“The songs will sound familiar,” he continued. “There’s a full band that does everything just like Fleetwood Mac does but then there’s the extra elements when it comes to the strings, the horns, woodwinds and percussion doing other parts aren’t really on the records. It’s really cool how it works.”
The TCG team
Ino (vocals, guitar) has worked on multiple shows for TCG Entertainment, the production company behind the Fleetwood Mac program. He started on Cirque Musica, a Christmas cirque show that tours through North America, and branched out into others like the ‘80s-themed Rewind show and a tribute to Prince.
“Steve Cook from TCG Entertainment reached out to me in 2016 or 2017,” Ino said. “He said they might need some orchestrations and some players for different shows. I jumped in and offered to put a band together for some of the shows and to do some orchestration. They needed somebody to help with composition, keyboard sounds, sound design and keyboard effects for some of the performances in Cirque Musica.
“I ended up going on the road with that show, which included a full 60-piece orchestra,” Ino continued. “With the different shows TCG produces, I’m lucky enough to play a wide variety of music. The Cirque Musica is definitely a different experience because that’s mostly arenas. There is a big stage and it’s not like playing in a symphonic hall with some of the other shows.”
Embellishing the hits
Landslide is joining the DPO for the first Rockin’ Orchestra Series concert of the 2022-2023 season. The program includes certified chart hits like “Dreams” and “Don’t Stop” and fan favorite album tracks like “Second Hand News” and “Gold Dust Woman.” Ino, who has been in the Lindsey Buckingham role for Landslide for several years, finds it hard to single out one musical highlight from the show.
“Oh, man, that’s hard,” he said. “From my experience doing this show, ‘Landslide’ is obviously a huge one. That’s always a big moment in the show because it’s such an epic song but they have so many songs that are epic. I mean, it’s Fleetwood Mac so every song is familiar to people, which is a lot of fun.
“We open up with ‘Go Your Own Way’ and that is so fun,” Ino continued. “It’s such a recognizable hit so it starts off with a bang right away. That song usually just starts with an acoustic guitar but strings will start that instead. It’s pretty cool because that gives it a different feel. We do ‘Tusk’ and that’s really cool to do with an orchestra. There are some surprises in that song, the way Jennifer orchestrated it.”
Musical smorgasbord
The TCG shows are only part of Ino’s busy schedule. The Pittsburgh native is currently keyboardist, guitarist and music director for Tommy DeCarlo, the Singer of Boston, keyboardist for Asia featuring John Payne and keyboardist and saxophonist for a multi-singer show called Voices of Classic Rock.
Ino was a member of Survivor from 2011 to 2017 and has also worked with acts like former Foreigner vocalist Lou Gramm, the Babys, Wilson Phillips, Denny Laine and the Eagles of Death Metal. Working on multiple projects is a trait he shares with the other players in Landslide.
“I’m really looking forward to this show,” Ino said. “The band I put together is all L.A. pros. The people that play in these shows are all busy playing with other big artists so we have different players in different shows. It’s a rotating cast of people like me that tour around and play with other big artists but we love playing with each other when it comes to doing these orchestra shows.
“I definitely count my blessings,” Ino added. “I’m definitely lucky I get hired for some of these gigs. Sometimes I have to pinch myself and say, ‘How did I get here?’ Luckily, I consider myself a hard worker. It’s intimidating a lot of times but, at the same time, a lot of hard work will get you places.”
The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra’s Rockin’ Orchestra Series continues with Windborne Music’s Pink Floyd show on Nov. 12.
Contact this contributing writer at 937-287-6139 or e-mail at donthrasher100@gmail.com.
HOW TO GO
What: The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra presents Landslide: The Music of Fleetwood Mac
Where: Schuster Center, Second and Main streets, Dayton
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24
Cost: $27-$90
More info: 937-228-3630 or www.daytonlive.org
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