Carol
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Elvis Tribute Artists Radio

Elvis Tribute Artists Radio

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Well,   it’s enough to  confuse a person!   Stopping by at the rehearsal  when I arrived at the Theatre, I saw Joe Passion, who as “himself” looks remarkably like Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman  and John Lennon (to whom he also does a tribute),  singing Barry Manilow songs while partially in character as “Jerry Lee.”  Hmmmm.  But finally I got it straight!  No matter who he is,  Joe Passion is always the consummate professional and always simply AWESOME.  
  
This was the first time I’d seen Joe Passion’s Barry Manilow tribute and I was genuinely impressed at how he transformed himself into Barry Manilow, direct from Las Vegas via Broadway, complete with signature  facial expressions, on-stage patter, stance, fancy foot twirls, and very subtle but  oh-so-accurate body language. Sitting at the piano half facing the audience with a twinkle in his eye and the hint of a grin - just like Barry - he looked uncannily similar. Vocally, it was a treat to hear the  Manilow standards sung so well  - including Mandy, Copacabana, Daybreak, Can’t Smile Without You, and I Write the Songs.  Of course, Joe Passion’s piano playing complemented his singing beautifully.   The audience members oohed and awed their admiration and appreciation throughout, and all around me I saw enraptured looks on the fans’ faces. This performance was so authentic  I said to Joe afterwards, “I’m going to go out and buy my first  Barry Manilow CD!”.

In the second half of the show,  Barry’s alter ego, Jerry Lee Lewis, emerged and, let me tell you, the Killer was in top form this weekend!  Nothing subtle here, and I’d never seen him better!  You could have sworn it was Jerry Lee himself on the stage,  with his manic look, unruly hair, piano thumping songs, and “wild man”  shenanigans.   Jerry Lee outdid hmself!  And judging by the roars of delight from the crowd, he delivered exactly what they’d come to see.  We heard rip-roaring songs such as Rockin’ At the High School Hop, Great Balls of Fire, Rita Mae, Good Golly Miss Molly, Corinna Corinna and  Whole Lot of Shakin’ Goin’ On!   And, of course, what would a Jerry Lee performance be  without an over-the-top, stupendous  piano crashing finale!  Thanks to Joe Passion for two fantastic tributes.

After 9 years on the road, with Legends in Concert and in Germany with Bernhard Kurz’s famed “Stars in Concert” production, Joe Passion  is now based in the Toronto area, where he’s involved with some interesting music projects.  Joe will also be back at Memories Theatre in Pigeon Forge (as Jerry Lee)  from July 31-September 3.

Details:   www.joepassion.net
Check  Carol’s Archives for more on Joe Passion
Read Joe’s own fabulous account of life in Germany with Stars in Concert which he wrote for LLM last year.

Tony Basile, an accomplished saxophone player and band member for many years,  began to develop his Dean Martin tribute several years ago and has recently been performing in England as well as in North America.  Looking remarkably suave and debonair a la Dean Martin, complete with a cigarette in one hand and a drink in the other, Tony took us from the mid-‘50's during the Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis days to Dean’s solo act at the Hilton in Las Vegas in the ‘60's.  We heard the funny side of Rat Pack member  Dean, along with the beautiful songs that Dean is remembered for such as That’s Amore, Remember Me, Volare, You’re Nobody Until Somebody Loves You,  King of the Road  and  Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime (a #1 song which knocked the Beatles off the top of the charts).    Tony Basile has captured Dean’s on- stage  persona perfectly.  Off stage, as himself, he has a wealth of knowledge and interesting stories about Dean Martin and is genuinely hilarious and quick-witted.  Hope to see more of your Dean Martin tribute, Tony!  
  

It was Ray Guillemette Jr.’s first appearance on the Oshawa stage, but the nine-time award-winning Elvis tribute artist from Massachusetts is no stranger to Elvis fans around the world.  He’s a former Images of the King world champ and a long-time favourite in Collingwood where he’s won several championships and has been a popular headliner.  Ray has also been featured recently as LLM’s  “Spotlight ETA” and  “Interview of the Month.”  Long known as “A Ray of Elvis,” Ray now goes by “Bionic Elvis.”  Be sure to check Ray’s  website for his inspirational story.  At this show, Ray made his entrance to the strains of  Burning Love with strobe lights flashing and the band building the momentum.  Striking some great Elvis poses while singing with that velvet voice of his, Ray quickly won the hearts of the crowd as he performed songs such as  I Can’t Stop Loving You, Teddy Bear, Don’t Be Cruel,  and his beautiful rendition of Let It Be Me.   Closing with Suspicious Minds,  and giving out the last of the scarves that fans had clamored for throughout his set, Ray then came back to lead a rousing finale with Viva Las Vegas.   Be sure to see Ray Guillemette, Jr., at the 2006 Collingwood Elvis Festival where, as returning champion,  he’ll be hosting the Invitational Gospel Competition.  Great to see you again, Ray.

Details: www.bionicelvis.com
Check also LLM’s Spotlight and Interview with Ray Guillmette

A tip of the hat, also, to  the hot Casino Step-Brothers Band, under the musical direction of drummer Neil LaFortune.  They capably backed the performers all evening and  rocked the theatre at the beginning of each set with upbeat versions of Johnny B. Good and Mustang Sally.  It was also great to see  the band enjoying the show and  having as much fun as the audience!   Kudos to Neil and fellow band members, Rob White, Keyboard; Earl Misquitta, Guitar; Patrick Boshell, Bass Guitar.

Special mention to guest singer Angelia Kelly who introduced each set with renditions of Patsy Cline songs Crazy and I Fall to Pieces.


At the end of each evening, the finale brought all the performers and band back to the stage for the traditional rousing round of Viva Las Vegas,  and then, all too soon, even though the shows had lasted close to 3 hours, the curtain went down until the next shows in October.  Fans enjoyed one last get-together afterwards in the lobby where they were able to mix and mingle with Ray Anthony, Mat Gauthier, Joe Passion, Tony Basile, Ray Guillmette Jr., the band members, Angelia Kelly and the Deline Family.  Kudos to all!

The theme was “Rockin’ in the Garden” at the sold out  Mother’s Day Weekend shows, held near Toronto at the Oshawa Little Theatre and produced by  Phyllis, Rodney and Ronda Deline of  Delcor Entertainment.

In their 12th year of producing  twice yearly legends shows, the Delines outdid themselves again with a spectacular cast of talented entertainers -- some of whom had gathered for the weekend from, most recently,  the stages of Las Vegas, Branson, Pigeon Forge, Stars in Concert (Germany) and England. Add to this, a brilliant rising young star from Ontario, a 9-time award-winning ETA, a red-hot band, some of the most enthusiastic audiences for miles around and, for almost 3 hours on two separate evenings, the theatre was indeed a rockin’.

From Las Vegas, but originally from the Toronto area, Ritchie Valens tribute artist and musician, Ray Anthony, was back home for the weekend.  And the crowd was ecstatic!  As always, he had the audience in the palm of his hand within seconds.  After his first two songs, Come On Let’s Go and  Boney Maroney,  the crowd was roaring its approval.   Then, during Ritchie’s signature tune, Oh Donna, the fans began waving their arms in unison as Ray sang the words and they sang back to him.  By the end of Ray’s set, the audience members were up on their feet, clapping, swaying and dancing to a rousing rendition of La Bamba.    An accomplished guitarist, Ray also performed, for the first time on this stage, his phenomenal guitar solo, Mirsirlou, from the movie “Pulp Fiction”  - displaying his genuine musicianship and awing not only the audience but his fellow performers, too.  Ray, who has always maintained that a performer isn’t worth his salt unless he can bring the audience to its feet, demonstrates his exceptional showmanship and talent each time he steps on a stage.  After the show, comments I heard from fans who lined up to buy Ray’s latest CD  “Keep on Rockin’” were: “He’s amazing!”  “What a showman!” and “We LOVE Ray.”  Hope you’ll be back this way soon, Ray.

Depending on his schedule, you can find Ray Anthony at Legends in Concert in Las Vegas, at a  “A Really Big Shew” in Laughlin, Nevada, and touring with the renowned Winter Dance Party tribute show, with other gigs in between, including a recent stay in Branson.  The Winter Dance Party will be at the Trump Marina Casino in Atlantic City in July for those easterners who haven’t yet seen this fabulous show.  Ray’s  Ritchie Valens tribute has  been highly endorsed by the Valens family (and Ritchie’s girlfriend Donna)  for whom he has performed many times.  Ray, who has  worked in the past with DJ Fontana, Charlie Hodge, and JD and The Stamps,  will also  be playing  guitar in the band for the “Elvis, Elvis” show at the Mackinaw Theatre in October.  

Details:
Winter Dance Party Schedule - www.yourbuddyjohn.com
For more on Ray Anthony, and the Winter Dance Party,  check “Carol’s Archives”

What can I say about  Mat Gauthier, singing impressionist, and  rising young star from Sarnia, Ontario, whose humour, impressions, and singing voice combined almost defy description?   Mat Gauthier needs to be seen and experienced to be fully appreciated, and the world needs to see and experience his performances.   Simply put:  Mat Gauthier’s talent, like a bright shining star, is  brilliant.   At this show,  Mat earned two full standing ovations from the crowd which was awestruck by his creative genius.  Watching Mat, you feel you are seeing someone who could well become  a star on the “big stage.”  He’s that talented.  

Mat cracked the audience up with his clever parodies of songs covering a wide range of musical genres; for example,  his Tina Turner (We Still Need Another Zero) and James Blunt (Was Pitiful) parodies were wickedly funny!  And, incredibly, he sounded exactly like Tina Turner and James Blunt.   Other hilarious parodies, among the over 100 that he does, ranged from Frank Sinatra, Cher, David Lee Roth, The Beach Boys, CCR, Kiss, Lionel Richie, Keith Urban, Jim Morrison, Archie & Edith Bunker, AC/DC, Men Without Hats,  all the way  to a brand new band called Bowling for Soup that I’d never heard of!  And he sounded exactly like each of them too!   His newest   masterpiece “The Radio,” featuring the beginnings and endings of songs on 10 different radio stations,  blew everyone away and earned him a crowd-roaring standing ovation. Then, changing the pace, Mat Gauthier, an accomplished singer with a 5-octave range, delivered a beautiful and moving rendition of The Prayer which has been sung by Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion. Again, as one, the fans rose to their feet to deliver another prolonged  standing ovation. In fact, the woman sitting  next to me, whom I’d never met before, sobbed for 10 minutes she was so touched by Mat’s performance and kept saying to me “He’s brilliant, he’s brilliant.”

Check out Mat’s website, and don’t miss a Mat Gauthier performance.  This modest and down-to-earth young man, who is really just starting out,  possesses outstanding talent and needs to be seen and heard.
Details: www.matgauthier.com

From Las Vegas, Ray Anthony as "Ritchie Valens" soon had the crowd on their feet.

Rising star Mat  Gauthier (doing Cher parody) earned two standing ovations.

Joe Passion as Jerry Lee  - the Killer was awesome!

Joe Passion’s Barry Manilow captivated the audience!

Tony Basile - a suave and debonair Dean Martin indeed!

Award-winning ETA, Ray Guillemette, Jr.

Ray Guillmette with friends Roy and Joanne Vautour

Audience singing along to Ritchie Valens' "Oh Donna"

Mat  Gauthier's awesome Tina Turner and David Lee Roth parodies

Kudos to producer, Phyllis Deline  of Delcor

Mat Gauthier as "himself" with guest Angelia Kelly

The Killer wowed the fans!