Venice Little Theatre www.venicestage.com
Bandana returns to VLT MainStage for Oldies Concert
On July 14, 2007, Venice’s own Bandana takes the MainStage at Venice Little Theatre for the fourth year. Their first appearance at the theatre was as the warm-up act for Gary Lewis and The Playboys in 2004. Audience response after the concert made it clear that Venice wanted more of Bandana. They’ve been the headline act ever since at the VLT Theatre Guild’s Annual Summer Oldies Concert. The show is at 8:00 p.m. and tickets are $20.00. They are on sale now at the theatre’s box office, by phone at 941-488-1115 or online at www.venicestage.com.Bandana was formed in 1990, after lead vocalist, Tony "Butch" Gerace, retired from touring to raise his family in Venice. Formerly with Sam the Sham and The Pharaohs, Gerace sang with Mitch Miller, played the Johnny Carson Show, the Milton Berle Show and toured the world with his wonderful blend of classic rock favorites, including his own Golden Record hit, Lil Red Riding Hood and other Pharaoh’s hits, like Wooly Bully. Since its formation, Bandana has won the hearts of thousands of local fans.
Besides Gerace, Bandana features Steven Shower, keyboards and vocals (from Osprey); Bill "Del Ray" Smith, bass and vocals (from Englewood); Todd Rogers, guitar (from Northport) and Dave Murabito (Rotunda) on drums.
The warmup act at this year’s show are another local group, Jimmy Jay and The Scrubjays. Jimmy Jay is on keyboards, Vaughn Snyder is on drums and on guitar is Phil Bower. Jimmy Jay is a host on WENG 1530am in Englewood. For the last ten years, he’s been performing regularly at Marina Jack’s and half a dozen other local clubs and restaurants. He was the originator of Monday Night Music at Snook Haven, performing for five years.
The theatre is located at 140 W. Tampa Ave. Summer box office hours are 10:00 am to 2:00 pm Monday through Friday and 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Saturday. The box office opens one hour before all performances.
CAPTION: Bandana