How many legendary rock guitarists can a person name? Take all the ones on the list, and add more and they will be featured in "Guitar Heroes: Legends of the Six String," the latest theme show by the Fabulous Armadillos. Performing as part of the Central Lakes Community Performing Arts Center's Cultural Arts Series, the show will be 7:30 p.m. April 21 at Tornstrom Auditorium in Brainerd.
"I booked this show last summer before I even knew what it would be," Cultural Arts Series Director Patrick Spradlin stated in a news release. "All I knew was it was the Armadillos, and it would be awesome. So did our patrons, because we sold over 300 tickets before we could tell them what the theme of the show would be."
Armadillos frontman and lead guitarist Paul "Stretch Rocker" Diethelm gave a hint as to what audiences could expect.
"Think of all the great rock songs you've ever heard, and you'll probably remember the lead guitar part. Who played that part? Guitarists like Chet Atkins, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Les Paul, Brian May, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Mark Knopfler, Keith Richards, Eddie Van Halen, Diethelm stated. "These are the heroes of rock 'n roll, and who we pay tribute to in this show."
Anyone who's attended a Fabulous Armadillos show knows what to expect, including covers of the most iconic music in the rock genre.
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In "Guitar Heroes" songs from mega-groups like Van Halen, AC/DC, Queen, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, the Allman Brothers, Dire Straits, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Cream and many others will be performed. The regular members of the Armadillos will be on stage: Diethelm, keyboardist and group co-founder Greg Armstrong, vocalist Pamela McNeill, bassist Mike Zeleny, drummer Jay O'Donnell and guitarist/vocalist Billy Scherer.
Joining the regular band members will be special guitarist guests Paul "Mayo" Mayasich and Kurt Rodman. Mayasich has garnered worldwide praise from his colleagues, critics and publications such as Vintage Guitar and Blues Matters/UK, drawing comparisons to the work of Duane Allman, Lowell George, Ry Cooder and Sonny Landreth. Mayasich recently was awarded the 2016 "Blues Performer" and inducted into the Minnesota Blues Society Hall of Fame.
Rodman has been a member of the St. Cloud area music community for over 10 years, playing with Charlie Roth, Kevin Lange, '79 Freightliner, Kentucky Thunder and many other area musicians in various band formations. Most recently, Rodman has been performing in a series of tribute shows with Matt Veline and the Vees.
Special guest vocalist John Scalia also joins the band for this show. Scalia was last seen with the Armadillos in their "Blue Eyed Soul" theme show in February, and has appeared in "Stadium Rock" as well as a host of others.
Diethelm explained how the group chose this particular theme: "We played 'Guitar Heroes' 11 years ago in our first season at Pioneer Place to only two audiences ... and it was time to bring it back."
Tickets for the show are online at www.clcmn.edu/arts or from the CLC Box Office at 218-855-8199.
The show is sponsored by Essentia Health, Hubbard Radio and the Brainerd Dispatch. The entire CLC Performing Arts Center season is made possible in part by an operating grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
