Dan's Papers - May 23, 2008 - Meet the Beatles

I walked into the wonderful, old Vail Leavitt Music Hall in Riverhead recently, to find John, Paul, George and Ringo standing together right in the lobby.

At least it looked like them from afar, except for the obvious mop-top wigs, but these four guys in their black Chesterfield suits really did look the part. Suddenly they ran out for a curtain call to perform in their popular band, Strawberry Fields.

As soon as the curtain went up, and I saw the three Beatles standing with their red and gold guitars on the stage, and Ringo was back there with his Ludwig drums, my heart skipped a beat. I was back in seventh grade - a 13-year-old watching these strange new guys with crazy English accents on the Ed Sullivan show.

They were singing, "I Want To Hold Your Hand," "She Loves You," and all the other romantic love songs from their first album that made all the girls swoon, faint and throw themselves at their feet. The whole rush of why I loved the Beatles just came over me again for the ten thousandth time. The mischievous look in the smiling eyes of Paul McCartney when he sang, "Till There Was You," and the bluesy, raspy voice of Ringo when he sang, "Roll Over Beethoven," and "Act Naturally." The songs that just made you want to get up and dance, like "Twist and Shout," "Day Tripper," "I Saw Her Standing There," and "The Night Before." And people did get up and dance, right in the aisles.

Now, staring at these four fabulous Beatles on stage, singing all my favorite songs - it doesn't matter that they all come from Suffolk County, instead of Liverpool. And John's name is really Tony Garofalo, of Ridge, and Paul is really Billy Ray from Westhampton Beach, and George is Mark Vaccacio of Shirley, and Ringo (my favorite Beatle) is Gerard Barberine, also of Shirley.

Their friend and promoter Steve Montegue had brought them to the Vail Leavitt Music Hall for the third year, back by popular demand, and he has packed the house. The group has attracted fans aged 18 to 80, including diehards like me and my 50-something friends Christine and Andrew, to relive our favorite era and memories of the 1960s and '70s, and this is what the Strawberry Fields tribute band is all about. Hearing this band of powerful vocalists and guitarists, it is not hard to believe that they were the former stars of the hit Broadway show Beatlemania during the 1970s.

"Billy Ray (Paul) and Mark Vaccacio (George) were in the original cast of Beatlemania at the Winter Garden," said Tony Garofalo (John). "Gerard Barberine (Ringo) and I were in the touring company that traveled around the country after Beatlemania closed in 1979."

He explained that after this musical left Broadway, it became a touring act. After that, these four former Beatles got together and formed their own tribute band, "Strawberry Fields," in 1990.

"Our concept was to take this popular show out of the theaters, at $100 a ticket, and make it accessible to people everywhere," said Garofalo, who is a dead ringer for John in his long-haired wig and round wire-rimmed glasses.

So far, they've ambitiously performed up to 200 gigs a year at venues including Westbury Music Fair, the Felt Forum, at the New York City Marathon, and at numerous private concerts, weddings, and college and high school reunions throughout Long Island and the tri-state area. They presently perform every Saturday for brunch at the popular blues club, BB King's, at Times Square in New York City, and this summer, they will also be playing at parks in Smithtown, Lake Grove and North Babylon.

"One of our biggest highlights was performing at Shea Stadium for the 40th anniversary of the Beatles, in August of 2005. We played to 37,000 people, and Sid Bernstein announced us on the field," Garofalo recalled. "Another highlight was when Sean Lennon came to one of our shows, and he said he was blown away."

When asked why this "Fab Four" group decided to get into the Beatles biz, Gerard Barberine (Ringo) replied, "The four of us feel it's the greatest music ever written. The Beatles reached everyone." I told him I had a Ringo doll.

Garofalo added, "Their popularity, and how they changed the culture of the '60s - it's a phenomenon that will never be repeated."

And their three-hour show at the Vail Leavitt just kept getting better. In Act Two, they came out dressed in psychedelic satin jackets and hats like the Sargeant Pepper album cover, and did songs from this era, like "Strawberry Fields," "Fool on the Hill," and "Lady Madonna." They continued into the Abbey Road era, with "Let it Be," and ended their concert with a rollicking rendition of "Revolution" and "Back in the USSR."

Steve Montegue plans to bring "Strawberry Fields" back to the Vail Leavitt this fall. But for now, you can catch them starting at noon each Saturday at BB King's, or visit strawberryfieldsthetribute.com for a memorable trip down Penny Lane.