Contact: Allison Griffin
PR Associate
503-416-6347
February 20, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland, Ore. … The “Number One Beatles Tribute Show on Earth,” according to Rolling Stone Magazine, 1964 -The Tribute band will recreate the early days of the Fab Four at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall on Saturday, March 17 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, March 18 at 3 p.m. and Monday, March 19 at 7:30 p.m. Note: The Oregon Symphony does not perform.
Featured on such national television outlets as Entertainment Tonight, PM Magazine, CNN, the USA Network, and the Nashville Network, 1964-The Tribute has toured around the world performing at major concert venues, festivals, colleges, corporate events, and conventions. Highlights include the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool, and a return to Carnegie Hall in January 2007 for an unprecedented seventh time.
Founded in 1984 by high school friends Gary Grimes (a.k.a. Paul McCartney) and Mark Benson (a.k.a. John Lennon), the idea to transform themselves into the Beatles originally started as a part-time project. The performances grew in popularity, and a booking agency connected with the group and took it national. The repertoire is from 1963-66, which includes hits like “Twist and Shout,” “I Saw Her Standing There,” “She Loves You” and “Eight Days A Week.”
“The idea is to show our audience what it was like to be at a Beatles concert,” Benson said.
The process of recreating the experience involves details like restoring
vintage equipment to ensure the original sound to researching and creating
authentic costumes and studying intricate speech patterns. The group also
immersed themselves in the early Beatles subculture for accurate onstage
presentation, and Gary Grimes, who is
right-handed, learned to play the bass guitar left-handed to remain authentic
to the style of Paul McCartney. In addition, they have taken their show
to England, earning the respect of very hard to please audiences at Liverpool’s
Cavern Club.
Tickets are $29 to $80 and may be purchased at the Oregon Symphony Ticket Office, located at 923 S.W. Washington. Ticket office hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Sept. through May). Tickets can be charged by phone at (503) 228-1353 or (800) 228-7343, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Sept. – May). Tickets may also be purchased at Ticketmaster outlets or by calling (503) 224-4400. Discounted tickets for groups of eight or more are available through the group sales hotline at (503) 416-6380. Additional concert information may be found at OrSymphony.org. Media support is provided by K103 and 1190 KEX.
“1964” is not affiliated with or endorsed by Apple Corps Ltd.
Images and guest artist bios are available at www.orsymphony.org/media.