Friday, May 15, 2009 10:27 AM EDT, By Anthony Stoeckert,
Bobby Bandiera says he had no interest in organizing tribute concerts when Numa Saisselin, CEO of the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, approached him with the idea in 2005. Mr. Bandiera wanted to continue playing with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, touring with bands like Bon Jovi, and writing and recording his own songs.
But Mr. Saisselin was persistent. He wanted Jersey musicians to perform tributes to rock ‘n’ roll legends at the Count Basie, and was convinced that Mr. Bandiera had the connections and musical knowledge to make them happen.
Mr. Bandiera eventually said he’d do it if he could decide which artists would be honored at the concerts. Mr. Saisselin said that was fine, until Mr. Bandiera told him his first choice was Roy Orbison. Mr. Saisselin was thinking of a bigger name, like the Rolling Stones.
”I told him, Numa, trust me on this,” Mr. Bandiera says. “I’ve been playing this guy’s music, I grew up listening to this guy’s music. It’s something I can get behind in an honest way and pull it off in an honest way instead of lip-synching it and just getting through it. I can get behind this.”
Mr. Bandiera put together a band — the Jersey Shore Rock-N-Soul Revue — to perform two Orbison-themed shows in March of 2005. Both sold out and the group has since performed shows honoring the Everly Brothers, Simon and Garfunkel, Motown, the British Invasion, and California bands, among others.
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Those shows were all successful but there’s something about that Orbison show. It’s the only one Mr. Bandiera has returned to, and he’ll perform it June 2 at the State Theatre in New Brunswick for the 2009 NJN Benefit Celebration. The fundraiser for NJN Public Television and Radio will begin with a reception at the Heldrich Hotel and Spa followed by the concert at the State Theatre.
”The Orbison thing somehow shines,” Mr. Bandiera says. “Not that some of the other ones didn’t, but people like it, they want to come out and see it. I’ll be able to (play it at) three theaters inside a month and a half and do well with them.”
Some of the hits audiences can expect to hear at the show include “Running Scared,” “Dream Baby,” “In Dreams,” “It’s Over,” “Oh, Pretty Woman,” and “Crying.” Feeling Mr. Orbison’s lyrics is vital to any performance of his songs because many of them, particularly the ballads, are extremely emotional. “They’ll bring a tear to your eye,” Mr. Bandiera says.
Take these lyrics from “Crying”: “It’s hard to understand/ But the touch of your hand/ Can start me crying.”
Or this from “Running Scared”: “Then all at once he was standing there/ So sure of himself, his head in the air/ My heart was breaking, which one would it be/ You turned around and walked away with me.” It may sound like a happy ending, but the singer has no faith that his girlfriend truly loves him.
”Sometimes it’s just astounding that the audience reacts the way they do,” Mr. Bandiera says of Mr. Orbison’s songs. “On the other hand, it’s not a mystery that they do because these songs can certainly pull emotion out of you. And that’s what you hope a song does when you’re writing it and after you’ve written it. They make you think, they make you feel, they make you tough. Those songs certainly do all of those things.”
Of course, Mr. Orbison has arguably the best voice in rock ‘n’ roll history. Chasing the notes he hit in “Crying” and “It’s Over” seems futile, but Mr. Bandiera says he can pull it off. “I have the good fortune of having a voice that can capture what he did — to a certain degree,” he says with a laugh.
In putting the tribute shows together, Mr. Bandiera calls upon musician friends from all over the Jersey Shore. The size of the band can range depending on what he needs (the Motown show required various singers who could capture the spirit behind different songs).
In addition to Orbison’s most famous songs, the concert will feature a few tunes he covered like “I Can’t Stop Loving You” and “Unchained Melody.” “There’s a few of those in the show,” Mr. Bandiera says. “And because I grew up listening to him, I was so inspired, some of the songs I’ve written over the years certainly capture a Roy Orbison-esque style. So I injected those into this show as well.”
Next for the Jersey Shore Rock-N-Soul Revue is a tribute to power trios — Cream, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Led Zeppelin, the Who. But wait? Isn’t Mr. Bandiera’s math off a bit with those last two?
”When I mentioned to Jon Bon Jovi we were doing Led Zeppelin and the Who, he says, ‘Those bands have four guys in them.’ I said, ‘Jon, who gives a s— about the lead singer?’”
The Jersey Shore Rock-N-Soul Revue will perform a tribute to Roy Orbison for the NJN Benefit Celebration at the State Theatre, 15 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick, June 2, 8 p.m. A reception will be held at The Heldrich Hotel & Spa, 10 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Tickets to the reception (including admission to the concert) cost $500; concert-only tickets cost $34-$45; 732-246-7469; www.statetheatrenj.org
Source: Centraljersey.com