Live the Beatles again when The Day Trippers perform at Medici’s next Friday.
Mike Coutts must look back on the early days of The Day Trippers with more than a little embarrassment.
Back in 2012 he and his bandmates in their Beatles cover band built their look on thrift store suits and cheap costume wigs. They sounded pretty good, and looked convincing enough, but that was amateur hour compared to the unrelenting accuracy they exhibit today.
Today, Marty “John” Zylstra, Nick “Paul” Jones, Mike “George” Coutts and Mike “Ringo” Herle are about as close to The Beatles as four Canadians can be, replicating the boys’ voices, sound and gear with a precision that goes right down to the screws holding in Coutts’ whammy bar.
Coutts, equal parts Beatles fanatic and gear nerd, has spent the last few years of his life seeking out and collecting the same guitars, drum kits, amps and clothing The Beatles used and wore, piece by piece, pushing The Day Trippers further into their roles.
“It’s something I often don’t even like to think about because it’s crazy. There’s just been so much that has gone into it,” he says with a chuckle that sits somewhere between embarrassed and proud.
Coutts plays a reproduction of George’s famous 1963 Gretsch Country Gentleman, sometimes picking up an equally authentic 12-string Rickenbacker or Gretsch Tennessean.
Nick adds classic Beatles bass lines with a re-issue of Paul’s Hofner 500/1, while Mike keeps the beat with an authentic 1964 Ludwig Super Classic drum kit and Marty plays an authentic replica of John’s Rickenbacker 325.
And that’s just the beginning. All that is wired through Vox AC-30 and replica AC-100 amps, the same ones that gave The Beatles their signature sound for much of their career.
“All of that gear, certainly it looks the part, but more importantly for me it sounds the part. These were the tools that were used to produce these songs,” Coutts said. “It just completes the whole experience.”
In reality, though, it’s only the beginning of the experience. As well as sounding the part, Coutts and his bandmates also look it.
The guys have several costumes, specially made in Memphis by a tailor who custom sews replicas of famous Beatles costumes from his own collection of authentic stage outfits.
Once they are on stage, Coutts said they even replicate The Beatles voices and stage banter, sometimes introducing songs using the exact same words and jokes John, Paul, Ringo and George used.
Coutts has even studied George’s on-stage ticks. Of course he taught himself to play right-handed. But he also studied George’s dance moves and hits the same steps as his hero while he’s on stage doing his guitar solos.
The effect of all this is truly remarkable.
Coutts, who also has an imperfect but convincing George Harrison impression, said each time he goes on stage it’s an opportunity to connect with other fans like himself, and even give them a little hit of The Beatles.
“But there’s also a lot of things that I do that’s more or less just for my own satisfaction,” he said, adding that they probably won’t be noticeable to anyone else at the shows “unless they’re as crazy as I am.”
Even if you’re not as crazy as Coutts, Oliver residents will have a chance to see The Day Trippers on stage at Medici’s Gelateria on Friday, November 13 at 7:30 p.m.
By Trevor Nichols
