Having been loads of fun last year, the second Time Machine Rock & Roll Revue slides into the Scott Block Oct. 19th, 20th, 21st and 26th and 27th.
Last year ‘A Love Story’ was sold out, and this year it’s ‘Here, There & Everywhere’ – a musical time traveling trip around the world featuring classic rock and pop songs from the 60s, 70s, & 80s.
Tickets are available at 53rd Street Music, Music Centre Canada and The Soundhouse Guitar and Record Shop, or online at lol@bullskitcomedy.com.
Last year, local filmmaker/author Harley Hay planned Time Machine – Retro Rock & Roll Revue which featured a fabulous band of a dozen local musicians serving up classics from such artists as the Rolling Stones, Carole King, Jefferson Airplane, the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, America, Cream and Michael Jackson amongst others.
Producer Hay and Music Director Morgan McKee put together the band with Dave Parfett, Jeremy Doody, Scott Wiber and Rob Goodwin with singers Ryan Marchant, Kayla Williams, Josh Baynes, Michelle Colby and Laren Steppler.
“It was exciting that it was so successful last year,” explains Hay. “To tell you the truth, I had already started on a second one – as we were doing the first one, I had the second one half written. And as we are doing this one, I have the third one half written!
“It just became a really fun thing for me, and a really great project. And believe it or not, it takes about a year to put one of these things together from the germ of the idea to collecting the musicians to locking in the script.”
Ultimately though, Hay and his team really started in earnest to pull the production together this past April. “I wanted as many of the same people as last time – I loved working with them, they are the best. And also to give the audience that sense of continuity; a sense of connection that this is an ongoing thing.”
Only one cast change had to be made out of the original 11. “There are the five original singers – all five of them which is key because they are the main cast,” he said. “All of them are back onboard again.
“The only change we made in the six-piece band is Scott Wiber, the bass player, is also a professional real estate agent and he just couldn’t make the dates work. So we were lucky enough to get Melody Stang – she and Kayla Williams, one of the singers, have played in different groups together.
“She’s originally a guitar player and singer, but I didn’t realize what a great bass player she is. So she came onboard and she’s really fun to work with. It’s worked out really well.”
As hinted at, last year the feedback was tremendous.
“It was really rewarding – we had people saying it was the best entertainment money they had spent all year,” he said. “One person said they had just been in Vegas, and that they enjoyed the show as much as anything they had seen there. People were saying, ‘You made me cry! We touched a nerve with some of those songs from the 60s and the 70s.
“There were some poignant moments in the show, and there will be in this one, too.
“Others said, ‘Thank you for taking us back to the good old days’. People also commented on the production values – the sound, the lighting and the incredible talent onstage.
“It’s not full theatre, and it’s not a full concert – it’s a party with elements of theatre, elements of filmmaking and video, and some of the best and most classic rock and roll songs that were ever written I think. I think that’s why it works – it really captures the moments. and that’s what we are aiming for.”
Hay has been involved with staging several popular events over the past several years that pay homage to the good old days of rock, such as 2015’s Rockin’ in the Old Days! – featuring the Gaetz Avenue Dance Band and Sam and A Case of the Blues – A Tribute to the Blues Brothers back in 2009.
As to the first show last year, Hay said that as that list took shape, he started to see a pattern emerge.
Like last year, this year’s show promises to be a brilliant, colourful and flat-out fun showcase of favourite tunes mixed with a bit of theatre, a dance floor and some of the finest local talent around.
Ultimately, Hay is just so good at this kind of thing – he’s got a real passion for not just Red Deer and its musical community, but for projects that overflow with a compelling sense of nostalgia overall as well.
“It’s going to be pretty epic and a lot of fun,” he said with a laugh. “I’m just having a blast. These Time Machine shows are some of the best things I’ve ever done, and among the most fun I’ve ever had. I’m loving it.”
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