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Ronda Price’s voice softened and cracked at the memory of her late father taking her to the Richfield Coliseum to attend the Electric Light Orchestra concert in 1981.
“I had so much love for ELO,†she said. “It was a time of good and bad memories. My mom passed away in ’79, and my dad and I got close, and I think the album ‘Out of the Blue’ got me through that. summer.
“When I think of ‘Out of the Blue’ I think it’s bittersweet to me, but I played that and played that and played that for comfort,†Price said, biting back tears.
Decades later, she took her teenage son, Ben Williamson, to watch Jeff Lynne’s ELO at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, and he wore his shirt from the 1981 show.
Now the musical bond between mother and child is even stronger as founding members of Into the Blue, an Electric Light Orchestra tribute group, which performs Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Canton Palace Theater at 605 Market Ave . NOT.
On the ELO 2019 show with her son, “I was like, ‘Wow, I’ve been in garage bands (classic rock) my whole life,’ and I thought we could do it because I had so much love for ELO, â€Price said he founded the tribute group with his son.
Tickets for Into the Blue’s first performance in County Stark are available at https://cantonpalacetheatre.org.
Tickets can also be purchased for $ 20, plus a service charge, by calling the Palace Theater box office at 330-454-8172 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Tickets can also be purchased in person at the box office during these hours and at the door from 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Featured String Instruments
Featuring string musicians, Price said the 11-member tribute group strives to be as true as possible to the original band’s epic orchestration, Beatlesque pop melodies, and tight, layered vocal harmonies.
ELO’s hit songs include “Don’t Bring Me Down”, “Livin ‘Thing”, “Do Ya” and “Sweet Talkin’ Woman”.
String players may vary slightly depending on performance, but the overall tribute set includes Price, Bolivar, backing vocals and tambourine; Jeff Rutter of Perry Township, guitar and vocals; Geo Malatesta of Louisville, guitar and vocals; Paul Zavasky, bass and vocals; Williamson, of Bolivar, drums; Marie Bontrager de Massillon, violinist; Abigail Bontrager de Massillon, cellist; Kaylee Bontrager de Massillon, violinist; Barb Phelps-Hutson of Canton, violinist; Aaron Fried of Kent, cellist; and Brent Schloneger of Canton, keyboards.
“I picked the right people because I knew they loved ELO,†said Price, 56, a language arts teacher at Tusksy Valley Middle School.
A member of the group transcribed all the violin and cello parts for the corresponding songs.
“We loved all of the songs and it was a really fun experience, but it took a long time to get all the parts together,†Price explained. “But it finally happened and it’s really amazing.
“We wanted it to be authentic and we wanted it to be as complete as possible in a live performance.”
Mary Bontrager, an MA in music graduate from Wright State University, said the collective instrumentation created a “really, really great” sound.
“You can put the sound of the strings on a synth and play it on (keyboards) or backing tracks, and it’s not the same thing,†said Bontrager, 45. “I can hear the differences, and also … with the string players you can see our bows working and you can see our fingers moving, so visually it’s just a cooler show because you can see what we do.”
The classically trained musician is the first violin of the Tuscarawas Philharmonic Orchestra. A former music teacher at Lake Center Christian School, Bontrager also manages Azure Strings, a Stark County-based ensemble group that performs at weddings, banquets, and special events.
His daughters, Abigail, 17, a freshman at the University of Malone, and Kaylee, 19, a sophomore at the Cleveland Institute of Music, join Bontrager in the group.
Live shows
Into the Blue has persisted during the COVID-19 pandemic, canceling two concerts before giving its inaugural show in July at Lock 3 in downtown Akron.
Landing the job took a bit of persuasion, Price admitted.
“We didn’t have any records and due to COVID we didn’t play (any concerts) so the (Lock 3 booking person) believed in us and asked if we could open for ( a Beatles tribute band), so it worked, â€she said.
“What really attracted us was the people singing, clapping and singing with us,†Price said. “That just made our day,”
Not your typical tribute band
Another reason for forming Into the Blue was that the music scene is “not oversaturated with ELO tribute bands,” Price said.
Elected to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 and conducted by frontman Lynne, Electric Light Orchestra rose to popularity in the 1970s for its blend of classic-tinged progressive rock and radio pop.
Into the Blue’s 19-song set will feature ELO’s most recognizable tracks, including “Mr. Blue Sky”.
Other ELO classics are “Strange Magic”, “Evil Woman”, “Hold On Tight”, “Turn to Stone” and a cover of “Roll Over Beethoven”.
“They can expect all the hits they can remember from ELO,†Price said of those who attended Saturday’s concert.
“It would warm our hearts if we could send someone to ELO,†she added. “It would warm our hearts if any children came.”
The expansion of ELO’s notoriety has been “Mr. Blue Sky”, which was featured in the 2017 Marvel movie, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”.
“We saw kids sing this song at Lock 3 and it warmed our hearts,†Price said.
“For me, I don’t know, maybe I’m naive about it, but if you haven’t heard an ELO song, you have never turned on your radio,” she said. . “Never, never never.”
Contact Ed at 330-580-8315 and [email protected]
On Twitter @ebalintREP
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