{"id":1614,"date":"2020-04-03T18:11:40","date_gmt":"2020-04-03T18:11:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/?p=1614"},"modified":"2020-04-03T18:11:42","modified_gmt":"2020-04-03T18:11:42","slug":"sir-elton-john-comes-to-palm-springs-almost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/?p=1614","title":{"rendered":"Sir Elton John Comes to Palm Springs (Almost)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Chris Astrala<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On May 2 2020, Meyer and his\nbackup group, the Rocket Band, will bring pop classics such as “Tiny\nDancer,” “Bennie and the Jets” and “Crocodile Rock” to\nEvening Under the Stars at the O\u2019Donnell Golf Course in Palm Springs. The\none-night event will showcase Sir Elton John\u2019s most memorable musical moments\nthat span more than four decades of recording, motion picture and Broadway\nsuccess. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the world of musical homages,\nthere are tribute artists, cover bands and impersonators, but Craig A. Meyer’s\nshow, Remember When Rock Was Young\u2014The Elton John Tribute is something else\nentirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Really, I’m an\nillusionist,” says Meyer, who for the last twelve years has used smoke,\nmirrors, sequins and platform heels to convince audiences that he’s the\nnext-closest-thing to the British pop superstar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I lovingly call [Almost\nElton] my ‘superhero’ alter ego,” he adds. “I step in a phone booth\nand walk out wearing a cape. I’m still Craig, but I’m also this other entity.\nIt’s fun to step into somebody else’s heels for a while, if you will.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision to don the platform\nshoes as Almost Elton John came after crowds responded enthusiastically to his\nperformance of a pair of John’s songs during a benefit at a theater in Atlanta,\nwhere he is based. “There were people who came up to me afterward who\nsaid, ‘There were moments when I would close my eyes, and I could have sworn I\nwas listening to Elton John,'” he says. ” My response was, like,\n‘Huh\u2014I never really thought of it in that way.’ “<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a quick shopping trip\nthrough Atlanta’s Little Five Points district, he put together the first of\nwhat would eventually become 20 stage costumes, each more over-the-top than the\nlast. After working up a set and putting feelers out, he began performing in\nconcert as \u201cAlmost Elton John.\u201d He now performs 80-100 concerts annually and\nhas made appearances in Las Vegas, California, New York, Monaco and Turkey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rocket Band:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael Lamond :: Bass\/Co Mgr<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelly Fletcher :: Vocals<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shawn Megordan :: Vocals<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doug Jacobs :: Guitar<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pat Strawser :: Keys<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wayne Viar :: Drums<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Standard Magazine had the\nopportunity to squeeze a little time out of Craig\u2019s super busy schedule to sit\ndown and talk about his prolific career. Here\u2019s what he had to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When and where did you get your start in entertainment?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I taught myself how to play the\npiano at a very young age. I believe I was in the 3rd or 4th grade when I began\nplunking out notes and eventually used a chord chart to mimic the Elton John,\nBilly Joel, Barry Manilow, and Stevie Wonder songs I so loved. From there I\nstarted dancing, which led to an early start in TV in LA. I was living in\nOrange County in the mid 70\u2019s and my parents graciously took me to LA for\nauditions and shoots. I did a few episodics, a fair amount of commercial work\nand a hilarious episode of Fernwood 2Nite with Fred Willard and Martin Mull. My\ncareer has included numerous TV and film appearances, voice over work for\nDisney, Broadway and National Tours, as well as concert tours with Frankie\nValli and Barry Manilow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When did you know that this was the thing you wanted to do?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I started dancing in the third\ngrade. It was the best way my mom could think of to focus my crazy energy.\nLittle did she realize that the \u201cbug\u201d hit me early and has never let go. All I\never wanted to be was a working actor, and I am happy to say, I\u2019ve lived out\nthat dream. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You have worked in pretty much all aspects of the entertainment\nworld, music, television, theatre and film. Which one of these is your favorite\nand why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well\u2026I love the immediacy of live\nperformance because you know if you\u2019re hitting it or not on any given night.\nAnd while filming TV and film projects can be excruciatingly slow, the mailbox\nmoney of residuals is always fun to get each quarter. In truth, I love it all!\nAs Mark Twain said, \u201cFind a job you love and you\u2019ll never work a day in your\nlife.\u201d Bravo, Mark. Bravo! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who are your influences?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s easy\u2026Elton, of course;\nBarry Manilow, with whom I toured with for two years, Billy Joel for his\nboundless energy and percussive playing style, Gershwin for his inventiveness,\nand Fats Waller for his wit on the keys! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When did you decide to become a tribute artist?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was quite by accident. I was\nvocal coaching here in Atlanta, and my now dear friend and fellow tribute\nartist, Melody Knighton, came to my studio to work on her Dolly Parton show.\nShe invited me to explore the tribute world, but I demurred for two years.\nThen, I performed in a benefit concert and did a couple of Elton\u2019s songs at the\npiano. The response was so strong, that I had Melody help me put together the\nlook, a demo, and a website and we launched in late 2008. It grew rather\nquickly and by Spring of 2010, I was doing my first gig in Las Vegas. From that\npoint, we moved by leaps and bounds and the show surpassed my work on Atlanta\u2019s\nlegit stages and sound stages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Has Sir Elton John seen your show?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t believe so, but I\u2019m sure\nthere are people in his organization that are aware of the show. Interestingly,\nhowever, while working as a studio singer in L.A., I was one of the first\npeople to sing \u201cCan You Feel The Love Tonight\u201d for Elton and Tim Rice when they\nwere working on The Lion King<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is your favorite part of performing?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love connecting with an\naudience. I\u2019ve had some wonderful opportunities to influence and impact people\nwithout ever really knowing it until after the fact. A few years ago, a woman\nwho survived a brain aneurysm and who\u2019d lost the ability to form short term\nmemories was so moved by my performance, that when she saw me three days later,\nshe knew who I was! That really floored me! I may not get to cure cancer, but I\ncan make someone\u2019s day! Ok! I\u2019ll take it! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What can the audience at his year\u2019s Evening Under the Stars expect\nfrom you performance?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What we deliver is a non-stop,\ndynamic, and exhilarating evening of music that will move you, touch your\nheart, and get you to remember when rock was young! It\u2019s going to be an epic\nevening! I look forward to the energy of the Palm Springs crowd! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s next for Craig A Meyer?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Life. And lots of it. We are\nnever guaranteed tomorrow. So living today and serving those around me is my\ndaily goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of this printing Evening Under the Stars has yet to be postponed to a later date. Please visit <\/strong>www.aidsassistance.org<\/strong><\/a> for latest updates and ways to help the organization<\/strong> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Chris Astrala On May 2 2020, Meyer and his backup group, the Rocket Band, will bring pop classics such as “Tiny Dancer,” “Bennie and the Jets” and “Crocodile Rock” to Evening Under the Stars at the O\u2019Donnell Golf Course in Palm Springs. The one-night event will showcase Sir Elton John\u2019s most memorable musical moments that span more than four decades of recording, motion picture and Broadway success. In the world of musical homages, there are tribute artists, cover bands and impersonators, but Craig A. Meyer’s show, Remember When Rock Was Young\u2014The Elton John Tribute is something else entirely. “Really, I’m an illusionist,” says Meyer, who for the last twelve years has used smoke, mirrors, sequins and platform heels to convince audiences that he’s the next-closest-thing to the British pop superstar. “I lovingly call [Almost Elton] my ‘superhero’ alter ego,” he adds. “I step in a phone booth and walk out wearing a cape. I’m still Craig, but I’m also this other entity. It’s fun to step into somebody else’s heels for a while, if you will.” The decision to don the platform shoes as Almost Elton John came after crowds responded enthusiastically to his performance of a pair of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1615,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[2262,2260,147,2261,8,2259],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1614"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1614"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1616,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1614\/revisions\/1616"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thestandardps.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}