Sep 10, 2015

Get Back Wisconsin on the Beatles

By Aviv Kammay

“Always unpredictable, a bit more inventive than most” (Leonard Bernstein on the Beatles, 1967)

“If you want to know about the Sixties, play the music of the Beatles” (Aaron Copland)

These two quotes from a pair of American classical music giants beautifully capture the significance of the Beatles, unmatched in the history of popular music. Take unprecedented originality and creativity in songwriting and combine it with a historical social phenomenon and you get a very powerful compound that generates fandom and scholarship, connecting generations of human beings around the world for over half a century and counting. Like many others, we at Get Back Wisconsin have the bug. We immerse ourselves in the music of the Beatles, and experience it as the listeners, performers, scholars, and fans we are.

But what is Get Back Wisconsin?

In early 2013 we embarked on an exciting and challenging journey, setting ourselves a goal of studying every song from the Beatles catalogue, and creating live performances that are as true as possible to the recorded versions. That is why the Wisconsin State Journal celebrated us as “the Beatles purists” (see story here).  But we are not the kind of tribute act that puts on wigs and fake accents. We are five dedicated musicians who focus on bringing the subtleties of each song to life on stage. We are honored to share the music of the Beatles with audiences, and we always insert a few bits of vital (and less vital…) information about the songs we play.

And that is why we are so thrilled to offer a workshop at the Madison Music Foundry. Our workshop is designed for musicians who love the music of the Beatles and want to take a peek inside the songs. We will share with you the pleasures and struggles of creating note-for-note cover versions, and all the participants will have a chance to engage with the music hands-and-minds-on, as we will all make Beatles music together.

For more information about the Beatles workshop click here!

For updates and more about Get Back Wisconsin go to www.getbackwisconsin.com and “like” them on facebook.

AVIV KAMMAY
Aviv Kammay has wanted to be in the Beatles since age 3. At age 31 his wife reasoned him into settling for finding a group of people who would agree to listen to him talk about the music of the Beatles, so he turned to Craigslist. Before he could say Help!, a band was created. Aviv is very dedicated to Beatles scholarship and collects so many Beatles books and recordings that they spill over. He teaches music at Wingra School and OSRUI, and writes music he cannot play.