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Timeless  tunes: Local bands focus on classic Beatles material

Mike Rousculp, Tom Brooks, Pat Kierstead, Gary Gwin and Mike Calvert have a Ticket to Ride.

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By Don Thrasher, Contributing Writer 4:18 PM Thursday, December 3, 2009

The Beatles broke up in 1970 and the group’s popularity has ebbed and flowed, but the legendary band’s music has never been far from the mainstream.

In recent years, items such as the “Love” CD from 2006 or the latest batch of CD remasters of the group’s classic work has renewed interests in The Fab Four.

“Whenever The Beatles have something big, it seems there is increased interest in the music,” said Gary Gwin, who holds down the John Lennon position in Dayton-based Beatles tribute band Ticket to Ride.

“When the anthology came out, our popularity went up,” Gwin said. “It was the same when The Beatles ‘1’ came out.”

Ticket to Ride formed in 1995 and honed its craft in clubs in the Oregon District.

Today, the band — which features Gwin (vocals, guitar), Mike Rousculp (vocals, bass), Tom Brooks (guitar), Pat Kierstead (drums) and Mike Calvert (keyboards) — performs more frequently at festivals, private parties and corporate events than clubs. However, the group has booked a date at Quaker Steak & Lube on Friday, Dec. 4.

“This is our first time playing there,” Gwin said. “Gilly’s is normally the only club we do anymore, but Quaker Steak is trying something new. They’re giving away two of “The Beatles: Rock Band” music video games that night. It’s a big promotion so it’s kind of a big deal for them.”

More Beatles fans?

The latest in the “Rock Band” video game series is the most recent product to introduce the British group’s legendary music to new generations of potential fans.

“I’m not a video game fanatic, but anything that’s good that brings attention to The Beatles is an alright thing,” said Steve Langemo, bassist for local Beatles tribute act Savoy Truffle. “A lot of my guitar students are getting interested in guitar through ‘Rock Band’ or ‘Guitar Hero,’ and then they’ll decide to pursue the real instrument.

“They’re getting together with kids and starting bands instead of getting together with kids and playing video games,” he continued. “If it has that effect, it’s good.”

Unlike Ticket to Ride and many other Beatles tribute bands, Langemo and bandmates Eric Baumgartner (guitar), Steve Goers (keyboards), Adam Wheeler (drums) and Brad Myers (guitar) don’t play in character, wear costumes or worry about using the same gear as John, Paul, George and Ringo.

“Our thing is playing and singing the stuff real well,” Langemo said. “Not that the other bands don’t, but that’s our focus. We don’t do a lot of early stuff. We do a lot of later, freaky material so we’re bringing in a lot of different instruments. We have some acoustic instruments and an electronic wind synth. We’re able to do some of the real cool instrumentation that we wouldn’t be able to do with just two guitars, bass and drums.”

Endless possibilities

Savoy Truffle, which formed in 2004, performs at Canal Street Tavern on Sunday, Dec. 6.

“We’ll probably play some songs we haven’t played before,” Langemo said. “I know we’ve added a bunch of different songs since we played there last. They have so many songs, but a lot of them are so short. We’ve learned a lot so we can rotate out a lot of different tunes and we always try to add to that pool.”

Even after 14 years, Ticket to Ride is also conscious of regularly updating its song selection.

“We play mostly outside so we’re getting ready to go into hibernation,” Rousculp said. “We do it every winter. It gives us a chance to work on new material and change up the show and that’s always exciting.”

Kierstead — Ringo to Rousculp’s Paul — agrees.

“The possibilities are endless,” he said. “There are so many great songs we haven’t tackled and we’ve got a bunch of guys together that are doing really well. Everybody is stepping up and really concentrating on doing their parts.

“We’re capturing the essence of the band and it’s timeless,” Kierstead added. “I think we can actually do this as long as we want.”

Contact contributing arts and music writer Don Thrasher at donaldthrasher8@aol.com.

How to go

Who: Ticket to Ride

Where: Quaker Steak & Lube, 3725 Presidential Drive, Fairborn

When: 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4

Cost: Free

More info: (937) 427-0500 or www.quakersteakandlube.com

Artist info: www.tictoride.com

Who: Savoy Truffle

Where: Canal Street Tavern, 308 E. First St., Dayton

When: 8 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6. Doors open at 7 p.m.