Centrestage - Entertainment Port Elizabeth

DUCK CHOWLES PAYS TRIBUTE TO BOB DYLAN IN PE AND EAST LONDON

Bob Dylan fans are in for a rare treat as Eastern Cape born rock n roll showman Duck Chowles is set to front the Centrestage Band to play authentic tribute to the greatest singer-songwriting poet of our generation, Bob Dylan.

“The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan” will be staged for three nights at Old Grey in PE from Tues 26th to Thurs 28th Sept before moving to the Guild Theatre in East London for a single performance on 29th Sept.

Duck Chowles is co-owner of the acclaimed national Barnyard Theatre franchise and is well known for his performances as Mick Jagger over the years in his Tribute to the Rolling Stones, ‘Sticky Fingers’, which he has staged since 1992.

Duck Chowles grew up on a farm in the Eastern Cape near Alexandria and spent his childhood listening to his brother’s Rolling Stones albums and Beatles 7 singles.

“I attended Graeme College in Grahamstown, where I first learned to play the acoustic guitar and discovered my first life-changing Dylan anthems “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” and “The Times They are a Changin’” says Duck.

“I went on to finish school at Winterberg Agriculture school in Fort Beaufort. This was at a time when most boys were rugby mad and planning to become farmers, but I did the unthinkable by forming a band and playing dance halls in Alexandria and Tarkastad, which in a farming community high school was completely unheard of at the time!”, recalls Duck.

“I moved to Cape Town in 1993, playing in tribute shows covering sixties and seventies music. Here my love for Bob Dylan grew as I discovered the seminal Dylan albums “Blood on the Tracks”, “Blonde on Blonde” and of course “Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” he continued.

“In 2013 I specially travelled to London to experience Bob Dylan in the flesh at the Royal Albert Hall, where-after I immediately decided to create my own special tribute to my favourite song writer, vocalist and icon.”

Duck called up long-time associate, Gary Hemmings of Centrestage, himself also a great Bob Dylan fan, and discussed the possibility of putting a band together to cover the hits from the incredible Dylan songbook.

“Bob Dylan has been my single greatest musical hero since I was 18 years old”, said Hemmings.

“Despite having created dozens of musical tribute shows over the years, such has been my respect for Dylan that I have never been prepared to attempt to have our band cover him, for fear of not being able to adequately capture the spirit, heart and soul of Dylan as well as his different enigmatic vocal stylings” he continued.

“I have enormous respect for Duck’s uncanny ability to perfectly mimic artists down to the tiniest idiosyncrasy, but it was Duck’s unbridled passion for Dylan which immediately sold the idea” said Hemmings.

“Duck brings a deep sense of understanding of the role Dylan played in shaping musical culture to his performance, along with an ability to copy Dylan's distinctive vocal stylings associated with different eras of his career to perfection”

He put together a band of like-minded musicians and made the ideal choice of Alan Kozak to act as guitarist and musical director. He is joined by Joe Van Der Linden, also on guitar, Claire Venn on vocals, Boet Strydom on keyboards, Andrew Warneke on bass and Kevin Mattheus on drums.

Some of the Dylan songs featured in the show include I Shall Be Released, Knocking On Heavens Door, Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright, Blowing in the wind, The Times are a Changing, Girl From The North Country, A Hard Rains Gonna Fall, Mr Tambourine Man, Just Like A Woman, It’s All Over Now Baby Blue, Masters of War, All Along the Watch Tower, It Ain’t Me Babe, She Belongs To Me, High Way 61, Like a Rolling Stone, Tonight I Will Be Staying With You, I’ll be Your Baby Tonight, You’ re a Big Girl Now, Simple Twist Of Fate, Tangled Up In Blue, One More Cup Of Coffee, Leopard Skin Pill Box Hat and To Make You Feel My Love.

Bob Dylan transcended musical genres to become the greatest folk and rock singer of of all time, receiving eleven Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, an Academy Award and his recent 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature along the way.

He has been described as one of the most influential figures of the 20th century, both musically and culturally.

Dylan was included in the Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century list where he was called "master poet, caustic social critic and intrepid, guiding spirit of the counterculture generation”, and Rolling Stone ranked Dylan at number one in its 2015 list of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.

Dylan has sold in excess of 130 million albums worldwide.

Tickets for all performances cost R160 each and R140 if 8 or more are purchased and can be obtained through Computicket or by calling Wendy on 082-6616921.

Shows start at 19h30.

Click here to book for Port Elizabeth - Computicket and Click Here to Book for East London - Computicket