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>> VIRGINIA INTERPRETERS TURN, TURN, TURN INTO '60s FOLK-ROCK SUPERGROUP BYRDS TRIBUTE IS A TIME TO REMEMBER

Byrds tribute band Second Flyte is coming to the Riverside Dinner Theater

by Jonas Beals

Date published: 9/11/2008

by Jonas Beals

If you think you're listening to yet another lineup change of The Byrds, you are forgiven. From Gene Clark to David Crosby to Gram Parsons, the pioneering '60s rock band had a revolving-door cast of legendary musicians during its seven-year existence.

What you might be listening to, however, is Second Flyte, a Byrds tribute band that is spinning that door once more. The group will play tomorrow at the Riverside Dinner Theater.

This time, dedicated musicians are using their talent to re-create the entire Byrds concert experience--from the tone of frontman Roger McGuinn's genuine 1965 Rickenbacker 360 12-string guitar to an exact replica of David Crosby's moleskin cape.

"We're nuts," Ed Embrey, who portrays McGuinn, said. "We're almost like Trekkies. It's hard enough to find two people like that, much less five."

That must make Embrey, a native of Sumerduck in Fau-quier County, doubly nuts--he also spent seven years pretending to be George Harrison in a formidable Beatles tribute act.

It's too easy to dismiss tribute artists like Embrey as unoriginal opportunists. Certainly, some are. But at their best, groups like Second Flyte offer interpretive art that is impressive in its precision and attention to detail. As when watching a great actor or spending the Benjamins of an expert counterfeiter, you force a smile of disbelief.

Embrey dropped The Beatles in favor of The Byrds for a few reasons: One, he grew up playing bluegrass and folk music with his family. Two, the music of The Byrds grabbed him at a young age and didn't let go.

"I was a big McGuinn fan," he said. "Some bluegrass and folk roots were in the Byrds' sound."

His experience paying tribute to The Beatles, while successful, convinced him to follow his heart.

"I realized that nobody was telling the American side of what happened after the British Invasion," he said. "The Byrds were the first real, incredibly talented, organic, American rock band--and nobody has done it as well since."

Embrey joined forces with Steve Arrington (Crosby), Will Newman (Clark), drummer Mark Moehlenkamp (Michael Clarke) and bassist John Johnston (Chris Hillman) to interpret the original Byrds lineup.

What: Second Flyte, A Tribute to The Byrds When: Friday, Sept. 12. Dinner is served at 6 p.m.; the show starts at 8 p.m. Where: Riverside Dinner Theater, 95 Riverside Parkway, Fredericksburg Cost: $40, includes dinner Info: 540/370-4300 or riversidedt.com

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Date published: 9/11/2008