Jim Price
Moderator
Joined: 07 Dec 2002
Posts: 4817
Location: Altoona, PA
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 Posted: Wednesday Mar 05, 2003 |
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WEEKEND RECAP 3/3/03:
THURSDAY NIGHT 2/27: Day job duties gave me a late start, plus the weather was a bit crappy, so I ambled down the street a few blocks to Peter C’s for some Thursday Hurricaning. At least a few people were in the room despite the weather, including a number of musicians, so it was a jamming good time! Jeff Clapper’s son, Ryan Clapper; also Bluesonic’s Trace and Chris Baker, Not Them Guys’ Steve Shiffler, and Cosmic Lounge’s Dwane Edmiston and Jeremy Nelson all made guest appearances onstage with the Hurricanes this night. Highlights included Ryan and Steve providing the vocals on Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man,” the Steve and Trace duet on Grand Funk Railroad’s “Closer to Home” (with Chris on drums), Jeremy fronting the group on Stevie Ray’s “The Sky Is Crying,” and Dwane singing lead on Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s “Blue On Black.” The dance floor stayed busy and fun, and onstage the musical fireworks were dazzling!
Felix Kos of the Hurricanes, flanked by Steve Shiffler (Not Them Guys) and Trace Baker (Bluesonic).
Jeff Clapper of the Hurricanes.
Felix looks on as Trace Baker belts out the voice.
FRIDAY NIGHT 2/28: The weather was cooperative this night, so I ventured up the hill to catch up with Emily's Toybox at Yesterday's Party in Ebensburg. As expected, a packed house was on hand to catch the onstage insanity. Frontman/lead nut Mike Wise was in fiery, insane form as Emily's Toybox mixed new songs from their "25/7" album with current rock favorites, established Emily's Toybox favorites and raunchy redneck anthems. Highlights included the uptempo punk'n'roller "Your Girlfriend Is Ugly," the twisted take on Van Morrison's "Brown-Eyed Girl," Toybox faves like "Dear," "I'm The Bomb," and a new tune (I think called) "Kids In The Back of the Bus." And then there was the finale; the group launched into their signature anthem, "Bionic," with Mike Wise again prompting women to sing about their 'male appendage" (or significant other, as the case may be) smelling like a famous lip balm product. This went into the 50's-styled loving tribute to your mother that appears as the bonus track on the "25/7" album, followed by my personal favorite from that album, "Road Rage." Mike's midsong tirade about grayhairs in the passing lane was classic, and I liked his idea for the ultimate angry car horn - we need car horns that can blare "BEEP F$%*IN' BEEP" in times of road rage! This led into the 'F' medley of the naughty redneck singalong "F'ing In the Mud" and "So F'in' Cool" to end the night. This show was all the debauchery you would expect from an Emily's Toybox show, with Mike Wise and gang delivering their brand of tomfoolery atop driving, hard rocking rhythms. Wade Corbin was the absolute wildman on the drums, pounding the hell out of his kit!
Good, unclean fun for all…
Drummer Wade Corbin achieves new heights in trying to rally the Y-P dance floor masses.
Lead maniac Mike Wise of Emily’s Toybox.
Leon Karpovich of Emily’s Toybox.
Mike and Leon of Emily’s Toybox.
Everybody…SAY CHAPSTICK!
Rallying the dancefloor masses, Mike Wise of Emily’s Toybox.
Todd Sensenich of Emily’s Toybox.
Partying the masses 25/7, Mike Wise of Emily’s Toybox.
An onstage guest helps Mike Wise sing a loving tribute to your mom.
Addressing a sea of heads, Mike Wise of Emily’s Toybox.
You’ve heard of bottleneck slide, right? Here, Wade Corbin of Emily’s Toybox demonstrates bottleneck drumming.
”Take our picture!”
SATURDAY 3/1: Not music related, but I marked another personal milestone this day, donating blood for the first time ever during the Q94 Calendar Girl Blood Drive at the Logan Valley Mall (one of the calendar girls offered to hold my hand while I gave blood, good incentive!). Seriously, this was very successful, the goal for the blood drive was 55 units, around 70 units were collected. Hats off to the Calendar Girls for a great job organizing it, and to everyone who came out and gave the gift of life!
SATURDAY NIGHT 3/1: It turned into community service day for yours truly; after giving blood earlier, I braved the slightly slushy roads and fog to journey to the Bedford Elks to support the American Cancer Society Benefit featuring Insult To Injury and Dirt. Bedford nation was out in full force this night, the hall was packed! Both bands performed two sets each, so I caught Insult To Injury’s second set and Dirt’s first. Both groups sounded very good, both performing energetic mixes of current and classic rock favorites. Highlights during Insult To Injury’s set included versions of Midnight Oil’s “Beds Are Burning,” Cult’s “Fire Woman,” Bloodhound Gang’s “Bad Touch,” the wild medley featuring everything from Leadbelly/Ram Jam’s “Black Betty” to Ramones to “Tricky,” followed immediately by Metallica’s “Seek and Destroy” (and everybody stayed on the dance floor, amazing!). Insult To Injury sounded very solid, with bassist Tom Jezeskie and rhythm guitarist Andy Henson and drummer Kevin Easter all doing respectable jobs on lead vox, and lead guitarist Scott Diehl cranking out some hot leads throughout the set. Dirt is a new name, but features veteran players from the Bedford scene - this is the first time I’ve seen folks named Showalter and Notestine onstage at the same time since the Manndrake days at new Sebastiano’s (at least ten years ago)! Both Jeff and Patti Notestine did good work on vocals, Don Showalter was flaming the frets on his new Flying V, and Ron Showalter enthusiastically slammed out the beats on his kit. Bill Dierling cemented it all together on bass. Dirt nicely mixed it up between male- and female-fronted rock, and I liked the diverse song selection. I especially enjoyed the set-opening version of Cheap Trick’s “Hello There,” Sugar Ray’s “Answer The Phone,” the Ron-fronted version of Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s “Blue On Black,” plus the Patti-fronted versions of Meredith Brooks’ “Bitch,” Cranberries’ “Zombie,” No Doubt’s “Hella Good” and more. Both bands kept it rocking and kept the dance floor packed. Both Insult To Injury and Dirt proved they could generate the party this night, definitely catch either band when you see their shows coming up. At least several hundred folks in the house, so a good chunk of change was raised for the American Cancer Society, very good deal.
Andy Henson and Insult To Injury rock the masses at the Bedford Elks.
Tom Jezeskie of Insult To Injury.
Scott Diehl and Andy Henson of Insult To Injury.
Kevin Easter of Insult To Injury.
Once again, Scott Diehl of Insult To Injury, tearing it up on the frets.
Once again, Andy Henson of Insult To Injury.
Dirt rocks the dancefloor masses at the Bedford Elks.
Don Showalter of Dirt.
Happy to be back in action behind the kit, Ron Showalter of Dirt.
Giving his new Flying V the workout, Don Showalter of Dirt.
Bill Dierling of Dirt.
Jeff Notestine of Dirt.
Singing lead on Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s “Blue On Black,” Ron Showalter of Dirt.
Patti Notestine and Dirt rock the Bedford Elks.
Patti Notestine of Dirt.
It’s a “Dirt”-y job, but somebody’s gotta do it; Patti Notestine sings lead for Dirt.
Once again, Bill Dierling of Dirt.
After Dirt’s first set, I decided to head back to the ‘Toona, and I finished the night taking in Velveeta’s last set at the 4D’s Lounge. Say what you will regarding the ongoing originals vs. covers debate; when I watched Velveeta this night, I realized that there’s something to be said about performing current and nostalgic rock covers to a hot and sweaty dance floor packed with mostly 20-something-aged women, and earning good coin for it at the end of the night! Velveeta unapologetically cranked out tunes from The Monkees, Poison, Whitesnake, Def Leppard, a few hip-hop tunes; and when the sweaty dancefloor populace demanded an encore, Guns’n’Roses’ “Sweet Child O’Mine.” Velveeta’s not fancy or frilly, they’re not virtuosos; but they are solid players, they keep the action moving and the dance floor packed. And because they have developed their reputation around being able to do this steadily every night, Velveeta has become one of the busiest bands in the state, as well as one of the region’s most reliable onstage parties. It’s what they do.
Mike Lee of Velveeta.
Velveeta rocks the dancefloor sweatfest at the 4D’s Lounge.
John "Bones" Harper of Velveeta.
Brent Martin of Velveeta.
Brian Kriley and Steve Bentz of Velveeta.
More Velveeta party mayhem at the 4D’s Lounge.
SUNDAY NIGHT 3/2: Of course, the highlight of my weekend had to be the Q94 “Backyard Rocker” 5th Anniversary Special, with Felix & the Hurricanes and their musical friends in the studio. Felix took the opportunity to introduce some promising young players on the air this night; showcasing the talents of Jeff Clapper’s son, Ryan (who sang lead voice on several tunes), Eric Wertz of Choco Sam (helping out with percussion), and a new name to watch out for – 16-year-old guitarist Ian Hersey. Ian dazzled with some excellent jazz-flavored leadwork, and engaged Felix in some heated jams through the night’s live on-air performances! Also taking part in the musical festivities were John Stevens on harmonica and longtime guitar vet and Hurricanes accomplice Ron Novak. (Devout Hurricaniac Frank Cicciarella was also on hand to videotape the proceedings and offer moral and coffee support.) This special three-hour edition of the “Backyard Rocker” was an absolute blast, and even with three hours it still went too damned fast! And thanks to Jeff’s significant other, Betsy, for the excellent guitar cake, which we all chowed down after the show ended! (Other musicians drink beer after a show, we all ate cake!) Thanks to the Hurricanes and all the guests, and thanks to everyone for supporting the “Backyard Rocker” over the first five years!
And I fully intend to keep this show happening for at least another five!
Jamming in the studio (clockwise, starting from the bottom left): Felix Kos, Bob Watters, and 16-year-old Ian Hersey (this youngster can play - look out!).
Ian Hersey and Eric Wertz (Choco Sam), jamming with the Hurricanes.
Jeff Clapper of The Hurricanes.
Bob Watters of The Hurricanes.
John Stevens wails harmonica, as Frank Cicciarella catches the musical magic on video.
Felix belts out the blooz!
What's a "Backyard Rocker" Birthday without the cake?
The postgame celebration begins: from left to right, Bob Watters, Ryan and Jeff Clapper, yours truly, Felix, Ron Novak and John Stevens.
After the party wound down and I cleaned things up, I eventually made it over to Pellegrine’s for the weekend’s finale with Backstreet Law. Decent attendance, and Backstreet Law kept Pelly’s dance floor busy with a kitchen sink mix of stuff, from original tunes like “Buddy Holly” and “Party in the Parking Lot” to their 80’s rock medley, a Beastie Boys medley, tunes from ZZ Top and Pantera, and for the encore, their hip-hop medley. Lots of ladies partook in dancing activities onstage with the band this night, including several now ex-employees of the now defunct Altoona G-Man. The band sounded sharp as always, and their full production pounded. A good rocking party to send the weekend out in appropriate fashion.
Jeremy Edge of Backstreet Law, with female dancer accompaniment onstage.
Jeremy and Goody of Backstreet Law.
Female debauchery onstage at Pelly's.
Jeremy Edge and more female debauchery onstage at Pelly's.
Again, Jeremy Edge of Backstreet Law.
Choke of Backstreet Law.
Goody of Backstreet Law, with some (former) ladies of the Altoona G-Man.
Is she singing or sucking his finger? Goody of Backstreet Law and other inquiring minds would like to know.
The postgame celebration, with the Right Honorable Guv'nor Jesse and Goody of Backstreet Law.
I usually don’t plug other radio stations (for obvious reasons), but since this one is commercial-free, plays local music and is on the Internet, I’m making an exception and giving a shout out.
Every Tuesday night, if you can get streaming audio on your computer, you can check out the “Artfortress.com Musician Showcase” on Harrisburg Public Radio (www.hbgpr.org). The show is hosted by singer/songwriter/musician Sherri Mullen (a.k.a. “The Rock Diva”), and she plays a wide variety of local and regional music from folk to metal, from blues to alternative. In addition, Sherri hosts a chat room on Harrisburg Public Radio while the show airs, so you can chat with other musicians and music-minded folks during the show. The chat room is friendly and supportive, and always a good time. Among the local bands Sherri currently plays are Nevermoure and The Grimm; you can get your CD aired by sending it to Sherri Mullen, Artfortress.com, P.O. Box 177, Middletown, PA 17057.
The show after Sherri’s is pretty cool, too. “Uncle Igor” hosts “The Vinyl Mine” where he plays vintage deep cuts and ‘lost classics’ for four hours, including whole album sides, obscure bands and more. (Just last week, he played a King Crimson album side, broke out tunes from names like Saxon, Budgie, Strawbs and other bands and artists you likely have forgotten about.) For you old timers, his show reminds me a lot of the old Steve Kelsey era of “All Night Album Rock.”
If you don’t have anything else happening on Tuesdays, check it out! |
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