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By ALAN K. STOUT
Friday, March 14, 2003 Page: 21
MUSIC ON THE MENU
Infectious riffs and a bouncy, rhythmic beat. An old-school sound rooted in
’50s rockabilly, ’60s surf and timeless boogie-woogie. A little rock and a
little blues.
The music of The Lucky Strikes will have you tappin’ your foot, tappin’
your fingers and tappin’ into the groove.
The high-spirited band celebrates and carries on the legacy of rockabilly,
that early country-infused form of rock ‘n’ roll. The band, based in
Northeastern Pennsylvania and formed two years ago, is Joe “Mr. Boogaloo”
Lawler on lead vocals and guitar, Neil “The Shadowman” Neyman on lead
guitar, Greg “Turbo Herbo” Herbster on bass and Jim “Jimbo” Peters on
drums.
The band’s self-titled EP was recorded in November and December at the
Pocono Academy of Music in Mountainhome. Tracks include two covers, “Jack The
Ripper” and “Everybody’s Moving,” plus three originals: “Got My Style On
You,” “Here She Comes” and “Firecracker.”
All the group’s members share a love for rockabilly.
“In our eyes, it’s just pure American music,” Peters says. “It was the
music that fused blacks and whites together. It was the beginning of rock ‘n’
roll.”
The Lucky Strikes are planning shows in New York, Philadelphia, State
College, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, where Peters says audiences and club owners
are even more receptive. The band also plays here in its home region and has
plugged in at the Black Rock Brewing Company in Wilkes-Barre and at Club 530
in Scranton, where they’ll perform on Saturday.
“We play the room to get that live feel,” Peters says, adding that the
band doesn’t mike the drum kit or the other instruments. “We were in a
situation once where we did play through a PA and everything was miked, and we
found that we were losing the integrity of the music. We try to maintain that
natural sound.”
Saturday’s show at Club 530 is at 10 p.m. For more information, call
558-0773. For more about the band, visit www.theluckystrikes.com
Remember the movie “Rock Star,” based on the true story of singer in a
Judas Priest tribute band who ended up actually singing for Judas Priest? A
similar far-out tale might develop right here in NEPA.
Twelve Twenty Four, a local tribute to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, has
caught the attention of the actual TSO ensemble, and the real TSO might
consider putting the area musicians in the world-renowned unit.
George Houseknecht of Twelve Twenty Four says he met Bob Kinkle of TSO
after the group’s recent holiday show at the First Union Arena and told him
about the tribute. He said Kinkle was very interested and the two exchanged
e-mails. Now Kinkle has asked the area outfit to send the orchestra a video of
their upcoming show at The Staircase in Pittston Township. If they like what
they see and hear, they plan to audition the area musicians to be a part of
the actual Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
“All of us are very excited and nervous at the same time,” Houseknecht
says. “This is a major opportunity that none of us expected.”
Kevin Soffera, the former drummer with Liquid A, has joined the national
act Seether. The band is signed to Wind Up Records, the same label as Creed,
and its current single “Fine Again” is on MTV and MTV2 and No. 10 on the
Billboard Modern Rock Chart.
Soffera’s first show with the band will be on Monday at the House of Blues
in Orlando. Seether, with Kevin, also will appear on the “Late Night With
David Letterman” show later this month. Soffera, who in 2000, 2001 and 2002,
drove up from the Lehigh Valley each year to play a short set at “Concert For
Karen,” is an extremely talented drummer and one of the nicest guys in the
business.
“It’s been a crazy whirlwind,” he says. “Everything happened so fast,
and I truly feel blessed.”
Original Allman Brothers guitarist Dickey Betts will perform at the River
Street Jazz Cafe on April 15. Also on the bill is Jack’s Farm. There will be
two shows, at 8:30 and 11:30 p.m. Tickets are $17 and available at the River
Street Jazz Cafe. For information, call 822-2992.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band have added a 10th show to their
summer marathon stint at Giants Stadium. The band will perform at the
60,000-seat facility on July 15, 17, 18, 21, 24, 26 and 27 and Aug. 28, 30 and
31.
This is unreal.
At press time, the first seven shows were completely sold out, with very
limited seats left for the final three. In total, Springsteen, fresh off
winning three Grammys for “The Rising,” will play to more than 600,000
people during the stretch. He will actually play as many shows at Giants
Stadium this year as the NFL football team for which it is named will play
games.
Springsteen also will christen the new 60,000-seat Lincoln Financial Field
in Philadelphia with its first concert on Aug. 8. Tickets are $78 and $58 and
go on sale 10 a.m. Saturday through Ticketmaster charge-by-phone at (215)
336-2000 or at www.ticketmaster.com. They’ll also be available at the First
Union Center Box office in Philly and for cash only at The Electric Factory
box office, 1231 Vine St., Philadelphia.
Bruce is certainly still The Boss.