<\/p>\n
The sound of piano keys echoing through a South Florida living room 14 years ago has turned into something Tony Monaco never imagined: Standing ovations at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n
Monaco\u2019s six-member Billy Joel tribute band,\u00a0Turnstiles<\/a>, which began with humble rehearsals in bandmate Jeff McDonald\u2019s living room, has become one of the most acclaimed tribute acts in the country. After a successful private performance at the Delray Beach Club on July 26, the group will return to Palm Beach County on Friday, Aug. 22 at Old School Square<\/a> in Delray Beach<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re a Billy Joel fan, there\u2019s no way you can\u2019t love them,\u201d said Alison Chaplin, one of the band\u2019s managers.<\/p>\n Monaco, who anchors the group with piano and vocals like Billy Joel, moved to Long Island, New York when he was 22. In 1995, Monaco moved to Boynton Beach<\/a> and has since resided there.<\/p>\n \u201cI decided to start this band based on the fact that I was in a very successful wedding corporate band,” Monaco said. “I just couldn\u2019t deal with it anymore,\u201d he said, explaining how learning five to seven new songs weekly and working nearly every weekend pushed him to pursue his passion project.<\/p>\n It\u2019s fitting that Turnstiles has found such success in South Florida. Joel, the Long Island native whose songs have been in decades of American life, has deep ties to Palm Beach County<\/a>. The \u201cUptown Girl\u201d singer maintains a townhome in a triplex near the Brazilian Court Hotel north of Worth Avenue, recently bought property in Boca Raton<\/a> and owns equestrian land in Wellington<\/a>.<\/p>\n The band\u2019s success wasn\u2019t immediate. After their first show in April 2011, Turnstiles performed just nine times that year.<\/p>\n \u201cThe next year we did 23 shows. The year after that we did 56 shows,\u201d Monaco said. \u201cIf you put it on a scale, it was astronomical.\u201d<\/p>\n Today, they play about 60 shows a year, with audiences spanning generations. \u201cWe play shows and there\u2019s teenagers, and they\u2019re singing,\u201d Monaco said. \u201cThey know the words.\u201d<\/p>\n The band adapts its set list based on audience response.<\/p>\n \u201cWe get up there and see what happens, where the crowd is,\u201d said guitarist and keyboardist Greg Reitano. \u201cIf they want to dance, we go toward the more danceable stuff. If they want mellow stuff, we\u2019ll do ballads.\u201d<\/p>\n Unlike many tribute acts, Turnstiles prides itself on playing Joel\u2019s repertoire authentically rather than impersonating him.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you have an artist that you love listening to, you can sing along. You expect those words to fall where they fall,\u201d Monaco said. \u201cWe try to make it better every time we have a rehearsal.\u201d<\/p>\nPlaying Madison Square Garden has been band’s highlight<\/h2>\n