Going from Abba to The Carpenters

Going from Abba to The Carpenters was best decision I made!

It is an experience that has taken her to Russia and Norway this year alone, with further dates planned in Barbados and Antigua.
Laurie said: "It has been a success beyond anything we could have dreamed about.
"I never thought it was something that would go international."
Laurie, together with singer Jason Scott, recreates the look and sound of the American brother and sister act, Karen and Richard Carpenter.
During the 1970s this shiny-haired Californian duo bestrode popular music – shifting some 100 million records.
Laurie said: "I have always loved The Carpenters, one of the first songs I remember was Close To You.
"I remember singing along and thinking 'I can do this' – I could get that range when I was a child and, as I got older, my voice matured, so it becomes a lot easier.
"The music is so beautiful that I never get bored of it."
Laurie was formerly in an Abba tribute band that was based in London.
Tiring of the regular journeys to the capital for rehearsals, she opted to follow her first musical love instead.
Recruiting Jason, a musical director and freelance lecturer, as her "Richard", the pair, backed by a four-piece band, have spent four months rehearsing for their current British tour.
"The music is not easy to emulate as it is so intricate," she said. "But we have worked really hard. It took us six months to record the backing vocals for this tour and we spent four months rehearsing in a church hall in Leeds."
Alongside the look of the era – Laurie has tracked down authentic Californian dresses from the 1970s as her stage wear – there is also a dedication to the songs.
When creating the music for the show, every note, from the smallest percussion part to the complexity of the backing vocals, have been transcribed.
The sweat has paid off. In 2010, they performed in China to devoted fans who were, Laurie says, "word perfect" on the songs.
A tour of major Chinese cities is planned for next year, including Beijing and Shanghai.
Laurie said: "We look to do an honest interpretation.
"It has been very well received but there will only ever be one Karen Carpenter."
Part of their show, which includes The Carpenters' best-known hits, is the rarely performed rock'n'roll medley from the album Now & Then.
"When you think of The Carpenters, you think of a relaxed style of music but we wanted to show it was not just that," Laurie said.
"They were very versatile and this was showing to people the music they had grown up with and loved."
As the projects continue to mount up she does admit to some tiredness.
"I feel a bit frazzled sometimes," she said. "But it is all good."

 

The sincerest form of ABBA flattery

Waterloo looks like ABBA, sounds like ABBA and since the real ABBA no longer performs, this tribute act to the iconic Swedish disco rock band bills itself as "the closest to ABBA you'll ever get."
"We know there are other tribute bands," publicist Matt Valenti said. "We certainly think they're the best one."
If you're wondering why or how a tribute band can play the 6,500-capacity nTelos Wireless Pavilion, this Friday night, consider this; Waterloo has sold out the 15,000-seat Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, attracted 20,000 fans to Highland Park in Chicago and played for more than 11,000 people in Brooklyn.
Not bad for a facsimile.
Waterloo plays all the familiar songs - such as "Dancing Queen," "Mamma Mia," "Take a Chance on Me," "Fernando" and, naturally, its namesake "Waterloo." And just in case you need more authenticity, a few original ABBA drummers, saxophonists or bass players always join the tour.
"We make it sound as close to ABBA as possible," said Christian Fast, Waterloo's lead guitarist and bandleader. "People can expect a set that takes them back. They'll get all the hits, the songs people know. That's what people want to hear."
ABBA and its popular blend of pop, rock and disco formed in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972 with singers Agnetha Faltskog, Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. Thanks to its stable of aforementioned hits, the group became a worldwide pop music sensation. But relationship friction in each of the group's two married couples contributed to its long, and current, absence from the pop world.
After ABBA's last performance in 1982, tribute bands began springing up everywhere - in the United Kingdom alone, there are at least 40.
But none is the same as a Swedish tribute band, says Fast. Waterloo was founded in Stockholm in 1996, and since has performed more than 1,000 shows in more than 20 countries. Last year, Waterloo performed 35 concerts in the United States - about half of the shows the band does in a year. The current U.S. tour includes five locations on the East Coast, including Friday's gig at the nTelos Pavilion.
Despite singers that sound just like ABBA, the '70s-style hairdos and costumes replicated down to every last gold braid and scarf, Fast admits there are always some people who criticize Waterloo. One of the biggest compliments the band can get is when the doubters come and end up loving the show, he said.
"Just prepare for a great night," Fast said. "You won't be disappointed."