{"id":21861,"date":"2014-05-01T15:17:23","date_gmt":"2014-05-01T19:17:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=21861"},"modified":"2014-05-01T14:30:28","modified_gmt":"2014-05-01T18:30:28","slug":"take-a-musical-trip-back-in-time-this-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=21861","title":{"rendered":"Take a musical trip back in time this weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Letterman and Think Pink Floyd headlining local venues Friday<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>,\u00a0Correspondent, The Times<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Many of the live music shows in the area right now feature pop and rock music that is current while some focus on futuristic sounds. There is also a variety of shows that look back to music from previous generations. This weekend, you have two options locally to attend concerts that are structured to take listeners to musical eras from the past.<\/p>\n

If you want to travel back to the late-1960s\/mid-1970s era, you can check out the show featuring Think Pink Floyd, an acclaimed Pink Floyd tribute band from the Delaware Valley, on May 2 at the Colonial Theatre (227 Bridge Street, Phoenixville, 610-917-128,\u00a0www.thecolonialtheatre.com<\/a>\u00a0— tickets range from $15-429.50)<\/p>\n

Or, you can set your musical time machine for a longer trip into the past and attend the show by legendary vocal group the Lettermen, which is scheduled for May 2 at the American Music Theatre (2425 Lincoln Highway East, Lancaster, 800-648-4102,\u00a0http:\/\/www.amtshows.com<\/a>\u00a0— tickets are $35).<\/p>\n

\"1601022_802888139735289_1739809856_n\"<\/a>

The Lettermen bring their mellow, timeless ballads to the American Music Theatre in Lancaster, Friday night.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Lettermen haven\u2019t released a single in almost 25 years yet are still touring internationally and playing to packed houses. When the Lettermen got started as recording artists, 78 r.p.m. records were still on the shelves of record shops. The distance between that era and the digital era can only be measured in light years, yet the Lettermen are still going.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve done at least 75 shows a year for 50 straight years,\u201d said the group\u2019s founding member Tony Butala, during a phone interview earlier this week.<\/p>\n

Known for their great vocal harmonies and romantic ballads, the Lettermen\u00a0spent 25 years recording hit singles for Capitol Records. Their debut album \u201cA Song for Young Love\u201d reached the Top 10 and was the first of 32 straight Top 40 albums by the trio.<\/p>\n

\u201cI put together the first \u2018boy band\u2019 around 50 years ago,\u201d said Butala. \u201cWe were like the Jonas Brothers of our generation. I found the best-looking, best-dancing, best-singing solo artists and formed a trio with them. We\u2019ve never been a recording group that happens to sing. We\u2019re a performing group that entertains.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lettermen established their enduring popularity with songs such as \u201cWhen I Fall In Love\u201d, \u201cWhere Or When\u201d, \u201cSomewhere My Love\u201d, \u201cTheme From A Summer Place\u201d and \u201cPut Your Head On My Shoulder\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe established a wide demographic base during the first 20 years and we\u2019ve continued to build on it,\u201d said Butala. \u201cWe just finished our 76th<\/sup>\u00a0album. Performance is the most important reason for our longevity — but, it\u2019s also because we sing love ballads. Love never goes out of style.\u201d<\/p>\n

Butala and his mates have never been content to rest on their laurels.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, we\u2019re working on a \u2018Lettermen\u2019s 50 Years-Plus\u2019 special for PBS,\u201d said Butala. \u201cWe also just finished making a Time Life infomercial called \u2018Legendary Voices.\u2019 It has 10 CDs and 150 songs featuring so many of the great voices — Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Tony Bennett and Barbra Streisand just to name a few.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are also four featured vocal groups in the set — the Drifters, the Platters, the Four Seasons and the Lettermen. In the infomercial, we talk about the music and speak about the artists. We also sing a few songs a capella. We just finished it in November.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the years, the Lettermen have always maintained in interactive relationship with their fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter each of our shows, we always come out to the venue\u2019s lobby and meet with our fans,\u201d said Butala. \u201cWe pose for pictures and sign autographs so tell people to bring their albums and cameras. We\u2019re always the last ones to leave the building — except for the janitor.\u201d<\/p>\n

There never has been the need for a tribute band for the Lettermen — because the Lettermen have never stopped performing. Such is not the case with many of the bands from the 1960s and 1970s.<\/p>\n

\"ThinkPinkFloyd\"<\/a>

Think Pink Floyd brings the music and visuals of the original iconic British rockers to the Colonial Theater, Friday night.<\/p><\/div>\n

Some of the bands from that era have just dissolved over time. Other groups can never replicate their original sound because of the death of key members — bands such as the Grateful Dead, the Doors, the Beatles and Big Brother and the Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin.<\/p>\n

Two of the original five members of the British psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd have moved on to the other side — guitarist\/vocalist\/songwriter Syd Barrett, who died in 2006, and keyboardist Richard Wright, who passed away in 2008. The band\u2019s final tour was \u201cThe Division Bell Tour\u201d in 1994.<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, a number of Pink Floyd tribute bands have emerged all around the word, including The Machine (New York), the Final Cut (Germany), the Australian Pink Floyd Show, House of Floyd (San Francisco) and Think Pink Floyd (Philadelphia).<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had this band together for eight years,\u201d said Think Pink Floyd guitarist\/vocalist\/founder Billy Martin during a phone interview this week. \u201cWe can play five entire Pink Floyd albums and 36 solo songs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a total of over eight hours of Pink Floyd music we can perform live. We\u2019ve played everywhere from small clubs to large venues like the Bergen Center in North Jersey. Even for bar shows, I set up the videos and use lasers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen all the Pink Floyd tribute bands over the years. What sets us apart from the other tribute bands is that we do Pink Floyd\u2019s music note-for-note. What you hear from us is what you hear on the record.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reason for Think Pink Floyd\u2019s ability to nail the sounds originally produced by the legendary British band is the musical talent of the TPF\u2019s keyboard player Chie Suzuki.<\/p>\n

\u201cChie is a classical pianist from Japan,\u201d said Martin. \u201cShe and I are the main people in the band. She is amazing. She listens to a Pink Floyd song and then writes out every part — guitar, bass, keyboard — and she gets it perfect every time.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Letterman and Think Pink Floyd headlining local venues Friday By Denny Dyroff,\u00a0Correspondent, The Times Many of the live music shows in the area right now feature pop and rock music that is current while some focus on futuristic sounds. There is also a variety of shows that look back to music from previous generations. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[5471,5473,5470,5472],"class_list":["post-21861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-american-music-theater","tag-the-colonial-theater","tag-the-letterman","tag-think-pink-floyd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}