With a little help from his friends

Close your eyes, if you can, while Strawberry Fields is onstage, and you could swear you were back in the Cavern in Liverpool, England in the early 60s, or at Shea Stadium on August 15, 1965. That’s how authentic this Beatles tribute band is.
And on top of that, their hearts will all be in the right places on Oct. 26 when they will appear at Oceanside High School at a fundraiser for the Susan Satriano Scholarship Foundation.
“We’ve done fundraisers for Joe before,” said Tony Garofalo, ak.a John Lennon of Strawberry Fields. “We’ve done four or five concerts … and everyone loves it.”
Garafolo, who lives in Suffolk County, explained that the cause is near and dear to his heart, since his own mother died of cancer in 2005 — the same month he was retiring from the New York City Police Department.
Strawberry Fields is a look-alike, sound-alike Beatles tribute, dedicated to bringing the audience, as close to a real Beatles concert as possible. The band features true look-alike performers, handpicked from hundreds of auditioners, and who speak in Liverpudlian accents and play on the vintage musical instruments that Beatles fans have come to recognize. Garofalo is a founding member of the group.

“People who remember the Beatles come, but it’s also for the younger people who never got a chance to see them perform live,” Garafolo said.

The Susan Satriano Memorial Foundation
The Susan Satriano Memorial Foundation was founded in honor of Oceanside resident Joe Satriano’s wife, Susan, who died on cancer in 2005. He raised $300,000 in its first eight years. In 2012 alone the Foundation helped over 170 students in the United States. These monies are earmarked for their college education.
To be eligible for the award they must be a graduating senior going in the fall to a college, and they must have a parent who has died of cancer, or have a parent who is presently battling the disease.
More than 450 high school seniors have had to deal with the hardships, emotional scars and the devastation of seeing a parent either battling cancer or unfortunately succumb to it, said Satriano … “astounding numbers!”
“Many of these kids would never be eligible for academic awards simply because their grades suffer as they now have to take on responsibilities that one or both of their parents can no longer handle,” said Satriano. “It is very important to keep the children of cancer parents, the ‘silent sufferer’ in our daily stream of consciousness.”

Benefit Concert
Strawberry Fields Beatles Tribute Band
Oceanside High School Auditorium
3160 Skillman Ave., Oceanside
Date: October 26
Time: 8 p.m.
Tickets: $25
Contact: Department of Community Activities at (516) 594 2336 or Joe Satriano at (516) 603-5520.