‘Good Vibrations’ to bring Beach Boys music to The State Theatre
“Good Vibrations” members Jeff Celentano and Jared Dalley in founding Beach Boy Al JardineĢƵ Endless Summer Band. (Photo courtesy of “Good Vibrations.”)
“Good Vibrations: A Celebration of The Beach Boys” performing live in Las Vegas. (Photo courtesy of “Good Vibrations.”)
“Good Vibrations” Surfer Girl Cheerleading Squad. (Photo courtesy of “Good Vibrations.”
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“Good Vibrations: A Celebration of The Beach Boys” will perform 8 p.m. Jan. 14 at The State Theatre Center for the Arts, Uniontown. Tickets for the performance are $25, $34 and $38 and can be purchased by calling 724-439-1360, online at statetheatre.info or at the box office at 27 E. Main St. (Photo courtesy of “Good Vibrations.”)
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“Good Vibrations: A Celebration of The Beach Boys” live. (Photo courtesy of “Good Vibrations.”)
Even though the weather might be chilly and frightful, the cast of “Good Vibrations: A Celebration of The Beach Boys” will have everyone thinking warm thoughts when they perform 8 p.m. Jan. 14 at The State Theatre Center for the Arts in Uniontown.
“Good Vibrations” got its beginning after a chance meeting with an important person.
“The band actually started as an original band. We ended up opening for classic rock bands ,” recalled Jeff Celentano, co-creator and co-producer of “Good Vibrations.” “We ended up being the backing band for Al Jardine, a long time founding member of The Beach Boys. After that we turned it into the proper tribute show. It is all guys that have either worked with The Beach Boys before or are associated with them. We make sure the pedigree is still there. That is not something you can say about a Beatles tribute band.”
“Good Vibrations” members that will perform at The State Theatre show include John Celentano (bass player and co-founder), Shaun Flannery (drummer), Taylor Sinquefield (lead singer), Jared Dalley (guitarist) and Rob Hyatt (keyboards and vocals).
For over a decade “Good Vibrations” has been traveling, mostly on the east coast, to bring their mix of happy surf and experimental Beach Boys music.
“We kind of take the approach that it is less of a band and more of a show. Most Beach Boy bands are like backyard bands,” explained Celentano. “We start with the earliest and the surfing stuff and we move into the more complex ‘Pet Sounds’ and ‘Good Vibrations’ and we close it with a party atmosphere. We have multimedia elements and video in between the costume changes and all of that.”
In 1961, three brothers, a cousin and a friend came together in Hawthorne, California to create the harmonized band known as The Beach Boys.
These original members (Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Al Jardine and Mike Love) released their first single, “Surfin” in 1961, which lead to a record deal with Capitol Records.
Since then the group has been writing, creating and performing music for over 50 years.
Due to the popularity that oldies music shows generate at The State Theatre Center for the Arts, Erica Miller, executive director at the theater, thought “Good Vibrations” would make a wonderful addition to the theatreĢƵ season.
“We have promoters that bring oldies concerts throughout the years and I thought that a Beach Boys tribute show would appeal to both our theater audience and the people that come to the oldies concerts,” she said. “I thought it would be a good fit to bring more people in.”
Because of this large span of time that the group has performed together, and still continues to perform, “Good Vibrations” is a little different than other tribute shows like “Rain” or “Yesterday,” which are Beatles tribute shows.
“In a Beatles band they only have to cover seven years. You can change costumes and put on a mustache. In The Beach Boys you have 50 years,” said Celentano. “We will wear the outfits, the striped shirts. It is hard enough finding guys that can sing it, and play it and can look clean cut and finding guys that are age appropriate. It would be hard to age people 50 years on stage.”
While, many know the group for their clean-cut surfer image and effervescent pop songs like “California Girls” and “Help Me Rhonda,” The Beach Boys are also known for their experimental music on albums such as “Pet Sounds,” which is a hit with the younger generations who goes to “Good Vibrations” shows.
“You are talking about a crowd that has a very diverse appeal. You have the baby boom crowd that associates (with) the surfers and you have the music nerds that are more into ‘Pet Sounds’ and ‘Good Vibrations.’ It has taken 50 years for it to reach that level of appreciation. The more obscure stuff,” said Celentano. “If it is the older crowd, they love “Barbara Ann” and “Surfing U.S.A.” Inversely, there is always someone that says ‘Oh my God. You did ‘Pet Sounds.'”
Because of the diversity of the crowd and their taste when it comes to the different incarnations of The Beach Boys, Celentano said he tries to balance the show out as much as possible.
“The thing about The Beach Boys show is that it is front loaded because they had so many hits in the beginning of their career, then went obscure and came back, and we try to do a show to appeal to every demographic in the audience,” he said.
According to the “Good Vibrations” website, some of the songs that are performed during the show include “Little Deuce Coup,” “Sloop John B,” “God Only Knows,” “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “Wild Honey,” “California Dreamin'” and others.
But, no matter if you are coming for the early or later music, Miller hopes that “Good Vibrations” provides the audience with a wonderful evening, complete with a break from the cold.
“On purpose we booked The Beach Boys show in January with the thought that by January we are already going to be tired of the cold and the thought of beach music would be fun and warm us up for a night,” she said. “I think everyone will enjoy having an evening to escape the cold and think of beach music.”
Tickets for “Good Vibrations” are $25, $34 and $38 and can be purchased online at statetheatre.info, by calling 724-439-1360 or 800-397-2554 or stopping by the box office at 27 E. Main St., Uniontown.