Not long after we arrived for the first night of Abbey Road on the River last Memorial Day Weekend, my friends and I noticed a particular guitar player on stage. We’d seen him at the annual Beatles festival before, but none of us could recall his name or even which band(s) he was in.
The first thing that jumped out was his appearance — strikingly handsome with dark hair and dark skin, the lean and rugged profile of an Indy car driver. His smile radiated across the Ohio River, and he and his bandmates — called Some Other Guys — looked to be enjoying themselves immensely. Plus, the dude had George Harrison’s slide guitar parts down cold.
We located a program and found him listed individually. His name is Danilo Fiani, and we learned he would be playing at AROTR with Some Other Guys and solo.
His first two nights were pretty normal — Some Other Guys played one set each Thursday and Friday. They did another on Saturday afternoon, and two hours later, Danilo played a solo set of Cat Stevens songs, the timeless elegance of which seemed to surprise performer and audience.
Then Fiani stayed up all night jamming in the hotel, a rite of passage at any music festival, before returning to the festival grounds the following morning for a noontime performance of deep cuts from George Harrison. The Cat Stevens set was in a comfy tent; the Harrison set was in the full sun. Then Some Other Guys played an evening set of Harrison material.
On Monday, he and SOG backed up their friend Jay Goeppner, an Abbey Road veteran who channels John Lennon. A family wedding kept Goeppner away for much of the weekend, and he was itching to get onstage. The impromptu act was billed as Jay and the South Americans.
Midway through, with Fiani laying flat on his back taking a guitar solo, I wasn’t sure whether it was stagecraft or exhaustion. He smiled while soaking up sun and applause.
***
Watching Fiani play Cat Stevens was a revelation — something about hearing the source material, which I hadn’t listened to in years, combined with Fiani’s spiritual interpretations. Woman in colorful flowing dresses danced, kids joined, and the whole tent looked blissful. I suddenly wanted to know all about Fiani, and we finally sat down for a chat on Monday after he wrapped up his on-stage obligations.
Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro where he still lives, he studied geography in college and works full time in civil service. His parents are musicians, and after a couple years of violin lessons, a friend loaned him a cassette full of Beatles songs.
Hearing the Beatles redirected his musical interests (the first song that jumped out was “I Feel Fine”), and he started playing guitar in rock bands.
Abbey Road on the River May 25-28 Big Four Station Park Jeffersonville, Indiana www.arotr.com
What hooked him?
“That’s something I’ve been trying know to until these days,” he said. “It’s just good music at a very high level. I’ve listened to all those albums hundreds of times. Whenever I listen to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band — it’s not my favorite album — it seems like the first time, the freshness of the music. It’s so strong, so rich.”
He joined a tribute band called Blue Beatles about 10 years ago and became a fixture at International Beatles Week in Liverpool and other festivals celebrating the Fab Four.
Some Other Guys formed just last year at the behest of AROTR founder Gary Jacobs. The band includes former Blue Beatles as well as member of a tribute band called The Starclubbers. A song called “Some Other Guy,” written by Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller and Richard Barrett, holds significance in Beatles lore: It’s the only known surviving film of the band performing at the Cavern Club. The members of Some Other Guys (Fiani, Felipe Coe, Fernando Duarte, Patric Roes and Mario Vitor) hail from Brazil and Europe.
Fiani has appeared at Abbey Road for years, but 2022 was his first time playing alone. He especially enjoyed it.
“I never played solo till three or four years ago,” he said. “I love to do that. I wasn’t expecting so many people to hear the solo gigs — it was very emotional.”
He explained his special affection for Harrison.
“When I started to listen to the Beatles, Paul was my favorite, but then I started knowing better George’s songs, and by that time I bought his albums in vinyl shops and I got very connected to his music.
“When I got the Beatles’ albums 20 years ago, maybe more, I learned to play those songs because I love them so much and played back at home. This type of festival is a place where you can really play those (lesser-known) songs – people know them and enjoy them. I couldn’t play them at our regular shows in Brazil because the audience is much more into the A sides.
“He’s very confessional. He always talks about his feelings. He doesn’t make songs about other characters like Paul does. George wouldn’t write ‘Desmond has a barrow in the marketplace.’ He and John, and also Cat Stevens, are very confessional. I think that’s what really hits me.”
Fiani told me he relies on hot tea and steam to preserve his voice, and he’ll need it this year, as his dance card looks more insane than a year ago.
To wit, here’s his schedule for 2023:
Thursday
4 p.m. — Some Other Guys (Not Just Any Some Other Guys)
Friday
3:30 p.m. — SOG with Drew Harrison & Friends (In the Spirit of Lennon)
5:45 p.m. — SOG with George Harry’s Son (Gavin Pring with an AROTR all-star band)
9:30 p.m. — SOG (BBC & Decca)
Saturday
2 p.m. — SOG with Special Guest
3:15 p.m. — Solo (Living in the Material World LP)
6:15 p.m. — SOG with Gavin Pring (George Harry’s Son)
Sunday
4:45 p.m. — SOG (George solo)
5:30 — SOG with Jay Goeppner (2022 Encore)
6:40 p.m. — Solo (Cat Stevens)
8:30 p.m. — SOG with Gavin Pring as George Harry’s Son
