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Our Lost Rochester Bands provides a place to share information about the history of bands that were once part of the Rochester Music Scene, but are no more. Please add your own favorite bands that have passed from the scene by editing them in (please sign any major edited additions) or contributing via the Comments section, below. Please Note: some of the groups are documented in their own separate page, please follow the - see more links. |
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60's
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Angry Young Men- see more - Formed In 1964 by Brad Wheat , all the orginal members were from Rush-Henrietta Central School. Last appeared in 1991 at a reunion. See also
Angry Young Men on 60sGarageBands.com
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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.
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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.
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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
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Monolith -1970s Excellent Tull and Zeppelin covers. Possibly from Buffalo area.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Easy Street - see more - early 1970s cover band played frequently at Tim's Tavern in Gates. Easy Street was the most popular band in western New York at that time boasting a following from Buffalo to the 1000 Islands. People couldn't get enough of the band compelling them to maintain a grueling schedule with the band performing six and seven nights a week. Howard says that "being in Easy Street was one of the best experiences in my life-I'm really proud that we made a lot of people happy with our music."
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Slipton Fell - late '70's band from Pittsford-Mendon High School that was formed by Chris Cady (guitar, vocals), Steve Anderson (guitar, vocals), Mark De Angelis (drums) and Dave Knight (bass). Steve, Mark and Chris were all in the Class of '79 and Dave was Class of '81. In late '78 or early '79 a PMHS Class of '77 grad named Jeff Decker joined the band. Jeff brought quite a repertoire of originals to the band. Standout songs included "Burnin' Heart", "Wild Notion", "Holiday For The Heart", "Buckshot", "Risin'", "Movin' Feelin'", and "Alone in the Rain". Slipton Fell was also known for their excellent covers of Grateful Dead, Tom Petty and Little Feat songs, especially "Fat Man in The Bathtub". At some point after graduation in 1979 Mark De Angelis was replaced on drums by Joe West. In 1981 Dave Knight was replaced by Don Torpy on bass. The band played regularly at The Mason Jar, The Cottage Hotel, and Tuckers in Rochester, once opening for The Dead's lyricist Robert Hunter at the Mason Jar. But also gigged outside of the Rochester area through late 1981 or early '82 when the band went on hiatus. They played a few "reunion" gigs over the past 25+ years with Knight returning on bass and De Angelis and West often both playing drums. There were a few of these reunion shows in the 1980's, one in 1999, and since 2005 have played almost annually in the Rochester area. Jeff Decker has since passed away, but the band still plays tribute to him every reunion gig and he is sorely missed by family, friends and Slipton Fell fans. More info can be found on the band's Facebook fan page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Slipton-Fell/117051921652179.
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.
80's
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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 Pop
http://www.paisleypop.com.com out of Portland, OR.
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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."
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Backtalk - A band that formed in Pittsford at Barker Road Junior High School in the Fall of 1980 by Mark Keaton (drums, vocals), Rob Kurtz (Guitar, Vocals), Chandler Coyle (guitar) and Mike Fleckenstein (Bass). The band had various names early on before settling on Backtalk. They were known The End, Blue Skyes, Blue Skyes and Sunshine, and Easy Off and The Oven Cleaners. In 1980, the band started rehearsing at the school in one of the music rooms after school using the equipment on hand. Eventually the band got serious and moved rehearsals to the basement of the Keaton family on Railroad Mills Road in Pittsford. Within a year the band added Dan Parker (lead guitar) and Sandy Britt replace Fleckenstein on bass. The band played many house parties, teen centers (The Ark in Perinton/Fairport), school dances, the Mendon H.S. pep rallies, holiday parties, and many summer festivals. In December 1982 the band went into PCI recording studios to record a demo for the original song (written by Terry Brown, the band's mentor at the time) "Take a Piece of Me". The band continued to gig regularly until February 1984 when it made its last appearance at a Minerva Deland dance. Chandler Coyle left the band and headed out of town to college. The remaining members regrouped with Ted Keaton on guitar and vocals and started The Young Idea.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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DOG'S LIFE - Late 80's and 90's phenom. Dan Snyder, Dave Snyder, Lee Chabowski, 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. Lee and Amy are now two-fifths of Brooklyn's The Modern Airline.
http://www.myspace.com/themodernairline
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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.
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Fantom-1984-87. 80s Hair Metal. The band started out as Delinquint in mid 1984 then added a new name and guitarist. The original line up included: Lead Vocals- Dave Calarco, Guitar- Paul Blocchi and Dave Rowlands, Bass-Vinny Cavuoto and Drums-Mike Mae. Their high energy shows made them one of Rochester's hottest young bands. Fantom disbanded in 1987 and some of the former members were still involved in the music scene afterwards. Mike Mae played in numerous bands here and in NYC. Dave Calarco and Dave Rowlands continued playing for some time and Vinny Cavuoto had some original material played on "Homegrown".
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Vegas (
http://sweet-lou.com/orig_vegas.htm) was formed by Lou Ricigliano and Rich Fiordeliso in 1979. Consisting of Lou on Guitar and vocals , Rich on the Hammond B3 and vocals, Lex Byers on Lead vocals, Nick Russo on drums and vocals, and Chris DeFazio on bass and vocals, the band rose to number one in Rochester in only three short weeks. Playing two one hour sets of current music, the performed a third one hour show set consisting of classic groups such as Three Dog Nite, The Rascals, Motown, The Beatles, Jay and the Americans, and a 50's show. Vegas played six nights a week at the top clubs in the area and often had fans standing in line waiting to enter the club. The band reformed in 1983 as Lex Byers and Vegas(
http://sweet-lou.com/LBvegas.htm) with a three piece horn section added. That band consisted of Lex Byers on vocals, Lou on Guitar, Rich Fiordeliso on Keys, John Pascarella on Drums, Gary Terwilliger on Bass, Rick Austin on Sax, Doc Davis on Trombone, and Jimmy Squirrell on Trumpet. Rich and Lou left the band in 1984 and members of the band eventually reformed as the Coup DeVilles.
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Park Avenue was a group that Kevin Knapp and Lou Ricigliano put together during the time period between "Vegas" and "Lex Byers & Vegas" . The group consisted of Lou on Guitar and vocals, Kevin on the Hammond and Keys, Guitar and vocals, Frank on Drums, Shelly Knapp on vocals, and Joe Coleman on Bass and vocals. Lou left the band and eventually re-joined "Lex Byer and Vegas". Kevin and Lou eventually got back together again years later to form R*Gang around 1988 which became a very popular and requested band.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Nosferatu - thrash metal band that performed from July 1989 to August 1992.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The Rumbles 1980s, Rock. Trio, Lanay Depalma (guitar), Denise W. (bass), and Jim Huie
http://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.
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“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.
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“Woody Dodge” - Late 80's present. See their page here on Roc Wiki and the official website:
http://woodydodge.com
90's
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The Goonies - Late 90's, early 2000's Ska band that won several local Battle of the Bands awards
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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)
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Rukkus - Early 90's Rock/Metal. Former guitar player Nick Valente is currently raising a family and playing in the band "SYVYC". Bassist Jeff Gerew (preceded in Rukkus by Brian Price who left Rukkus to join Nerve Circus) works in the software technology field and as a freelance photographer. Drummer Chris Garbin runs an advertising agency and his brother Tommy, former singer, runs a a local commercial printing company.
Rukkus on MySpace
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Slightly Psychedelic - 1990s, Rock/Alternative. Free Mp3 of Hump My Leg
Download .
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R*Gang (
http://sweet-lou.com/favorite.htm) was formed in 1979 by guitarist Lou Ricigliano and Keyboardist Kevin Knapp in order to perform classic rock. The original band consisted of Lou, Kevin, Bassist and vocalist Johnny DeYeager, and Dean Miller (deceased) on drums and vocals. During the basement phase, karl Laporta was added as a second keyboardist and vocalist, and Johnny DeYeager was replaced by Ron Tropiano. The band went through a few personal changes and ended up with Len Colantoni on drums and vocals, Paul Fricano on sax and vocals, and Steve Gallucchi on Bass, Lou and Karl. This line-up became in great demand and every weekend was booked. Performing in Clubs and Weddings, the band was very popular. R*Gang went on for a couple of years after Lou relocated to Virginia in 1993 and eventually broke up. Lou, Karl Steve, and Len do an R*Gang re-union every year in October in Gates, with Lou coming up from Virginia, and Steve from Philadelphia.
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Standfast- Hardcore/Punk rock band formed in 1998 and disbanded in 2002.
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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.
*Nasty Trast - mid nineties metal
*Hawaii - mid nineties metal
00's
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Angel, Dust & Hoffman - Tight, fast punk rock, influenced by the NOFX/Bad Religion tradition, but also including bluegrass, lounge and country. Insane drums, great harmonies, hilarious songs, and sweet guitar work. Active 2004-2005, sold tens of albums, did a one-off reunion show in '09. Several members are now in
The Isotopes or possibly jail.
Myspace with MP3's
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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.
10's
Unknown
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How about these bands... The Trackers, The Root of all Evil, Portable People, The Hangmen, Lincoln Zepher, The Oxford Watch Band, Gunthers Bus, The Gallant Men??? Need data on these bands of the 60's.
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Big Hair -What happened to Big Hair? So stoopit!
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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.
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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
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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
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On the Voices "New Bamboo" album. I scored a mint copy of it off eBay a few months back. With lyrics sheet still. They were from Rochester, had an East Ave. address and thanked the House Of Guitars. Anyway, I'm sending it out to be professionally transferred to CD. I would love to be able to post the AAC / MP3 files as there will never be another way to get them I expect. How many copies of that album could there be left? I've been through two... - b4form@ataxxia.com
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"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">
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"No Camoflage" Does anyone remember this band?
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"Reporter" Does anyone remember this band?
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"Old Salt" used to play at the old Red Creek, anyone remember them??
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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:
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"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"
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"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.
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"the Essentials" Now these guys could rock!
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"The Fugitives" Geoff's band. Always enjoyed their neo-sixties flavor.
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"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.
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"Jasper" anyone ?
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2010-05-02 23:23:33 Bands of the 60's not mentioned: The Noblemen, winners of the first WBBF rock band contest at the War Memorial, four guys from John Marshall High School, Bob Johnson, John Conti, Pete Tantillo and Merl Ringwood. Also, the Showstoppers and the Brass Buttons who used to play at the 414 Club at the corner of Dewey and Ridge Rd. West, the bands had Don Potter, Bat McGrath, Bobbi Gugilimi, etc, before Potter and McGrath hooked up with Chuck Mangione. —hoover
2010-06-15 19:47:24 How soon they forget. ( forty five years ) Wilmer and the Dukes were the best band Rochester ever had. Wilmer was as good as James Brown any day of the week. A sacrilege to omit the Dukes. Then there was the Groop Ltd. that had a regional hit in the summer of 65 with "Tomorrow" and "As Time Goes By" Number one for three weeks in upstate. WBBF was the go to station. The Groop also played on Joe Deans Sox Hop twice ( Television ) Would give someone elses right arm to see that footage now.
The Quirks were great,as were the Invictas and the Heard. —jakegerber
2010-07-11 23:21:13 Let me see if I can add some early 90's bands to the mix... I have to start with my favorite of the era: Koo Koo Boy - think Blondie meets Bela Lugosi, absolutely brilliant stuff. New Year's show ringing in 1994 with KooKooBoy and Dog's Life (Skorgie's?) was among my favorites ever. Along the same lines were the Shop Class Squares, which I think shared a lot of the same players with Dog's Life. It is hard to escape the AltRoc scene in the 90's without having experienced the Peachy Nietzsches - a rolling cast of players that seemingly numbered in the dozens in some shows. On the eclectic side of eclectic. I seem to remember catching some act called Phillis Driller - picture if you will ten horns on stage all trying to be John Coltraine. Anyone remember Zezozose (sp?) - me neither... How about surf guitar in the ROC with Duke Galaxy and the Pipeliners? Swinging Beef was a fun blue-eyed funk outfit that was solid. Many Rolling Rocks were consumed watching Spank - my best attempt at describing them is if Les Claypool and Mick Mars played a gig with Fishbone, that would be Spank. Somebody mentioned Big Hair - Was it them who had a song called "Jeff of the Future", celebrating the WITR punk rock DJ of the same name? (Jeff, if you read this, thanks for all the lenses back in the day). Chillin' evenings listening to Mic Fambro solo acoustic were awesome (Mic is the Miche in Miche and the Anglos) and the Big Drum series of shows featuring local acoustic acts organized by the Queen Bee were very cool. I am missing countless others - I will put on my thinking pants and report back with more...
Flying over your house,
(The DJ formerly known as) Chris Ludwig
Host, 'The Coffee Club' on 89.7 WITR '93-'94
2010-08-10 23:05:47 In the 70's there was Whale and Another Pretty Face (who were from the New York City area but played at Fantasy Swings, Elliot's Nest and Ziggy's.) Also the Flashcubes from Syracuse who played with New Math a lot. —LynneB
2010-08-26 08:51:07 Jasper was in my opinion the best country rock band in Rochester late 70's early 80's. Great keyboard player named Jimmy Nelson, awesome lead guitar player named Jim Adams, drummer was Steve Vullo. The other lead singer guitar player was named Paul (help w/last name)and I can't remember Bass players name. I followed them everywhere....Brew Haus, Cottage Hotel, Tuckers, Country Whse.,Schoolhouse, Tid Bits. I wish there was good counrty rock band around. Jasper played everything from Little Feat to Poco to Les Dudek.....really miss that band.
How about these other great bands from Rochester...Autumn Skies, Buffalo Road Show, St.James Band, Slipton Fell, Todd Hobin (actually from Syracuse I think),Stony Creek. There was also a bandthat used to play at the old Art Stock's Playpen named Fate. They did alot of new wave stuff. I can't leave this comment without mentioning Eternity. Thanks Jimmy, John A., John Jones, and Phil the keyboard player for some great music and fun times.... —MikeMaher
2010-09-07 17:42:13 There was a popular cover band from the early 70s, initially called "Freedom Tree" but subsequently changed to another name that I do not recall.
They were regulars at the former motel bar on the southwest corner of Elmwood and Mt. Hope Avenues (now part of UofR). They often played at a large club on the east side of West Henrietta (Peppermint Lounge?) and also the Ramada Inn—the "Ram-it-in" as their saxaphonist liked to call it..
They had an incredibly talented Hammond organist who simultaneously played the basslines with his feet, chords and solos with his hands and sang as well. They had a female singer and a saxaphonist/singer who loved to crack crass jokes. The drummer had a tenor voice and handled all the high falsetto parts when they did their Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons medleys. I'm sure they had a guitarist but I don't remember him clearly. In later years they added a bass player.
Help me out—-who were the musicians in this excellent and under-appreciated band?
Jack Prewitt
Rochester, NY —JackPrewitt
2010-09-23 15:35:50 The Band "ETERNITY" is mentioned in lost bands of Rochester somewhere in here, But there is a huge mistake..they mention everyone in the band ACCEPT THE GUY WHO GAVE THEM THEIR SOUND...LEAD GUITARIST "TOM PROCOPIO" PLEASE ADD HIS NAME. They were one of THE most popular bands in the late 70's and into the 80's! It's a shame they are on the list and only got a mention. —Joeytuchrello
2010-09-23 15:59:01 ACCEPT != except —DamianKumor
2010-11-13 08:11:10 there were some good high school bands also//the cult, the abstractions and the coachmen// i played with the cult and filled in with the coachmen from time to time/// we were all friends and went to school together. bow whiting —bowwhiting
2010-11-13 08:43:56 What about The Muffkins from the 90's? What happened to them? —BatGuano
2010-11-28 20:12:51 What about The Colorblind James Experience? Was Black Sheep too famous to be a "lost band"? Their lead singer probably became the most suscessful rock musician to ever come form the Rochester area. —dbrandriss
2010-12-13 21:13:55 remember: Street Player, Center stage, Impact, The Connectors, Sahara —musicluvr
2010-12-13 21:42:30 Jasper was actually spelled Jaspur; the guitar player was Paul Carpenter and the bass player was Dennis Schauber. They really got around town and even around the state. I think I still have a tape of theirs. Paul Regan was the singer for Claude Raines, at least for a while— there may have been others. Thanks for the memories of Dark Heart Alarm— hadn't even thought of them in years! —LuizAddams
2011-01-11 17:56:46 "musicluvr" asked about Streetplayer...I was in one of the lineups they had which, at the time, was Ricky Orico on keys and vocals, Jody Martino on lead vocals, Davey Gruttadauria on guitar and vocals, Bobby Collucci on guitar and vocals, Chris Brake on drums and Mark White on bass. Occasionally Billy Schifano sang with us. We played Scoops, The Spur of the Moment, west side bars like those. Lot's of Top 40 and dance stuff. Lots of fun! —whthouse
2011-01-14 19:43:48 I remember Old Salt at Red Creek! What ever happened to them? A time of "PEACE." —paisley
2011-02-04 10:02:07 In the mid to late 90's there was a great groove scene with bands like Abby's Cafe, The Druids, Into the Now, and Kernal Wah. One of these bands was always playing at Milestones or Waterstreet. I played Bass in Abby's and the band was often referred to as "That band with the cool artwork" which was done by lead guitarist Steph Ford. These bands were obviously influenced by The Dead and Phish but all had their own feel and were very different. I know there are more to add to this list and maybe someone can help out with that! —EricManzler
2011-02-27 13:04:08 My first recollection of the 60's bands was about high school bands. I remember the T dances, early 60's, at the Knights of Columbus building downtown where Bobby and the Bombers (from Eastridge) was playing. They had the first record I ever bought from a local band. Then, as I snuck in the Aquinas' Sock Hops I learned about The Root of All Evils. Both bands of high school fame that disintegrated quickly. And then, a driver's license opened up the world. Yes, the Quirks at Clover lanes (and they did play Herman's Hermits, too), and Wilmer and the Dukes at Braimar's and another place near Hamlin Beach, and the Invictas playing at Tiny's Bengal Inn in Summerville. And let's not forget the Show Stoppers, who featured Don Potter and Bat McGrath. Here the line blurs between high school and college years, since they were a continuous party in Rochester. But the best was the Varsity Inn, where I could be found every weekend at the table under the toilet seat hanging on the wall. Yes, The Angry Young Men and The Invictas. The House then took over, with singer Phil Sanguedolce (who I believe can still be found singing in bands around the area). The world was changing. I saw there a band that opened up with the a song from the then unknown group Vanilla Fudge. They were called the Kustard Kluster, the name a lame tribute to the psychedelic band, and the two lead singers also did some mean versions of the Bee Gees. The keyboard man was Vinnie Strenk. They were good, but didn't last long. The Invictas went touring and then the Thursday night band stepped up to sharing weekend spots with the House (I don't remember them being called Howz), and this band was the Rustix. The band's bass player at that time was Bob Sohener, Vinnie Strenk showed up again on the keyboards (the Kluster krapped), and the drummer was an ex Invictas guy with a mean foot, David Colon. They eventually moved to the Club, off of East Avenue, recording two albums for Motown's Rare Earth label, and history legend for Rochester. The House did the whole Sgt. Pepper album, dressed in Sgt. Pepper uniforms when the album came out. For those learning to appreciate jazz, Gap Mangione with Tony Levin on bass were playing at The Other Side of the Tracks in Pittsford. (Tony Levin is now a rock legend having played with King Krimson, being Peter Gabriel's bass player, and many others including Alice Cooper and John Lennon.) By this time the Rochester music scene was exploding, and by the late 60's/early 70's we had the Brass Buttons, The Oxford Watch band, the Heard (Hurd?), and The House reformed itself as NEMIS (North East Music Improvement Society), and bass player Ronnie Collins joined the Rustix, bringing them to peak performance. I loved the Rustix, and they were better than most bands. But, they were limiting themselves to being back up to the lead singers, squelching the guitar sound and the tight excitement that the band provided. Eventually Potter and McGrath came back from New York City to open Highly Morris Alley, a coffee house on West Ridge Road that had Chuck Mangione showing up on Saturday nights after his gigs at the Shakespeare in the Xerox tower. And, damn, I think after that I joined society. Put on a tie, got a job, got married,..... can't remember anything else. —deltastrat
2011-03-28 22:19:12 The Jokers Wild, 1965-1970 Joe Ippolito lead singer, bass: Armand Miale vocals, guitars: Lenny Crellin, vocals, drums: Lou ?, guitar: Bruce Dalvin, guitar. Great party band. Would play one set wearing sport jackets that every piece was a different color. Joe went on to form the Bachelor Seven ( 7 single guys who liked partying, They promoted their parties, indoor and outdoors, their largest party was 3,400 people at a party house. He now resides in Laguna Beach, CA. Armand went on to radio and TV sales, Lenny became a art teacher. —broadwayjoe
2011-04-16 03:06:25 Anguish metal/hardcore band 1999-2000 s. had a big fan base. Played all over the rochester area. Won 1999 battle of the band award at waterstreet music hall. Recorded a 5 song EP in 8/1999 and 3 song demo in late 2000. Went on to be gutter slut- Death metal/hardcore/technical metal 2000s. Then one of the singers joined Psyopus-extreme/technical/metal mid 2000s became a tourin act. shared the stage w and a few random local heavyweits/ Ply-metal hardcore late 1990 s-2000 s, , Loopus Rap core band. 1995-2003 , hate machine- metal hardcore 90s-2000s, Division 9 -hardcore 90s-2000s, Controlled substance-hardcore, Blind identity-Metal hardcore 90s-2000s,Sexmaze-experimental metal 90s-2000s, The Niche-jam band 2000s, 40oz failure Rap/metalcore 90;s-2000s, The Druids jam band 90s-present, Tweak-hardcore 90s-2000s, an so many more amazin bands still to be remembered.... —Ericprince
2011-04-17 14:47:24 Interesting.... I was the guitarist in the band "Vegas" from 1979 to 1984 and I don't see it mentioned here. The band from 79 -82 was the top band in Rochester. The first Vegas featured Lou Ricigliano- guitar, Lex Byers -Vocalist, Rich Fiordeliso -Keyboards and B3 - Nick Russo - Drums and Chris Defazio on Bass. Vegas was reformed in 1983 and consisted of a 3 pc horn section. That group T consisted of Lex Byers on vocals, Lou Ricigliano on Guitar, Rich Fiordeliso on Keys, John Pascarella on Drums, Gary Terwilliger on Bass, Rick Austin on Sax, Doc Davis on Trombone, and Jimmy Squirrell on Trumpet. Information can be found at www.sweet-lou.com. —LouRicigliano
2011-04-17 19:28:23 How about these bands... The Trackers, The Root of all Evil, Portable People, The Hangmen, Lincoln Zepher, The Oxford Watch Band, Gunthers Bus, The Gallant Men??? Need data on these bands of the 60's. —LouRicigliano
2011-04-17 21:06:01 How about these bands... The Trackers, The Root of all Evil, Portable People, The Hangmen, Lincoln Zepher, The Oxford Watch Band, Gunthers Bus, The Gallant Men??? Need data on these bands of the 60's. —LouRicigliano
2011-05-03 15:59:46 Remember the group "Kracker" One of the Best Bands Rochester had the good fortune of hearing. They refused to do covers and did mainly originals and album cuts.Gino Vanelli,Benny Mardones, Marty Ballin and Robbie Dupree to name a few. Unbelievably tight with Great vocals and harmonies.Members included: Billy Schifano(Lead vocal and percussion)Don Ferrara(Lead Guitar)Earnie Pavone(Keyboards)Rich Robinson(Bass & Moog Pedals) and John Pasquarella(Drums) —DonFerrara
2011-05-27 10:07:13 A few of the other noteable late 70s/early 80s Rochester bands not yet mentioned were Bahama Mama (early reggae with horns...evolved from another great local band The Fabulous Putz Brothers)...and Toys
http://www.discogs.com/Toys-Dashboard-Music/release/1745249, sort of a in a Heart genre. Both of those were on the first WCMF Homegrown LP and had their own albums out. Also, along with New Math and Cappy & Frenchmenn were The Klik and The Chesterfield Kings. I think a couple of those bands were on a rare collection LP of Rochester New Wave/Punk called "From the City That Gave You Absolutely Nothing." Also, no mention of Black Sheep from the mid-70s with Lou Gramm pre-Foreigner. You could also count Talas, although technically from Buffalo...later drummer Mark Miller was from Rochester area.
Also, while technically not a "group"....solo artists Walt Atkinson probably gigged more than almost anyone in the 70s-80s in the Rochester area and was called "Mr. One-Man Band" because of his early use of live looping and layering of his guitar/harmonica/vocals. He still plays somewhere down in the Carolinas where he now lives.
+1 to Old Salt (I think OS was also on the first WCMF Homegrown LP,) Wilmer & the Dukes, Bat McGrath/Don Potter
I'm sure I'm missing many others I'll recall when I look thru my music collection. —mc2
2011-08-09 14:15:23 Any info on the 70's group "Orange"? I have a copy of a studio disc that has a number of their originals. Included - "My teriffic Telephone", Sabotage, etc. —JZ
2011-08-27 08:32:54 Prodigy - 1976 to 1978 —PaulVolta
2011-11-27 00:43:47 Well, my boredom is no more as I ponder on days passed with this page! Music had a huge impact on me growing up. For me it wasn't just back ground noise. Through the beginning with the angst, confusion, suffering and my broken bond with society, my music pushed me and in return I turned it up! Fuck Yea!
Around the age of 12, there was this 'special band' playing locally and every time I heard this band came a constant flow of adjectives such as "Blaspheme" and "Sacrilegious!" Even the Catholic Church were involved and as their servants protested, the local media came running with a story that would begin my spiritual pelvic thrust deep into society for many years after! The training years to my Year 0 and no doubt the beginning of personal disobedience of anything organized!
Anyway, Immaculate Mary, a quartette who only wore white clothing on stage-what little they did wear, were creating more then music, they were creating a way, for me anyway. A way to say fuck you without having to say it at all. I guess I was just at that perfect age ya know? -Between child & man in self;but I understood it and it meant a lot to me.
While the protesting may have died down by the time I was able to attend shows at 16-17 years old, their popularity did not. But what I was hoping to read on here was the reason of their demise. I suspect like many other great bands-the right people weren't around in all the wrong places they played and well, they had to grow up and work regular jobs? Their record, "Through the eye's of youth" didn't go far, and you had to be at their shows to feel that energy. Its on their records but live is where it really was at. I mean, they could be playing "Mary had a little lamb" and it would be mind blowing.. -(Which reminds me, before every set, they had this recording of everything and anything "Mary" related, so when the lights when out, you'd hear Run Dmc's, "Mary, Mary..why you bugging" Credences "Proud Mary..." and other "Mary" related-random recordings from other artists and tv shows..and then they'd burst onto stage like Rock Aliens from Loud Planet Mother Fucker!)
So in conclusion, my teen years had a great fucking sound track to it man! I sure do miss those days and proud that Immaculate Mary is part of that musical collage. Also, I must admit that I rather enjoyed writing this piece. I was upset not finding "The World's Loudest Band" on this site but sort of glad for my own selfish reasons of reminiscing back in the day. But maybe now some of those in charge can do some research and go ahead and add a little something special for this band up on here. Surely I can't be the only who followed them back in the day..
M.C.
2011-11-27 00:44:20 Well, my boredom is no more as I ponder on days passed with this page! Music had a huge impact on me growing up. For me it wasn't just back ground noise. Through the beginning with the angst, confusion, suffering and my broken bond with society, my music pushed me and in return I turned it up! Fuck Yea!
Around the age of 12, there was this 'special band' playing locally and every time I heard this band came a constant flow of adjectives such as "Blaspheme" and "Sacrilegious!" Even the Catholic Church were involved and as their servants protested, the local media came running with a story that would begin my spiritual pelvic thrust deep into society for many years after! The training years to my Year 0 and no doubt the beginning of personal disobedience of anything organized!
Anyway, Immaculate Mary, a quartette who only wore white clothing on stage-what little they did wear, were creating more then music, they were creating a way, for me anyway. A way to say fuck you without having to say it at all. I guess I was just at that perfect age ya know? -Between child & man in self;but I understood it and it meant a lot to me.
While the protesting may have died down by the time I was able to attend shows at 16-17 years old, their popularity did not. But what I was hoping to read on here was the reason of their demise. I suspect like many other great bands-the right people weren't around in all the wrong places they played and well, they had to grow up and work regular jobs? Their record, "Through the eye's of youth" didn't go far, and you had to be at their shows to feel that energy. Its on their records but live is where it really was at. I mean, they could be playing "Mary had a little lamb" and it would be mind blowing.. -(Which reminds me, before every set, they had this recording of everything and anything "Mary" related, so when the lights when out, you'd hear Run Dmc's, "Mary, Mary..why you bugging" Credences "Proud Mary..." and other "Mary" related-random recordings from other artists and tv shows..and then they'd burst onto stage like Rock Aliens from Loud Planet Mother Fucker!)
So in conclusion, my teen years had a great fucking sound track to it man! I sure do miss those days and proud that Immaculate Mary is part of that musical collage. Also, I must admit that I rather enjoyed writing this piece. I was upset not finding "The World's Loudest Band" on this site but sort of glad for my own selfish reasons of reminiscing back in the day. But maybe now some of those in charge can do some research and go ahead and add a little something special for this band up on here. Surely I can't be the only who followed them back in the day..
M.C.
2011-12-03 16:38:58 My friends and I used to walk over to Leighton Street to watch those 'CMF Monday Night Concerts. Early to mid 70's. The station personnel were nice enough to let us in, but always warned us to "be cool." Anybody know if those shows are around in some format? I would love to hear them again. —SteveMack
2012-01-09 19:23:02 Autumn Skies, who later became M-80. Popular in the early 80's. Played alot at Tucker's, California Brew House, Tiffany's. Anyone know what became of them? —JThomas
2012-01-12 21:30:27 Have not seen mention of The Color Blind James Experience. Also, John Mooney used to play at the Cottage, and the Sun Mountain Fiddler still plays all over the place (used to see him at the Cottage too). Anyone remember a band I think called the Stovall Brown Band, drummer had a prosthetic forearm? —dbrandriss
2012-01-25 12:56:36 Transmission 56, 90's Released a 45 and a CD under Carbon Records. 45 is Still Available. Band Members Sean Havens, Jamie Fritzsching and Mark Williams. Jamie and Mark on on the West Coast, Sean is still local and plays in Cavalcade. —SeanHavens
2012-02-19 08:34:04 Cappy and the Frenchmen Myspace site:
http://www.myspace.com/cappyandthefrenchmen
Cappy and the Frenchmen FACEBOOK Fan site:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cappy-and-the-Frenchmen/211684995596740#!/pages/Cappy-and-the-Frenchmen/211684995596740?sk=wall —BillThomas
2012-03-03 13:15:05 Hi all. This is Terry Lasaponara, the drummer from the band "Freedom Tree". I read that some people want some info regarding the band, so please email me anytime at <terrylasaponara AT gmail DOT com>. Thank you. —terryfreedom
2012-03-12 10:59:37 I was looking through some vintage issues of Freetime Magazine this weekend when I came across an ad for the bluesband " Jimmy Boston and the Flamethrowers" I remember going out to hear the band during the 1980's. They played a mix of classic blues and swing tunes. They were incredible.Tunes like Caledonia,Help me baby,and Peter Gunn to name a few. The horn section referred themselves to the Hollywood Horns.The band performed regulary at Red Creek and Casablanca as well as Respected Blues clubs in the inner city. The clubs were always at standing room only capacity and the dance floor was always cookin. Band Members consisted of: Jimmy Boston on lead vocals,Donnie Ferrara on lead guitar,Neal O'keefe on bass, Charlie Rau on drums,Russ Marchese on trumpet and Joe Arnone on sax.The bands plan was to perform once or twice a month but due to popularity ended up doing four to five one niters a week for almost two years.Sound and lights was provided by Bill Hooper who always did a Great job.I still have a live recording that they did on WGMC radio. I often wish that a group of this caliber would show up in todays music scene. If you were lucky enough to catch them then you know what i am taking about. This was an incredible group. —["Users/Donna "B""]
2012-03-12 21:09:50 Just want to clear up some inaccuracies and provide more detail for RUKKUS who is listed as a 90s band. My name is Nick Valente, and I am an original founder, guitar player, song writer of the band. I formed RUKKUS with Tommy and Chris Garbin in late 1985 and we disbanded in early 1990 when I left for another project. Therefore, I would consider RUKKUS a late 80s original hard rock/metal band. I left and formed Blastic in 1990 who created a ten song original metal CD called Deep from the Bud with Ed Lynd (Grinders), Todd Dentico (Grinders), and John Giordano. Then in 1993, I formed Justin Tyme with Steve Hartwig, Steve Wright, and John Payton (Buddhahood). Then, in 1995, I formed Rat Salad, all Black Sabbath cover band, with Willy Lopez (Avalon), Joe Lana (Uncle Plum), and Joe Damonda. Today, I play in a 3-piece original heavy metal band called HALO. The band consists of Nick Valente (guitar/vocals), Scott Colicchio (bass/keys), and Vince Rupert (drums). I currently work as VP Business Development and also run my own recording studio called the Sound Chamber. Some other great bands from this time period were Talas, Dirty Looks, Avalon, Black Dragon, Nasty Trast (who's cd cover is my face), Moriah, Immaculate Mary, Warhead, Hate, Supernaturals, Millenium, Bad Action, Aunty Em, Rock Candy, Zillion, Harpo, Run21, Fallen Angel, The Raunchettes, Cat Fight, Shaved Ham, Uncle Sam, Camouflage, and so many more. Thanks. Nick —NickValente


