2/11/2115 - The Hit Men

On 2/11/2015 - We went to the Straz Center for the Performing Arts. We saw The Hit Men who are a collection of hit-makers whose friendships and individual record success have been interweaving with each other for most of their lives. The band includes former members of mega stars like Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, Tommy James and the Shondells, The Critters, Cat Stevens, Jim Croce, Elton John & Kiki Dee, and Jim Webb  among others.

The Hit Men were Lee Shapiro who was one of Frankie Valli's celebrated Four Seasons.

Gerry Polci became one of Frankie Valli's celebrated Four Seasons in 1978. I have never seen such a fantastic drummer. He was awesome & he also sang. 

Jimmy Ryan began his career in the 1960's as a lead guitarist, vocalist and one of the songwriters for The Critters. 

Larry Gates has worked with some of the biggest names in the music business. As a composer and lyricist he has co-written songs with multi Grammy Award winner Desmond Child, Tony and Emmy Award winner Larry Hichman, Izzy James, and 

Platinum Record and Grammy Award winner Daniel Freuburg. 

Russ Velazquez, an NYC award-winning and  Emmy nominated singer, composer, arranger, and producer, is highly sought-after studio musician who has performed with Sting, Carole King, the Ramones, LL Cool J, Luther Vandross, and Paula Abdul. 

We bought a CD of their performance & each band member autographed the CD for us & allowed pictures with them as well. 

It was such an awesome show & we were dancing in our seats to the wonderful music from the 60's & 70's. 

We had balcony seats which were great because we could see the entire stage. 

Gerry Polci & Lee Shapiro. 

Larry Gates & Russ Velazques. Unfortunately Jimmy Ryan did not stay after the performance due to the fact that he was still not feeling well from a bout of pneumonia last week. 

The Straz Center is an amazing place with several theaters in one large center.  It is located in Tampa, FL. 

Wonderful evening.