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Backstage with Mark Benson of 1964 The Tribute · Backstage at The EPC's Podcast

• 0:09
  SPEAKER_01: Hello and welcome to Backstage at the EPC.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_01: Today I'm talking with Mark Benson from 1964 the Tribute.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome, Mark.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, hello.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for having me on.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for coming on and joining us.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: So 1964 the Tribute will be coming to the Effingham Performance Center Saturday, October 10th.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: We're excited to have you.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: Can you kind of give a little what is 1964 for those listening?
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: Well, the idea behind this show is to show you what it was like if you were lucky enough to get a ticket to see the Beatles when they were actually touring.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: So they toured in America from 64 to 66.
• 0:51
  unknown: Okay.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: And no one could hear them because they didn't have enough PA for 30,000 screaming people, you know.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: We try to um pick the music from that time period, like the first seven like revolver record and before.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: All the early role and ballads and movie songs and that kind of stuff.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Just because it had the real high-energy live, you know, performance kind of thing.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: We wanted people to see I mean their catalog is incredible.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: You could pick a song from any time period in their career and it would be great.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: But we wanted to show people what it was like to um to actually like be part of an experience.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: Experience that time.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, a concert instead of a story.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's awesome.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: So um who is all in the band for you guys?
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: I perform as Ringo's sister, and um I that's a joke.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: I perform as John Lennon, and uh we have a bass player named Mac Robert Ruffing, and he is not left-handed but learned how to play left-handed like McCartney.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's just unbelievable.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: And uh our guitar player is Chris Cologne and our drummer is Joseph Bologna.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: And has are you the only one that's been in this tribute band since the beginning?
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: Is that true?
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: The whole thing's kind of my fault.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: It just, you know, and happy accident, huh?
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: Well, the funny thing was we never had any intention of this being full-time because we started this in 1984.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's what I read.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: I I tried to do my research in 1984.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, wow, this is no internet, no tribute industry, no nothing.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: We thought this is gonna be something we'll do, some boomer stuff, you know, oldest party class reunion once every six months, just in town.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: And it took off.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: I mean How old were you?
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that's a good question.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: Of all the things I am bad at is remembering when something started.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: I remember 1984.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I think I was in my early 30s, probably.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, yeah.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: The technology and everything has developed a lot over the last 30, almost 40 years um since starting.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: But I I know you mentioned you guys try to stay true to that 1964 um concert and and that experience.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: What are some things that you guys do to kind of keep with that?
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we try to make sure that to the best of our ability, the sounds coming off our stage are the sounds that were coming off their stage.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: So that people get an understanding of what it was like to be in the room.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: Now, there's not going to be 30,000 screaming people, so right.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: A little different.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: You'll actually be able to hear us.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: That's the first question I ask anybody that says, Oh, I saw them.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: I said, Could you hear anything?
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: They said, No, you couldn't hear anything.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: Did you hear them in 1964?
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: I did not.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um my original business partner and bass player had a chance to because his aunt bought tickets for them in Cleveland, and he said, You'll never hear them.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: So he didn't go.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: Later he wished he did.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: But uh it's a you know, I mean, when you think of how short their touring span was, and the number of people that actually got to see it, it's a very small number of people when you consider how many are on the planet and how groups tour these days.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: So and if you saw the Beatles, it's historic.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: Do you know?
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, since you since you guys have had this band for so long, I'm sure you do know lots and lots and lots and lots of trivia about the Beatles.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_01: How how many shows did they perform in 1964?
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, they had a an American tour, I think they had two American tours in '64, and there were other parts of the planet as well, you know, the world.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: But uh we've been lucky enough to play about eight or nine of the actual venues the Beatles played.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: Oh cool.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: Including Carnegie Hall in New York and Red Rocks Amphitheater out in Colorado.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, you get into these places, and it's just like you could look at it like it's just another venue, but it's this is what they saw.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: This is where they were, this is where they stood.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_01: You know, uh you are not only a musician, you also are like a guitar craftsman, right?
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: That's correct.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: When we first started this, um the challenge was, you know, you had to buy the amplifiers and the drums and the suits and the boots and the wigs and the you know, all this stuff.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: So the guitar that John played was a Rickenbacker 325, and that guitar was a short-scale guitar.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: So there weren't a whole lot of people that wanted to buy a short-scale guitar.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: So in 1984, trying to find anyone who had one was hard.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: I knew two people that had ones from the 60s, but neither one of them wanted to sell them.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: So they were kind enough to let me measure them and take tracings and all that kind of stuff.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I made my own guitars for the show because first of all, I couldn't really find, you know, ones that uh were like what I wanted to use, and it saved me money.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: So I've been using those.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: I might be, I don't know, I might be the only John Lennon impersonator that's never actually played a Rickenbacker.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: They've been my go-to guitars for this is our 42nd year.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: So is this something you just kind of you tink around for yourself, or do you um, you know, has that evolved into doing stuff for other people?
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: Of course, I I feel like it bleeds into that.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: It does.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I made I've I had a I had a thing that I used to do around here when any of the big bands used to come to the major venues, like the Coliseums and that kind of stuff.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: I would call the venue and ask for the guitar tech because I knew he would answer the phone.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, I work at this guitar repair shop or authorized Gibson Fender, Gretsch, blah, blah, blah.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: I've got all these guitar parts and strings and whatever you need, and I've got some vintage guitars if the guys are interested in looking for them.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: And nine times out of ten, they're like, oh my gosh, we don't need a lot, but we didn't know where to get this knob broke and this whammy bar they broke, or you know, we thought if you could bring that out here, we'll get you tickets to the show.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I saw lots and lots and lots of cool shows, the Stones and Van Halen, and uh the Who, and you know, just I mean, yeah, that's neat selling selling them guitars.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: But I ended up making a guitar for Eddie Van Halen, and uh that was pretty fun.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: That's cool, that's really cool.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so what is your favorite song to play when you guys are doing your show?
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: Oh boy, um it's probably hard to pick.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: Our our biggest challenge is what amazingly cool song do you take out an amazingly cool song?
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: For sure.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: So uh I guess the audience participation in a song like Twist and Shout is really great.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: But I think uh I think the one I like the best is uh In my life probably.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: We get everybody to take out their phones and call someone who's really important to them that couldn't be here, and then everybody sings it together, sends it out to all their you know loved ones and favorite people and all that.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: That's kind of a cool thing.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: That is really neat.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm sure um audience participation is you know, it's it's live feedback for you guys.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm sure that is fun.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: But I mean the thing that, you know, you'd expect people that grew up with this to like it because it's the music of their time.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: But there doesn't seem to be any age group at all that is not interested or doesn't like the Beatles.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah I mean, you know, individuals that might not care for them, but it's not like all 27-year-olds don't like it's nothing like that.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, I had a friend I had a friend standing outside of a venue waiting to get in, and she saw this little kid, he's eight years old, he's got a black suit on, a black wig on, a black suit.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh, and they went over to him and they went, Oh, George, you look so great.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: And he goes, I'm not George, I'm Paul.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like, all upset, you know.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: They they didn't recognize that's so funny.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: Become that interested in something so far out of his time period.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: This is the phenomenon of the Beatles.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: One of uh my coworkers here, her son was in the office, he's 15, um, has really get gotten into guitar, and he actually wrote me a post-it note that I found over the weekend that says to save your guys' poster from the lobby for him.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so he's excited.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: It is it's so nice.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, if you if you um to see a wide range.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: If you come up to the stage after the show, we'll sign it for him.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, I will I will definitely let him know.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you'll actually, I'm sure you'll see her his mom roaming around helping doing hospitality that day.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_01: So well, um to kind of close this out, we have been asking um what is currently on your playlist that you like listening to?
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_01: Like when you're out doing stuff, what's what's kind of your go-to?
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: You mean non-beatle stuff?
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: Non-beatles stuff.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I'm a big fan of uh vocals.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: So eagle um, just great harmonies and things like that, uh, always draws me in.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, for some reason, I can appreciate someone's ability on an instrument, but the only thing that gives me that armhair moment is a voice.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: That's crazy.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: That gets that chill going through you.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there's something about that where it it's not even it's not even I can get it from Joe Cocker as well as I can get it from an opera singer, you know, somebody who's trained and someone who's just got soul, you know, and I think that's that's the kind of stuff that I like listening to.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um I mean there's there's a wide range of stuff to pick, but I mean I'm sure you do listen to the Beatles too.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: Get you into the show and get you ready and pumped.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's kind of a prerequisite, you know.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, well, thank you so much, Mark, for joining today.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I know that we're very excited.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um tickets are selling well.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: And uh so if if you guys want in on the on the show, um make sure you get your tickets.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_01: It's for Saturday, October 10th, so 1964, the tribute.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: Again, thank you so much, Mark, for joining.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for having me.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_01: Before we go, on deck at the EPC is HSHS Women's Health Showcase on October 15th, The Price is Right Live on October 16th, Hocus Pocus Interactive Movie on October 23rd, and Menipause the Musical on October 29th.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_01: For a full list of upcoming shows, visit our website at theepc.org.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_01: As always, you can purchase tickets through our box office Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: to 2 p.m.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_01: And on show days from 10 a.m.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: to show time.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: You can also purchase tickets online at ticketmaster.comslash epclusium.