Josh Max to Perform “Incredible Beatle Salad Bar” this Sat.

Our own Josh Max will perform this weekend in NYC at The Fest for Beatles Fans. In the press release below, he talks about his “Incredible Beatle Salad Bar.”

Singer-Songwriter Josh Max performs
JOSH MAX’S INCREDIBLE BEATLE SALAD BAR
At the Fest For Beatle Fans
The Grand Hyatt at 42nd St (corner of 42nd St & Lexington Ave,
NYC, next to Grand Central Station.
Saturday, February 8, 2014 6:30 PM

What’s the Beatle Salad Bar?

It’s this 5-minute vaudeville-type specialty I’ve been doing at my live original shows for about 10 years where I stand there with an acoustic guitar and sing and play as many riffs, licks, verses, choruses, mistakes, snippets and whatever I can think of from the Beatles’ recorded catalog from 1957 – 1994 in their original keys. Whoever guesses the total amount of tunes gets a free t-shirt, CD, a shot at the bar, or some other item of value.

How long did it take you to learn this thing?

That’s the weird thing – I didn’t “learn” it. It’s different each and every time. I’m a savant and I stand there and channel and channel, thinking, “1969. 1963. 1967.” When I call up the year in my mind, I immediately see what Beatles album came out that year, and I scroll through the tracks in my mind and pick a section. This all happens in a split second the whole 5 minutes. Sometimes I get stuck and I just stand there a second, but something always comes to me. I’ve never fallen on my face yet! The reference to 1957 and 1994 includes Anthology tracks instead of the usual 1962-70 most casual fans are familiar with.

How did you get the idea to do this?

I was performing at a venue and someone called out “Beatles.” That’s like going to a restaurant and telling them you want “Food.” I asked which Beatles song they wanted to hear, and they said, “Anything.” I said, “Come on, I’m fairly certain you don’t want ‘Wild Honey Pie’ or ‘Revolution 9.’” Finally I just started playing every single Beatles song I knew, each for about 5 seconds, and told them to pick when they heard the one they wanted. I went on for about 10 minutes and when I was done the place went nuts. I thought, “Ah-hah! A specialty for my act.” This year, I made an amateur video and sent it to the guy who runs The Fest For Beatle Fans, and they booked me. As of now, believe it or not, I don’t have the Salad Bar on video. That’ll change after Saturday, no doubt.

Have you ever thought of getting a job in a Beatles Tribute Act? You could probably make tons of money.

I have a phobia about tribute acts the way some people have a phobia about clowns. I once delivered a singing telegram as Elvis Presley to a Korean wedding party and it was the weirdest thing in the world to hear 500 people look at you and scream, “Elvis! Elvis!” No, thanks. Money isn’t why I play music.