Sinatra tribute artist to play the Paramount Theatre in Abilene

Janet Van Vleet

It wasn't like Dave Halston had any plans for getting into show business when he retired from the medical device business.

But that all changed at a party he threw for some friends. He had a karaoke machine and happened to sing the two Sinatra songs he knew.

A friend who owned a wine bistro in Halston's hometown of Fort Worth, asked Halston why he didn't tell him he could do that.

'Do what?' Halston said he answered. 'Sing like Frank,' his friend answered.

His friend asked him to come perform at the bistro. When Halston said he only knew two songs, he was advised to learn more.

'By the end of the show at his place, I had two more gigs,' Halston said.

That was 10 years ago.

Halston performs his 'Tribute to Sinatra' at the Paramount Theatre Saturday night as a fundraiser for the West Texas Rehabilitation Center.

Halston travels all over the country performing Sinatra's catalog of songs. He usually wears a tuxedo or white dinner jacket, though rarely a fedora.

'I'm not an impersonator,' Halston said. 'I perform more of an interpretation of Frank's music.'

His one-man show has turned into a full-time gig and he started a business called Tribute Masters which includes other tribute artists, impersonators and look-a-likes. Halston said it was a way to grow beyond the amount of time he could perform in a given day or month.

While he travels from Seattle to Miami and California to the East Coast, he spends the majority of his time in Middle America. He did four shows in Chicago in the past month.

'I'm on the road constantly,' Halston said. 'In the last three weeks, I spent two full days at home.'

He performed in Galveston Thursday and will be in Abilene on Friday, which is a nice break from cross country travel.

'With Galveston and Abilene, it's almost like they're right next to each other,' Halston said, with a chuckle.