Click here to subscribe today or Login.
Eddie Day Pashinski’s Star Fires are excited to headline the Luzerne County fair next weekend. They’ll play a host of rock ‘n’ roll classics from the 1950s and ‘60s.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Janet Rains and Bryan Harmony, the front people for local 1980s rock band M80, are popular in nightclubs throughout the Wyoming Valley. This week they’ll tackle another kind of venue: the Luzerne County Fair, performing at 7 and 9 p.m. Wednesday.
For the second year in a row, Eddie Day Pashinski’s 1950s and ’60s rock group will headline the Luzerne County Fair.
It’s an honor the Star Fires are proud to have.
“Music is something that I always say bridges the gap between generations,” said bassist and vocalist Roger Griffith, who started the group while in high school. “It’s cross-generational; there’s nothing like music to bring people together.”
Griffith, a 1964 graduate of Dallas High School, said the group, which formed while the men were in high school, has been back together for five or six years after taking a three-decade-long break – and he’s seeing both old and new faces in the crowds at local shows.
“Each year our following gets larger and larger, in part due to the fact that younger people and people of all ages just appreciate that era of music,” said Griffith, who still goes by the nickname “Griff,” which friends gave him as a teenager.
“Everywhere we go, the best part of it is reconnecting with our fans that were faithful followers back in the ’60s and ’70s,” he said. “We’re like a family. We’re really very good friends,” he said of the band.
State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski (D-Wilkes-Barre) is the keyboardist and a vocalist.
The Star Fires will play in the fairgrounds’ amphitheater from 6-9 p.m. Sept. 13, just before the fireworks finale shoots off.
Expect music from artists such as Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry, just to name a sampling.
Locals may remember the Star Fires from their days performing at Hanson’s Amusement Park at Harveys Lake and the Starfire Ball Room in Wilkes-Barre. During those days, they had the privilege to open for such big names as Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, Freddy Cannon and The Shangri-Las.
What makes them different from other area bands?
Well, besides the decade-long friendships the men have formed, Griffith said, they consider themselves a true tribute band.
“That’s what sets us apart from a lot of other bands,” he said. “We’re a tribute band to the ’50s and ’60s, playing primarily music of that era.”
Griffith said he likes walking around to check out the vendors during the group’s intermission, but he can’t wait to watch the fireworks at 9 p.m. Sept. 13.
The band had an active schedule this summer, playing at the Nanticoke Music Fest in June and the Rock & Roll Concert and Dance at the Irem Temple in Dallas in July.
Upcoming shows for the local entertainers include the Generation to Generation Dance in the Genetti Ballroom in September and the Genetti New Years’ Eve celebration on Dec. 31.
As for this year’s fair, Griffith hopes to have as good a turnout as the group had last year.
“We thoroughly enjoyed the hospitality,” he said. “It was super.”
Entertainment
Here’s a list of other musical entertainment scheduled for the 2009 Luzerne County Fair:
M80, covering hits of the ’80s: 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Wednesday
3rd Degree, rock ’n’ roll from ’50s to today: 7 p.m. Thursday
Sug’r Bear, country music: 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Sept. 11
Bat out of Hell, Meatloaf tribute band: 3 p.m. Sept. 12
Tom Jones tribute artist: 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Sept. 12
Elvis tribute artist: 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Sept. 12
Joe Stanky and the Cadets, polka, country and more: 2 p.m. Sept. 13
The Star Fires with Eddie Day, decades-spanning music: 6 p.m. Sept. 13