Rolling Stones tribute to rock the Peak
Classic-rock fans will get plenty of contentment Friday night when “Satisfaction/The International Rolling Stones Show” plays Penn’s Peak, located on Maury Road, Jim Thorpe.
The “Satisfaction” cast consists of Chris LeGrand, executive producer, as Mick Jagger, plus Dom Lanzo as Keith Richards, Jimmy Babu as Ron Wood, John Wade as Bill Wyman and Joe Rotondo as Charlie Watts. The latter passed away in 2021.
LeGrand, born in the small East Texas town of Texarkana and currently living in the Dallas-Fort Worth area - credits his family with sparking his musical fire.
“My parents were huge music fans with a big record collection of Elvis, Buddy Holly, The Beatles, Johnny Cash, Glenn Campbell, and on and on,” LeGrand said. “My dad played guitar. His brother was a bass player.
“Bass became my childhood instrument,“ he continued. “My uncle introduced me to the late-’60s music of Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Doors and, of course, The Rolling Stones.”
LeGrand played bass and sang in garage bands through his early 20s, before touring the USA in top 40 cover bands. Opting to focus on the Stones was a natural move for the musician, who was living in Shreveport, Louisiana, when he founded “Satisfaction” in 2000.
“In my teen years, I started getting Mick Jagger comparisons, but at that time I was trying to do my own music and I just laughed it off,” he said. “Fast forward to around 1999. I went to a Beatles show in a theater and a light came on in my mind. I went home to this new thing called the internet and started searching for Rolling Stones tributes.”
LeGrand, who could not find any Stones tributes touring the country full-time, “knew then there was an opportunity. I started recruiting members who I thought could fill the roles and began rehearsing. It took a year or two to get the right combination of guys, and then we were on the road.”
When starting out, “there’s always challenges,“ LeGrand said. “Even today. However, back when we started, the greatest challenge was being an unknown act and gaining notoriety. We had to play every small nightclub who would book us until we became known.”
LeGrand, who has seen the Stones live on six occasions, started touring full-time with in 2002.
In 2005, “Satisfaction” became the first Stones show to debut on the Las Vegas strip as part of Legends in Concert show.
A few years later, Paramount Pictures and IMAX Corp. contacted “Satisfaction” to perform promotional concerts for Martin Scorsese’s 2008 Stones concert film “Shine a Light.” The latter was named after a track on the English band’s 1972 album “Exile on Main St.”
In 2010, the Stones’ management approved “Satisfaction” to perform long-term engagements with Walt Disney Corp. for its Orlando property. Even a Stones member took notice of the tribute act.
“At some point, we were told Mick Jagger viewed our website and gave his approval,” LeGrand said.
Aside from “Satisfaction,” the cast has presented other Stones shows through the years, starting with “A Symphony For the Devil - The Rolling Stones Symphonic Show,” which debuted in 2011. Two Stones/Beatles shows followed: “Gimme Abbey” (2014), a Broadway-style production featuring the bands in a conceptual 1969 concert, and “Beatles vs. Stones: A Musical Showdown” (2016), following both bands from 1964 forward into the future.
“Paint It Back: A History Of The Rolling Stones,” which recreates the Stones’ famous tours and eras, debuted in 2018.
Over the years, LeGrand “wanted to keep evolving the show and offering the audiences new presentations. Our most popular shows are our standard ‘Satisfaction’ show, our ‘Beatles vs. Stones’ show and our symphony production.”
While LeGrand and his group has “tossed around the idea” of recording original and/or Stones-inspired music, LeGrand said, “as of today, nothing has been recorded.”
LeGrand, considering the Stones’ two-dozen-plus studio albums, favors 1969’s “Let It Bleed,” 1971’s “Sticky Fingers” and 1978’s “Some Girls.”
His favorite song? “Still ‘Satisfaction,’” he quipped.
When the “Satisfaction” cast plays the Peak - one of the act’s favorite venues - fans should “expect a couple hours of high-energy hits and a few rarities,” LeGrand said. “We’re also tossing in a mini-acoustic segment.”
LeGrand, who sees “every city and the opportunity to perform this show” as career highlights, hopes the group will expand its reach.
Aside from the USA, “Satisfaction,” to date, has performed in Canada, Mexico, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Brazil and Russia.
“We love exploring new places and we’re hoping to take this to the Far East and perhaps Australia in the near future.”
For more information on the show or to purchase tickets, visit www.pennspeak.com.