10 minute read
Just Havin’ Fun
Entertainment Just Havin’ Fun
11-piece band keeps the beat alive at the Elks Lodge
BY ALEX GALLAGHER
Elks Lodge 2148 in Scottsdale is normally open only to members during the week, but from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays, the Oak Street club opens its doors for anyone who wants to dance.
The 11-piece The Havin’ Fun Band draws fans to the ballroom, which also offers room for guests to sit and enjoy a drink or a bite to eat.
Many instead hit the dance floor with their spouses to groove to the big band sound, much like they did when they were younger.
“All of our dancers are in their 70s, 80s and 90s and we’re starting to get up there in age,” says Tom Williams, who plays the trumpet in the Havin’ Fun Band and is also its co-leader.
Defying their age, the dancers move effortlessly to the blaring of horns and pounding of drums – much to the delight of the band.
“I’m one of those rare musicians who loves to watch dancers,” Williams says. “We have some really excellent dancers here. It keeps them vital.”
The scene reminds Williams of why he wanted to pick up the trumpet when he was a kid – and why he joined the band.
“I started playing the trumpet in about fourth or fifth grade and played all the way through college and in the Navy in a band,” he recalls.
Williams admits that he did take a break from music for a bit, but he eventually couldn’t fight the urge to return to music.
“After I got out of the Navy, I stopped playing the trumpet for maybe 10 or 15 years,” he shares.
After moving to Scottsdale in the ’80s, Williams was told about a community band.
“I started playing again and have been playing ever since,” he says.
Most of the band members have retired from their day jobs and most are first to admit that money is not the motivator when it comes to playing these shows.
“You’re not going to make a living in the big band business anymore, but we enjoy it,” Williams says.
The reason they still do it is to feel young and – well, have fun.
“The musicians here probably play as well as they did in their teens,” Williams says.
As more and more clubs have begun to shy away from the pioneering sounds of big band and swing music, Williams enjoys the Elks Lodge’s casual atmosphere and reviving the tunes.
While that genre is what gets the crowd moving, it is not the only style of music in The Havin’ Fun Band’s repertoire.
“We play big band stuff from the ’30s and ’40s but we do some rock ‘n’ roll tunes as well,” Williams says. “We know about 350 or 400 songs that cover a lot of genres but they’re all dance genres.”
Dancers will also scale through different styles of dance like the fox trot, cha cha, waltz, polka and line dancing.
All these dances remind Williams of his early jobs in a big band.
“I used to have six-hour jobs about 25 years ago and we would have couples who would dance that entire time,” he says. “There are people here who would do the same thing.”
Even during these uncertain times, one thing has remained.
“These people live for this,” Williams says. “They’ve told me they’d rather die dancing.”
(Above) Bill Fee and Marietta Raymond are among the seniors who pack the Elks Lodge 2148 in Scottsdale every Wednesday night to groove to The Havin’ Fun Band. (Right) Tom Williams plays the trumpet and is co-leader of The Havin’ Fun Band. (Photos by Pablo Robles)
MORE INFO
What: Dance the Night Away w/The Havin’ Fun Band When: 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays Where: Elks Lodge, 6398 E. Oak Street, Scottsdale Cost: Free Info: elks.org
Now in our 34th year! ARIZONA’S LONGEST-RUNNING EXPO IS HERE! IS HERE!
Monday, January 24th9am - 1pm Sundial Recreation Center 14801 North 103rd Ave., Sun City, AZ 85351
Healthcare | Retirement Living | Financial Leisure | Home Repair | Education Casinos | Tour & Travel and More... Wednesday, January 26th9am - 1pm Mesa Convention Center 201 N. Center Street, Mesa, AZ 85201
Entertainment by THE DUTTONS & MS. SENIOR ARIZONA ZONA Mesa, AZ 85201 FREE PARKING! FREE ENTRY! Lots of Prizes and Giveaways INCLUDING a $100 CASH DRAWING Every Hour!
Riding the Wave
The Beach Boys haven’t stopped making music
BY MADISON PERALES
The Beach Boys’ Mike Love played a couple drive-in shows during the pandemic, but nothing comes close to hitting a proper stage.
The band will perform at the Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday, November 14, as part of its 29date “Feel Flows World Tour.”
“We are so happy to be able to get back out and do concerts,” Love says. “Live music with real people is great because we were unable to for a year and a half or two.” Like everyone around the world, the pandemic had an adverse eff ect on The Beach Boys, who were forced to cancel their tour. “We had the biggest tour of our career lined up, then COVID-19 hit, and it all went away,” Love says. But that didn’t stop them from making music. “We were able to do a song called ‘This Too Shall Pass,’” Love says. Even though the members were unable to meet in-person, they recorded their parts with microphones, computers and phones and sent their recordings to actor/drummer John Stamos, who created the video.
“I wanted to say something positive to look forward to,” Love says. “We’re actually performing it every night in our concert. We do the encore, then we fi nish up with our classic ‘fun, fun, fun.’”
COVID-19 is lingering, but Love isn’t too concerned about touring during the pandemic. “I was vaccinated months and months ago so that’s no problem,” Love says.
The Beach Boys started the “Feel Flows World Tour” in May. These past fi ve months created noteworthy moments for Love, like when the audience reacts to the hit “Kokomo.”
“We have several big sing-alongs like ‘Help Me Rhonda’ and ‘California Girls,’” Love says. “But ‘Kokomo’ is by far the biggest sing-along, and to me, that’s the most special part of the concert.”
The band kicked off the tour on May 29 in San Diego, where it spiced up the show with special guests John Stamos and Mark McGrath of Super Ray.
“I just think it’s special for John and Mark to show up because it’s unexpected and it gives us a whole other element of surprise,” Love says. “They’re both so engaging and add so much positive energy to our performances.”
McGrath will also appear on the Beach Boys cruise from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas, in March.
“We have the Temptations, the Monkees, and a Beatles tribute band called A Hard Day’s Night,” Love says. “It’s going to be nonstop music on that cruise.”
The Beach Boys was formed in 1961. Love says The Beach Boys were founded on lyrics about romance, California girls and the beach life. “That still exists in little pockets in Southern California,” Love says. While the lyrics from some of their hits still resonate with listeners, the touring environment has changed a lot since the ’60s. “COVID-19 doesn’t have that much of an eff ect on the audience response,” Love says. “But technically, the performances are better these days because the sound is better, the production is better, and the venues are great.”
As for the Wickenburg show, fans can expect nostalgic songs from the ’60s. “Expect all the hit singles you can associate with the Beach Boys catalog and some songs that are more so perhaps,” Love says.
The setlist includes “God Only Knows,” which was sung by Carl Wilson, who died in 1998 from lung cancer. Love’s son, Christian, takes over vocal duties.
“He does a beautiful job on that song,” Love says. “It’s almost as if it was written for him.”
A tribute to George Harrison, “Pisces Brothers” is also featured. Love and Harrison’s birthdays are in February and March. He references Hari Krishna, meditation, “Here Comes the Sun” and other subjects that Love holds dearly to his heart when he thinks of Harrison.
“It’s a very sentimental song because George passed away and when he died, I was feeling pretty sad about it,” Love says. “I did the song as a combination of things that George really loved and things we both appreciated.”
“That song (‘Pisces Brothers’) wasn’t a hit but it’s very sentimental and a really nice moment in the show.”
The Beach Boys will play at Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts as part of its ‘Feel Flows World Tour’. (Submitted photo)
MORE INFO
What: The Beach Boys When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, November 14 Where: 1090 S. Vulture Mine Road, Wickenburg Cost: $150 Info: dewpac.org
King Crossword
1 Tibetan monk 5 Triumphed 8 Used car sites 12 Trojan War hero 13 Lincoln nickname 14 Taj Mahal city 15 TV fare for a night owl 17 Gusto 18 Gallery display 19 “The Raven” writer 20 “No way!” 21 Sign before Virgo 22 “Now, where -- I?” 23 Vivaldi’s output 26 Reveal 30 Dating from 31 Embrace 32 Salty septet 33 “Citizen Kane” sled 35 Train tracks 36 Observe 37 “Ray Donovan” actor
Voight 38 Dish 41 Pirate’s drink 42 Expert 45 San --, Italy 46 Single payments 48 Borodin’s “Prince --” 49 “Uh-huh” 50 Perched on 51 Like slasher films 52 Mag. staff 53 Shetland, for one
DOWN
1 In -- land 2 Slightly open 3 Damon of
Hollywood 4 Chopper 5 “Yippee!” 6 Bassoon’s kin 7 Just out 8 Revolving server 9 Curved molding 10 Serving aid 11 Auction 16 Detail, briefly 20 Dallas hoopster, briefly 21 Biography 22 Peruke 23 Scratch 24 Mil. morale booster 25 “Mayday!” 26 Lemon 27 Wahine’s gift 28 Guy’s date 29 Curvy letter 31 Coloration 34 Spell-off 35 Cavort 37 Checker moves 38 Bluenose 39 Toy block name 40 Cupid’s specialty 41 Regretted 42 Car 43 “Let’s go!” 44 Glimpse 46 Caustic solution 47 Potential syrup
The idea of Go Figure is to arrive at the figures given at the bottom and right-hand columns of the diagram by following the arithmetic signs in the order they are given (that is, from left to right and top to bottom). Use only the numbers below the diagram to complete its blank squares and use each of the nine numbers only once.
Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each small 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.
DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK H
H Moderate HH Challenging HHH HOO BOY! DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK H H
H Moderate HH Challenging HHH HOO BOY!
EVEN EXCHANGE
by Donna Pettman
Each numbered row contains two clues and two answers. The two answers differ from each other by only one letter, which has already been inserted. For example, if you exchange the A from MASTER for an I, you get MISTER. Do not change the order of the letters.
SCRAMBLERS
Unscramble the letters within each rectangle to form four ordinary words. Then rearrange the boxed letters to form the mystery word, which will complete the gag!
