The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
With a little help A father prepared his son to enter the meticulous world of Beatles homage
Paul Curatolo grew up watching his father, Joey, play the role of Paul McCartney in the national touring act Rain — A Tribute to The Beatles. ¶ “I never really thought about following in his footsteps,” said Curatolo, calling from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. “I had always just kind of watched him from the wings, and I really enjoyed what they do. ¶ “I always wanted to be around it, but never really thought I was at that level. I never thought I could do it.”
That all changed more than five years ago when, during a family dinner, Curatolo’s dad asked if he ever thought about joining Rain.
At the time, the younger Curatolo was working a day gig in sales and marketing while spending his nights playing drums in his own original pop-rock band, Wayward. The next thing the percussionist knew he was playing a bass guitar left-handed.
“I kind of had a natural ability to do it,” Curatolo said. “My dad said, ‘If you’re willing to do this, I’ll train you. I’ll have you on stage before you know it.’ He wasn’t lying. He was extremely supportive and a great teacher. I guess the hardest part was just getting the music and vocal inflections down while being in character. changes are just an added bonus. To us, the most important part is paying tribute to the music.”
Beginning with “She Loves You” and “Please Please Me” and finishing with “The End” and “Hey Jude,” the cover act will be delivering a career-spanning Fab Four set with numerous costumes and a multimedia show. He centerpieces is performing, in its entirety, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club,” which last year marked its 50th anniversary.
“Everything on it was the first of its kind,” Curatolo said. “It was kind of the first concept album. It really shook the world. Second of all, it’s, like, hit for hit — every song on that album is better than the last.
“To this day, it’s mixed with innovations and recording technology that still haven’t been exceeded. Everything all at once just made it such a magical record.”
For Rain, which averages roughly 100 gigs annually, performing the iconic album in its entirety is quite an endeavor. Getting it down didn’t come easily.
“It’s a labor of love,” Curatolo said. “It really took us a month to dial it in, but now we’re in the perfect rhythm. Every night it just seems to be getting better.”
OK, we’ll bite. Like, “it’s getting better all the time”?
“It can’t get no worse,” Curatolo laughed. “Of course, we’re all Beatle freaks.”
“His best advice to me being in Rain was just to pace myself and don’t get carried away. Just fit into it, enjoy what I’m doing and live in the moment.”
That moment has been going on for more than half a decade with Rain, which returns to Northeast Ohio for a show March 10 at Playhouse Square’s KeyBank State Theatre.
“We perform the music absolutely note for note, so the authenticity is there,” Curatolo said. “The costume