Around 10 years ago, five guys got together for a pizza night and decided to learn The Beatles’ White Album for fun.
“We were all musicians and loved music, but we were business people and had families,” said Jeff Lockhart, a Kirkland resident. “Learning the White Album was not part of a gigging aspiration, we just thought, ‘Let’s get out of the house and learn this thing.’”
They had no idea their hobby would lead them to record albums and play for crowds numbering thousands on the rooftop of the Pike Place Market.
“We are always in awe of how this just took off,” Lockhart said. “We’ve been lucky to do some amazing things.”
Lockhart and his band members from Creme Tangerine are bringing the music of The Beatles to the Kirkland Performance Center at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31. All the proceeds from ticket sales will go to the KPC.
“Most of us are from Kirkland, it’s our home and we really wanted to give back to our community,” Lockhart said.
The band focuses on a new charity when they perform.
“Ten percent of the profit from our gigs a year we do for charity,” Lockhart said. “We chose Kirkland Performance Center because we believe in the arts and want to help keep arts and music alive in the Eastside.”
Creme Tangerine only plays music from The Beatles during 40-plus concerts each year, focusing on their hits.
“We tend to stay on the roadmap of the song, but are not looking to impersonate them or sound just like them,” Lockhart points out. “We think of ourselves as a rock band that uses The Beatles band as a repertoire, sometimes it sounds like them, sometimes it doesn’t.”
Lockhart’s favorite part of playing The Beatles music is watching people from all ages singing along with the band.
“It blows me away to see how this music just transcends and how everyone has The Beatles in common,” Lockhart said. “I consider myself to be a student of the Beatles, that band has always been a huge part of my life and I can’t believe where this interest has taken me.”
Beatles music took Lockhart and Creme Tangerine to venues all over the Northwest. Creme Tangerine has appeared in the Seattle Times, Evening Magazine and other media over the years.
Lockhart recalled the time Creme Tangerine was discovered at a club in Seattle several years ago.
“We got invited to play at all these other venues in Seattle, including the EMP and it just took off after that,” he said.
In 2008, Creme Tangerine members decided to celebrate the Beatles’ 40th anniversary with a rooftop performance at Pike Place Market on the last Friday of January at noon; the same day/time historically The Beatles last performance took place on the rooftop of Apple Records in London in 1969.
“We brought in the Beatles’ manager from London to see the show,” Lockhart said. “It was an amazing experience.”
Depending on the venue, Creme Tangerine will have a whole Beatles’ album be the theme of a concert. They will only play music from that album and will decorate the stage according to the album.
“Every show is different for us, there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach,” Lockhart said. “We just want all of our shows to be an experience; that every person at any age can enjoy and walk away feeling good.”
For ticket info to the Kirkland Performance Center show, visit www.kpcenter.org/performances/creme-tangerine.
