TRIBUTE

BANDS don’t necessarily need a physical resemblance to their inspirations, though. The members of The Beatles Flashback made a conscious decision to keep their stage appearance separate from their sound; they don’t even introduce themselves by name to keep people focused on the music. Plus, when you’re covering perhaps the most famous rock band of all time, the audience doesn’t need suits and mop tops to get the picture.

“There are a lot of good tribute bands who mimic the look, the dress, the motions, the talking; we’re more focused on the music,” said Jeff Shamus, guitarist and producer of the Beatles Flashback. “Also, it’s hard when you have, you know, 50-year-olds trying to look like 20-year-olds with wigs and mustaches and everything.”

The Beatles Flashback started in 2006 in Sonoma County after a Craigslist ad brought the original members together. Shamus answered the ad with passing interest, unaware he’d be embodying the Fab Four for the next 15-plus years. After playing shows and private parties in California, Shamus moved to Reno in 2013. By then, he’d come to love playing in the band, but he found commuting back to Sonoma for gigs impractical. He elected to make a Reno version of the band to play shows closer to home while the “cast” back in Sonoma continued to gig as well.

“Like, if you hired us in Sonoma County, you got the cast that was down there, and if you hired us in Reno, and you got the cast that was up here,” he said.

The Sonoma band played its final show last summer. The Reno members include Curt Mitchell, Larry Fuller, Geoff White and Kevin Pavlu; they continue to book events ranging from private gigs to shows at Artown thanks, in large part, to the mass appeal baked into their source material, Shamus said. He said the band is busiest during the warmer months, and they already have shows lined up for June.

“When you’re in a cover band, you want to play songs that people are familiar with, so you pick from a lot of different genres,” Shamus said. “With the Beatles, you’re able to pick 50 songs or 75 songs, and play them, and

Reno can relate to Elvis’ background. They both grew up poor in Mississippi before going on to travel the world in their youth. Reno’s initial musical tastes were geared toward bands like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, and it was only when people abroad in places like Australia and Asia began to tell him that he kind of looked like the King that he started to

“I continued to do that for a while, and then the company that I worked for relocated me to the Sacramento area,” Reno said. “I thought perhaps my career would be over— but then it really kicked off once I moved to Northern California. … Of course, now I’m known as Johnny Reno, the Sacramento King.”

Reno estimates that he still performs between 50 and 60 shows per year all over California and Nevada and still makes it back to his namesake city for birthday parties, veterans’ events and casino shows—wherever the King is needed. He even hopes to move back to Reno sometime this year. To Reno, everyone in the audience knows all the words. It’s the music that little kids are going to love, and grandparents are going to love, and everybody in between.”

However, the same qualities that make the Beatles so beloved can also make covering their songs demanding.

“You’ve got to play it exactly like the Beatles played it, because everyone knows it,” Shamus said. “You can’t just improvise … so it’s kind of a burden. I mean, it’s a labor of love, but it’s also a burden on us that we’ve got to play it right, because people in the audience are expecting to hear it like they remember it.”

Shamus said his band draws more from the high-energy, danceable Beatles catalog; no one wants to hear “The Long and Winding Road” at a backyard birthday party. It’s an impressive pace, considering some gigs last four hours.

“There’s no such thing as being tired,” Shamus said. “And then the adrenaline and the music kind of keep you going. You don’t realize you’re tired until you’re packing up.”

It’s the love of the music that serves as the primary motivator for Shamus and his bandmates. Shamus runs a software company as his day job; the other musicians also have full-time work outside of music. They still find time to rehearse regularly, though, both to give the Beatles songs the attention they deserve— but also because they genuinely enjoy it.

“When I was in a (regular) cover band, I’m playing the songs for the audience, really. In the Beatles band, I’m playing the songs for me,” Shamus said. “I mean, I’m the one having the fun, and I think that it comes across in our music.” from an early age. He was originally a trumpet player—until hearing Iron Maiden in the fourth grade made him put down the brass and pick up the guitar.

Learn more at www.beatlesflashback.com.

He played in local original bands Convicted Innocence and Tasty Red Snapper for years until having kids and the realities of a day job made touring, writing and performing harder to schedule.

“We really wanted to be able to perform, but, you know, doing original music is quite a bit more work,” Holsclaw said. “And, sadly, it can be a little less rewarding when you’re getting in front of people.”

In 2017, the band members followed through on an idea they’d had to form a Faith No More cover band. To Holsclaw, the variety and intricacy of the band’s catalog had always been a major draw for his musical sensibilities. Not knowing what to expect, they sat down for an initial rehearsal to see what might happen.

Of All The Motivations

to start and perform in a band that plays other people’s music, sometimes it’s just a matter of getting your friends together and playing the music that genuinely inspires you.

To Ben Holsclaw and his bandmates Brian Walden, Shaolin Gates, Nick Bashaw and Vince Gates (also of The Floyd), San Francisco rock band Faith No More provided such an opportunity. Holsclaw, like most of the musicians in this article, was a musician

“I will always remember that first practice,” Holsclaw said. “I started singing, and I got through the first verse, and I look up, and Brian has the stupidest grin on his face. And Vince is just sitting there smiling. I was like, ‘OK, this is going to work musically. This is going to be really fun.’”

COVID-19 lockdowns had a hand in stopping Faith ReNo More from booking gigs for a while. Holsclaw readily admits that his band hasn’t been great at prioritizing finding shows to play—although they have encountered clubs that are less inclined to book cover acts due to the associated BMI/ASCAP fees they need to pay to host copyrighted music. While he hopes to book more shows this year, he also said it’s not really about playing as much as they can; it’s more about having a vehicle to perform when they want to—and to put on a great show when they do.

“During those times when the band’s not really touring. or we’re not really doing anything musical, for me, there’s a hole there,” Holsclaw said. “I really like writing music; I don’t think I’m super great at it, but it’s fun. But for me, (it’s about) the performance. It’s fun to get up onstage and really just kind of throw it out there.”

Holsclaw said the band is as much a tribute to the musicianship of his friends and bandmates as it is to Faith No More, and he relishes the chance to play live as a creative outlet.

“I have a hard time getting out of my own shell,” he said. “The stage kind of gives me an excuse to do that without really any major repercussions. Music is music, tribute band or not. Music has really given me an opportunity to meet a bunch of people who have been lifelong friends. We’ve had some really great moments up onstage.”

Learn more at www.facebook.com/ FaithReNoMore.