Beatlemania Magic: touring 8 days a week

By Rebecca Sloan

entertainment@vindy.com

When The Beatles landed on America soil in 1964, fans went wild with adoration that erupted into screams and tears.

Bill Kropinak, the John Lennon of local tribute band Beatlemania Magic, is always amazed when fans react similarly to a show.

“It’s hard to explain, but we love what we are doing so much that when we play we generate a certain charisma, and it touches people. We have had thousands of people screaming at our shows and treating us like the real Beatles, saying they can’t believe their eyes or ears,” Kropinak said. “Some of these fans have actually seen The Beatles at some point in their lives, while others are just caught up in the magic.”

Mahoning Valley residents will get a chance to feel the magic for themselves when Beatlemania Magic performs this month at Packard Music Hall in Warren.

Kropinak, along with Russ Saylor as Paul McCartney, Burt Scheel as Ringo Starr and Mark Baranski as George Harrison, travel all over the United States playing the music of The Fab Four.

They have been as far as California and Oregon and do about 50 shows per year for crowds ranging in size from 2,000 to 5,000.

“We don’t really have day jobs. This is what we do. It takes priority,” Kropinak said.

Kropinak said Beatlemania Magic’s performances stand out from other tribute bands because of their meticulous eye for detail.

“The hours, days and months we have put into developing our characters are intense. We approach this with a serious measure of accuracy right down to identical instruments The Beatles used and custom-made costumes. Our bass player even learned to play left- handed,” Kropinak said, adding, “A tribute band is a hard thing to put together because you are portraying characters and the musicians have to be a certain height and weight.”

Kropinak, who grew up in Youngstown and now lives in Pulaski, Pa., formed Beatlemania Magic about six years ago. Saylor lives in West Middlesex, Pa.; Scheel is from Orangeville, and Baranski hails from Warren.

Kropinak has been a Beatles fan since he was a teen and has played in other tribute bands but never one that has reached this level of success.

He said Beatles tunes sound easy to duplicate but are actually rather complex and can be challenging to play.

“The Beatles were great innovators and some of the greatest song writers in history,” he said. “They started out not knowing anything about recording and turned into masters in the studio.”

During a concert, Beatlemania Magic performs favorites from the varying eras of Beatle recording history – everything from “Please Please Me” to “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

The guys make appropriate costume changes to suit each era and even speak with British accents.

“Once we take the stage, we are The Beatles,” Kropinak said after “summoning” John Lennon and demonstrating a spot-on English accent.

Kropinak said Beatles music appeals to everyone from young kids to the elderly.

“We put on a family-oriented show and take people back to a fun time in a different era,” he said.

Kropinak has never met any of The Fab Four in person, but he did meet Cynthia Lennon, John Lennon’s first wife, and Pete Best, The Beatles’ original drummer.

On The Run tour

Who: The real Paul McCartney

What: The former Beatle will start the tour July 15 and 16 with shows at Yankee Stadium in New York. The start of the tour marks nearly two years to the day since McCartney’s legendary 2009 CitiField concerts that resulted in the Grammy- winning “Good Evening New York City.”

When: McCartney added three dates to the tour, including Aug. 4 at the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, July 24 at Comerica Park in Detroit and July 31 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Info: Tickets will be available at Tickets.com for the Cincinnati and Detroit shows on Friday and Chicago tickets on Monday.