Check out this great article about Dessy Di Lauro and Ric’key Pageot from the Montreal Gazette, where they talk about their careers in music and how Ric’key got hooked up with the Queen of Pop, aka Madonna!
“We wanted to go up, as far as our career,” Di Lauro said. “There’s a lot more opportunity (in L.A.). It’s a music and entertainment hub. When we moved there, Ric’key got Madonna soon after.” She makes it sounds easy, and it kinda was. Pageot had met Madonna’s musical director, Kevin Antunes, while on tour with Delirium.
“At the time, he was the musical director for Justin Timberlake,” Pageot said. Upon arrival, he dropped Antunes a line. “I said, ‘Hey, I just moved to L.A. I’m available if ever you need me.’ Four months later, I got a call for Madonna.”
Pageot auditioned, impressed and made it to the final two, where it reportedly came down to him and one other keyboardist. He made the cut because he played – of all things – accordion. Madonna wanted to incorporate a Gypsy jam into her show; she wanted someone who played accordion, which, luckily, he had learned for Delirium.
So what was it like touring with the Queen of Pop?
“Phenomenal,” Pageot said. “She wants us to live her life, meet cool people and hang out in really cool places. Dessy got to come out a couple of times.”
“It was surreal,” Di Lauro said. “It’s a huge production. It was crazy, being in Brazil and seeing 120,000 people packed into a stadium.”
“You get used to it,” Pageot said, with a smile.
Madonna’s Sticky & Sweet Tour stopped at the Bell Centre for two sold out nights in October 2008, during which Madonna gave a special shout-out to Pageot in his hometown.
