By Michael Bauer

*Interview and Article Written and Edited by Michael Bauer of The Odessa American*

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August 13, 2024

Jon Fickes has been a huge fan of The Beatles since the age of 10.

It seems only fitting that he has gone on to portray John Lennon in a Beatles tribute band called The Fab Four.

“What do I not enjoy?” Fickes said in a phone interview. “I used to doodle John Lennon’s signature. I had his signature memorized. I would draw that on my textbooks in school. I learned to play guitar out of a Beatles songbook that I had. It’s been a lifelong passion of mine. I’ve watched the movies and the documentaries. It’s kind of inevitable that I would be here.”

The group travels around the world performing and sharing its love of the iconic British rock band with thousands of other fans.

Hard-core fans of The Beatles in the area will get a chance to hear some of their best songs when the tribute band makes a stop in Midland for a 7:30 p.m. concert Aug. 23 at the Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center.

Tickets can be purchased online at wagnernoel.com. 

The Emmy award-winning group is elevated far above every other Beatles Tribute due to their precise attention to detail.

This particular show will focus mainly on the album “Rubber Soul” during the first act.

“Rubber Soul” was the sixth studio album from the group and was released in 1965.

The album includes songs such as “Drive My Car,” “Norwegian Wood,” “You Won’t See Me” and “In My Life,” just to name a few.

“This is a Rubber Soul show,” Fickes said. “We’re giving you the entire album, all the tracks. We’ve been playing this show for a few months now. We’re really tight on it and I love ‘Rubber Soul.’ It’s sort of a left turn. There’s a lot more acoustics on it. They start getting a bit deep into it, lyrically. That’s the first appearance of the sitar. I know ‘Revolver’ is my favorite album but ‘Rubber Soul’ has my favorite song which is ‘In My Life.’”

However, if some people aren’t too familiar with “Rubber Soul,” then they need not to worry as the second half of the show will feature other classics from the Beatles’ later albums.

“The second half of the show, we give you all the hits from 1967 and onward,” Fickes said. “We’ll do a ‘With a Little Help from My Friends.’ We’ll do ‘Let It Be.’ We’ll do stuff from ‘Abbey Road.’ We’ll do something that every Beatles fan will know. It’s impossible to not love these songs. That’s what makes these songs so easy to play. We’ve been playing these songs a lot but they’re so good. There’s no complaints.”

For Fickes, watching all the movies and listening to the Beatles’ music for so long has been a character study.

“When I’m performing, it feels natural,” Fickes said. “It all comes pretty natural to me because I love it so much and it’s been a big part of my life. I love getting to keep the fire burning with the Beatles legacy and keep it alive.”

Fickes remembers fondly of seeing another Beatles tribute band when he was 16, which baffled him at first.

“I grew up in a small town and I saw a Beatles documentary and then a Beatles tribute band came through and did a concert in the park and it was such a revelation for me because I didn’t know something like that existed,” Fickes said. “All these years later, I’m doing the same thing that I saw as a kid.”

There have been many classic albums from the original British band including “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” “The White Album” and “Abbey Road.”

While Fickes’ favorite album is “Revolver,” he sometimes changes his mind.

“I would give you a different answer if you asked me a month from now,” Fickes said. “It’s always changing. I love them all. I guess, traditionally, I’ve always chosen ‘Revolver’ as my favorite because it was the first one I sat down and listened to.”

He described “Revolver” as having “such a far-out sound.”

“You have ‘Eleanor Rigby,’” Fickes said. “‘Love You Too’ is another one. Then you have ‘Got to Get You Into My Life’ which has sort of a Motown sound to it. That album is crazy. I was hypnotized by it.”