Atlantic City Weekly

By Lori Hoffman

JUST TWO WEEKS BACK, Dan Aykroyd was in town to promote the House of Blues project that is coming to the Showboat this July. This weekend he returns in full Elwood Blues mode, joined by blood brother Zee Blues (Jim Belushi), with the Blues Brothers Formal Classic Revue in a benefit performance at Caesars. Aykroyd's mantra about the band is that they are doing their bit to help keep this great American music alive. Expect classic cuts from the BB canon like "Sweet Home Chicago," "Rubber Biscuit" and "Soul Man." The boys might also pull out cuts from their 2003 self-produced release Have Love Will Travel -- Big Men, Big Music. Aykroyd does a jaunty take on "Time Won't Let Me" and Belushi belts out "Cadillac Man," plus the swinging "All She Wants to Do Is Rock" and the title track.

Elwood and Zee will be joined by master of ceremonies Joe Piscopo in the benefit for Piscopo's Positive Impact Foundation.

Joe Piscopo loves kids and he loves New Jersey. He brings his two loves together with his Positive Impact Foundation, an organization he created in 1997 to produce educational videos that show young people making a positive impact in their communities. The organization also provides technology grants that increase access to computers for thousands of children in the state.

In a chat with Piscopo from his North Jersey home, he took time out from watching his toddler dance around the room to talk about organizing the benefit. "This has been the busiest year of my life, but it has been a labor of love." He became a father for the fourth time -- Olivia is a month old -- and went to Vegas with his big band Sinatra tribute and comedy show. "I'm the Wayne Newton of comedy and had an absolute blast doing it," declares Piscopo.

Beyond his work, he is always busy raising money for his foundation. "My mission is to show all the great things happening here. I'm all about Jersey, helping kids living here that are at risk. I was thinking about how I could raise awareness and money, so I talked to Danny and Jimmy, we talked about capitalizing on the SNL thing, and we worked it out to have this great night." Piscopo is not shy about contacting all his old Saturday Night Live buddies. "I talked to Eddie Murphy, his schedule is booked right now, but he sent a contribution. I talked to Dana, Chevy -- he might come down -- Adam Sandler, I talked to everybody!"

Piscopo loves Atlantic City. He has been performing here for 20 years, and is thrilled that the city is making such great strides. "Right after Louie Malle made Atlantic City, Danny DeVito (another Jersey guy), and I came to town and filmed Wise Guys. Atlantic City is the number one gaming destination and it is so wonderful to see the town's renaissance."

Dan Aykroyd has not only observed the rebirth of Atlantic City, he is directly involved in the renaissance with the House of Blues project. Says Aykroyd, "I love coming down here. I love the topography, the nature, the wetlands. I first came down to Atlantic City in the '70s when I moved to New York to do SNL. We'd come down after the show. Of course then, all of the development [and casinos] hadn't occurred, when the city was looking to revitalize itself. I've seen the changes."

Aykroyd has so much fun performing, is it the favorite part of his career now? "I've had the good fortune to exploit talents in writing, acting and music. I like doing it all, but there is something about the music that is pure and fun, that affects other people right away. You get that immediate gratification of seeing an audience. If I had nothing else [but the music] I would be happy."

When Aykroyd became involved in reviving the Blues Brothers as a live act, he didn't have to audition to find a new "brother." John Belushi's brother Jim was familiar with all the moves, and agreed to do it as a way to honor his brother's memory. When he has free time from his ABC TV series The World According to Jim, Belushi alternates between Blues Brothers gigs and fronting a band he poached from the LA House of Blues, The Sacred Hearts. As he told AC Weekly during his last appearance in town, "A live performance is always more fun [than acting]. I look at is as a Broadway musical performance. That real live sound of horns and guitars. It's like floating on a musical cloud, singing and dancing, and you never come down."

The Blues Brothers, starring Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi, with MC Joe Piscopo, Saturday, Jan. 22, 8:30pm, Caesars' Circus Maximus; tickets are $100, available at the box office or from Ticketmaster, 1-800-736-1420.