[Jim Price]

WEEKEND/VACATION RECAP 2/13/06

CHEEZ/SILVER SUNDAY @ CITY LIMITS, ALTOONA 2/3/06

Originally, I was planning to leave on my Florida vacation trip this night after finishing up workplace duties. However, the sudden passing of my friend and popular area musician John Baker changed those plans, and the vacation departure was pushed back to Saturday morning. John’s viewing was this night, so I headed up to Hastings to pay my respects after leaving work. From there, I took in dinner, and then headed to City Limits to get my first look at Harrisburg party band Cheez.

Silver Sunday opened the show before an empty house. Frontlady Cathie, guitarist/singer Buck Dickson, bassist Mike Stanley and drummer Todd Harshbarger launched with the Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star,” and Cathie was in full “Princess Truck Stop” mode as she playfully cursed out her bandmates before leading the group on Madonna’s “Material Girl.” After Til Tuesday’s “Voices Carry,” Buck did his Bucky Spears spin on Britney’s “Baby One More Time.” Silver Sunday’s set continued with tunes from The Outfield, Fallout Boy, Republica, and the Cathie and Buck duet version of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” to finish the set.

Donning themselves “the Fellaz of Mozzarella,” Cheeze – Joel D. on lead vocals and guitar, Joey G. on bass and Bastard on drums – entertained the small City Limits audience with a wild mix of 70’s, 80’s and 90’s “cheesy” favorites over their two sets, with a few surprises thrown in. Along the way, Cheez broke out such unexpected tunes as Cheech & Chong’s “Earache My Eye,” The Clash’s “Clampdown,” the Vapors’ “Turning Japanese,” The Presidents of the United States of America’s “Lump,” Adam & the Ants’ “Goody Two Shoes,” and the Adam Sandler Wedding Singer take on Dead Or Alive’s “You Spin Me (Like a Record).” Cheez also broke out tunes from Modern English, James Gang, ZZ Top, Violent Femmes, Joe Jackson, Blur, Ramones, Billy Idol, Cheap Trick, Green Day and more.

Cheez’s presentation was crisp and hard-hitting, anchored by Joey’s and Bastard’s lean and mean rhythms. Joel was an entertaining, witty singer and emcee who showed a knack for ad-libbing and keeping things unpredictable on the mic. Cheez’s fun and unpredictable set list and robust, lighthearted presentation made them a fun party this night; too bad there weren’t more people in the house to enjoy it.


Cheez, making their Altoona debut at City Limits.

Again, Cheez.

Joel D. of Cheez.

From “Harrisburg…YOUR State Capitol,” Cheez.

From another angle, Cheez.

Joey G. of Cheez.

Bastard of Cheez.

Yet again, Cheez.

Again, Joel D. of Cheez.

VACATION RECAP

SATURDAY/SUNDAY 2/4-2/5:

Instead of a spring break this year, I was taking a winter break. My cohort, Sparky D’Engineer, and I were doing our annual Florida sojourn about six weeks earlier than we had in previous years, in early February instead of March. There were two primary reasons for this – to get out of Dodge during the peak of winter and perhaps dodge a winter storm or two, and to beat the flood of Spring Breakers that would hit Florida in March, crowding up the parks, beaches and other attractions.

We had inadvertently decided to start our vacation trip on Super Bowl Weekend. We had planned that, of course, before we knew that our beloved Pittsburgh Steelers were going to be part of the equation. So our goal was to start out on Saturday, overnight in North Carolina somewhere, and do the rest of the roadtrip on Sunday to arrive at our destination in Zephyrhills (near Tampa) just before game time.

For the most part, we were successful, arriving at our destination just after the start of the first quarter of the game. But there was a casualty. Sparky’s Nissan Pathfinder developed an oil leak at some point during the journey, and began running rough during the homestretch run between Orlando and Zephyrhills (when it was totally out of oil, ouch!). The vehicle ended up having to undergo some emergency surgery at the local Nissan dealership during our Florida stay, to the tune of some major bucks and a rental car to use in the interim.

We were staying at Sparky’s parents’ digs, in a retirement village in Zephyrhills. As such, there wasn’t a whole lot of Super Bowl furvor going on when we arrived. Sparky’s folks were throwing an informal Super Bowl party, and the extent of the furvor was one of the elderly neighbors riding past and tooting the horn of his golf cart while waving a Steelers banner. But the food spread was good, and of course, the outcome of the game was very good. The Steelers had finally gotten “one for the thumb!”


Sparky in front of the Florida Welcome Center sign. After the long roadtrip, we had made it to Florida! Little did we know at this point that Sparky’s Pathfinder wasn’t in any shape to get us much further!

MONDAY 2/6:

Today was pretty much resting up day after our two day roadtrip and the previous night’s Super Bowl. I lounged around the house and relaxed, while Sparky and his father took the ailing Nissan Pathfinder to be repaired.

Late in the afternoon, we had learned that some vintage World War II-era bombers were flying in to a local air strip. So Sparky’s parents took us over to the air strip to check out the planes. We got to look at both planes, a B-17 Flying Fortress and a B-25 Mitchell Bomber, up close; as well as see the B-25 in the air as some folks paid to ride in the aircraft.

We followed this up by heading to one of our more anticipated dinner stops whenever we visit Florida, Sonny’s Barbecue in Zephyrhills. Sonny’s is a franchise rib joint, one of the South’s versions of Clem’s Ribs up this way, although actually a sit-down restaurant. The ribs were mouth-watering, and we gorged ourselves, leading to a Monday night parked on the couch in front of the television. Vacation laziness at its finest!

On the way to the air strip, we stopped by a nearby sky diving facility. According to this warning sign, if you’re afraid of a skydiver falling on you, you might want to depart the premises…

A B-17 Flying Fortress, one of two vintage World War II-era planes that flew in and were on display at a local municipal air strip near Zephyrhills while we were there.

A B-25 Mitchell Bomber, the other World War II-era plane, making its arrival back at the air strip after doing a demonstration flight.

On the ground, the B-25 Mitchell Bomber.

TUESDAY 2/7:

Although we came to Florida to escape cold weather, we didn’t get away from it altogether. This day was cloudy and chilly, with temperatures only topping out in the 60’s. As Sparky and I found out when we took the rental car and headed out to explore the town of Tarpon Springs, it wasn’t ideal shorts weather.

But Tarpon Springs was pretty cool, besides just the temperature. Situated along the Gulf Coast just north and west of Tampa, Tarpon Springs is a decidedly ethnic Greek-based community, and the main industry here is fishing and sponge growing. There were souvenir shops with sponge products everywhere, as well as items imported in from Greece. We ate lunch at a Greek diner, and heard some of the locals speaking in the tongue of the old country. We also did a bus tour of the area.

From there, we headed southward along the coast, checking out Clearwater Beach for a few minutes, before making our way back to the house, and again retiring in front of the tube for the evening.


Clearwater Beach.

WEDNESDAY 2/8:

We headed eastward to the Orlando area this day, with a theme park in mind. We returned to what has become our favorite of the Disney theme parks, Epcot.

It had warmed up a little more this day, although hooded sweatshirts could still be seen in abundance in and around Epcot. We browsed the sights, and decided to spend the majority of the day in the World Showcase area. And of course, we stuck around for the finale, the day-ending fireworks extravaganza, IllumiNations.

Afterward, we headed to Downtown Disney to check out the House Of Blues, Virgin Records Superstore and other attractions.


Sparky in front of one of the fountains at Epcot.

An impressive balancing act by one of the Chinese acrobats at the China Pavilion at Epcot.

The band entertaining at the Norway Pavilion at Epcot.

The British Invasion (not to be confused with the local band of the same name featuring Bob Gates and Rick Wertz), performing at the U.K. Pavilion at Epcot.

With folks dancing in front of their kiosk stage, The British Invasion.

Part of the IllumiNations fireworks finale which closed the day at Epcot.

THURSDAY 2/9:

This day provided some of the biggest highlights of our vacation week in Florida, as we did a doubleheader of events, both fun!

First, thanks to Sparky’s parents, we were hooked up with tickets to go see NHL hockey action, as the Tampa Bay Lightning was entertaining the Carolina Hurricanes. One of Sparky’s folks’ friends lent us a GPS unit for the trip; and this was the day I became a GPS believer! Not only did the GPS direct us accurately from Zephyrhills to the Tampa Forum in downtown Tampa; it guided us through back roads and shortcuts during afternoon rush hour, enabling us to avoid the gridlock on Tampa’s interstates (we actually drove under one of the interstates and saw the traffic at a standstill). And it got us to the Forum in less than an hour!

A hockey night in Florida is an interesting thing. Outside the Forum, it was like tailgating for a concert, with food and refreshment stands set up, souvenir vendors, and a live rock band performing on a small stage!

The Tampa Forum itself is a nice facility, and the house was rocking with a good-sized attendance of cheering fans. It was once I was inside the Forum, though, that I discovered a potentially disastrous situation for myself. The Tampa Bay Lightning was playing the Carolina Hurricanes. What T-shirt had I inadvertently worn to this game? A Felix & the Hurricanes shirt, with the Hurricanes part in big letters. As I realized this gaffe during the game’s second period, I put my jacket on over the shirt, lest some nasty Lightning fans mistake me for the enemy’s fans and douse me with a beer! But then again, the Lightning fans had nothing to be upset about, as their team went on to dominate Carolina by a 5-3 final score.

After the game, the GPS unit again proved its worthiness. I had learned a while back that one of my former radio co-workers from early in my career – former WFBG-AM night/overnight jock Dan Grabill – was living in Tampa and singing lead for a southern/classic rock band called Diamond Gray. And Diamond Gray happened to be performing this night at a bar venue called Carlie’s, in Piniellas Park, a southern Tampa suburb. We typed in the venue’s address on the GPS, and the unit accurately and flawlessly directed us from the Tampa Forum to Carlie’s.

We arrived at Carlie’s just before the start of Diamond Gray’s second set. I had seen Dan Grabill about a year before, when Dan returned to the Altoona area for a visit, and sang a couple of numbers with Felix & the Hurricanes at Peter C’s. We chatted briefly, but not long enough that Dan would easily recognize me right off the bat if I showed up to see his band. This led to a funny exchange after we arrived. Carlie’s was lightly populated, and Sparky and I grabbed an initial beer and staked out a table towards the front near the dance floor. At the table next to us, a couple of women were chatting back and forth with Dan and the band. We learned that by coincidence, these gals happened to also be from Pennsylvania, from Warfordsburg in Fulton County (which we drove past on our way out of the state). Dan remarked that he was originally from Pennsylvania, and that he used to work for a radio station in the Altoona area. My opportunity had arrived…I yelled up to the stage, “WFBG AM 1290,” to which a perplexed Dan responded, “How did you know that?” To which I responded, “Because I used to work with you!” Dan stepped off the stage and walked towards me, and when he realized who he was talking to, exclaimed “Son of a bitch!” We heartily shook hands and the reunion was on! I introduced Dan to Sparky (who has worked on WFBG; he came on board several years after Dan left for Florida), and we reminisced memories at our old radio haunt.

Of course, we were also there to see Dan and his band in action. Dan, guitarist Rocky Diamond, bassist Mike Townsend and drummer Brian “Bam Bam” Bradford rocked the house over the remaining two sets with a mixture of classic, southern and 90’s rock favorites. The group did songs from Wilson Pickett, Georgia Satellites, Rolling Stones, Steppenwolf, Live, ZZ Top, Alice In Chains, Nickelback, Tonic, The Who, Bob Seger and more. Dan showed he was a strong frontman with a powerful, gritty voice plus ample personality and stage presence; and Rocky is not shy about demonstrating his fiery stringbending abilities. Diamond Gray especially smoked on the Lynyrd Skynyrd twin-shot of “Call Me the Breeze” and “I Know a Little,” the Allman Brothers’ “Dreams I’ll Never See,” their remake of Thin Lizzy’s “The Cowboy Song,” and their incendiary night-ending version of Golden Earring’s “Radar Love.” These guys were seasoned and tight on their instruments, and delivered a smoking Southern rocking good time that had ladies dancing wildly in the night’s latter stages!


Where the Tampa Bay Lightning play, the Tampa Forum.

Diamond Gray, entertaining at Carlie’s.

Again, Diamond Gray.

Former Altoona radio guy Dan Grabill (“Danny Gray” and Rocky Diamond of Diamond Gray.

Rocky Diamond of Diamond Gray.

Brian “Bam Bam” Bradford of Diamond Gray.

Danny Gray of Diamond Gray.

Once again, Diamond Gray.

Again, Danny Gray of Diamond Gray.

One more time, Diamond Gray.

FRIDAY 2/10:

Alas, our week of rest and relaxation in Florida was drawing to an end, and this day, we had to bid farewell to Sparky’s folks and Zephyrhills and begin our trek back home.

Before doing so, though, we headed to the Parkesdale Farm Market in Plant City, where strawberries were in season and the strawberry sundaes ruled! We enjoyed this tasty treat, before parting ways with Sparky’s folks and beginning our journey back home. We proceeded eastward along Interstate 4 and got caught up in some of the Friday gridlock coming towards and departing the Orlando theme parks area.

Our game plan was to make our way northward to the Hilton Head, South Carolina area, where one of Sparky’s former radio coworkers, “Mike D’Sports Guy,” was supposed to be doing a live remote broadcast from a new wing establishment, the Wild Wing Café, near Bluffton (near Hilton Head). Our roadtrip took a bit longer than planned, though, and by the time we arrived at the Wild Wing Café, the radio remote was over, and Mike had already departed. But upon our arrival, we discovered that a band was playing, and hungry, we decided to stick around to check out the band and put Wild Wing Café’s namesake food to the test!

The band was called Lixx, who were based out of Atlanta. A co-ed foursome, Lixx played an exciting mixture of 80’s, 90’s and current rock favorites; including tunes from Bon Jovi, Van Halen, Blondie, Tool, Stevie Wonder, Violent Femmes, Buckcherry, Def Leppard, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Matchbox 20 and more. This band was constant high energy, with the femme tandem of singer Lady Luna and guitarist Nikki Lixx moving the party off the stage and throughout the room! I later found out on the group’s website that Lixx was booked to play at Wild Wing Café’s throughout Georgia and the Carolinas.

And the wings themselves…not bad. The Cajun and general hot wings were good, but still not as great as the wings north of the Mason-Dixon line, where we were heading…


Lixx, performing at the Wild Wing Café near Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Again, Lixx.

SATURDAY 2/11:

After overnighting at a hotel a few blocks away from the Wild Wing Café (we could actually hear the bar crowd from the hotel!), we caught up with Mike D’Sports Guy and did breakfast at a local Huddle House (like Waffle House, but without the waffles). We then embarked on the rest of our journey back home.

The wintry North had a greeting planned for us, in the form of a snowstorm forecasted to hit Virginia and the mid-Atlantic states this Saturday evening. We heard the forecasts throughout the day on our ride up, and were hoping to get through Virginia before the worst of it hit. But we ran into our first snow flakes as we passed through Richmond, and the snow increased in intensity as we proceeded northward on I-95 towards Fredericksburg. We weren’t too worried about it; Sparky’s Pathfinder (now repaired and running fine) could handle snow pretty well. After we exited I-95 at Fredericksburg and got on Route 17 to proceed north towards Winchester, the roads became nastier, with 3 and 4 inches of snow on the highway surfaces. We made our way cautiously northward, while listening to the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey game on XM. The Pens were playing the Washington Capitals, and won convincingly 6-3.

As the snow continued to pile up, we pitstopped at a Wendy’s in Warrenton, before continuing our journey. The roads were hazardous in this town, but road conditions began to improve slightly as we continued northward, with the snow not falling quite as heavily as we proceeded further northward. Only an inch or two was on the ground in Winchester, and a dusting to an inch was on the ground as we passed back into Pennsylvania. Welcome back home to the cold, wintry North!


Somebody obviously wasn’t enjoying the snowfall at this convenience store in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia.

FELIX & THE HURRICANES @ THE HITCHING POST, ALTOONA 2/12/06

Still resting up from “jet lag” (“winter driving lag?”) from returning from vacation the night before, I decided to take it easy after my “Backyard Rocker” duties, and get acclimated back to my live music reporting duties by taking in Felix & the Hurricanes’ weekly Sunday hootenanny at The Hitching Post.

A good crowd was in place at the Post, and the Hurricanes kept the folks happy during the latter two sets. Highlights this night included a rendition of Ted Nugent’s “Great White Buffalo” transitioning into Jimi Hendrix’s “Thirs Stone from the Sun,” the packed dance floor for the group’s pairing of “Rocky Top” with Marshall Tucker Band’s “Can’t You See,” and celebrating the Steelers’ Super Bowl victory, the night-ending chant of “Here We Go Steelers” leading into “Bony Maroney.”
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