Another Great Christmas Gift Idea for Fans of Local Arts
The Rubber Soul Farewell Concert DVD is available in Williamsport at the Uptown Music Collective (848 W. Fourth Street), Yoas Services (509 W. Fourth Street) or through Mind's Eye Studios (570-326-1892).

Arts & Entertainment News Release 12/15/08
RUBBER SOUL, BEATLES TRIBUTE BAND, RELEASES DVD
Rubber Soul, Williamsport's premier Beatles' tribute band, may have called it quits, but like The Beatles, the product keeps coming even when the band is no more. Rubber Soul just released a DVD of their August 2008 Farewell Performance at the Community Theatre League.
"The CTL is a very intimate setting, and I enjoyed the instantaneous feedback we got from the audience when we played there," said former band member Dave Brumbaugh. "The band had a blast."
"The camera work is great, and you can hear all the great guitar tones, rhythm section bits and horn parts like you were really there," said one local fan.
The former members of Rubber Soul are Brumbaugh (guitar, vocals), Scott Francis (bass, guitar, vocals), Joel Vincent (drums, vocals) and Bob Yoas (bass, guitar, keyboards, vocals). For the Farewell Concert, the band was joined by The Helter Skelter Horns: Dave "Sweet Tone" Sorgen (trumpet, piccolo trumpet), Gordon "Salty Dog" Taylor (clarinet, alto and tenor saxophones), and Neil Whyman (trombone).
Rubber Soul was just one project of many for the busy musicians. Brumbaugh directs the Uptown Music Collective music school; Francis operates Mind's Eye Audio-Video Studio (which produced the DVD), and Joel Vincent, editor and creator of BilltownLive.com, works with a number of jazz and rock acts.
Yoas, who owns Yoas Services Incorporated, said, "Between work and other projects, there isn't nearly enough time to do all of the things you love or need to do. Something had to be sacrificed, and sadly, this band was one of those things to be let go. We did this for 12-plus years, and it was a good time to say goodbye.
"Francis said he was always a fan of The Beatles, but he didn't have a true appreciation for their craftsmanship in their music until he joined Rubber Soul. Yoas was a late-blooming "Beatlemaniac." He was too young in the 1960s to be a Beatlemaniac, but he became hooked in 1976 when he got the "Red and Blue" album. Around that time, Yoas said, "Beatlemania" was playing on Broadway, which he described as incredible. Yoas said, "Flash forward to 1996. It hit me; there were no Beatle tribute bands in the central PA region, and so why not start one?"
Vincent said they knew they wanted to perform the music, but wanted to put their own twists on things, such as the reggae version of "Twist & Shout." "We wanted to have some musical fun, and that's what we've had," Vincent said. "Chances are that Bob, Dave and I will play together again some day."
"We're a pretty silly bunch when we get together," Yoas said. "It really is like a band of brothers - that's probably what I'll miss the most."
"Onstage, we have an almost telepathic connection between us, we always know what each of us is going to do before we do it," Brumbaugh added.
"That only comes from playing together for a very long time, and it's really special," Vincent said, who says he'll always remember people singing along and dancing, and hearing a crowd cheer for a special version of a certain song. "Beatles fans are die-hards, and it's challenging to entertain them with their favorite music while doing our thing with the songs. Fortunately, everyone's been incredibly appreciative of what we've done."
With the DVD, the band wanted the audience and fans to take away good memories of the performance. The DVD also has bonus features such as a parody film called "Rubbersoul the Movie," a send-up similar to the famed Rutles/Monty Python parody of The Beatles. "Rubbersoul the Movie" features city-based guitarist Alex Callenberger as "Ono Yoko."
"I hope that they will take away a need for more of The Beatles. Maybe there are some young musicians in the audience who will be willing to step up to the plate and keep the music going after we're done," Yoas said. "It has been our pleasure escorting everyone down this long and winding road we've been on, and I hope we passed our audition."