John
Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band was formed in Narragansett, Rhode
Island in 1972 taking their name from the color of their first
recording studio. They began by playing covers in local colleges like
the University of Rhode Island performing at the beach, and amassing a
local following at clubs in the area. They started to go on the road
more playing on Cape Cod, the Jersey Short, ski-resort country and in
Boston proper. In 1977, Antunes joins the group and the band tours all
of New England. They also spent some time in the D.C. area playing The
Bayou and smaller clubs in Northwest Washington.
In 1980, The band records their first single, Tender Years/Wild Summer
Nights. It became a local Eastern seaboard - radio hit, sold 10,000
copies, and got the group a showcase gig at New York's prestigious
Bottom Line Club.
Cafferty remembers the band playing at The Bitter End on Bleeker Street
in New York one night in 1981 when the fairy godmother of lucky breaks
apparently waved her wand. There was a producer in the audience that
night, "but we never knew he was there", stated Cafferty.
Veteran
producer Kenny Vance (who sang with Jay & the Americans
during the sixties) apparently took movie director Martin Davidson to
see one of their shows. Two years later, in 1983, Davidson called the
band and asked them to do some songs for the soundtrack for the film
"Eddie and the Cruisers". The groups first single was added to the
film. (Cafferty is the voice (singing) of 'Eddie Wilson', the fictional
band leader in both films).
This produced several national hits for John Cafferty and the Beaver
Brown Band, including "On the Dark Side", which Cafferty notes went
triple platinum.
"Eddie and the Cruisers" was released by Scottie Brothers in May 1983,
but didn't do that well at the box office, although the soundtrack sold
175,000 copies. ("On The Dark Side" released as a single in 1984
reaching #7 on the charts) The film became popular when later released
on cable, selling more than two million copies.
The
group was then offered a contract with Scotti Brothers Records. Their
album, "Tough All Over", was released by Scotti Bros. in May 1985,
reaching #40 in the US. It was followed by "Roadhouse", released by
Scotti Brothers in 1987.
It was instant success, but it was double-edged "because of the
uniqueness of our situation, sort of being the voice behind screen
actors ... it was like we were a fabricated band. Our music got to be
known with someone else's face and someone else's name. So to some
extent, our music was known more than we were", said Cafferty.
Because of this, Scotti Brothers re-released the "Tough All Over" and
"Roadhouse" albums under the name "Eddie and the Cruisers".
John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band has also recorded songs for
film favorites like Rocky IV - "Hearts On Fire", Cobra - "Voice Of
America's Sons" and Jersey Girl - "Ku Ku Ku Chu (Baby I Want U)", "For
A Heart That's True", and "Nobody But
Me".
HIGHLAND
ROVERS
Drawing
from the diverse New York Metro music scene, the Highland Rovers Band
fuses popular rock percussive rhythms, bagpipes, and vocal harmonies to
create an intricate and fresh sound. HRB's multi-layered, upbeat, and
danceable music showcases their universal appeal to both mainstream
modern rock lovers and culturally diverse audiences searching for a
distinct Celtic flavor.
Over the years, the band paid its dues playing Irish pubs throughout
the New York Metropolitan area and along the eastern seaboard.
Today, the HRB's resume includes performances across the United States
at venues ranging from well-known Irish pubs to larger arenas such as
Shea Stadium. The band has performed with top Irish artists including
the Saw Doctors, the Young Dubliners, and the Prodigals. HRB has also
performed numerous shows with their longtime friends and mentors, the
Marshall Tucker Band. It was the fall of 1999, that Marshall Tucker
lead singer and founding member, Doug Gray, saw the HRB performing in a
small Connecticut club. A week later, Gray had signed the Rovers to the
MTB's Ramblin' Records label, and had
the
band opening shows across the
country with them on Charlie Daniels Volunteer Jam Tour in front of
audiences of over 20,000 people. Volunteer Jam
included appearances
at New York's Jones Beach, Great Woods in Boston and the
Meadows in Hartford. The band has since joined Marshall Tucker in the
studio and Rover vocalist Jimmy Cyr stood in for the Tucker front man
on a few songs, after Gray underwent vocal surgery. The Band which has
become famous throughout the Celtic rock community for their high
powered vocal harmonies has performed the national anthem several times
for the New York Mets, Staten Island Yankees and SFX's Monster Trucks
Tour. The band has appeared on national TV several times on ESPN's
morning show Cold Pizza and Fox-TV's News Across America. The band has
also made several appearances on WPLR-FM, WPLJ-FM, I-95 FM, and Channel
3 TV's Better Connecticut.
The HRB has sold over 10,000 CD's and performed in 22 states over the
last 14 years. The band has produced five albums to date. The current
CD, "Live... From County Fairfield", was released in March of 2007. The
Highland Rovers Band will begin their 15th Anniversary Tour this fall.
For
Fans -- To visit their site directly use this link -- Highland
Rovers
Hailing
from Boston, Mass., the city that boasts the world Championship Red
Sox, The New England Patriots, the musical groups Boston, J. Geils, and
Peter Wolf, Godsmack, of course Aerosmith. Adding to the subculture of
this city is Boston Music Award Nominees, Draw The Line, the Endorsed
Aerosmith Tribute Band. The bands career, now spanning almost eighteen
years, has taken them all over the world.
During a January 1998 interview, Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler singled
out Draw The Line as the best of the Aerosmith tribute bands. On
Boston's biggest Rock radio station 104.1 WBCN, disc jockey Nick Carter
quoted "I've seen Draw The Line! They ARE Aerosmith!" The band is
popular on the college circuit as well, and has been interviewed by
several Boston-based college radio stations, such as Brandeis
University's 100.1 WBRS.
The band has performed in all but two U.S. states. They have also been
to Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and other U.S. territories.
The group's fanatical popularity was evident the evening of January 1,
1999, when it played at the former Mama Kins Music Hall in Boston in
front of a sold out crowd of 800. Among other famous faces at that show
was Steven Tyler's daughter, model Mia Tallarico. Steven Tyler quoted
his daughter the next day as saying "Dad, have you seen this? From
where I was standing, I couldn't believe how much they (Draw The Line)
looked and sounded just like you!"
Draw
The Line's lead singer, Neill Byrnes, won a Steven Tyler look-alike
contest on 107.3 WAAF, another one of Boston's biggest rock radio
stations. Even MTV agrees to the easily mistaken identity of Steven
Tyler. So MTV invited Neill to fly to New York so they could film his
magical impersonation for a promotional video. Even more recently
Byrnes has been approached by many TV shows for appearances &
performances.
If you love Aerosmith,
this is the tribute
show
You Don't Wanna Miss!
Remember
September
Over their four years together, Remember September has seen their
grassroots effort blossom from playing at local clubs in Connecticut
and New York City to performing at major events with a Who's Who of
legendary acts.
Jay Schod, the band's lead singer and architect of their original
acoustic rock music, says that their sound will remind you of a blend
of everything from Allman Brothers to Dave Matthews with "thoughful
lyrics, interesting harmonies and great musicianship."
In 2006, the band got its first big break, when it was selected to play
with Chicago where they received very positive reviews from a wide
variety of musical tastes and ages that are now seen at many of their
shows. Soon thereafter, they were booked with many other renowned
bands, including .38 Special, Average White Band, The Spin Doctors,
guitar ledgends Steve Vai and Johnny Winter, Randy Travis as well as
several others.
In
2008, the band expanded its musical horizons from Boston to Richmond.
They headlined shows at several first-class venues like The Hard Rock
Boston, Mohegan Sun Casino, The Bitter End in NYC and a special benefit
concert at Walter Reed Medical Center in D.C. for the injured troops
and their families.
This year, Remember September won the International Music Festival in
Hartford and continues to expand its fan base throughout the East
Coast. Chris Schod, lead guitarist, says that many of the tracks on
their upcoming second CD, "Can't Fix My Fixations," will be showcased
at the Milford Oyster Festival. "This CD reflects our ever-changing,
diverse sound. Also, it accentuates the jazz and blues elements that we
have incorporated into our music.
