Be prepared to go way back to a golden era of music, long before Spotify or iTunes, with Under the Streetlamp.
Under the Streetlamp will perform at 9 p.m. EDT Friday in The Club at the Silver Creek Event Center in Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, Mich.
Under the Streetlamp consists of members Eric Gutman, Brandon Wardell, David Larsen and Shonn Wiley. They bring the harmonies, the suits and the dance moves along with classic doo-wop, Motown and old-time rock ‘n’ roll hits.
“You’ll hear songs by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, the Beach Boys, Dion and the Belmonts, Del Shannon, Wilson Pickett, the Spinners, the Drifters — every amazing song that you want to hear, we’ll be singing it for you,” Gutman said.
Gutman lives in the Detroit area, while Wardell is in Florida, Wiley is in Arizona and Larsen is in New Jersey. Their seven-piece touring band is based in Chicago.
Under the Streetlamp has been together about six years with the personnel changing a few times. Gutman has been in the group since March 2017 and Larsen joined in November 2017.
The group tours extensively.
“There’s something to be said about the music we do,” Gutman said. “Nobody gets tired of it. It’s truly timeless music. When you’re doing the best of the best from the ’50s and ’60s, and now we’re even delving a little bit into the ’70s, just think about that catalog of music. It’s hit after hit after hit. Thankfully, our audience and our fan base trust us with taking this music and putting our spin on it. We like to say we ‘Lampify’ it a little bit. But we still do it with such respect. We always say we’re standing on the shoulders of these artists, of these icons.”
They try night after night to do the music justice, he said, because people tell them constantly what the music means to them and how it brings back memories. And they don’t get tired of the music.
“Singing the songs never gets old. The travel gets old,” he said. “The travel gets exhausting. All of us have families and children and wives and significant others. Sometimes you just want to be home. Sometimes what gets me through the travel and the exhaustion is singing the songs. I love the music and I love the guys I get to sing with and I love our band. So I feel very lucky in that respect.”
The group doesn’t have particular parts they sing; they play to each other’s strengths, he said.
“It’s very fluid. The nice thing about this show is that it gives us each a chance to shine,” he said. “There’s always at least two or three solos that we each get to sing either all by ourselves onstage or with the other three guys backing us up. I tend to sing the lower harmonies if we’re all together but even that changes a little bit. We’re all very diverse in our talents and our vocal ranges.”
They’re releasing a new album this spring and are adding some new songs into their current repertoire, he said.
“By spring of next year I anticipate we’ll have a pretty new show,” he said. “At the same time, we’re releasing a holiday album this year.”
It will have songs like “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” and a cover of The Drifters’ version of “White Christmas.”
“I’m doing a fantastic song called ‘Eight Days of Love,’ which is a Hannukah song,” Gutman said. “I finally get a Hannukah song.”
All the members are very focused on Streetlamp and are planning big things for 2019, he teased.
“I don’t want to say too much about that but it’s a very bold project for us,” he said. “Obviously we will continue to tour as we always do, and we’re just enjoying singing these great songs.”
Audiences should expect to have a fantastic time at their show, he said. “I have yet to find an audience that has not jumped to their feet towards the end of our show,” he said. “The music speaks for itself. There’s not really a show like ours. The amount of enthusiasm and love and care and just craziness we pour into every single show. It’s a well-oiled machine. We have a phenomenal seven-piece band that will knock your socks off. Just ready to dance and be flooded with some great memories. Come to the casino, gamble a little bit, then take a gamble on us. I think you’ll win.”
Under the Streetlamp
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