangerine Strings.

Dave Marsh, legendary Rock Critic and Sirius Radio Host, wrote "The Fab Faux have the hardest job in the history of R & R and they pull it off damn well. All rock bands want to be like the Beatles; these guys have the nerve to BE the Beatles. Amazingly, they're so good at it you learn new things about the originals"

The Faux's high energy shows have generated serious buzz not only at top NYC venues including sold out shows at Radio City Music Hall and The Beacon Theater in New York City - with Beatles fans, movie stars and world class musicians in attendance - but at major dates in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Park City, Utah (Sundance), Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago and Toronto, among other locales.

They've headlined 5 of Liverpool's annual Beatle Festivals, playing before 35,000 Beatle fanatics - while in England, they had the rare honor of recording an original song at Abbey Road Studios - and also delighted the masses performing live on the Howard Stern Show and a mini concert on the SiriuxXM channel that is now in constant rotation. Benefit and corporate dates have included concerts for JVC, the N.B.A., the CES Convention, Aerosmith and the Michael J. Fox Parkinsons Research Foundation. TV appearances include Late Show with David Letterman and Conan.

"It's not just a cover band," says the Faux's Pagano. "This is the greatest Pop music ever written, and we're such freaks for it." Vivino adds, "It's constant archaeology." Imagine the instrumental complexities of 'Strawberry Fields Forever' and 'A Day in the Life' performed part perfect with an orchestra.

Agnello said, "Even more difficult than the later period material is recreating the exuberance and energy of the early records, but we love to play it all." "Whenever anyone saw The Beatles perform it was just the four guys," Lee continues. "You never saw them on stage with a sitar or a string section. When the show calls for it, we have all that stuff."

For more information visit TheSoraya.org


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