Amarillo musician Dean Yates is a classic figure in the Yellow City music scene, having played for years with Insufficient Funds at events and concerts. But recently, he reached out to form a musical collaboration to honor and play the distinctive, memorable sounds and songs of Queen.
Local Queen fans will be able to hear the result of their efforts at an upcoming concert benefit in Amarillo.
Yates shared that he was in Denver and had the chance to see a Queen concert with Adam Lambert as their frontman. “It was the most amazing performance I have ever heard,” he said. The musician said he kept thinking about the event and was able to purchase a Fractal for his guitar amplifier, which has pre-sets that digitally recreate the effects of the lead guitarist for Queen, Brian May. Queen was a well-known British rock band formed in the ’70s by Freddie Mercury, May and Roger Taylor.
“I used some of the sounds in Insufficient Funds songs and began to wonder if I could perform some of their music (using this new process),” Yates said, adding that he contacted Greg Wright, known in music circles as “Big G” in his group, Tradewinds. Yates said Wright could hit some of the high notes that Mercury was famous for, so he asked him if he would be interested. Wright told Yates right away, “I’m in.”
Yates also solicited some of the band members that played the Neil Diamond Tribute, and they started to practice. Others joining the effort include Mary Lyn Halley, Dr. Dan Hanson, Cathleen Tyson-Day, Vic Ricardson and Miranda Pjesky.
The group decided they were going to do a “Big G & Dean cover Queen,” a concert for Center City. Then Yates was contacted by Mary Kay Kurtz with the Amarillo Senior Citizens Association, or the 55+ Club, as it is known now. They decided to make it a joint venture to help both Center City and the seniors to be able to complete their new facility, which is located at 2404 SW 6th St. and is awaiting refinishing for the interior. In addition, the concert fundraiser will have raffles and drawings, along with a grand prize drawing for those attending. There will be around 15 gift cards from local restaurants, valued at $1,000.
The Big G & Dean cover Queen concert will be at 7:30 p.m., at the Globe-News Center of the Performing Arts on Saturday, Oct. 11. Tickets will be $25.50 and are available online at panhandletickets.com.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo bands collaborate to do a Queen concert to benefit 55+ Club, Center City
Reporting by Nell Williams, Amarillo Globe-News / Amarillo Globe-News
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