| Skier
by day...Beatle by night... By Joe Blenkle/Sierra Ski News Editor
Some
people have great jobs. Joe Bithorn is one of them. Not only does Joe
live in the Tahoe area where he can ski all day, at night he gets to
sing and play guitar as a a member of RAIN - a Beatles tribute band
that can be frequently seen at various casino/resorts in the Tahoe/Reno
area.
I got a chance to see RAIN last year and thought I had stepped back in time to the days of Beatlemania. The group plays and sings all of the Beatles tunes live on stage - only the originals could do better. Joe Bithorn plays the part of George Harrison and recently talked to Sierra Ski News about RAIN and one of his favorite winter activities - skiing. Tell us how you got involved with RAIN. I worked with the Broadway show, Beatlemania from June 1980 to December 1982. During that time, I had a New Year’s party (Dec. 31, 1981) and had invited Joey Curatolo (he played in the West Coast cast of Beatlemania, along with Ralph Castelli), and Jim Riddle, whom I had been working with on the East Coast cast. We got together that night and played, and it hit me that we should be in a band together. Cut to December 1982 when I was working at the Beverly Theater in Los Angeles. I heard RAIN was looking to replace their lead guitarist and bassist, and that Joey was in the running.
We both relocated to the West Coast from New York, and our first date with RAIN was January 16, 1983. We have both been in the band since. Jim Riddle came into the band in 1984, and Ralph Castelli joined in 1986. Jim was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer in March 1997 and passed away in September of that year. We were fortunate that Steve Landes agreed to join the band at that point. He has done an incredible job of performing the John Lennon role. How does it feel playing a legend on stage? I want to start by saying that to portray anyone on stage, particularly someone as legendary as George Harrison, is an honor and demands the utmost respect. I have great admiration for George as a talented musician, but also as a spiritual man of peace. I am very focused on the music, and ensure that we pay tribute to George by representing his work and his talent as precisely as possible. The ultimate goal is allow the audience to relive the experience as it was originally performed. If we do that, we’ve done our job. Through costumes, wigs, makeup and lighting, we also try to portray the look of our characters as best possible. Looking like someone is not a talent, however! That’s why I focus my energy on the accurate portrayal of the music. I’ve also read as much as possible about George Harrison as a person. Much like a character actor, I want to "get inside" the person by understanding as much as possible about their thoughts, beliefs and so forth. I believe that some of this comes through in the music. For example, when I do "Here Comes the Sun," I try to play the music with the same passion and sentiments that George may have had when he wrote this beautiful song. Did you ever get a chance to meet George Harrison (or hear from him) on your portraying him in RAIN? No, unfortunately not. However, I’ve had the pleasure of being able to work with Mike Pinder (formerly of the Moody Blues) who knew all the Beatles personally, and has shared some wonderful stories. Tell us about your skiing. How did you get started? I didn’t start skiing until I turned 40. I’ve lived in the Reno/Tahoe area since 1990, although I had been coming up to the Lake since 1983. I looked up at those mountains way too often, and couldn’t believe that I hadn’t tried it yet. Anyone living out here in these beautiful surroundings must have asked himself or herself the same question at one point. It was a turning point in my life when I did finally get up on the slopes...a byproduct of which was overcoming my fear of heights, and eventually conquering many fears in general. Once you do that first double black diamond, it's like, "I HAVE NO FEAR!!!" Last year, I finally skied "The Wall" at Kirkwood...now I know...! Any interesting ski stories to tell? Especially funny ones? Sure...most of them involve stories about trying to teach my girlfriend to ski, but I’m not at liberty to tell them here! My first ski day happened when a neighbor of mine in Reno brought me up to the top of Boreal and tried to convince me to "just ski," without any lessons. Needless to say, he was down at the lodge waiting, while I muscled my way (snowplowing and other interesting maneuvers) down the mountain. Some years later, I took the same neighbor to the top of Mt. Rose in the middle of a white-out, and asked him to "just ski." I had been skiing this black diamond run (Northwest Passage) all day long, and was very comfortable with the run regardless of visibility. He made it down alright and I think we called things even! Do you have a favorite resort? My favorite places are all in the Tahoe area: Mt. Rose - some pretty challenging and steep runs, and usually not very crowded. Squaw - KT22!!!! And the great après ski. Kirkwood - "The Wall" and some of the best snow in this area. Heavenly - Five minutes from where I live, and the awesome views of Lake Tahoe. I was up at Whistler and Blackcomb in the summer, and plan to get up there sometime this winter. What would a typical ski day be for George (him, or yourself in character)? The only George ski day that I am aware of was from the Beatles movie, "Help." George is wearing a long coat and top hat, and none of the Beatles appeared to ski very well! Not sure that I would dress up like this to ski, although my current skis (bright orange) happen to match my "Sgt. Pepper" outfit pretty well. Any final words? Let’s hope that El Niño dumps a pile on us this year! If you would like to find out more about RAIN, hear some sound clips, or see their current performance schedule, visit them at: www.raintribute.com. Return to Features Page |
