2011 Fest For Beatles Fans...a preview

Yes, it has been a while since we've posted something up on this blog site. Between Facebook and Twitter, these blogs seem a bit antiquated. But, I'll post up some bits and bytes as they come along.

So, what's new with Liverpool for 2011?

First off, we're planning for the annual NY/NJ Metro Fest that's slated for March 25th through March 27th. The musical guest list this year is outstanding! We'll be performing with Gary Wright ("Dream Weaver" and "Love Is Alive"), Laurence Juber (Wings guitarist from 1978-79), Mark Rivera (Ringo's Musical Director and Billy Joel's saxophonist), and Mark Hudson (Ringo's producer and reality TV icon). But, if that's not enough, we'll be backing up Badfinger's guitarist, the one-and-only, Joey Molland!! Now THAT'S a pretty stellar lineup of guests! Needless to say, we've got our work cut out for us, but it will be well worth it!

And, of course, we will have a full plate of Beatles' in store for the weekend's festivities! We're currently hammering away at the set list with the intent of pleasing all Beatles' fans, both newbie and hardcore, alike!

Secondly, our very own Glen Burtnik will be out on the road with The Orchestra, touring in Germany on the weekend of the Fest. He will be sorely missed. But, in his stead will be the talented Mr. Mark Rinzel. Mark is the lead vocalist of NYC-based indy band The Jupiter Deluxe, as well as the bassist in the Beatlles' tribute Bubble Do Beatles. I've had the pleasure of working with Mark on many occasions and, let me tell you, he's one talented performer! He is both a skilled musician and an amazing vocalist and we are honored to have him join us at this year's NY/NJ Fest!!

Well, that's it for now I guess. Feel free to comment and share your thoughts with us. We look forward to hearing from you and we, most definitely, look forward to seeing you all at this year's Fests!!

- John

My personal Fest experience...

I've had a little time to reflect on the past weekend's events and I come away with a one-word description: inspired.

After all the preparation, rehearsal and time spent revisiting the music, the few hours we have on stage can literally be a blur. But this time it was different. We knew that we'd be backing up the legendary Ronnie Spector, so that was exciting. Then there was Earl Slick, master guitarist and a legend in his own rite. He's recorded and toured with the best of 'em. Then there was Greg Hawkes, keyboardist of The Cars: a pioneer of the synthesizer who, pretty much, redefined the sound of pop music for an entire generation. Then there was the amazingly witty songsmith Neil Innes, whose works with The Bonzo Dog Band, Monty Python and the "less-than-legendary" Rutles can make you laugh out loud. Finally, there was the always entertaining Mark Hudson with his equallly talented brother Brett Hudson. Those guys will take the stage and you'll be captured from the first chord.

So that was what we did, but there was so much more going on...SO MUCH more. People in the main lobby, on the second floor and even in the stairwell hallways, all singing Beatles' music. When you hear ten guitars, two basses and a slew of other instruments accompanying dozens of voices all singing some of the best music ever written, THAT'S a memorable experience!

I also got a chance to listen to Bruce Spizer's talk on the Let It Be Rooftop Sessions. Some very cool information from one of the most knowledgeable Beatle historians this side of the pond!

With all this going on, how can one NOT be inspired?

Amidst some pretty brutal financial times, we all got together for one purpose: the love of the Beatles. For one weekend in March, we all shared some special moments, ones that we can recall long after we've gone back to the day-to-day.

Now for some special thank yous:

To Mark & Carol Lapidos for making The Fest happen!
To my wife, Karen, for videotaping, photographing and keeping me sane! I LOVE YOU!!!
To my fellow Liverpool bandmates for the opportunity to play the best music EVER!
To Mikey Pico for keeping my guitars in tune and setting my stuff up. ¡Muchas gracias amigo!
To Debby Bischoff for helping out with my baby daughter Michelle...it was her first Fest BTW!!
To Robert D'Elia for making sure things are running smoothly!
To Ardie Ilardi and the whole sound & light crew for going above and beyond!
To Warren Melnick who never ceases to amaze!
To Sharon, Lauren, Cheryl, Jim and Jeff for always bringing a smile to my face!
To Robin and her friends for selling our merch in the lobby!!

And, lastly, to everyone who was there...THANK YOU ALL!!!

Peace, Love and Music Always,
John Merjave

NY/NJ Fest 2009...THANK YOU!!

Another Fest has come and gone and we're still numb (comfortably, perhaps??) from the weekend's festivities. Just wanted to post up and let you all know that we'll be adding pictures, video links and an extensive thank you list...yes, we had a LOT of help this year from some great people!

Stay tuned for all the updates as they become available. Until then, feel free to comment away...

Peace,
The Lads!

Thank You Fair Lawn, NJ!!!

We just wanted to say thank you to everyone who came down and seen us perform at the Fair Lawn Community Center Theater on January 24th. We played two sold out shows and the audiences ROCKED!!!


Special thanks to Michael Roney and Howard Rudolph for organizing everything and making these shows possible. Thanks to the entire Fair Lawn CC staff for all your assistance and provisions. A special shout-out to Bill Otten, our sound man du jour, for keeping things together! Finally, thanks to Mike Pico, our guitar tech, for keeping things in tune and moving along!

After the show (L to R): Michael Roney, Glen Burtnik, Howard Rudolph, Drew Hill, John Merjave, Chris Camilleri, Carol Lapidos and Mark Lapidos.

We hope to be there again very soon. Until then, we hope to see you all at The Fest in late March.

LIVERPOOL SHOW!! January 24th, 2009

We're proud to announce that we will be playing TWO BIG SHOWS at the Fair Lawn Community Center Theater in Fair Lawn, NJ on Saturday, January 24th, 2009. We will be playing a matinee show at 4 PM and an evening show at 8PM. Tickets are available at Eventbrite or at the Fair Lawn CC Box office by calling 201-794-5346.

Share your Chicago 08 Fest images and videos

Hi all,

If you would like to share photos or videos of the Chicago 08 Fest, please send them to the following email address: photosATliverpoolthebandDOTcom - just trying to avoid spam :-)

We'll be compiling all the images and we'll post them up very soon.

Thanks!!

Chicago...THANK YOU!!!!

Hi all,

We're just getting back to our "regular lives" after the buzz that was caused by the Chicago Fest for Beatles Fans. What a great weekend!!!!

It sounds almost cliché to say this but this was one of the BEST Fests we've had the pleasure of playing in a VERY LONG TIME.

We dedicated a lot of Saturday and Sunday to the 40th Anniversary of the White Album's release. We played many songs we have not played in a long time, including Sexy Sadie, I'm So Tired and Julia. We also got the chance to play Revolution 9 which was quite an undertaking. That was a first time that we played that at a Fest, EVER!

Glen did most of the audio "loop" work to try to recreate the Beatles' (more specifically John Lennon's) studio trickery. The video montage was created by John and Glen, and it depicted many of the highlights (and lowlights) of what was the news in 1968.

We honestly did not know how Revolution 9 would be received. Eight plus minutes of experimental music is a hard listen, even for the most devout Beatle Fan. But you guys really showed your appreciation both after the song, with your applause, and after the show. Thank you SO much for giving us the chance to perform one of the oddest pieces of music the Beatles, or anyone else for that matter, ever released!

Playing three nights of Beatles' songs is one of the best gigs anyone could ask for and we're blessed to have that opportunity. If that wasn't enough, we got to play with Billy J. Kramer, Mark & Brett Hudson and, one of our favorite people in the world, Neil (Ron Nasty) Innes.

If you have pictures, video or just memories you'd like to share, feel free to post below. We would love to hear from you all!!!

We've been getting requests to post up our set lists so, here goes:

Friday Night

From Me To You
Please Please Me
Boys
Hold Me Tight
Do You Want To Know A Secret?
Slow Down
Honey Don’t
All My Loving
Roll Over Beethoven
You Can’t Do That

Twist And Shout
She's A Woman
I Feel Fine
Dizzy Miss Lizzy
Ticket To Ride
Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby
Can't Buy Me Love
Baby's In Black
Act Naturally
A Hard Day's Night
Help!
I'm Down

Get Back
Day Tripper
I Want To Tell You
Drive My Car
Nowhere Man
In My Life
Sun King (intro) - Mustard/Pam/Window
I Want To Hold Your Hand


Saturday

Hey Bulldog
Tomorrow Never Knows
Old Brown Shoe
Paperback Writer
Help!
The Night Before
You’re Gonna Lose That Girl
Another Girl
Ticket To Ride
Glass Onion
Ob La Di, Ob La Da
I’m So Tired
Blackbird
Piggies
Julia
Lovely Rita
Reprise / Day In A Life
Slumbers-Weight-The End-Majesty

Billy J. Kramer
Do You Want To Know A Secret
I Call Your Name
I’m In Love
Bad To Me

Neil Innes
Hold My Hand
I Must Be In Love
MEDLEY
Doubleback Alley/Another Day/Cheese and Onions
Joe Public
Get Up And Go

Mark Hudson
Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me and My Monkey
Long Tall Sally/I'm Down/Oh!, Darling
Working Class Hero
Kansas City (with Brett Hudson)
So You Are A Star (with Brett Hudson)


Sunday

Back In The USSR
Dear Prudence
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Sexy Sadie
Helter Skelter
Long, Long, Long
Happiness Is A Warm Gun
Hard Day’s Night
I Should Have Known Better
Eight Days A Week
Tell Me Why
What Goes On?
Taxman
Strawberry Fields Forever
Across The Universe
The Word
Got To Get You Into My Life
REVOLUTION 9
Revolution

Billy J. Kramer
Do You Want To Know A Secret
I Call Your Name
I’m In Love
Bad To Me

Neil Innes
Hold My Hand
I Must Be In Love
MEDLEY
Doubleback Alley/Another Day/Cheese and Onions
Ouch!

Mark Hudson
Long Tall Sally/I'm Down/Oh!, Darling
Working Class Hero (with Brett Hudson)
Kansas City (with Brett Hudson)
So You Are A Star (with Brett Hudson)

We may not have any up coming gigs for a while (at least none that we're aware of yet), but that doesn't mean we aren't around. Feel free to blog away, email us or sign our guestbook.

All the best,
The Lads