The Sixties Show Presented by Higher Ground and Spruce Peak Arts

Higher Ground and Spruce Peak Arts present: The Sixties Show, Friday, April 21st, 2023 at 8PM (doors at 7PM). Don’t miss the high energy trip back in time that reminds the audience how uniquely inspirational, entertaining, and historically significant the music and events of the 1960’s was and continues to be. The Sixties Show  (from NYC) is The Greatest 1960’s Musical Re-Creation Show on Earth. The band features former band members of The Who, Bob Dylan, and NBC TV’s Saturday Night Live band.

“ An Aural and Visual tour de Force!!”

“Powerfully Dramatized…. A Breathtaking Musical Experience of Major Importance!”

This show is a cross generational crowd pleaser and has been selling out every theater and performing arts center that the show plays at.  The band is widely celebrated and known for re-creating spot on, note for note re-creations of the hits, B-sides and deep album cuts from the greatest songs of the 1960’s.

The members of The Sixties Show were hand-picked to perform and record with Sir Paul McCartney, The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, The Bee Gees, Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen and other legends and individually have performed at the most renown venues in the world such a Madison Square Garden, The Hollywood Bowl, Wembley Stadium, The Grand Rex in Paris, The Budokan in Tokyo and others.

About the Sixties Show Band:

Craig O’Keefe (Co Founder / Producer-Musical Director, Bass, Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards)

Craig hails from the sun stained-dark corners , desert dream paradise- land of illusion,  road rage and earthly delights  ,Los Angeles, CA and is the founder of The Sixties Show. Craig honed his musical prowess on the LA scene writing, touring and recording with several bands most notably psychedelic au go go stoner core favorites Hal Lovejoy Circus {Universal Music Group} who scored a Top 10 Hit on the Billboard Alternative Album Charts. He was also a founding member of the Hollywood, CA 90’s kingpins Annapurna {Warner Bros Records} who shared stages with everyone from Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, Oasis, Sublime and Weezer. Craig was also the co-founder of LA underground fave raves and critics darlings Echoback {Acid Ceiling Recordings} whose critically acclaimed, yet sadly and commercially overlooked, “Paper Spaceships you Can Fly” CD landed in many of those in the know year’s end best lists.

Craig has also worked frequently as a session bass player and arranger for a slew of acts including playing on the worldwide smash hit “She Sells Sanctuary” by The Cult. He has had coveted artist endorsement deals with G&L Guitars, D’Addario and Ampeg. His song writing /producing credits have been heard all over radio and TV such as ABC Television’s Smallville, the opening musical theme for TNT Network’s Saturday Night NBA Game of The Week, in store music for the Gap, Burger King, Nike, Starbucks and others as well as various compositions heard on HBO, Cinemax, Showtime.

Tom Licameli (Co Founder / Producer- Guitar, Vocals, Piano)

Tom is the guitarist and songwriter of world-renowned cult favorites Knockout Drops from New York City. Since the early 90’s, the Drops have put out several EPs and LPs, chock-full of catchy, indie/power pop tunes and have performed tirelessly throughout the US and Europe. In 2005, the Drops unveiled “Escape from Bellevue”. Originally directed by Horton Foote, Jr. EFB is a rock ‘n’ roll theatre show, comprised of autobiographical monologues, Drops’ music and video vignettes. The pioneering show was critically lauded and enjoyed a run of sold-out houses. As a result of this success, the show evolved into a second sold-out run at NYC’s legendary Village Theatre. The 2007 production was handled by Westbeth Entertainment and award-winning director Alex Timbers. The sound design and soundtrack were produced by Tom. The New York Times said, “Escape from Bellevue offers a lesson in how to approach the (rock musical) genre”.

Tom has toured the US and Europe and has shared bills with such diverse acts as The Beach Boys, Mick Taylor, The Violent Femmes, Soul Asylum, John Fogerty, Rhett Miller, Richie Havens and Bonnie Bramlett, among many others.  Being a devout Beatle fan, one of Tom’s favorite experiences was being invited to play a show at the Cavern Club in Liverpool where The Beatles famously played in their early days.

Other projects Tom is involved with include NYC’s Mad Staggers, the New York Roots Music Association and frequent solo performances.  Tom has also achieved recognition as a producer/engineer, recording many singer-songwriters and indie bands at his studio. Tom is a graduate of the Berklee School of Music.  Tom is co-founder of The Sixties Show. In addition to his vocal and instrumental talents, Tom also produces the theatrical show’s multimedia content. 

Jim Boggia (Guitar, Vocals, Piano)

For more than 20 years, Jim Boggia has been winning over fans, critics, contemporaries and luminaries alike with his uncompromising devotion to the sort of winsomely nostalgic, emotionally direct songcraft that’s impervious to age. His sonically intelligent retro-pop manifesto includes three solo studio albums—2001’s Fidelity Is the Enemy, 2005’s Safe in Sound and 2008’s Misadventures in Stereo—and he’s worked with a startling array of artists, including Aimee Mann, Juliana Hatfield, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Bernadette Peters, David Poe, NRBQ’s Big Al Anderson, famed Beach Boys lyricist Tony Asher, MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer, Elvis Costello and The Attractions drummer Pete Thomas, esteemed ’70s pop misfit Emitt Rhodes, and Canadian songstress Amanda Marshall. Also an accomplished singer and guitarist, Boggia performs with the well-known New York City-based Beatles tribute band, the Fab Faux, as well as Mad Dogs & Dominos, an 18-piece collective headed by a heavyweight roster that includes Blues Brothers alum Lou Marini and producer John Leventhal. Oh, and he plays a mean ukulele.

Chris Parker (Drums)

The legendary Chris Parker is recognized worldwide as one of the most respected and successful drummers of all time. His discography and touring /performance resume is nothing less than astounding to say the least, as he is the drummer not just for The Sixties Show but several music industry legends. Chris was Bob Dylan’s drummer, prompting the prodigious Mr. Dylan to emphatically call Chris; “… one of the greats!” Many know Chris as the long time Saturday Night Live Band Drummer on NBC TV from ’86-92. Chris was also the drummer making records, touring and performing with; Paul Simon, James Brown, Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, Miles Davis, Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin, Todd Rundgren, Elvis Costello, Burt Bacharach, Judy Collins, Peter Paul and Mary, Cher, Donald Fagan, Paul Butterfield, Boz Skaggs, Bonnie Raitt, Lionel Hampton, David Sanborn, The Brecker Bros, Pat Matheney, Don McLean, Barry Manilow, Jackie Lomax, Laura Nero, Ashford and Simpson, Teddy Pendergrass, Patti LaBelle, Sinead O’Conner, Gladys Night and the Pips, , Robert Palmer and not enough space on this page to list the rest!

Scott Devours (Drums)

If the late Keith Moon was still with us we’d like to think that he would still be driving cars into swimming pools, demolishing hotel’s presidential suites, touring with The Who and making time to play drums with The Sixties Show . While Scott to date has not driven any vehicle into a swimming pool or made use of a sledgehammer to reimagine the décor of a hotel room, he did in fact play drums for  The Who in 2013 which included their celebrated 2013 Quadrophenia Tour in the US and Europe .   Scott has also been the drummer for the legendary vocalist for  The Who, Roger Daltrey  since 2009 .   Besides these illustrious Who ties, Scott has also performed and/or recorded with  The Eagles’   Don Felder, Capricorn Record’s Speaker, Universal Record’s Oleander,  as well as performed onstage with Steve Winwood, Ron Wood, Eddie Vedder, Dave Grohl, Jimmy Buffet, Joan Jett, Dave Stewart of The Eurhythmics, Richie Sambora, Simon Townshend, Rob Trujillo, Joss Stone, Rival Sons on their 2018 tour with Black Sabbath,  members of  The Eagles’ Band, Beck’s Band, Toto, Styx  and others.

Dennis Diken (Drums)

Dennis is a founding member and the drummer of The Smithereens, the acclaimed and pioneering New Jersey power-pop band that have sold millions of records worldwide (known for their hits “Blood And Roses,” “Only A Memory” and “A Girl Like You”). They celebrated their 41 year anniversary this year. As an in-demand sideman, he has performed with Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys, Al Jardine, Robert Lamm (Chicago), Bruce Springsteen, Nancy Sinatra, Ronnie Spector, Mary Weiss (The Shangri-Las), Ben E. King, Denny Doherty (The Mamas & The Papas) and was the musical director for “It’s Hard To Believe It: The Music of Joe Meek,” a sold-out revue at NYC’s downtown cabaret The Fez.

Also a noted record producer, session musician, author and pop music historian, Diken has contributed to numerous CD compilations, including collections of The Four Freshmen, Louis Prima, The Lovin’ Spoonful, The Four Seasons and The Beach Boys. Diken also DJs on the renowned free-form WFMU-FM and fronts his solo songwriting/recording project Dennis Diken with Bell Sound.

Peter Chiusano (Keyboards/Orchestrations)

A Long Island native Peter taught himself to play piano in his childhood. As an adult he studied classical piano at Stony Brook University and continued his education studying jazz with Andy Laverne {Frank Sinatra, Stan Getz, Woody Herman, Dizzy Gillespie, Chick Corea, Lionel Hampton, Michael Brecker, Elvin Jones,} among others. His playing has been described as “True Rock & Roll” and as having a “distinct personality”.

Having often served as Musical Director for select area theaters including Long Island’s BroadHollow Theatre, The Brewster Theatre Company and Musicals at Richter in Danbury, CT. He has also performed and recorded for over 20 years as an in demand player for hire with such acts as the renown 17 piece swing band The Norm Hathaway Orchestra and numerous area Rock & Roll acts.

Peter’s love and intricate understanding of 1960’s period music and arrangements combined with his great ear and meticulous attention to detail are some of the key ingredients that bring The Sixties Show’s sound to life. The Mellotrons and Moogs, the Hammond B3, Vox Continental and Farfisa organs, the Hohner, Rhodes and Wurlitzer electric pianos are all faithfully reproduced with state of the art gear and performed with the most accurate authenticity. His precise transcriptions of legendary 1960’s scores, orchestrations and arrangements are always spot on and sound just like the original recordings. Peter also enjoys sharing his love of music with his many piano students. “They learn the masters. Bach, Beethoven and The Beatles.”

John Cardone (Bass)

John plays in several different projects to keep his musical appetite satisfied, most notably with John Ford, a founding member of the British Invasion rock group The Strawbs.