After Bebop A Lula: Utica Bands 50's 60's

[dgriffin]

This thread honors many of the musicians (including yours truly, of course), who will hopefully share memories, fill in names, etc., to construct a treasure trove of information regarding all those bands you heard at your prom and at Saturday night dances when many of you were teenagers in the Utica area in the fifties and sixties.




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[Clipper]

:)The pictures are great. Bob Perry is in one of those pics. He played music on up into the late 90's or so. The last time I heard him play and sing was at the moose club in Marcy. He was a "one man" act, with the exception of the periodic accompaniment by a lady I assume was his wife or girlfriend (I don't know his marital status)

I followed Bob Perry for years when he was singing and playing country. His dad was a world class fiddler, and Bob sang and played with his dad's band for years. They played such places as the Black Dahlia in Poland NY and Partners Choice in Marcy. the last time I listened to Bob at the moose, he was starting to lose his vocal ability to cigarettes and age. It was sad to listen to him and recall his earlier popularity. Age catches up to us all.

Another great local country talent from the Partner's Choice days is Bob Lynn, the guy that owns the septic tank outfit. Did he have a history back into the 60's and early rock and roll, Dave? He also went by the wayside with throat trouble and loss of vocal ability.

I am enjoying the threads and photos. Thanks for bringing them to us.

[dgriffin]

I've been looking around the house for these snapshots for weeks and finally came across them this afternoon.

Here are photos of the early Bel Airs.

Jim Hanna, guitar; Guy Vivenzo, sax; Ralph Mazzoli, bass: Hank Bowman, drums; Dave Griffin, piano.



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Later Bel Airs included Jon Hynes, bass; Dick Laurey, drums, and Gates Intino.

From left: Guy Vivenzo, Dick Laurey, Gates Intino, Jim Hanna, Jon Hynes


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[dgriffin]

Clipper: Bob Lynn's name doesn't sound familiar, but ....boy!!.... that was a long time ago. I can't imagine how many voices were lost to cigarettes over the years. And booze, too, I suppose. I used to watch Dean Martin in the 1970's and think that most of it had to be an act. A larynx is a pretty sensitive mechanism.
I've got lots more photos from Dick Laurey, including his west-coast days, later Bel Air photos with Gates Intino, by which time I'm gone to New York City, and a couple more snap shots of the early Bel Airs I've found here in a package of stuff from my Mom's house I hadn't 't opened for 20 years until this afternoon. But I'm way behind in the writing I wanted to do this month and I'll put the snaps up as I can. (Too much time here on this forum!! )

[frankcor]

I wonder how much that American-made Stratocaster would be worth today?

[dgriffin]

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Most of the others on the list range upward to $4K.

[frankcor]

I go to fender.com about once a month to drool at some of the classics. I bought a used American-made Strat a few years ago for several hundred dollars and it plays like a dream. It was a gift to my wife's best-friend's daughter who had been begging her mom for an electric guitar. She'll be able to give it to her grandkids some day. It's a true piece of Americana. (Uncle Frank gets to rip a few licks on it once in a while, too)

[dgriffin]

There used to be a bar down at the end of Bleecker St. out where it turned to country. In the early sixties MVCC kids used to have keg nights there and the Bel Airs practiced there during the week a few times. One evening we arrived to find camper trailers all around the place and some swarthy looking folks milling around, who after we had set up inside and began to play, came in and listened politely, some dancing listlessly. Turns out they were a band of gypsies and they wanted one of their men to play with us. I hadn't thought there were any gypsies left in the world, but that's when I discovered how wrong I was. Anyway, this guy goes out to a van and comes back in and as he opens the guitar case and pulls out this absolutely gorgeous stratocaster, a hush fell over the crowd and you'd have swore he just lifted the lid on the Ark of the Covenant. He plugged it into one of our amp and commenced to play his music. The place erupted in wild abandoned dance and song and our band's practice was over for the night.

[frankcor]

Yes, the tinyurls are working fine.

[Clipper]

Dave, did ya ever play the block dances that Hank Brown used to sponsor in the parking lot of the supermarket in Herkimer? I used to go there and dance the night away quite often. Then we would all go to Cherry's restaurant for pizza.

I saw a mention of the band Eric and the Chessmen in one of the pics from either you or Dick Laurey. That is the band that my Uncle Jim Gaylord played drums for to fill in for their drummer who was either killed or seriously injured in a car accident. I don't remember the details. I used to listen to them play all around the area.

Keep the picturs and commentary coming. I love reminiscing about those days.

[frankcor]

Okay, now there's a band name I do remember -- Eric and the Chessmen. Were they from Rome?

[bobbbiez]

Hey Dave, loved the pictures. Will check out the rest later. Have to hit the couch again.

Guy Vivenzo still looks the same. He never ages.
Do you have any recent pictures of Fran Louks? Just curious to see what my old heart throb looks like now.

[dgriffin]

bobbbiez said:

Do you have any recent pictures of Fran Louks? Just curious to see what my old heart throb looks like now.

Probably just as good as the rest of us.
Sorry, Bobbiez, I don't have any other pix of Frannie. The Plaids and later Bel Airs photos were from drummer Dick Laurey, who was playing with us in the Bel Airs when I left for New York (not to play.)
If I told this story here recently, forgive me, but a few weeks ago I was on Oriskany BLvd. and thought Guy's Viintage place was on it and so was looking as I headed back to the Thruway. I stopped for gas and while filling the tank, idly looked down the street, and there was his sign on Whitesboro St. I stopped in and surprised him (he said I looked vaguely familiar) and we had a good time talking and laughing about the old days. He's still pretty active playing and, you're right, he doesn't look a bit different from over 40 years ago!

[dgriffin]

admin said:

Dave, did ya ever play the block dances that Hank Brown used to sponsor in the parking lot of the supermarket in Herkimer?

That really sounds familiar. But I don't remember very many outdoor jobs, once we got going. I do remember Hank organized Sunday afternoon dances at some fraternal place in Little Falls and we played that a few times. Crappy place, actually. It was on a very steep hill and there was no parking around back so we had to lug the stuff up the hill or get there earlier than usual. The only good thing was that someone had raised the piano up on blocks, so I didn't have to bend over to play. No one seems to realize it, but in those days, unless you had a portable electric piano like Chuckie Daniel in the Plaids, the piano player had to bend over and play and
often not use the pedal. It was murder on the back and legs. Good thing I was young. And, of course, you had to play the piano that was there. In a bar, they were usually in nice shape and kept tuned. In other places, never in tune. Boy, I played on some junky pianos!

[bobbbiez]

Dave, that picture of Frannie in the paper really looked just as I remembered him.
I saw him when I was working at the Vista Lanes quite awhile after and he had lost most of his "locks" by then but still as handsome as ever.

Thanks for the memories my friend.