Classic covers get people dancing

June 28, 2007
By DAN PEARSON Contributor

"Getting people up and dancing is the nicest compliment they can pay us," said lead guitarist and vocalist Greg Favata. "Even if they're not dancing, we watch them singing every word of every song with us and that's also very rewarding."

Favata, 51, of Mt. Prospect, is one of the Renditions, a group performing music of the '50s, '60's and '70's July 5 in Gurnee. The group, which specializes in four-part harmonies, chooses songs that are "well-known but not too worn-out." Their playlist of 85 songs includes music by the Beach Boys, the Beatles, Buddy Holly, Neil Diamond, the Doobie Brothers, Fleetwood Mac, The Monkees, Elvis Presley, Linda Ronstadt and the Four Seasons.

The Renditions (from left) Neal Carpenter, Ernesto Gasulla (replaced by Gary Greenman), John Radowski, Greg Favata, Jerry Soukal, and vocalist Kristi Alsip.

Other band members are lead singer Kristi Alsip of Chicago, bass guitarist and vocalist Neal Carpenter of Crystal Lake, keyboardist Gary Greenman -- once a member of the New Colony Six -- of Chicago, drummer John Radowski of Naperville and rhythm guitarist and vocalist Jerry Soukal of Bartlett.

Tempted to tinker

"We kept coming back to these songs because we grew up with them, everybody but Kristi, that is," he added, though he admitted that sometimes the group gets tempted to tinker with the original material.

"Can we sound like the original groups?" he said. "Can we get what's on that record and reproduce it? That is the challenge and there is something rewarding about sounding like the original. So do we change them? Once in a while we kid around and say we will take a little artistic license, but usually it is pretty close."

Favata said that Alsip does sing on songs that didn't originally have a female singer participating. "There are a few we will do where there is a well known female cover of that song. Kristi does 'Daydream Believer.' Even though it was a Monkees tune, Anne Murray covered it. And Kristi does 'Please Mr. Postman.' Though the Beatles are known for it, The Carpenters covered it, so we do closer to that version. But generally we try to stick with finding girl group songs for her."

Favata, who formed this group in April, 2006, said considerable thought went into finding the name for this cover band.

"We were looking for a name that indicated what we did. The Renditions kind of defines what we do -- our own renditions of these classic songs we like so much. There was a slightly different incarnation of the group in 2004. We debated whether of not we were going to call this band The New Renditions but we figured no one had heard of the old Renditions," he said.

Old friends

Favata and several of his band members go way back. "Neal and I began playing together in 1980. When we first got together 'Urban Cowboy' was a big thing so we were in a band called 'Blue Rose' doing country. That band segued into 'Yesterday's Gold' and we were doing '50's and '60's songs back in 1981. We played about 15 years together and then took a little break.

"Neal, Jerry and I played in a band called Pursuit back in the mid-1980s, another cover band playing current music at the time. We played a lot of corporate parties and weddings," he recalled.

Favata, who works at a brokerage to pay the bills, said everyone in the band has a day job that ranges from company executive to museum tour guide. "I enjoy both jobs very much. This gives me a chance to have a little fun on the weekends. The transition seems very natural to me."

Favata said that though there was a time 25 years ago when he did write original material for his bands, but that Renditions decided to be a cover band.

"That's the kind of music I enjoy and I've been fortunate to find people who like that same kind of thing," he said. "And we're working most weekends."

THE RENDITIONS

Viking Park Bandshell, 4374 Old Grand Ave., Gurnee. 7 p.m. Thursday, July 5. Free. www.gurneeparkdistrict or www.therenditionsband.com.

 

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