The Fest For Beatles Fans

Lure of the Old, need for the New

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Revolver played out in the last clicking grooves of the album, and I turned to Emily Moss with a sigh. “John Lennon has lost his mind,” I shivered, quite mournfully. And we sat in silence.

 

Trying desperately to find something to like on the new Beatles LP, we played it over again – Emily and I latching on to “For No One” and “Eleanor Rigby,” even though we were dyed-in-the-wool “John girls.” We felt like traitors. We felt abandoned. “Tomorrow Never Knows” and “She Said, She Said” were train wrecks.

 

“Bloody awful,” Emily feigned in a British accent, pretending to be one of the Beatlettes. And I gulped and nodded.

 

Forty years later, I read Robert Rodriguez’s insightful book, Revolver: How The Beatles Re-imagined Rock’n’Roll, and at last, I got it!! I finally, finally understood the necessity for Revolver – the need for change and growth, the imperative for The Beatles to move beyond the “yeah, yeah, yeah’s” into a wider dimension of creativity. At last, I understood and accepted everything that happened, post-Rubber Soul.

 

People despise change. And I’m one of them.

 

Recently, Campbell’s Corporation changed the label on their “Pork’n’ Beans”…after 40 full years. I almost wept…although how that label affects me personally, I’m not quite sure.

 

And when I saw the utter remodel of The Grapes in Liverpool (it looks NOTHING like The Grapes that The Beatles frequented…nothing at all), I flew into a Mimi Smith swivet of the first order. Furious!

 

But without change, only one thing is certain: decay, death. We have to keep growing.

 

The Fest for Beatles Fans in New York and Chicago changed this past year. We added the Apple Jam Stage, the Faboratory, the skipping club, Beatles nap time, the Beatles hike, and more. We moved into new territory. Some people “read the Rodriguez book” (as I now say when I’m talking about coming into a new understanding of something), and they were on board with the additions to our standard fare. Others are still sitting at the turntable with Emily Moss, completely dismayed.

 

What The Beatles became with the advent of Revolver was a new band, a band with colors where their grey suits had once been, a band with foreign instruments where once there had only been harmonicas, drums, and guitars (with an occasional George Martin piano or two). The Beatles beat the box all to hell. They pushed away the boundaries of “same ole, same ole” and strode boldly into tomorrow.

 

And in pushing, experimenting, trying new things, and reaching out, they grew.

 

The usual is comfortable, and we still have much of that at The Fest. I’m solidly in the camp that still wants Mark Hudson to sing “Working Class Hero.” I LOVE it!!!! I still love the Marketplace, Liverpool’s concerts every night, Bob Abdou and the puppets, and the singing of “Hey Jude!” I cherish tradition. It frames me.

 

But “havin’ read the [Rodriguez] book,” I’m open to the possibility that the future may be better if we add, accept, adopt, and embrace more. Want to try? Anyone with me? Yeah? (yeah, yeah…)

 

 Jude Southerland Kessler is the author of the John Lennon Series: www.johnlennonseries.com

 

Jude is represented by 910 Public Relations — @910PubRel on Twitter and 910 Public Relations on Facebook.

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2015 Chicago Fest Recap

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Dear Beatles Family,

WOW CHICAGOLAND, how we love you! What a Fest weekend that was!

 

John, Paul, George, and Ringo did it again…they brought us back together loving them to pieces and recognizing everything they’ve done for our lives! Celebrating 39 years in Chicago, chilling with our Fest Besties, learning new stuff, jamming all the while…we have all of you to thank for it.

 

At #ChiFest15, thousands of Beatlemaniacs from 32 states, Canada, Mexico, Italy, England, and Australia came together at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Rosemont, Illinois to celebrate all things Beatles, including the 50th Anniversary of the Beatles’ earth-shattering concert at Shea Stadium and the 50th Anniversary of Help! This is our collective recap…

 

 

 

If you get to the bottom of this email and these pics aren’t enough for your vicarious re-living of the Chicago Fest, check out the Fest’s Danny Abriano’s Facebook album HERE head, see Carol Lapidos of the Fest’s album HERE, and head HERE to scope out our fans album, and Michelle Your Belle just uploaded 600 pics from from her iPhone.

 

Also be sure to head to and subscribe to our YouTube page, where more than a dozen videos from the Chicago Fest have already gone up and many more are on the way!

 

(picture below from @liz_fletcher on Instagram)

 

The hotel started to fill with fans as early as Monday, and excitement built up as we set up the hotel. Lobby jams started, the Hyatt staff put on their own HELP! shirts, and fans explored the bustling and festive Hyatt Regency O’Hare, preparing for the fab three days that were to come.

 

The FEST officially kicked off at 5 PM on Friday, August 14 as fans came in from the heat and brought their Beatley swagger with them to more than a dozen ballrooms throughout the hotel. Along with our band, Liverpool, perfectly recreating Beatles tracks note for note, our guests included Terry Sylvester, Bob Eubanks (who hosted the first ever Beatleywed Game!), Billy Kinsley, Jack Oliver, Louise Harrison, Mark Rivera, Dick Biondi (below with emcee Terri Hemmert), and Mark Hudson.

 

 

 

Friday night continued on with the 60s Dress Up contest and Dance Party –- where Liverpool treated Festers to three rocking sets of Beatles tunes. Head HERE for a video of Liverpool performing “Please Please Me” and head HERE to see them perform “Old Brown Shoe.”

 

 

 

 

To go along with our incredible musical guests, the weekend also featured some amazing Sound Alike and Battle of the Beatles Bands competitors. Eric Howell blew the crowd away while winning the Sound Alike contest singing ‘Something,’ and BEATLEJUICE (below) snagged the Battle of the Bands crown after performing an amazing version of ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ that included a string quartet. Head HERE to watch their winning performance.

 

 

Our tradition of the ‘Beatles Gratitude Wall’ continued, and was where fans wrote and hung signs showing their gratitude to the Beatles…

 

 

The We All Shine On wall was new this year, to remember the people we love who we’ve lost. WOW, look at that diamond sky we created!

 

 

The FABoratory, our newest addition, where fans had the chance to turn into Beatles Magicians, Mad Fab Scientists, and teachers, was such a blast. Thank you to all the FAB fans who created truly exciting new elements of the Fest with your out-of-the-box ideas! ‘I Met A Beatle For Real’ was the real life version of Sara Schmidt’s blog, and boy were there some juicy stories of Beatle-meeting. Willa and Libby brought an awesome hand-painted face-hole exhibit called ‘I Saw The Photograph,’ and Lanea Stagg made the most delicious truffles in the world for us with her ‘Savoy Truffle’ culinary experience! We did an improv reenactment of The Beatles meeting Elvis with Ivor Davis, sideburns and all. Beatles bubbles were blown with Jeanie McNicol, and ‘Beatles Beat The Clock’ with Bob Abdou got super whipped-creamy, pie-in-the-face style at the end.

 

Photo below is on Her Majesty’s Throni, c/o of @paypay_beela12 on Instagram.

 

 

The live music of the weekend wasn’t limited to the nighttime concerts…

 

School of Rock Chicago took to the stage on Saturday afternoon (head HERE to see them perform ‘Dig A Pony’), and Girls Next Door A Cappella from the University of Illinois performed on Saturday night –- singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to a surprised and delighted Louise Harrison and performing a chills-inducing version of ‘Because.’

 

 

 

Later on Saturday night, Ron Aprea, who played sax on John Lennon’s Walls and Bridges LP, joined Liverpool as they tore through a sizzling version of ‘Whatever Gets You thru the Night.’ See the video HERE.

 

 

On Sunday, The Weeklings played a rollicking set that featured songs the Beatles wrote but never officially released, their Beatles-inspired originals, and other Beatles cuts.

 

 

That wasn’t all…

 

The Apple Jam Stage made its Chicago Fest debut, where an amazing assortment of solo artists, bands, and DJs rocked all weekend long!

 

After Michelle My Pelle and DJ Sun Queen & DJ Madonna got the party started on Friday night, Scott Erickson performed deep cuts on both Saturday and Sunday, GiGi Wong-Monaco hosted a ukulele strum, Nick Peay played Beatles tunes on acoustic on Saturday and uke on Sunday, and Phil Angotti & Friends brought the house down with their McCartney-centric show on Saturday and their Lennon-centric show on Sunday. Also delighting fans on the Apple Jam Stage were School of Rock (after their main stage appearance), Sgt. Sauerkraut’s Polka Band, and the Yellow Submorons.

 

On both Saturday and Sunday, after the scheduled performances had concluded, the Apple Jam Stage opened up for the fans, who jammed into the wee hours of the morning.

 

 

Meanwhile, jams were going strong all throughout the hotel all weekend long — sunrise to sundown and beyond…

 

 

As always, the Beatles art contest was a place where fans were treated to some truly great art by professionals, amateurs, and kids, all who took home prizes. Of the many entries in the professional division, Sandra Ragan took home the top prize for her broken glass and ink Abbey Road art. The giant crocheted Beatles flag by Jessica DeJardin took top honors in the amateur division, and Cameron Hicks’ mixed media with melted crayons piece won the top prize for the kids division. We thank Deco for continuing to do such a great job with the Art Museum.

 

 

The Chicago Fest was home to two Beatles marketplaces, the weekend home of 20 of the best Beatles authors in the world, and Terri Hemmert of WXRT, our amazing emcee.

 

When Festers weren’t busy dancing, jamming in every nook of the hotel, and parading (at our fourth annual Beatles Animal Parade which included the new Martha puppet), they took in one of Bob Abdou’s highly entertaining Beatles puppet shows, got memorabilia signed, watched a movie in the Beatles video room, sang Beatles karaoke, toured the photo, Beatles art, and memorabilia rooms (Rob Shanahan, Neal Glaser, Jeff Augsburger), and more.

 

 

 


 

Many also took refuge in our Beatles Ashram, which featured yoga classes for adults and kids, intro sessions to Cosmic Consciousness with the teachers of Transcendental Meditation, Beatles Zumba with GiGi, Deco’s Poetry Jam, and the Ashram’s highlight of the weekend… a talk with Louise Harrison about spirituality — from George’s perspective and her own. “Whatever you do, do it with purity of purpose” Louise told us was one of George’s foundational beliefs and teachings.

 

 

Other highlights from the weekend were We Can Write It Out with Mark Hudson, Live Beatles Trivia hosted by Wally Podrazik and Joan Moran, Name That Tune hosted by Al Sussman and Tom Frangione, Lorie Nolte winning a trip to Las Vegas to see The Beatles LOVE Cirque du Soleil, nightly Fest recap songs with Danny Donuts (this time with a little HELP! from the FABoratory), a reenactment of Help!, and the always spectacular Pig Light Show that accompanied the concerts on Saturday and Sunday.

 

 

 

 

The amount of Beatles knowledge shared over the weekend by authors/historians Wally Podrazik, Vivek Tiwary, Bruce Spizer, Jude Southerland Kessler, Chuck Gunderson, Andrew Grant Jackson, Paul Skellett, Simon Weitzman, David Schwensen, Dee Elias, Jim Berkenstadt, Jorie Gracen, Jill Davis, Tom Frangione, Al Sussman, Susan Ryan, Robert Rodriguez, Richard Buskin, Anthony Robustelli, Kit O’Toole, and Lanea Stagg was nothing short of incredible!

 

 

As always, the Musicians’ Forum on Sunday was a treat, as was that night’s concert that saw Liverpool play all of the Beatles songs from the Help! film and other Beatles cuts before the stage opened to sax men Mark Rivera and Ron Aprea, Terry Sylvester, Billy Kinsley, and the incomparable Mark Hudson.

 

 

 

Drew, John, Glen, and Chris of Liverpool were fantastic all weekend, kicking things off with the Dance Party on Friday night, playing the entire 1965 Shea Stadium set (50 years to the day!) and more on Saturday, and finishing things up in thrilling fashion on Sunday night after performing all the songs from the ‘Help!’ film and more as Mark Lapidos thrilled everyone while taking to the stage to sing ‘Charlie Brown’ with Mark Rivera, Mark Hudson (The Three Markies) and Liverpool. It was a special moment. Then, everyone came on stage to join in the traditional finale of ‘Hey Jude.’

 

Head HERE to watch Liverpool wrap up the 1965 Shea Stadium set with ‘I’m Down’…

 

Head HERE to watch Mark Lapidos join in on the fun with ‘Charlie Brown’…

 

 

 

After the Chicago Fest officially came to a close, the jamming continued into the wee hours of Monday morning, with Festers playing outside in the front of the hotel until the sun came up and people started going about their Monday morning business. This is a new official tradition — join us next year!

 

 

The fans brought the energy all weekend, with the traditions of Fests gone by seamlessly intertwining with the new events and activities that spiced up the weekend.

 

We are still gathering all of the pictures and videos from The Fest to share, and we want to see all of yours, too! As we did over the weekend, use the hashtag #ChiFest15 to share pictures with us on Instagram and Twitter (@Beatles_Fest), and post pictures on our Facebook wall at Facebook.com/thefest.

 

In addition to the albums that are already up, lots more pictures of all the guests, events, activities, and fans will be shared in emails, on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and via email (send them to danny@thefest.com) in the coming days and weeks!

 

We’d also like to thank the Hyatt Regency O’Hare, who did a terrific job hosting the Fest, especially Deb. Most of all, we want to offer another thank you to all the guests and fans who came to celebrate all things Beatles for our 39th summer in Chicago.

 

 

We are already gearing up for the New York Metro Fest, taking place April 15 to 17 at the Hilton Westchester in Rye Brook, New York. Details will be released at TheFest.com in late-October, so keep an eye out! Hotel rooms are now available, so be sure to call (914) 939-6300 to book yours!

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Now and Then

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I’ve just been listening to “Now and Then,” the haunting John Lennon song which was enhanced by the other Beatles and ultimately scrapped during the Anthology sessions. And as I listen to the lonely, dark lyrics and solemn sound, I keep whispering to John, “Be present, be present.”

 

John was so rarely present. In his Spector-ized Rock’n’Roll LP and in the fan-produced version of “Now and Then,” (LISTEN HERE) he’s so far away, removed, absent from the moment. It was his way. He constantly distanced himself from his true sound, his true self, his true feelings.

 

After the loss of his mother, Julia, the second time — when death took her in July of 1959 — John “hid his love away” and withdrew. For days, he was physically cloistered in his Mendips room, refusing even to eat. And when at last he emerged, John was no longer the incorrigible little boy who had pulled faces at Mimi and Ge’rge and pretended to be “The Famous Eccles.” He was a bitter and cynical teen with “a chip on his shoulder…bigger than his feet.” The new John was a stranger, even to himself.

 

In the years that followed, he rarely let “the former John” shine through. He protected himself in a thick, snarking, leather-jacketed armor that shielded his feelings, protected his wounds, and separated him from anyone or anything that could “get at him.” Cynical, angry, tough, and guarded, John employed every screen that would defend. He adopted a persona that kept people at arm’s distance. John Winston Lennon was not present.

 

Double-tracking his voice to the point of sounding as if he’s in another room, stepping farther and farther away from the microphone and vanishing into a sound box far across the hall, John slipped into a seclusion that eventually led to “house husband,” to towered genius, to recluse. He was present only to the few that he trusted. And even then…he watched his back.

 

That’s the legacy he leaves us in the haunting “Now and Then.” He sings, “But if you have to go, away, if you have to go…Now and then, I miss you.” And instantly we’re there,  standing shoulder-to-shoulder with that wounded, broken teen whose mother was capriciously in and out of his life, whose mother was here and there and gone again, whose mother was finally violently taken — when he needed her most.

 

That hurt never turned into acceptance. That wound never healed.

 

John was quick to tell Astrid after Stu’s death that she had a choice to make. She could die with Stu or go on living. It was her choice, John said. But strangely enough, John had already made the choice to bury himself with Julia and to become a different soul: a soul bound in invisible armor.

 

Are you that soul? Am I? Are we so far removed that our voice comes drifting in from another room? Are we so shielded from the many who’ve wounded us that we no longer let anyone love us, really? Are we so scared that we anticipate being abandoned and stave off the pain before it can even begin? Do we wound others before they can wound us? Do we fear being present?

 

Now and then…I do.

 

Now and then, you might, too.

 

I wonder what John would do if he had the chance to do it all over again. I wonder: Would he love more, embrace more, relish more, enjoy more, open up more, feel more, surrender more? Or would he say that being absent was just the ticket?

 

I lean closer to the computer speakers. I strain. I listen to his haunting, distant sound. And then, I reflect, now and then. I wonder.

 

You can listen to John’s demo of “Now and Then” HERE.

 

 Jude Southerland Kessler is the author of the John Lennon Series: www.johnlennonseries.com

 

Jude is represented by 910 Public Relations — @910PubRel on Twitter and 910 Public Relations on Facebook.

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Hey Jude was released 47 years ago today

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From Fest Founder/Director Mark Lapidos…

 

Monday August 26, 1968 at around 10:30AM
Kutsher’s Country Club, Monticello, New York

 

I was working as a waiter in the children’s dining room and was taking my typical morning break between breakfast and lunch, going back to my room, turning on my transistor radio and more often than not, nodding off a bit.

 

Well on this morning I heard a brand new Beatles song and it woke me up. It mesmerized me. But in the coda my brain cells were going on and off. I remember thinking ‘how long is this song,’ then coming back to it a minute (or perhaps only seconds) later and it was still going! After lunch I had a full listen, and here we are 47 years later and it is still my favorite song of all time — Hey Jude.

 

To me, the single (with ‘Revolution’ as the b-side) had the power and impact of an entire Beatles album. I don’t know how else to explain it.

 

If I drove to my college classes and Hey Jude was on the radio, I always waited for the song to finish before heading in. I still do (but not always). It has had a profound effect on my life. Three months later, the Beatles put out a double album with 30 songs on it, but they had the class to not include the single on the album. Wonder how Capitol must have felt about that.

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Instant Karma or Instant Nirvana

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What are you waiting for? When will you use…

 

  • The “good china and crystal”
  • That lonesome dining room
  • That special, expensive outfit you’ve been saving

 

What are you waiting for? When will you…

 

  • Buy the dream house you’ve always talked about…or at least try to
  • Go on that vacation the two of you have always planned
  • Go to THE FEST FOR BEATLES FANS

 

For 31 years, I taught aerobics and for 31 years, people sheepishly said to me, “I want to take your class…and I will, when I lose weight!” WHAT??? Wasn’t taking my class THE way to lose weight? Wasn’t that what my class was all about? What were they waiting for? I never knew.

 

For 25 years, my Office Manager at the Independence YMCA in Kansas City told me that she and her husband were going away on a magical two-week cruise. And each year, they postponed…until the day that she found him collapsed on the kitchen floor. Three days later, all hope of a cruise was gone.

 

For 14 years, my mom said that she wanted to go back to New York City one more time. And then a heart attack took away her option.

 

What are you waiting for?

 

Robert Ingersoll once famously said, “The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here.”

 

And John Lennon warned us:

 

Instant Karma’s gonna get you
Gonna knock you right on the head!
You better get yourself together…
Pretty soon you’re gonna be dead.
What in the world you thinking of
Laughing in the face of love?
What on earth you tryin’ to do?
It’s up to you, yeah you!!!

 

Wise man, John.

 

So here’s the bottom line: In 28 days, Beatles fans from all over the world will be gathering at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Chicago’s lovely suburbs.

 

We’ll gather to listen to the lads’ music being broadcast over that elegant hotel’s sound system, to sit by the open fire in the Red Bar and reminisce about our “Hard Day’s Nights,” and to sit in the lobby – all of us singing the old songs to a spur-of-the-moment band of guitars and tambourines.

 

We’ll shop in the huge Marketplace for t-shirts, bracelets, rare photos, old books, and collectibles. We’ll dance the night away to the sounds of amazing Beatles cover band Liverpool. We’ll sit in on panel with Beatles experts Bruce Spizer, Chuck Gunderson, Kit O’Toole, Al Sussman, Jim Berkenstadt, and Susan Ryan.

 

We’ll hear presentations from revered authors Robert Rodriguez, Anthony Robustelli, Lanea Stagg, and Dave Schwensen. And we’ll get our groove on in the exciting new “FABoratory” where Beatles Yoga, creative art projects, and live music is only the beginning of the fun.

 

You could be there. You could go crazy at the Saturday or Sunday night concert with Mark Rivera, Billy Kingsley of The Merseybeats, Terry Sylvester of The Hollies, and the ultimate rocker, Mark Hudson!

 

You could wear ‘60s clothes and meet the former head of Apple Records, Jack Oliver. You could chat with charming Ivor Davis, who toured with The Beatles in 1964. You could talk face-to-face with the charismatic man who brought The Beatles to America three times, Bob Eubanks. You could grab a Starbucks and watch all the Beatles movies your heart desires or introduce yourself to Ringo Starr’s photographer Rob Shanahan while you enjoy his amazing photos of Ringo, Paul, and so many others.

 

Or… it could be the weekend you clean out the garage and sleep on the sofa to re-runs of “The Big Bang Theory,” all the while promising yourself that next year, you’ll make The Fest happen.

 

The choice is yours.

 

The last thing my mother taught me was this: You may never get another chance. Follow your dreams now. Right now.

 

Instant Karma or Instant Nirvana? Choose.

 

 Jude Southerland Kessler is the author of the John Lennon Series: www.johnlennonseries.com

 

Jude is represented by 910 Public Relations — @910PubRel on Twitter and 910 Public Relations on Facebook.

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Say The Word…Love!

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For a great majority of Beatles Fans (the Boomer variety), these quotes from John and Paul are oh-so true. The golden thread of memories we share with loved ones is, in many cases, longer than the days that unspool before us. We’ve been blessed with a joyful past – rich and full. And you know that can’t be bad! But there’s a flip side to that bounty of yesterdays.

 

In the last couple of months, my Fest Blog has included a final, loving tribute to Cynthia Lennon and one for John’s sound engineer, Dennis Ferrante. And in the year ahead, we’re sure to say goodbye to more of that original group who made up The Beatles Family. It’s that “time of the season,” and we all know it.

 

I was mulling over this situation last week – thinking how very sad it is that, in most cases, we only express how much people have meant to us when we’ve lost them. Then we scramble to write eulogies and memoires. We publish favorite photos on Facebook and place stuffed animals beside lighted candles. We pause to pay homage. But unfortunately, these tender tributes never reach the ears of the departed.

 

Too little, too late.

 

So…for the next two weeks, I’m encouraging you to “Say the Word…Love!” to someone you cherish. You might speak to:

 

1) A teacher or mentor from long ago who challenged you to become your best, who molded you (intentionally or unintentionally by a quote, deed, or direction) into the person you are today
2) A faithful friend who’s always there for you…the person who’s your “thick and thin, Stu Sutcliffe” kind of soul mate
3) A parent, grandparent, aunt, or cousin…some family member who (expecting nothing in return) has blessed you with unconditional love
4) An inspirer…a favorite performer, writer (for me, it was Maeve Binchy…why didn’t I tell her???), artist, achiever, or public figure who has stirred you to be greater and better
5) A faith guide who has lifted you to a higher plane
6) Or a…well, you get the picture!

 

There is someone out there who deserves your thanks, someone to whom the words have never been said. Say them. Email, text, scribble by hand, telephone, Instagram, or “say the word,” face-to-face! But no matter what you do…say it! Don’t wait until it’s too late to speak the emotions that are in your grateful heart.

 

In 1965, John Lennon gave us this advice. It was good then. It’s great now. Listen:

 

Everywhere I go I hear it said
In the good and the bad books that I have read:
Say the word, and you’ll be free!
Say the word and be like me…
Say the word I’m thinking of
Have you heard the word is “love”?
It’s so fine…it’s sunshine!
It’s the word: LOVE!

 

Love: you have 14 days to express it. Don’t delay!
Ready? Steady? Say, say, say!

 

For a bit of inspiration, CLICK HERE to listen to The Beatles singing “The Word”

 

Jude Southerland Kessler is the author of the John Lennon Series: www.johnlennonseries.com

 

Jude is represented by 910 Public Relations — @910PubRel on Twitter and 910 Public Relations on Facebook.

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He Engineered the soundtrack of life: A tribute to Dennis Ferrante

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The job of a Sound Engineer, as I understand it, is to oversee the mix of volume levels, sound effects, and instrument inputs in the recording studio…to work magic so that the artist’s song is presented in its very best light. Sometimes this involves moving microphones, and shuffling amplifiers and drums around so that the sound reverberates in a more effective manner. Sometimes this involves ingenious solutions like sticking overcoats in the drums to muffle them. Whatever it takes, a sound engineer does it.

 

That is what Dennis Ferrante did for John Lennon and Yoko Ono at The Record Plant in New York City. And that, essentially, is what Dennis did with his life.

 

Dennis was given “the gift” of a bum heart. During his life he had numerous heart surgeries, and in his last years, he was living with the use of only twenty percent of his heart in functioning condition. But with that twenty percent, he loved more, laughed more, and celebrated more than anyone I know. Dennis Ferrante was exuberant.

 

I first met Dennis when he guested on my “John Lennon Hour” show on BeatlesARama Radio. I had prepared 12 questions to ask Dennis during our hour together. In 60 minutes, he answered three. Dennis had a way of telling a story (with all the trimmings!) that kept an audience captivated. He didn’t answer a question with terse facts or data. He answered by unveiling – bit by bit – his colorful, thrilling adventures. He answered by letting the listener into the electrifying world in which he lived. When Dennis told a story, you walked his walk. His answers were lengthy and fascinating and chock full of life. You sat enraptured by the things Dennis said.

 

And when Dennis talked, everyone laughed! He was witty, raucous, and bold. When I greeted Dennis on that first show that we did together, I said, “So glad to have you with us, Dennis!” And he fired back, boldly, in his New Jersey accent, “So glad to be had!” I cracked up.

 

Over the next three years, Dennis appeared on my radio show three times, and when I moved to BlogTalkRadio, Dennis moved with me. The week that Cynthia Lennon died (and my heart was broken), I phoned Dennis and asked him if he would be my guest – I needed someone special that week to lift my flagging spirits. He immediately agreed. And even in that gloomiest of weeks, he made me smile.

 

Dennis wouldn’t take “sad” for an answer. On any given day, even in the hospital I imagine, he was mischievous, hilarious, and badly-behaved.

 

Dennis had incredible stories about his years in the studio with Cher, John and Yoko, Harry Nilsson, Lou Reed, and so many others. His stories of restoring Duke Ellington’s music to its original vibrancy and life (a meticulous task that won him a Grammy) were riveting. But he never told those stories to “name drop” or boast. He told them because they were funny; he told them because they made people grin, ear to ear. He told them because hearing those stories made others happy. You couldn’t be in Dennis’s presence without laughing. He was THAT guy. He was the one you wished you could be.

 

Dennis wasn’t without his problems. He had flat-lined several times before he died. Quite frankly, he knew his time was limited.

 

I had already invited Dennis to be on my radio show for my birthday this coming November, and he’d responded, “I’ll be there, if I’m still here.” Dennis knew his heart was iffy at best. But that never dampened his mood. Like any good sound engineer, he mixed magic…but in the studio of his life. He equalized and blended his attitude so that the only sound we heard was joy.

 

We all face tragedies daily, large and small. But it’s our choice to let those roadblocks control us or to shuffle things around and adjust levels so that we control them. Dennis engineered the soundtrack of his life. It’s now a heavenly anthem. And the angels are smiling.

 

 

To hear Dennis’s last interview with Jude (and it’s a classic!) go to:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thejohnlennonhour/2015/04/03/johns-sound-engineer-dennis-ferrante-makes-you-smile

 

 

 

Jude Southerland Kessler is the author of the John Lennon Series: www.johnlennonseries.com

 

Jude is represented by 910 Public Relations — @910PubRel on Twitter and 910 Public Relations on Facebook.

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To Serve is to Rule

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Mal Evans used to repeat frequently with a soft, knowing smile, “To serve is to rule.” He realized the power that came from being efficient, hard-working, dependable, and trustworthy. He knew the invaluable strength of being a person people can trust.

 

Mal didn’t do “earth-shaking” things. He set up Ringo’s kit and the boys’ amplifiers. He carried equipment in; he carried equipment out. He fetched tea from the EMI canteen. He shouldered the boys through crowds when necessary – and he shouldered their worries when he could. He listened. He kept Beatles secrets. But most of all, he invested himself in someone else’s future. And for The Beatles, that was more than enough. Mal’s role was crucial.

 

George Harrison said, “He loved his job; he was brilliant, and I often regret he got killed. Right to this day, I keep thinking, ‘Mal, where are you?’…he was such good fun, but he was also very helpful. He could do everything…and he always had everything. He was one of those people who loved what he was doing and didn’t have any problem about service. Everybody serves somebody in one way or another but some people don’t like the idea. [Mal] was very humble, but not without dignity.” For George and for all of The Beatles, Mal Evans was “the gentle giant.”

 

The Fest for Beatles Fans succeeds because we are blessed to have many gentle giants who help Mark, Carol, Michelle, and Jessica bring it to life two (and sometimes three) times a year. The Fest Family is blessed with a long-trusted staff of experts and artists who year after year “do their thing” to make the three jam-packed days smooth, seamless, and 100% fun! These behind-the-scenes folks put sparkle in the concerts, structure in the Marketplace, security in the entrances and exits, artwork in the lobbies and gathering rooms, questions in our interviews, and both sight and sound in the video/lecture/discussion rooms. Without our fest staff and volunteers, the fest could not exist. They are the people we trust to bring the Lapidos family’s ideas and concepts to fruition.

 

Many of you know the people I’m talking about…and you appreciate all they do, year after year. So, I’m going to ask you to write in and say “thank you” in the comments below. And I’m going to ask you to nominate one individual for a prize package of: 1) a signed/dated First Edition of Shoulda Been There (Vol. 1 in The John Lennon Series), 2) a signed/dated First Edition of She Loves You (Vol. 3 in The John Lennon Series), a signed/dated “Doors Of Liverpool” art poster, and a John Lennon portrait T-shirt by Rande Kessler. The staff member or volunteer who gets the most “thank you notes” and nominations from you in the next 14 days will win the honor of being our first Fest for Beatles Fans Mal Evans Service Award Winner!

 

However, we know that all of our staff members and volunteers are already prize winners. Over the years, they’ve won our respect, appreciation, and devotion. Year after year, I look forward to seeing these seemingly tireless men and women who are awake before I am and still going strong when I go to sleep…who’ve arrived days before I arrive at the Fest…and who stay to take it all down and pack it all up when I’m in the car, headed home for Louisiana. These men and women who comprise our Fest Family are our heroes. Let’s take a moment or so to tell them. I know George is glad he had the opportunity to tell Mal. You just never know.

 

And from me to everyone in our Fest Family, thank you. You may serve, but very truly…YOU RULE!!!

 

Jude Southerland Kessler is the author of the John Lennon Series: www.johnlennonseries.com

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The Beatles are never getting back together…sigh…

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In a recent interview about The Beatles’ Help! album, a radio show host asked me, “John was singing about his depression and struggles; Paul was singing about his problems with Jane Asher, and George was singing about squabbles with Pattie Boyd…but we never heard them saying those things, did we? How could we have missed this, Jude?”

 

I thought for a moment and said, “I guess we were too focused on ourselves. I mean, we happily sang along to serious songs like ‘Help!’ and ‘Tell Me What You See’ and ‘You Like Me Too Much’ without listening to the words, really. We danced. We snapped our fingers and smiled and laughed, but we didn’t really hear what The Beatles were saying. We were thinking of our own lives.”

 

It was the same when The Beatles broke up. I remember breaking down, throwing myself on the bedspread, and wailing, “How could they do this? How could they leave us? I never even got to see them in concert, and now I never will!!!! How could they just abandon us like this?”

 

It never occurred to me back then that John, Paul, George, and Ringo were the ones who were really hurting – that their friendships had crumbled; their spirits had been wounded. Over the years, as I researched and wrote about this era in their lives, the truth hit home. But about a month ago, as I was out running one day, I finally got it! My trusty iPod selected a Taylor Swift hit. And as the song played out, I finally heard not Taylor, but The Beatles speaking! In almost rock opera fashion, I heard them singing about the pain they’d endured when “The Fab Four” became just “the four.”

 

Who would’ve guessed that it would take Taylor Swift to make me aware of the anguish that John, Paul, George, and Ringo had experienced in the months and years that followed their “divorce”? Who would’ve imagined?

 

But now, when I hear “We are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” it’s a different song indeed! It’s a song about the loss of trust and companionship and brotherhood and love. And through Swift’s words, I hear the lads speak to me at last. It’s not about “me” anymore. It’s all about them.

 

Boys, I’m so very sorry.

 

Here they are “singing” Taylor Swift’s “We are Never Ever Getting Back Together.”

 

John:

 

I remember when we broke up…the first time
Sayin’, “This is it! I’ve had enough!”

 

Paul:

 

‘Cause like we hadn’t seen each other in a month
When you said “you needed space!” WHAT???

 

John:

 

Then you come around again ’n say,
“Ba-beeee, I miss you, and I swear I’m gonna change! Trust me…”
Remember how that lasted for a day?
I say, “I hate you!”
We break up…you call me…I love you.

 

Paul:

 

Ooooohh… we called off again last night.
But oooooh, this time, I’m tellin’ you, I’m tellin’ you…

 

John, Paul, Ringo, and George:

 

We are never ever ever getting back together.
We are never ever ever getting back together!

 

Ringo:

 

You go talk to your friends,
Talk to my friends,
Talk to me!

 

All:

 

But we are never ever, ever getting back together!

 

George: (disgusted)

 

I’m really gonna miss you pickin’ fights,
And me? Fallin’ for it, screaming that I’m right!

 

Paul:

 

And you? You hide away ’n find your peace of mind
With some Indie record that’s much cooler than mine!

 

John:

 

Ooooh, you called me up again tonight,
But oooooh, this time I’m tellin’ you, I’m tellin’ you…

 

John, Paul, George and Ringo:

 

We are never ever ever gettin’ back together.
We are never ever ever gettin’ back together!
You go talk to your friends,
Talk to my friends,
Talk to me…
But we are never ever ever gettin’ back together!

 

George:

 

I used to think that we were forever, ever…

 

Paul:

 

And I used to say, “Never say never…”

 

John: (speaking bitterly)

 

Huh! He calls me up, and he’s like, “I still love you…”
And I’m like, I’m just…I mean, this is exhaustin’, y’know…
We are NEVER gettin’ back together…like ever!!!!!

 

All:

 

We are never ever ever gettin’ back together!
We are never ever ever gettin’ back together!

 

Ringo:

 

You go talk to your friends,
Talk to my friends,
Talk to me

 

George:

 

But we are never ever ever getting’ back together.

 

All:

 

We….oooh, oooh…not back together!!!
We…oh…gettin’ back together…

 

You go talk to your friends,
Talk to my friends,
Talk to me…

 

Paul: (quietly)

 

But we…are never ever ever gettin’ back together.

 

If you’re not familiar with Swift’s song, HEAD HERE to listen…

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