PAYING DEBT TO THE FAB FOUR
Rubber Soul bring a slightly altred
version of the Beatles to the stage

by James Keller

It might seem a little strange, sharing the last name of the late Beatle you portray in a fab-four tribute band, but Rubber Soul's Jim Harrison, who plays the part of George Harrison, explains that it's more than an eerie coincidence. According to Harrison (the tribute musician, not the Beatle), his personality made George a custom-fit role from the beginning.

"It's sort of the mindset of how you think of things and how you live your life, a little more spiritual or introspective," the Calgary native explains. "I'm not quite as flamboyant as maybe Paul or John might be or the guys that play them."

That sense of purpose is not restricted to Harrison. Rubber Soul bill themselves as "The Beatles Experience," aiming for authenticity and claiming to rise above the typical cover band fare. In fact, Harrison says the idea was born four years ago out of a disappointment he and fellow musician Rob Macroth (John) shared with similar acts they'd seen. From there, they put a call out for musicians and after a year-long preparation, revealed their answer to a world of mediocrity.

"(Rob) would go see these things and pay his money and get fed up with another act that you know isn't doing anything for the Beatles' legacy or because they really wanted to expose people to this music in a live setting, it was probably for the money," Harrison says, claiming that Rubber Soul was rooted in something their predecessors weren't: the love of the music "It was mainly because we all loved the Beatles and figured that we owed it to them after years of loving them and supporting them for so long that maybe we did have a niche to fill."

Harrison's genuine enthusiasm is difficult to deny. The band is meticulous in creating their show, ensuring that each member is playing his respective part, and fine-tuning everything from their outfits to their trademark mop-tops. They come reasonably close to emulating their idol's music, even if the vocals aren't always on par with the original.

At the same time, Rubber Soul doesn't follow the formula with complete accuracy, leaving a clear line of distinction between themselves and Harrison and co. of the 1960s. First, there are actually five members of Rubber Soul. Made up of four guys from Calgary and one from Edmonton, the band is Harrison, Mackroth, Gary Boylan (Paul) and Keith McTaggart (Ringo). Damien Johnson is left with no identity to assume, instead providing off-stage percussion and guitar. Harrison says while audiences notice the addition, they don't seem to mind, comparing Johnson's role to an off-stage orchestra – you know he's there, even though he's not in the spotlight.

Their repertoire of songs also deviates from the genuine article. It might be appropriate that a cover band name themselves after Rubber Soul , the 1965 album that would be one of the last the Beatles would tour. Instead of limiting themselves to pre-1966 songs, when the band officially ended their live career, Rubber Soul also digs into their later work. Like most things the band does, Harrison says this change was for their fans.

"After a while, people would ask for ‘Hey Jude' or ‘Revolution' or later-period Beatles stuff," he says. "For us, after affecting people in a certain way and knowing people really identified with us doing it, we didn't have an excuse for not playing that material."

And of course, the biggest difference: they're not actually the Beatles. This might seem an obvious point, but at times Harrison seems too enthralled in his role as George to notice, hinting that the band may have some higher purpose or be part of some greater plan. Then again, this is a sense of devotion and purpose you might expect from someone who literally tries to become one of his idols on a regular basis.

"Sometimes you're just picked up to do something whether you know it or not, and eventually it came around that this was it."