Lost Rochester Bands/Angry Young Men

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Artist
The Angry Young Men
Members (Total)
Ray Bellizia
Keith Finkelstein
Phil Kraft
Marty Lawlor
Jack Radtke
Jim Schulz
Charlie Theofanis
Brad Wheat
David Wing
Genre
Garage Rock
Years Active
1964-67, with periodic reunions
Website
[WWW]Interview on 60sGarageBands.com

The Angry Young Men was a garage band formed in 1964 by Brad Wheat. All the original members went to the Rush-Henrietta Central School. They were:

Brad left after a few weeks to join the Heard with his brother Jeff. Phil Kraft of the Viscounts, another Henrietta band, came in to take 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 Angry Young Men 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, and so forth - they were also the main draw at two Henrietta locations known as the Big Barn and The Farm. Both were located at the Monroe County Fairgrounds. For two summers during the mid-sixties, the Angry Young Men spent most Friday nights at The Big Barn, 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. They also had a separate room for the setup/soundman (Danny Hurlbert) to work on the equipment. They played many gigs and had a great time for almost three years.

Other venues that were especially memorable included the Bengal Inn, Leopards Den, the Leicester Casino, the Monroe YMCA, the Sandsabarn, Club Carousel, Long Point Park, Club Commodore, the Beacon, and various fraternity and sorority houses.

In January 1967 Dave Wing left the band to enlist in the Army. Charlie Theofanis (another Viscounts alum) 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 reunited to play for a picnic celebrating the 20th Reunion of the Rush-Henrietta Class of 1966. Five years later the band united yet again again to celebrate the class's 25th Reunion. Unfortunately, both Brad and Keith passed a few years after the 1991 Reunion, making it the last time the Angry Young Men would play together.

Since then, several remaining members have kept their hands (and voices) in the musical arena. Ray Bellizia has performed with Pearl, Startafire, and Heartaches. Jim Schulz was a long time member of Nostalgia and Jack Radtke has played for many years with Texas Son.

Note: The Angry Young Men of Henrietta is not the same as fellow garage band the Angry Men, who were based in the City of Rochester. Both groups recorded at Fine Recording Studio.

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2014-04-16 23:32:38   Brad Wheat, later became the guitarist for the Oxford Watchband including Jay Mate on vocals Gary Castle on Bass, Geno Charlse Drums, I don't recall the organist and I should. They were an original sound that predated the Band Chicago. Later during the Oxford Watchband, Franke Previte (vocalist, horn player and song writer) joined the band. Franke Previte went on to the lead vocalist for a band Franke and the knockouts and later went ob to write "Time of My Life" and “Hungry Eyes” for the movie Dirty Dancing. —RNicholson

2016-04-27 18:13:33   The organist for the Oxford Watch Band was Jimmy Gilbert. Sax and recorder player and co-lead vocalist was Peter Fuino. —BasilMarascoJr