A Collingwood resident will be channelling his inner Ringo Starr, and Mick Avory, and Charlie Watts, as he taps out a beat on stage in Orangeville next week.
Don Reid is the drummer in Across the Pond, a British Invasion tribute created by Leisa Way, and performed by her and The Lonely Hearts Club Band. The show sold out in Collingwood in July last year.
Reid didn’t play at the Collingwood show, because he’s new to the Lonely Hearts Club Band. In fact, it was a matter of the heart that made him join the club and Way’s production.
“I got a last minute emergency call, Leisa’s drummer was in the hospital,” said Reid. “She called on Monday night to say she needed a drummer … I was playing on stage within 24 hours.”
Reid said he had to say yes to Way’s rather panicked request, because two-and-a-half years before, he left his own director in the same predicament.
“I texted my director while on the way to the hospital to say ‘I’m having a heart attack, I’m serious,’” said Reid. Since then, he’s been training with spin and yoga and runs 10K races. He also volunteers to help with cardio-rehabilitation.
Once he said yes and jumped on stage with Way, and drummed through the five page opening medley of five songs he said it was the beginning of a solid relationship.
“It ended up being a very fortuitous event for me anyway,” said Reid, adding there’s an extra level of joy and gratitude at being able to continue drumming and performing after a heart attack that could have ended everything. “I’m going to be working with her a lot more and I’m happy about it.”
Across the Pond is the story of the British Invasion music craze. Way is known for her biographical tribute shows where she performs the music of an artist or artists and intertwines the performance with facts about the artist’s life and the times when they were performing or recording.
Across the Pond starts with the Beatles and works its way through the next couple decades of British bands that made it big in North America. The show features the music of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Petula Clark, Tom Jones, Queen, Rod Stewart, Adele, Elvis Costello, The Who, The Animals, Eric Clapton, The Police, The Kinks, and more.
“It’s a great show, there’s lots of energy and stuff going on, with lots of medlies and historical facts,” said Reid. “It really boils down to the songs, they’re just great songs.”
One of his favourites is the Petula Clark Medley, which includes the song Downtown.
“When that song was out, I was a little kid, and I really wanted to be a drummer. I thought the drums were so cool in that song,” said Reid, who started begging for drum lessons at age 8. “My family went to a wedding, and my dad took me up to the stage to meet the drummer, then they played Downtown and I’ve always remembered that.”
The memories are what help British Invasion music stay popular today, according to Reid.
“A lot of these songs bring back memories as a kid growing up,” he said.
His list of favourites also includes You Really Got Me, by the Kinks, which he said is a “good rocker song.”
Reid plays drums for the show and sings vocals for Can’t Get No Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones.
“What I really like about Leisa’s shows is that they’re very well-scripted and very well appointed with musical scores,” said Reid. “The professionalism is quite high … you need to know what you’re doing to be able to even do these shows.”
He does know what he’s doing. By 11, he finally convinced his parents to invest in his passion for drumming and he’s been taking lessons ever since.
In Collingwood, Reid is the drummer for Georgian Sound Big Band, the musical director at St. Mary’s Church for the youth mass, president of the Georgian Triangle Music Teacher’s Association, and a private drum teacher. He also plays drums for Jimmy and the Extractions, and keeps his skills sharp by studying with a Humber professor.
“I think I’ve always been a drummer, I’ve always wanted to play and I always enjoy playing,” said Reid. “It’s in me, it’s who I am.”
Across the Pond is running in Orangeville from Feb. 14 to March 3 through Theatre Orangeville at 87 Broadway. For tickets and more information on the show, visit theatreorangeville.ca or call 1-800-424-1295.
