The Genesis Show Come To Ridgefield


by John A Wilcox

Flash back to 1977: Genesis were about to release a double live album called Seconds Out. WNEW-FM 102.7 deejay Alison Steele had an advance copy! Wow! I called her on the phone & she ran me down the track listing. I asked her if she might play the live Supper's Ready. A seemingly impossible request, surely! "Coming right up, honey!" she said with that smooth velvet voice. Then she played it! Every second of it! A moment in Wilcox history where a genuine crush of mine played one of my favorite songs of all time! Flash forward to 2019: The Genesis Show will be playing the double album in its entirety at the Ridgefield Playhouse for me & you! Incredible!



The Genesis Show are: Jeff Giulanni - Lead Vocals, Drums, Percussion, 12 String Guitar. Andre De Champlain - Bass, Taurus Pedals, 12 String Guitars, Acoustic Guitars, Vocals. Stephen McQuaid - Electric Guitars, 12 String Guitars, Acoustic Guitars, Nylon String Guitars, Vocals. Matt Thomas - Keyboards, 12 String Guitar. Vince Corda - Drums, Percussion, Vocals. They seem to be out of the New Jersey area. I asked McQuaid why the band chose to tackle this era of Genesis history: This is the era of the band that we all were introduced to first. We all heard the Phil version of Supper's Ready before we ever heard Peter's. So we naturally gravitated towards this era. The Peter era is a little more subdued as well. When Genesis brought out the 2 drum kits and Chester became their live drummer the band had so much more raw power. We wanted to recreate that. There are a few other really great Genesis tribute bands out there that do the Peter era, and they do it perfectly. So we saw no need to try to get in on that when it was already well represented. There was no other touring Genesis Tribute in the US that did the Phil era with the drums so we thought we'd take a crack at it.



I asked why the band feels this music has endured the decades. McQuaid again: The songs are just that good. In addition, they are truly unique. No one quite sounds like they did. When we were learning this material my wife and kids were constantly exposed to it. My wife said it sounded a bit like circus music to her. Within a few months the music had grown on her and she admitted that she really liked it. She couldn't believe that she liked a 23 minute song and that she could sing along with it. The same goes for my daughters who are 10 and 12. They know and like all the songs. They are timeless. I agree! Timeless & musically challenging. I wondered what numbers the band felt were the trickiest to nail down: I would have to say the most difficult songs are the middle solo section of Robbery, Assault, & Battery. Cinema Show, and Supper's Ready. In That Quiet Earth can get a little tricky too. With blazing tempos and odd time signatures, everyone needs to bring their A game. They were all beasts to tame and every time we play them there is a bit of risk. One small slip up and the train can come off the tracks.



Since I had Stephen McQuaid's attention, I asked him what surprised him most about this era of the Genesis catalogue: Their 12 string guitar arrangements are absolutely amazing. They are very orchestral with lots of layers. For the most part the chord patterns and fingerings are simpler than I what I thought. If ever I found my left hand being twisted in horrible positions to try to play a 12 string part it was usually wrong. They got huge sounds by layering chord voicings that were not horribly taxing on a guitar player's fretting hand. However, the picking patterns and techniques are a little more complicated. As a parting shot I wanted to know what The Genesis Show find to be the most satisfying about bringing these songs to the live stage. McQuaid: I'd have to say watching the crowd reaction. Many fans have never seen some of these songs played live before, and most have never seen the Phil Collins version of songs like Supper's Ready so it is a treat for us to see people so moved by it. We've seen grown men crying. It is an experience. Come see The Genesis Show perform the entire Seconds Out set plus a few bonus surprises and experience it for yourself!

The Genesis Show
Saturday, January 5, 8 PM
The Ridgefield Playhouse
80 East Ridge
Ridgefield, CT 06877
203-438-5795
www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org



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