In the Spotlight: Co-owner, Pat Hibbard

Our second “In the Spotlight” interview is with Co-owner, Pat Hibbard.

In addition to being co-owner, Pat is also co-writer and co-director for all Let Me Be Frank Productions.

We asked Pat how he was introduced to music and what got him started.  He said he grew up around music.  Both of his parents were musicians; his dad was a horn player and his mom was a singer.  There was always music playing.  Pat knew even as a little kid that he wanted to be a musician.  He was the kind of kid who didn’t want a toy gun to play with, he wanted a guitar!  When Pat was in middle school he started playing the saxophone and then began playing guitar when he was fourteen or fifteen years old. He started his first band when he was sixteen.

Pat was also very interested in theatre and he went on to study it at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Eventually he left school to go on tour with his band. For several years Pat toured the U.S. playing 20-25 gigs a month.  Over the years, Pat has played with several bands: Moving Violation, The Blitz, KatHouse, Eddie Haskell, and currently plays with Red Clover (http://www.redcloverband.com/).

In 1991 Pat moved back to Green Bay and married his girlfriend of 7 ½ years, Tina.  Pat and Tina have been together for 22 years.  Tina has always been very supportive of Pat’s musical ventures; she’s very proud of everything he does.  Pat and Tina have two kids, Zach 16, and Abbie 13. Zach is following in his dad’s footsteps and is very active in music and theatre.  He has a band of his own, is in marching band, and plays bass guitar, drums, and sings.  Abbie is a talented dancer and enjoys dance as a competitive sport through Barb’s Center for Dance.

When asked about his hobbies outside of music Pat says he has none—just music and more music.  When he’s not performing or writing, he’s with his family, taking the kids to rehearsals and competitions.  He loves watching his kids perform.

This is Pat’s tenth year with Let Me Be Frank Productions, and we wanted to know how he got started:

“I was working for a radio station, selling advertising, and I had sold a Packers radio show to the Sports Corner bar (which Frank owned at the time).  I had known Frank for a few years and I knew he was a musician but I didn’t know about his theater stuff.  I was sitting at the bar wearing a tie watching the show when Frank asked me if I was still playing bass. I said yes.  He offered me a gig playing bass for his “Fabulous 50’s” show. It was a blast. We just kinda clicked personally and creatively.  Frank gave me an opportunity to become more involved.  We started working on ideas and writing together and it slowly evolved into LMBF’s.  For that, I am forever grateful”. 

What’s his favorite part of working for Let Me Be Frank Productions? Pat says he still can’t believe he’s been part of this cool gig for ten years. “Having the opportunity to perform at the Meyer Theatre, getting to work with some of the most talented people I have ever met, and entertaining people—it’s really cool. It’s unbelievable, the community support we’ve received for the last 12 years at LMBF’s…I love meeting people after the shows who compliment us on our performances and are sincerely entertained by what we do. They allow us to make a living doing it, that’s incredible…that’s my favorite part”.

4 STARS out of 4 "Let Me Be Frank's 'St. Mary's Roller Rink' show skates on stellar singing"

Let Me Be Frank Productions' "St. Mary's Roller Rink" is a show, first, to sit back and enjoy the singing.
The story is set in 1978, so there is a lot of lively disco dancing, which is fascinating to see done by a group.
The production is like a concert, with a band fueling the singers, flashy light displays and mirror ball enhancing the aura, and confident performers pouring personality into songs.
Some people may have an automatic off button about the disco era, but many star singers of the period lit up the scene. Amy Riemer takes on Thelma Houston's "Don't Leave Me This Way" and captures its energy, dynamics and clarity. She delivers a huge, long, climactic note that tingles the spine. All of Riemer's solos — from the big-voice disco divas in their prime — are in her wheelhouse. Green Bay has a wowing singer right here.
Riemer also is vocal coach for the troupe. Everybody benefits.
The story allows the performers to take on a character, which puts meaning into songs. Buoyant troupe namesake Frank Hermans writes himself in a present-day bar, pining for the glorious and everything-fresh time of his youth. In a flashback, he's there — love struck, agile and full of hope — on a momentous night.
The songs in the show were played at the Green Bay rink. "I skated to every one of them," Hermans told the opening-night audience.
A sampler of singers and their songs: Kelly Haddad Gusloff and David Gusloff, "Too Much Too Little Too Late;" Lisa Andre, "Evergreen;" Pat Hibbard, "Magnet and Steel;" Emily Paulsen, "You Needed Me;" Hermans, "Angel Baby;" and Tom Verbrick, "Short People."
Guitarist Dennis Panneck has many nifty solo spots as he plays with Hibbard, bass; Tony Pilz, keyboards; and Dan Paquette, drums.
One of the splashy production numbers is a medley of Saturday morning cartoons, with the singers in a straight line front to back taking turns in the spotlight with the singers behind adding comical animation and harmony.
Troupe choreographer Verbrick has a lot to work with in this show. Everybody's into the action and motion, including Hermans and the two knees he had replaced at the beginning of the year.

— wgerds@greenbaypressgazette.com