Gary Gomez as Neil Diamond

The Diamond Project

The Diamond Project Band is dedicated to performing a true replication of the musical styling of a live Neil Diamond concert. Rather than give the audience a straight studio version of Neil's classics, they strive to incorporate the EXCITEMENT, ENERGY AND MUSICIANSHIP THAT ONLY A LIVE SHOW CAN PROVIDE. They will leave you with the satisfaction that you have experienced a true and well deserved tribute to one of America's foremost talents .. Neil Diamond!

Gary Gomez appeared many times on the floating stage in Bemus Point and most recently in Mayville in 2019.  Gary is dedicated to being the best Neil Diamond tribute singer he can be.  His appearance on the floating stage have been a highlight of every Pops season through the years and Pops fans look forward to seeing him again in the near future.  The band enjoys coming to our area of the world and they look forward to returning to the .. stage that floats!  

"The Diamond Project has had the privilege of playing on the floating stage for the last 6 plus years.  The unique stage along with the great backdrop of the lake makes this venue a one-of-a-kind! The crowds are always great.  Our hosts make us feel at home.  One of my favorite aspects of the Pops is the ability to entertain both the front audience as well as the audience in their boats behind the stage .. anchored and always engaged.  The sound engineers and lighting rigs really make the show a great spectacle of sight and sound!  I am lucky enough to have a great band behind me and I can't think of a better venue in the summer months!"

Gary Gomez, lead vocalist of The Diamond Project as Neil Diamond

Many of the Neil Diamond recorded hits that Gary sings are these .. Sweet Caroline, Cracklin Rose, Kentucky Woman, Cherry Cherry, Hello Again, Thank the Lord, Forever in Blue Jeans, September Morn, Love on the Rocks, Yesterday's Song, I Am, I Said, I'm Alive, Song Sung Blue, Heartlight, I'm A Believer, Play Me, Solitary Man, I Got The Feelin, Holly Holy, Girl, You'll Be A Woman, Brother Love, Shilo, You Don't Bring Me Flowers and .. America!  

Band members are Gary Gomez, lead singer; Walt Vieweg, saxophone, flute, harmonica; Amy Vapot, keyboards; Bob Leaf, lead guitar; Greg Spangler, percussion; Bill Lubinger, bass guitar; Carrie Vieweg, vocals; Alan Sponseller, trombone; Caylee Volker, trumpet; Raine Austen, vocals.

www.thediamondprojectband.com 

The Diamond Project would have appeared this evening, September 4, on the floating stage to help close out the 2020 Pops season had Covid not reached our shores.  

Be safe.

Pat Locke

Maestro Muse

The Broadway musical Jersey Boys became an international hit and brought attention to the hits of Frankie Valli ane The Fours Seasons and to the music of the 1960s. 

Twenty-two year old Gavan Rousseau expresses the vocal quality of a young and handsome Frankie Valli that is reminiscent of his appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1962.  Close your eyes and it is Frankie Valli.  This group incorporates the look and harmonies of the original Four Seasons.  They will bring back memories and songs like Oh! What A Night, Walk Like a Man, Dawn, Sherry, Rag Doll, Can't Take My Eyes Off of You, Candy Girl and many more hits with ease and nostalgic flair of those years gone by.  All of the instrumentation an vocal harmonies are performed LIVE and with the aid of no tracks.  It's the real deal when it comes to tributes!  The look, music and harmonies of the original Four Seasons are all intact! 

Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons were the inspiration for the critically acclaimed Broadway musical Jersey Boys.  The Four Seasons are one of the best-selling musical groups of all time having sold an estimated 100 million records worldwide.

Valli was born Francesco Stephen Castelluccio in Newark, New Jersey.  From a young age he was influenced by jazz, doo-wop and soul along with artists such as The Drifters and Frank Sinatra. Realizing he needed a stage name, he changed his last name to "Valley' and eventually to "Valli" after a friend and country singer, Texas Jean Valli.

In 1961, The Four Seasons was formed with Valli on lead vocals.  Other original members included Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi.  The other members of The Four Seasons were older than Gaudio.  Valli, born in 1934, turned 26 in 1960, guitarist Tommy DeVito born in 1928, turned 32 and bass player Nick Massi born in 1927, turned 33.

Tommy DeVito was born Gaetano DeVito on June 19, 1928 in Belleville, New Jersey.  He is best known as a founding member, baritone vocalist and lead guitarist. DeVito performed and recorded with the group from 1961 to 1971.

Nick Massi was born Nicholas Macioci on September 19, 1927 in Newark, New Jersey.  Sadly, Nick passed on December 24, 2000 taking with him one of the original voices of the original Four Seasons.

Robert Gaudio, the youngest, was born November 17, 1942 in Bronx, New York. He is an American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, arranger and was the keyboardist/backing vocalist of The Four Seasons between 1962-1972.  He, then, largely retired from stage work while continuing to write and arrange their songs plus produce/perform on their records.  In 1990, The Four Seasons were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame located in Cleveland, Ohio.

                                        

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons Tribute on Ice

Sears Centre/Chicago Illinois

A spokesman for the show said the location had been selected for the gig and TV taping because of the strength of Chicago's skating market and the city's demonstrable affinity for Valli. 


The show was the creation of Disson Skating that specializes in the combination of live music acts and skaters.  The line-up of skaters included, aptly enough given Valli's heritage, the five-time Italian champion Silvia Fontana along with Olympic gold-medalist Brian Boitano, the three-time U.S. champion Michael Weiss, the British champion Steven Cousins and the world-champion Yuka Sato. 

In the video you will see Steven Cousins perform the backward flip .. twice.


Jersey Seasons and the wonderful sound of the 60s would have appeared on the floating stage today, August 30.


And lastly, my favorite song by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons? 

Who Loves You.


Be Safe.

Pat Locke
Maestro Muse

Elvis .. Bemus Style

While attending the Elvis tribute show in Bemus Point one summer I asked this waiter named John to pose for a fun photo before the concert.  "Elvis" promptly set down his serving tray and "struck a pose" for my camera!

                                       
Rick Alviti's Elvis tribute show is high-energy and full of audience interaction.  From corporate entertainment to casinos to the Chautauqua Lake Pops, this Elvis impersonator's show has everything one would want in a live show!

Rick has performed all over the country and in many parts of the world from the Wynn Resort in Las Vegas to the award-winning Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York owned by the Oneida Indian Nation to Malaysia for the Prime Minister.  While there he raised $250,000 for refugees in Kosovo.

Rick perfected his skills as a live performer at his own venue named Celebrity Theatre in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  His all-Elvis, Vegas-style tribute played 6 nights a week for several years.  Rick and the talented Rick Alviti Showband have taken this tribute show on the road and now travel across the country to bring this act to a wider audience wanting more!

Rick Alviti brings the passon, commitment and professionalism gained from his years as an actor/entertainer while living in Los Angeles.  Although Rick is truly a master at performing for a live audience, these skills have been enhanced by his other appearances in movie roles, on radio shows and television performances such as ER with George Clooney.

This tribute to Elvis is truly the closest thing to a live Elvis performance you will ever see or hear!

When Rick Alviti looks in the mirror, he sees Elvis.  There's no getting around it. The pushed-back hair.  The thick, bushy sideburns. The sexy sneer.  The blue eyes.

It's no wonder this actor had to face the music, so to speak, and learn how to "be" Elvis.  Several years go, Alviti, was living in California trying to be an actor and working as a single bartender at a popular club across the street from the NBC studios in Burbank.  He said he was one of the few who could sing and mix drinks at the same time!  Soon he became the singing Elvis behind the bar.

"Every day, someone said something about Elvis and told me I should go to Vegas. So I decided to try it though I wanted to make sure I represented him in the proper way.  I started studying.  I watched all of his movies and saw him in concert.  I rehearsed for a year.  then, things just took off for me.  I was getting all kinds of Elvis jobs and parts."

One of his more memorable performances was for Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Mansion in 1998.  Some diehard Elvis fans who have seen Alviti's show say that he is one of the best!  In fact, they rank his show among the top!   Btw, Alviti's father, Richard, is his manager. 

This tribute to The King would have appeared on the floating stage today .. August 29.


Be safe.

Pat Locke
Maestro Muse

A Tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd and Southern Rock

HIGH NOON is the East Coast's premier tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd and Southern Rock, performing exclusively the 70s classic hits of Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers Band, Molly Hatchet, The Outlaws and The Marshall Tucker Band.  With a deep dedication to the legacy of this timeless music HIGH NOON rings an authenticity like no other.  Listed below are the talented musicians of HIGH NOON.


Terry  Tyson (guitar/vocals)

Steve Gallucci (bass, vocals)

Doug Landis (keyboards, saxophone, vocals)

Don McCord (vocals, saxophone, flute, percussion)

Scott Stephens (guitar)

Sandy Croxton (vocals, percussion)

Mike Killela (drums)



Today, August 28 High Noon would have appeared on the floating stage.

Be Safe.

Pat Locke
Maestro Muse

On August 23 .. several in the Chautauqua Lake Pops organization met for a summer picnic at the Pops site in Mayville with the floating stage nearby ..  a stage that has seen many a tribute band for the enjoyment of all Pops ticket holders in Bemus Point and in Mayville.   Dan and Sue Dalpra reminisced about the inaugural year of the Pops in 2019 and how disappointing it was to not have a 2020 season though we all look forward to seeing the Pops return in 2021.

On that date in late August .. was the running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, the Indy 500 despite the absence of dedicated race fans filling the grandstands.  Unfortunately, with races whether it be Indy, Nascar or Formula 1 there are crashes. So with just 7 laps to go Indy driver, Spencer Pigot spun out and hit the end of a pit row retaining wall halting the race to the checkered flag.  The 2020 race was finished under a yellow caution flag.  Race car driver, Takuma Sato won the race with a Honda engine.  Finishing the race today was Takuma Sato,  Scott Dixon (after leading 101 laps) and Graham Rahal .. 1, 2, 3.  Sato is now in the record books as a 2 time winner of the Indy 500. Personally, I was hoping Marco Andretti would be drinking and pouring that bottle of milk over his face and hat though the Andretti name had the pole position in Row 1 after time trials held on the prior Sunday.

So in 2020 .. the race that is usually run over Memorial Day weekend was run in the month of August with empty grandstands and no balloons afloat prior to the race though military jets flew overhead and the very traditional Back Home in Indiana was performed as was the National Anthem by 2 frontline nurses in the fight against COVID-19.  Having been to this historic race in 1984 the winner was Rick Mears and it was an experience I have carried with me ever since!  When the Purdue band played Back Home in Indiana, the colorful balloons went skyward and the Gentlemen Start your Engines command was given to the 33 drivers I felt a lump in my throat that didn't go away until the checkered flag waved on that beautiful sunny race day in Indianapolis, Indiana .. in the heartland of America.

An Indy 500 Winning Smile!

We are living in strange times with the Kentucky Derby usually being held the first Sunday in May now having been held this year on September 5.  Your Derby hat perhaps was decorated with Fall flowers though your mint julep was more than likely the same when we heard the announcer at that racetrack say .. Rider's Up!


If a COVID vaccine is hopefully found by 2021, I predict as does Danica Patrick .. the attendance at the 2021 Indy 500 will be .. "the best ever"!

If a COVID vaccine is hopefully found by 2021, I predict .. the attendance at the 2021 Chautauqua Lake Pops will be .. the best ever!

Until there is a safe vaccine .. be safe, wear your mask and social distance.

Thank You.

Pat Locke
Maestro Muse