Lost Rochester Bands

Please add your own favorite bands that have passed from the scene.

60's 70's 80's 90's 00's Unknown

60's

• Angry Young Men - Formed In 1964 by Brad Wheat , all the orginal members were from Rush-Henrietta Central School. They were: Brad Wheat - Lead Guitar , Jack Radtke - Rhythm Guitar , Jim Schulz - Bass Guitar,Keyboards,Trumpet , Keith Finkelstein - Sax , Dave Wing - Drums. Brad left after a few weeks to join The Heard with his brother Jeff. Phil Kraft from another Henrietta Band ( The Viscounts) took over on lead guitar. Sometime in late 1965 Jack Radtke left and Ray Bellizia joined the band. With the addition of Ray and the eventual addition of Marty Lawlor (also from The Viscounts) who replaced Keith Finkelstein on lead vocals, the band went in a more versatile direction developing tight harmonies and experimenting musically. Although the band played the usual venues for the time: High Schools , Bowling Alleys , Teen Clubs , Bars , they were also the main draw at two Henrietta locations known as The Big Barn and The Farm..both located at The Monroe County Fairgrounds site. For two Summers during the middle 1960's , most Friday nights at The Big Barn, the band was performing to crowds of between 400-500 -people and sometimes as many as 600-700. When that contract expired the band had the unique opportunity to lease The Farm for $1.00 per year. They were allowed to fix up the interior and keep all of the profits... not bad for a bunch of teenagers! It was a great place to play with a stage that the guys built and a seperate room for the setup/soundman (Danny Hurlbert) to work on the equipment. They played many gigs and had a great time for almost 3 years. Some of the venues that were especially memorable were: The Leopards Den , The Leicester Casino , The Monroe Y , The Sandsabarn , Club Carousel , Long Point Park , Club Commodore ,The Beacon and Fraternity/Sorority Houses. In January 1967 Dave Wing left the band to enlist in the Army. Charlie Theofanis (The Viscounts) took over on drums and the band continued to play together until late in the Summer of that year when Marty and Charlie entered college. Eventually Ray and Phil would enter the Army and along with Dave , serve tours in Vietnam. Jim started a long and successful career in the Pharmaceutical Industry. For the next 19 years everybody went about their lives until the Fall of 1986 when the band reformed to play for a picnic celebrating the 20 year Reunion of the class of 1966 from Rush-Henrietta Central School. Five years later the band would reform again to celebrate the 25 year Reunion of the same class. Between the two events all the members were able to attend and perform together. This is significant due to the passing of Brad and Keith within a few years after the 1991 Reunion. It was the last time "The Men" would play together. Over the years , several of the remaining members have kept their hands (and voices) in the musical arena. Ray Bellizia has performed with PEARL , STARFIRE , HEARTACHES. Jim Schulz was a long time member of NOSTALGIA and Jack Radtke has played for many years with TEXAS SON. See also AngrYoungMen on 60sGarageBands.com

• The Howz - late 1960s. Pronounced "The House," the group was virtually one of the house bands for the then-booming student hangout, The Varsity Inn.

• The Invictas - early to late 1960s. The quintessential bar band and, in addition to Wilmer & The Dukes, one of the first to make it big, at least regionally, for a while. Riding the crest of Beatlemania in 1964 and 1965, the group performed regularly at the infamous Tiny's Bengal Inn at the end of St. Paul Blvd, a hole in the wall with a legal capacity of about 100 but which often crammed over 200 18-21 year-olds within its vibrating walls. Led by Herb Gross, the band scored a regional hit with "The Hump," creating a sort of "Invictamania" in the area which led to bookings at nearly every high school and college in the area. The Hump 45 and was followed by an album which did modest sales in the area. In 2006, Gross held several reunion concerts in the Rochester area sponsored by The House of Guitars.

• The Quirks - mid-1960s. Perfect covers of Beatles, Kinks, The Stones, et al. The only band I've known to ever do The Beatles' "Rain", backwards track and all! Band leader/lead guitar was Dale Celke. Bass Bob Sohner. Rhythm Kit Nelson. Have forgotten drummer's name. Anyone know what happened to any of them?

Why yes, I do. Kit Nelson here. Dan Weale was the drummer. Bob Soehner died in 1998, I think. The band had big plans for a reunion in Oct. 2007. We had 2 gigs lined up and a lot of preliminary work was being done. In the end Dale decided he couldn't make it and the whole thing came to a screeching halt. For the complete story on the band and the 60's Rochester music scene, see http://www.kitnelson.com click on "The Quirks." I had forgotten about our version of "Rain." Fun!
"Hammer" Late 1960's early 1970's. What happened to them???

70's

• Monolith -1970s Excellent Tull and Zeppelin covers. Possibly from Buffalo area.

• North - 1970s, Rock. They had a terrific sound, although they never made it very big.

Kit Nelson here again, I played bass in North 1972-73 when the band broke up. North began in 1971 on a communal farm south of Rochester called Hillcrest. The members were Dan Snyder - guitar and vocals, Lenny Sass - Keyboards and vocals, Burt Levine - lead guitar, Steve (Oppie) Openheim - second guitar and vocals, Peter Solow - drums and a bass player named Ned (don't remember his last name). Ned was replaced by Bob Soehner and then I replaced Bob in 1972.

The band had wonderful songwriting by Dan, Lenny and Oppie. They experienced a stunning creativity explosion that produced a very strong list of original tunes featuring very rich arrangements, meaningful lyrics and high energy. They entered one of their songs, "Buffalo," in a national song writing contest and won first prize, $10,000. worth of gear. They played the very first live on-air concert WCMF did in Oct. 1971. A second concert was aired in March, 1972. A great live tape exists of that concert.


In the summer of 1972, the band moved out of Hillcrest and got a gig at the Playboy Club in New Jersey. This was seen as a big opportunity to expose the band nationally. It proved to be a disaster. It turned out that the Playboy people wanted a lounge type act and the band was forced to play dinner music and other non-North material. This went on 6 nights a week for 10 weeks. It severely damaged the creative momentum. When it was over, the band tried to regroup at a summer camp in New Hampshire. That's when I replaced Bob Soehner. The band started gigging in the area and there were some flashes of the old magic. There was little money and few prospects. Peter Solow and Oppie Openheim both finally called it quits. The band moved down to the Boston area and got a new drummer, Dimitri Djimopoulis, from Greece. The band hung on a while longer but it was not meant to be. The band's history is an example of just how much damage can result when a band is booked into the wrong room.


Dan went on to pursue a career in NYC through the 80's as Danny Echoes and with a band called Range War. Range war recorded an album and had some success in Europe. The CD is available on the internet.

• Pearl - Late 70's early 80"s rock and roll band fronted by vocalist Debbie Randyn, a powerful blues based vocalist. The band started in 1976 and started traveling through Canada where it developed a large following. There are too many memories to put into words about that experience so I'll start with some of the basics. The original band started with Debbie Randyn on vocals, Mike Blocker on Guitar and vocals, Carl Lang on drums and vocals, Jerry Magill on keys and vocals and Jerry Falzone on bass. Almost from the beginning Pearl wanted to do its own material. Blocker and Falzone were two rapidly developing songwriters and Magill and Lang followed in those steps quite quickly. Debbie got into the songwriting bit by contributing lyrics once in awhile.

After four years Mike and Carl decided to leave the band and were replaced by guitarist Ray Bellizia and drummer Dave Clarke. Ray brought in a maturity and stage presence that helped fuel the growth of the band into the next phase. Pearl had been managed by Jim Armstrong out of Penn Yan, NY. After securing a gig at Guildersleeves in Greenwhich Village, New York, the band was "discovered" by entertainment lawyer Dennis Kaplan and Kieth Garde. Signed to a management deal the band quickly released its first record simply titled Pearl. The record featured four songs written by Ray and quickly earned a Top Album Pick from Billboard Magazine. As is usually the case, the band then broke up...go figure.

Mike Blocker is currently leading a band in New Hampshire called Still Breathin' with a wonderful CD out. Debbie is keeping up her chops as a vocalist, performing with various bands from time to time. Jerry Falzone and Ray Bellizia are currently at work on Jerry's second CD. Read all about it at http://jerryfalzone.com. Jerry Magill and Carl Lang are out there living life to the fullest. No idea at all about Dave Clarke. The intersting side note is that after all the playing we did the most successful person then and now is sound man Scott Matyjaszek..go figure again.

• Rain - 1970s, Blues-based Rock. They recorded an eponymous album with "Boogie With You Mama" and "Tulane." Jim Paris was a member (bass player?). Probably the most popular rock band in their short-lived era.

• Easystreet - early 1970s cover band played frequently at Tim's Tavern in Gates. Louie? sang lead vocals and played flute. Joanne? sang lead vocals. Bill? on guitar, Howie? on bass. Can't recall the drummer or keyboard players names. Anyone add anymore information on this terrific, fun band?

80's

• Absolute Grey - http://www.absolutegrey.com 1980s, supposedly part of the 'paisley underground', and featured in a story titled Revisiting Absolute Grey in the Democrat & Chronicle. Absolute Grey's "Greenhouse" LP originally released on the Personal Effects owned Earring Records was re-released as a double-CD on its 20th anniversary by Paisley Pophttp://www.paisleypop.com.com out of Portland, OR.

• Active Driveway - early 80s post-punk band that emerged from the ashes of Deadpants ("Surf Ohio") and that bands' triumph at the Monroe County Fair in the summer of 1980. Active Driveway featured the pseudonymous Dash Beatcomber (fretless bass, lead vocals), Dora Brilliant (vocals), Joshu (guitar), and Keith Fraemont (drums, tape effects) and had a popular post-punk song, "Gotta Dance (Dance It Away)," which was in heavy rotation on WFUV (90.7, NYC) in 1981-82. The unique vocal styling of Beatcomber and Brilliant was influenced by Nina Hagen, Lene Lovich, Yoko Ono, the Flying Lizards, and Public Image, Ltd., while Fraemont and Joshu were the musical backbone of the group. The duo brought a heavy guitar and drum sound to Active Driveway's cover of The Who's "My Generation" and early "sampling" experiments utilized on "Can You Teach Me to Fly Like That? (Jonathan Livingston Seagull)." While associated with the Rochester scene, the band also had tentacles in New York City and Cleveland, Ohio, including possibly opening for the Psychedelic Furs. Their exploits were frequently covered by Rockstop Magazine, which was started in part to promote this and other projects of Beatcomber's alter-ego. Active Driveway recorded and released their music ("Active Driveway: Do Not Stop") on the cassette-only indie label, Sorry Kitten Records. They disbanded in 1985 after recording now-lost versions of an original "Blondes On Bikes" (Beatcomber/Joshu) and a early alt-country cover of Bob Dylan's "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry."

• Cappy and the Frenchmen - early 80s- concurrent with New Math, the Cliches, Presstones and Personal Effects, Cappy performed at Scorgies and the Arcade. ...great covers of Ramone's standards such as 'I wanna be sedated.' Original song "There's a Thing" was very evocative of the era.

• Nostalgia - mid to late 80s thru 90s. True cover band (from the 50s to the 90s covering many gendres). Originally a 4-piece band, Mike O'Hara (lead guitar & vocals), Steve Karnes (drums & vocals), Gerry Anne (bass & vocals), Bill Friday (rhythm guitar & vocals). Later expanded to a 6-piece band with the addition of Jim Schulz (keyboard, trumpet, harmonica, etc. & harmonies) [ see Angry Young Men for more about Jim], and Sam Palermo (sax). Mike Latoski replaced Bill Friday in 1986? Others came and went up until about 1998 when they finally disbanded. They played many venues (Someplace Close, Coffey's Pub, Island Cottage, Teaser's Lounge, Casablanca, California Brew House, Shannon's, Rush Hotel, Mastrella's Steak House, Red Creek) as well as Seneca Park Zoofest, Rochester Festival Tent, 19th Ward Street Party and many private parties and weddings. See also http://www.frontiernet.net/~w.friday/theband.html for more info & pictures.

• Claude Raines - Does anybody know anything about them? I have a tape of WITR dated 3-18-87 and the DJ said that they played at Idols and were one of his favorite local bands. The song he played was "Stumblin' Hard" and it's a very nice production. Any info would be appreciated... Alternative / Indie / Rock http://www.myspace.com/clauderaines so I don't think this is a past band.

• Dark Heart Alarm - Late 80's. Sounded like Echo and the Bunnymen and U2. Played "Idols" and "Jazzberrys" a lot. Founded by songwriter, David Whiting and initially launched with the aid of Miche' Fambro (Met at the legendary Buzzo's, in Geneseo). The earliest version of DHA included future Anglos, Tim Bright and Chris Link (now with Lazlo Bane). Most memorable version of DHA consisted of David Whiting (vocals), Bill Bogart (guitar), Jim Schreck (guitar, drums, bass), Jeff Dopko (drums) (now with Gray Young, in Raleigh, NC), Joel Johnson (bass keyboards). Split around '89. Some members formed "The Great Divide". David and Bill reunited in 2000 and released self titled DHA disc. Songs freely shared upon request ( search myspace for David Dark or Dark Heart Alarm). New recordings and maybe even a live performance coming in 2009. http://www.reverbnation.com/darkheartalarm

• DOG'S LIFE - Late 80's and 90's phenom. Dan Snyder, Dave Snyder, Lee Chiabowski, Amy Brown. The music was original, quirky, poppy, hooky and addictive. Those who were lucky enough to experience this scene will never forget the fun of these shows. Not enough can be said about this band. The Dogs are legends in their own time. Every show felt like the biggest band in the galaxy just landed in a field nearby and was actually playing at the local corner watering hole. Dan is now the front man for The Quitters.

• Duke Jupiter - 1980s, seemingly made it to the big time. More info may be found in the About Us section of the Duke Jupiter website. See Marshall Styler's (the keyboardist) new website. he creates new Age music that is really pretty good.

• Exploding Boy - Late 80's and mid 90's pop rock band. One of Rochester's top drawing and best known live acts at that time. They had a song called "Charity" in heavy rotation on 96.5 WCMF and Rocket 95.1. Former bassist Anthony Errigo now plays in Rochester band The Taint with John Akers and Erik Welsh (formerly of Hard Rain). Singer/guitarist Michael Petrantoni has relocated to Florida and is still performing under the name Michael J http://www.michaeljmusic.com http://www.myspace.com/michaelj. He has had music featured in the major motion picture 3 Needles starring Lucy Liu, Stockard Channing, Chloe Sevigny, Sandra Oh, and Olympia Dukakis, and ABC Family's hit drama Falcon Beach. Former drummer Jason Mirwald now resides in Connecticut where he is raising a family.

• Miche and the Anglos - 1980s rock/new-wavy goodness. Nicely described in Miché and the Anglos - "One of Those Things". Miché and the Anglos recordings (plus a live reunion set) can be purchased (for download or on CD) on Miché's site, along with his current solo recordings.

• Nerve Circus - Nerve Circus was a successful power pop trio that lived from 1987 to 1995.

In 1987 Nerve Circus was founded by Tom Gatley (Tom's Facebook Page) and Steve Gissin, with first bass player Greg Collins-now, a Grammy Winning Producer & Engineer (Greg's Facebook Page). Soon after forming, they began regional touring, packing clubs in the upstate NY area. In 1989, Nerve Circus was signed to Circularphile Records , releasing their debut “Just Relax” to critical acclaim. Rolling Stone wrote that Nerve Circus is “…long on memorable hooks and melodies…rife with potential….”

Four years of national touring ensued as Nerve Circus traveled around the US supporting bands such as The Goo Goo Dolls, Crash Test Dummies, Fugazi, All, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones., Sponge, King Missile, Spin Doctors, and the Replacements. In 1992, Gaetano Abbate joined as the final bass player in the lineup.

After hearing Nerve Circus perform at the Empire Music Conference in 1993, producer/engineer Eddie Kramer (Kiss, Led Zeppelin Jimi Hendrix) agreed to work with the band.

In 1995, Nerve Circus released the CD “Filth” on Prolific Records. New York music periodical "The Music Paper" included Nerve Circus as one of the “Top 10 Unsigned Bands of 1995”.

Nerve Circus disbanded in late 1995 and disappeared after recording a six-song demo which was never released.

• New Math - 1980s, Alternative Rock (or New Music). One of the earliest and most popular Rochester bands in post-punk era. Kevin Patrick seemed to be the organizer (he went on to do A&R for Warner Records I believe). Here's a Fan page.

• Nosferatu - thrash metal band that performed from July 1989 to August 1992.

• Personal Effects - Personal Effects was one of Rochester's most popular bands in the early eighties. A video from MTV is currently posted at youtube.com. They released 6 albums - one on the NYC label, Cachalot Records, 4 on Earring Records and 1 on Restless Records (US)/Virgin Records (Europe). Today 3 of the 4 members play in the instrumental improv jazz band Margaret Explosion.

• The Living: Three piece band playing original music in the mid to late 80s. Was a favorite at Idols dance club. Opened for bands such as Fishbone, Bob Mould and Henry Rollins. The Living went on to record a four song demo produced by Miche Fambro of Miche and the Anglos which attracted interest from the A&R Departments at both Rhino Records and Arista Records. The band was also favorably reviewed by the national music magazine "Alternative Press", in their 38th Publication. Calvin May, guitarist for the band currently engineers recordings at Black Dog Recording Studio. Bass player Reverend Samual Lovetro is a web designer and indie film maker. Drummer and lead singer Emerson Mitchell is an attorney living in Ithaca NY. He currently plays Rockabilly in The GoCats ( http://www.myspace.com/thegocats), with another musician mentioned here; Kit Nelson of “The Quirks” fame.

• The Press Tones - Early 80's power pop punk group featuring Jim Freeze, B.B. Lummocks, Peter Presstone, Simon Ribas, "Teeny Tiny" Tony Brown and "Machine Gun" John Schwittek. Released one 45RPM for Archive Records.

• The Rumbles 1980s, Rock. Trio, Lanay Depalma (guitar), Denise W. (bass), and Jim Huiehttp://www.paisleypop.com on drums. Lanay played a nice guitar. Recorded an album, "Jump to Confusion"http://www.hemisphere.nl/asp/detail.asp?id=011032 on AFM Records which received airplay on John Peel's BBC One program. "Dictator" was probably their best known song in Rochester, although Uncle Roger gave considerable airplay to "Unanswered" on his WCMF "Homegrown" show on Sunday nights. In 1988, Musician Magazine judges Elvis Costello, T-Bone Burnett, Mark Knopfler and Mitchell Froom who chose the band as a semi-finalist in the Unsigned Band contest (they placed #13 out of 20). In 1989 they recorded a 5 song demo tape with British producer Huw Gower (The Records, Graham Parker, David Johansen) which later song the song "Unanswered" released on the CMJ "Certain Dammage" #27 CD. Following the demise of the band in 1991, Huie went on to drum with Joff Wilson in The Fugitives and later was a founding member of Phil Marshall's Lalaland. He currently drums for Paisley Underground legends, True West http://www.truewestreunion.com, out of Davis, California.

• “THREE BOXES” - Late 80’s / Mid 90's. I really loved that band. They came out with “Real India” on CD while other bands were still making vinyl. They had enough vision to hire a producer who helped them create a really professional album that got a rave review in Rolling Stone magazine. I remember the concert at the Cinema Theatre, with crazy film clips projected behind them, and their live laser show at the planetarium, which both totally blew me away. After relocating to Manila in 1994 they released "Love of Boxer Shorts" which hit the charts in Japan and the Philippines. It was awesome too. Recently I did some research and found out what happened to them. Tim (singer, guitar player) is a very successful scriptwriter in Hollywood who has worked on such films as The Departed and Transformers. Mike (bass player) is living in Europe and has worked with such bands as Cold Play and Kings of Convenience, and Bob (drummer) is currently the famous drag queen “Roberta” in NYC.

90's

• Virgin Jungle - Early 90's hard rock. This short-lived group seemed to have everything going for them. Legendary producer Eddie Kramer (Kiss, Hendrix, Zep) signed them to some type of deal and produced a few of their tunes. Heard them on the radio a few times. I believe the grunge scene put an end to many of these bands. Too bad.. these guys actually knew how to write songs.

• The Blackouts - Late 90's early 2000's Ska band that experienced a good deal of local success. Their last show was played at Milestones.

• Cherry Gun - (Not quite passed: Playing at the Bug Jar on Saturday, July 14) 1990s mix of X and Pixies with female vocals if I remember correctly (a lot of beer was consumed at their shows). Some Cherry Gun mp3's may be found on the Rochester Punk website.

• The Goonies - Late 90's, early 2000's Ska band that won several local Battle of the Bands awards

• Lethargy - Early 90's Tech/Death Metal bands. Erik Burke(Sulaco, Kalibas, Lasers, Nuclear Assault, Brutal Truth), Adam Routier (Bitch in the Well), Bill Keliher and Bran Dailor (Today is the Day, Mastodon) One of the most popular and original Metal acts to play in the area. Full Discography CD available from Spoth Records.

• Loopus - Rapcore band. 1995-2003 They toured with Vans Warped Tour for 5 years in that run. Band split up and joined 3 other bands. Setiva, Absolution Project, and Driving The Fall.

• Officer Friendly - Awesome early and mid 90's band. Started out as rock-funk and progressed to rock. They had a few songs in rotation on 96.5 WCMF. Not sure why they broke up. Their lead singer, John Gaenzler is rumored to be in NYC and playing with another band.

• Muler - Mid to late 90s indie rock band that was signed for a moment to Creation Records. The band had a poppy/bouncy/grungy sound to them which made them popular as an alternative to the budding scene of polished made for radio alternative rock. More info at Epitonic and their old website. You can still order some of their stuff through the local Carbon Records and through Deep Elm. Band members have gone on to bands like Hinkley and Bird Circuit. Share An Apple (mp3)

• Rukkus - Early 90's Rock/Metal. Former guitar player Nick Valente is currently raising a family and playing in the band "SYVYC". The bass player Jeff Gerew (preceded by Brian Price who left Rukkus to join Nerve Circus) is now raising a family and working in the technology field somewhere. Drummer Chris Garbin runs an advertising agency and is responsible for half of the jingles you have stuck in your head. Singer Tommy Garbin is working and probably riding his Harley somewhere enjoying life. All members are still living in the Rochester area. Rukkus on MySpace

• Slightly Psychedelic - 1990s, Rock/Alternative. Free Mp3 of Hump My Leg Download .

• Standfast- Hardcore/Punk rock band formed in 1998 and disbanded in 2002.

• 5head- Quality late 90's Ska Band. Opened for bands like Bim Skala Bim at Milestones and Pietasters at Water Street Music Hall. Original line-up was Rob Reed, Dan Snyder, Jason Thor, and Steve Pizzuto. Chris VanCampen replaced Dan Snyder on drums. Matt Blanchard joined in later on sax. Jason Thor is now playing with Brian Setzer Orchestra and other artists.

00's

• Can't Afford A Name -NoFx/Blink182 rip-off punk rock. Four 14 year olds making their instruments want to be euthanized in a basement. Best band ever.

Unknown

• Big Hair -What happened to Big Hair? So stoopit!

• Hi-Techs - Hi-Techs released two 45s on Dick Storm's "Archive Records" label. After about a year, they went on to form Personal Effects.

• Uncle Sam - If you saw them live they need no retelling. If you didn't, there is no adequate explanation. http://www.evenspot.com/OtherArtist/OtherHTML.folder/CellarDoor/UncleSam.html

• Voices - I wish I knew more about this band, they had an album Titled "New Bamboo" , which contained two songs that I really liked: "Drive-In Show" and "Return to Human." I can't find anything on the web about them (there appear to be lots of bands with that name, including a somewhat popular religious band - GAG!), and for all I know they were from Buffalo...but I'm pretty sure they're from Rochester. I had this Album until a year ago when I pitched all my vinyl.

Hey bro,
Drive in Show was from the VOICES album " New Bamboo".
Remember these guys - Rob LeVaque, Jon Engard and a bunch of others. I really wish I could find this on Cd. patrickreilly@kodak.com

*"805" I do not believe this is a Rochester Band. But They use to perform in Rochester quite a bit . I believe I saw them and No Camouflage together. <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nYcHN6bTx-I" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350">

*"No Camoflage" Does anyone remember this band?

*"Reporter" Does anyone remember this band?

*"Old Salt" used to play at the old Red Creek, anyone remember them??

Well my old band "The Ravers" did our tour of duty of the Rochester Scene from 1986-90 but I think you missed a bunch of classic bands on this list:
"David Watts & The Great Train Robbery" : One of the best local acts in the 1980's in my estimation with their ecclectic mix of "Ska meets Elvis Costello". We opened for them once at "Idol's". They had a wicked cool Sax player named "Iceman"
"Uncle Sam". Hilarious over-the-top metal band that pretty much trashed every venue in Rochester. I wound up on their tour bus after a gig they did down here in NYC (1991?) at the old "Continental Divide" and hung out with the bass player until all hours. That was the last I ever heard or saw of them.
"the Essentials" Now these guys could rock!
"The Fugitives" Geoff's band. Always enjoyed their neo-sixties flavor.
"The Insiders" One of the best cover bands ever, in addition to the classic Beatles/Stones/Kinks they pulled a lot of more obscure stuff out of the hat.