Casper Star-Tribune (Wyoming, USA) :: 16 August 2003
By Robert W Black

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - A Cheyenne band that pays tribute to the early Beatles is one of only three American groups chosen to perform at this year's International Beatle Week in Liverpool, England.

The band, known simply as '62, was invited to the annual celebration based on a CD sent to organizers last fall.

''In the back of your mind, you're always thinking, 'What are the chances, really, for a little band from Cheyenne?''' said Dave Pal, who sings and plays rhythm guitar and harmonica.

His bandmates are Scott Turner, who teaches music out of his home; Mark Langer, who manages a road repair supply manufacturing company; Andy Reinacher, manager of a mall pizzeria; and Chris Chimick, a civilian boiler operator at F.E. Warren Air Force Base.

All but Turner, who is fittingly from the British Isles, are originally from New York state.

Sixty acts from around the world have been invited to Beatle Week, which is Aug. 21-26.

Forming a Beatles tribute band was an idea that Pal and a friend, Dan Naylor, had kicked around since their high school days.

''We were late bloomers,'' Pal said. ''We knocked around for a bit. I was the one who stayed in music.''

Pal, the program director for KING-FM and KOLT-FM, has played in numerous bands and recently performed as a solo act. He has sung the national anthem at Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers and Denver Nuggets games and written about 100 songs.

The band members, who met through mutual musician friends, last year started rehearsing in earnest.

''We are all fans of the Beatles,'' Pal said. ''We just decided, 'Hey let's get together and jam,' and the opportunity came up and the time was just right.''

They chose to focus on Beatles songs from 1961-64.

''Some bands, most of them play the whole spectrum from 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' right up to 'Let It Be,''' Pal said. ''We don't do that.''

Instead, '62 plays songs like ''Hippy Hippy Shake,'' ''Blue Suede Shoes,'' ''Mr. Moonlight'' and ''I Saw Her Standing There.''

''We certainly choose to recreate the energy of those early Beatle performances and the sound especially,'' Pal said. ''And we really focus on the pre-Beatlemania music, the early rock songs that they covered and some of the early ones that they wrote themselves.

''It's really a period that's been forgotten about.''

Unlike many imitators, they do not try to look like John, Paul, George and Ringo.

''We will wear basic black and the leathers that they wore in those early days,'' Pal said. ''It doesn't matter what you look like if you don't have the sound.''

To recapture the atmosphere of the Beatles' years at Liverpool's Cavern Club, Pal sought to recreate the famous wall that served as the Beatles' backdrop.

He sought out many photographs, then e-mailed the club's owners to find unobstructed views of the wall. They told him the image is copyrighted and that he needed permission to use it.

After explaining the purpose behind the band, Pal was given permission and was encouraged to submit a tape for a possible invitation to International Beatle Week.

The band didn't have time to record a video, but Pal sent photos, a cover letter and an audio CD of a performance at a Cheyenne restaurant.

''That was it. That was in October,'' he said. ''We kind of kept in contact and in February we found out we had been chosen.''

The band will perform 11 times over the course of the week in various venues around Liverpool where the Beatles played.

''It's going to be very exciting,'' Pal said. ''The festival itself is in its 20th year - 200,000 to 300,000 people from 40 countries come to this thing.''

The band has to pay its own way, about $6,000, but once there, festival organizers will pick up their room, board and transportation.

''Once we found we were going to Liverpool, then every bit of money we made went into a kitty to help pay for this trip,'' drummer Chris Chimick said. They also asked for donations, and several local businesses obliged.

Chimick, who grew up in Queens, N.Y., and New Hampshire, taught himself how to play drums his senior year in high school with a $150 set.

''What really sparked my interest was seeing the Beatles on 'The Ed Sullivan Show' in 1964, and I've been a Beatles fanatic ever since,'' he said.

Chimick remembers the night Pal called to tell him they had been selected.

''I nearly fell over,'' he said. ''It's a great honor. We're only one of three American bands that have been invited this year, and it's just going to be a blast.

''I hope they like us.''

-----

On the Net: http://www.cavern-liverpool.co.uk/beatleweek