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Hard Luck Story
lot of rockin’ blues bands these days play with a soulful, upbeat style that’s practically giddy and carefree.
Jon Nolan doesn’t like that.
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Moving in Stereo
Nate Black named Moving in Stereo after a song on the Cars’ debut. But don’t expect new-wavy, synth-heavy pop when this six-member band plays. They’re after something different.
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House of Cards
You heard of "Walk the Line." How about "Draw the Line"?
No, it's not another Hollywood movie about a country-music star. It's Brian Butler laying the ground rules for House of Cards, his popular country-rock band that regularly plays Doc Holliday's and BW's Saloon.
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Bad Habits
Classic-rock and blues band Bad Habits began with Mark Larsen's good intentions. And he's not even in the band."Our keyboard player's father, Mark, who's a very good friend of mine, knew five guys with the same laid-back attitude. He wondered how we would all sound if we would get together to jam," said guitarist Bill Crissman, who formerly played in Stiffy Harris and the Throbbers.
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Yankee Zydeco Company
Most rock bands playing in hot, crowded clubs break into beads of sweat. Yankee Zydeco Company breaks out the beads and gives them away, no sweat. When you play upbeat, danceable zydeco music, you must play bead toss -- it's Louisiana law.
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BROKEN
Jeff Watters grew up on classic rock. That's why he plays newer, alternative music with Broken. He overdosed on the classics.
"It's beaten through the skull," he said with a laugh. "I enjoy listening to it. But I don't get the fulfillment out of playing it anymore. I like playing the newer stuff. It's a little more challenging."
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Brown Eyed Susans
Matt Fink was a prince to work with, says Erie native Susan Gray.
While living in Minneapolis, she recorded "Brown Eyed Susans"-- her multi-hued pop debut -- with a little help from Fink. If the name rings a bell, it should. For 13 years, he played keyboards and wrote songs with Prince.
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Cattle Cruisers
If you like country with an edge, Friday's the time to giddy up and mosey on over to Docksider. Happy hour becomes outlaw hour when the Cattle Cruisers play originals, as well as a healthy shot of Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, and Steve Earle, among others.
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Ron Freeman
He admires the Williams, Hank and Lucinda. Not surprisingly, he worships Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and Emmylou Harris. But he’s also a fan of such idiosyncratic bands as Wilco, Magnetic Fields, Vigilantes of Love, and Nationals.
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Shadows Force
Which type of classic-rock music lurks in the heart of Shadows Force?
Only the Shadow knows -- Shawn "The Shadow" Brinker, that is. He grew up listening to the commercial-radio giants of the 1970s. By the time he was ready to rock, he decided to write music in the vein of the bands he loved.
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Hello Kitty Death Squad
On a song called "Spooky Mulder"--named after the lead character on "X-Files"-- Hello Kitty Death Squad turntablist Garrett Skindell samples both "Star Wars" a self-hypnosis record.
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Smith & Craig
Music's version of the Odd Couple might be Smith & Craig. But on stage and on CD, the unlikely duo — call their sound modern-day classic rock — sounds natural and unforced.
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Johnny Football
Just because a band called Johnny Football plays a hardcore vs. indie rock show Saturday at Forward Hall, don't think of it as a competition.
This show has no scoreboard, says Jay Burrows, a guitarist with Johnny Football. Lately, he sees music fans dividing into camps, with some devoted to hardcore while others prefer indie rock or emo. He hopes Saturday's show brings them all together.
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Akoostikatz
If the "Bob & Tom Show" ever exits radio, Z-102 might consider replacing it with Chris & Tom.
They're not comedians, per se, but Chris Mathers and Tom Morrison inject a lot of humor into their set as the Akoositkatz. They not only pop out the occasional song by Adam Sandler and Tenacious D, but banter with each other and with the crowd.
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Village of Dead Roads
There's M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village," which felt derivative, like a "Twilight Zone" episode you saw before.
Then there's Village of Dead Roads, an Erie band, which will remind you of no one you've heard before, at least not around here.
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Meatplow
After a few years away, Meatplow is back — carrying a heavier load. The group plays harder rock than it did in the late 1990s.
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Red hot Rugcutters
For Dan Reese, playing music don't mean a thing if he can't play some swing.
Man, is he swinging now. Like a chandelier.
Reese sings and plays boogie-woogie piano in Red Hot Rugcutters, a horn-drenched Erie quintet that favors the music of the 1940s and early 1950s. They play pre-rock artists such as Wynonie Harris, Louis Prima, and Louis Jordan, and newer cats with the same swingin' vibe.
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English-Rudler
Eyes raised when rocker-liberal John Mellencamp and country-conservative Travis Tritt joined forces for a single in 2004.
But nobody should bat an eye about two music veterans who banded together last fall in West County, even if they do plan to cover that Tritt-Mellencamp song, "What Say You."
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My Two Front Teeth
Hmm. He loves the Cars, who had a hit with “My Best Friend’s Girlfriend.” So perhaps it was inevitable that Mike Russo would form an acoustic duo with Amy Monacello. When they attended the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), he dated Erin, Amy’s best friend and roommate.
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Darren's Band in a Box
Too bad UB40 named one of its biggest CDs "Labour of Love." Because that's what Darren Holland engages in each time he trudges somewhere to play with his trusty Yamaha DX 300 keyboard and electric and acoustic guitars.
He plugs in and out they come: passionate, soaring, original songs with strong dynamics and an often epic sweep and grandeur. He programs all the music parts — drums, bass, strings, percussion, whatever’s needed.
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Spooner
No sooner did Spooner come together than everyone clicked. Credit part of that to musical alchemy. This may be a new band, but everyone's experienced.
Take Jaremy Crouse, longtime leader of Frog Tree Gorge Band, who found himself writing songs with a different musical flavor that demanded another forum. Add in Ralph Reitinger, a super-talented young bassist who's studied with Mary Alice Brown, jammed in his own home with Bernard Allison, played with blues-rockers the Decibels, and still grooves with Latin-rock group Mambo.
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Patti and the Big Daddy’s
They hadn't played together in nine years. But when Pati and the Bad Daddys reunited for their first official rehearsal, they breathed easier.
Felt good. Felt right. Felt like Bad Daddys, not old granddaddies, in other words. They still rocked.
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Studebakers
There's a reason the word "moldy" sometimes appears before oldie. Songs you know by heart can sound stale when you hear them for the umpteenth time.
Joey Glassman was determined to avoid that with the Studebakers. He takes the energy and passion he poured into punk for years and channels that his scorching oldies band. Studebakers are as far from lounge as Las Vegas is from Venezeula.
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Killerinas
Yes, they wore prom dresses while the movie "Carrie" played behind them on a video screen during a recent gig at Forward Hall.
Yes, lead singer Sue Martin — drenched in blood — smeared herself all over her band mates. And, yes, this nearly all-girl band — drummer Erik Mildner refuses to wear a dress, they joke — features an ominous band name, Killerinas.
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The Electracons
Some original bands play out nearly every weekend and burn themselves out quickly.
Then there's the Electracons, from the Grove City and Slippery Rock area. Years together: 20. Total gigs in public: About six, says drummer George Stabile. And he can't really explain why.
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