Hey, you know there's more to the Sunday paper than the sports, crosswords, and comics. Today there was an article written about - or actually to - Porky Chedwick. It was written in the Post Gazette by Don "Champ" Early, a Mon Valley doowopper with the Sabres, who did "Calypso Baby"/"You Can Depend On Me" in 1955 on Bullseye.
It doesn't go on about the patter and hype of the Daddio of the Raddio; it explains why he was a Pittsburgh legend for taking kids under his wing. This is Early's tale about how one piece of Porky advice - "Champ, don't let the streets consume you" - put him on his life's trail. Click on the link and read it; you'll appreciate Porky just a little more.
Born and raised in the Pittsburgh region, Larry Nath has been playing around the area for over twenty-five years. After stints in several local bands, he broke out in 1989 as a member of The Mohicans, a blues rock band formed with guitarist Jimmy Adler, and performed regularly at The Decade, Oakland's Mecca of Rock.
The Mohicans broke up in the mid-nineties, and both Nath and Adler have gone on to establish themselves as successful artists. Their partnership still continues on, as the two perform occasionally as an acoustic/electric duo; Adler contributed to Nath's CD "Live It."
Nath’s style has evolved into a blend of blues and roots-based rock and roll. He often plays solo acoustic shows accompanying himself on guitar and harmonica, akin to a Pittsburgh version of John Mellencamp.
His singing/songwriting shows his influences: Sonny Boy Williamson, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, the Rolling Stones, Howlin' Wolf, Robert Cray and Tom Petty, all musical story tellers.
It's easy to spot their connection in his 2008 Bonedog CD, "Live It." The album is a collection of original music with eight songs penned by Nath and three by local songwriter Mike Sweeney, who has inked tunes for Billy Price, Bobby Wayne, and other Pittsburgh acts.
"Live It" features an Americana blues feeling, with mostly uptempo stuff and a couple of ballads.
One track that especially exhibits the strong song-writing skills of Sweeney and the vocal delivery of Nath is the tongue-in-cheek "The Killer And The King", a tale of a soused Killer, Jerry Lee Lewis, headed down to Graceland to deliver a smackdown to the King, Elvis Presley.
"Elvis was kickin' and watching TV, askin' 'who's that out there waving his pistol at me?' The guards at the gate called on the phone; Elvis said 'Tell him to leave me alone.'"
It's good stuff, and he's ably backed by the Bonedog All-Star session players, Brandon Barnes (drums), Jimmy Britton (keyboards), Mighty Lil' Johnson (bass) and Jim Relja (guitar). Jimmy Adler sat in on three tracks and co-wrote two tunes, while Nath plays a tasty harp.
Beside the musical chops, Nath has been a teacher for 12 years. He has a B.S. in Secondary Education English from Duquesne, a Master's degree in English from IUP, and now teaches English, Public Speaking, and Journalism at Indiana Area Senior High School.
He uses his teaching background to further the cause. During the Pittsburgh Blues Festival, he ran a workshop between sets called "Turn Around and Testify."
Nath dissects the blues through the basic "call and response" format, used by many bluesmen ranging from Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters to Robert Cray and Stevie Ray Vaughn. He emphasizes the blues' call to "testify" to the joys and sorrows of life. Dunno that the old blues crowd overly intellectualized their genre, but hey...
You have to work to catch Nath in action; beside fests like the PBF and the Westmoreland Arts and Heritage Festival, his appearances are way too few in local clubs. He performs now generally as a solo artist, and if you see him booked, circle the date. It's a show you'll not want to miss.
Now where have you heard of the Sweaty Betty Blues Band? Well, heck, could be from anywhere locally.
If you follow the blues, Sweaty Betty has taken the stage at the Pittsburgh Blues Festival at Hartwood Acres, the Carnegie Blues Festival, the Indiana Music and Arts Festival and will play tomorrow at the First Annual Sharon Blues Festival.
They've entertained fans at PNC Park and Heinz Field. SBBB are regulars at Kelly's Riverside Inn in Bridgewater, Rochester's Hollywood Gardens and North Side's Park House along with many of the regional and City clubs. And hey, if you have a hall that needs some action, well, they've probably been there, too.
Marcy Brown - Sweaty Betty herself - was the ringleader of the popular annual "Bye Week Blues" festivals for the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank at Moondog's Pub in Blawnox, going on since 2006 to provide an outlet when the Steelers are off. It's October 10th this year.
They've also performed for the benefit of the Special Olympics in Allegheny and Lawrence Counties and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Research organizations.
The band formed after Marcy Brown met her future hubby Bill through Yahoo Personals. Hey, it is the internet age. Things went along swimmingly, they found out that they shared a musical background - Marcy was a vocalist with Jack Purcell, and Bill was a rock drummer - and nature took its course.
Neither wanted to become another classic rock band, so they opted for Bill's decades-old love, the blues. He was a fan of Stevie Ray Vaughan, but liked the old guard: Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Big Joe Turner.
Sweaty Betty put together a playlist from old-school bluesmen like Slim Harpo, Willie Dixon, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Big Joe, and company.
And they're not a blues-as-an-artform band; they do great slow tempo stuff, but are known for getting folk on the dance floor, a dying art in today's music scene.
Lindy Hop dancers regularly book Sweaty Betty for their events. They play jump blues tunes. And heck, shuffle dancers adore the band; Marcy Brown says they even go out of their way to avoid shuffles when adding new songs because they perform so many now.
And they can get a bit playful, too, with double-entendre tunes like "Dirty Old Woman" and "Little Beef on the Side." Guitarist Max Schang will even throw in a riff from a TV theme like "Green Acres," "Mr. Ed" or "The Flintstones" just to see if the crowd is paying attention.
The Sweaty Betty Band:
Marcy Brown, the lead vocalist, is a Maryland native who played lacrosse at the University of Maryland (she was a star high school player). Brown also was a DJ in Ocean City, Maryland, before taking to the stage.
She performed for 15 years with Pittsburgh's Jack Purcell Orchestra, a 12-piece Big Band, singing jazz standards. She has sung the National Anthem for the Pittsburgh Pirates five times, and performed with everything from wedding to rock bands in between.
"Too Tall" Bill Brown has performed as a drummer and vocalist for over 30 years in rock bands in the Butler and Kittanning areas, and is a veteran of the regional rock scene.
Lead guitar player and vocalist "Blue Max" Schang from Sharon has the group's most varied resume. He studied classical guitar and participated in seminars with guitarists Howard Roberts, Joe Pass, Herb Ellis and Pat Martino.
Schang went on to found the Jazz/Rock group Crown Vetch with George Grexa in 1974, and played with the the nationally recorded Mahoning Valley rock group Blue Ash in 1976. He performed as a member of the Erin Burkett Group in Pittsburgh, and was a blues band booking agent/promoter from 1990 - 2000.
He performed on two European tours with Eddie Shaw and the Wolf Gang, which featured members of Howlin' Wolf's old band. He has performed in five Chicago Blues Festivals, including three on the main stage with Eddie Shaw. In 2000, he released the CD "All These Years: Blue Max Schang."
"Blue Max" also sits in with the E.G. Kight band and the Billy Price Band. He regularly performs in his stomping grounds, the Mahoning Valley, and in the region, with his own band.
Schang replaced long-time guitarist George Kalazantis, who lost his day job and moved to Chicago after five years with Sweaty Betty.
The keyboard player, John DeCola, is from Slippery Rock. John is a seasoned musician who also performs with several local bands and singers like Christopher Jones.
Jim Spears, the bassist, is from Butler by way of LA. He's performed with a mix of national and local artists like Leslie Gore, B.E. Taylor, Little Anthony & The Imperials, The Platters, Sputzy & The Soul Providers, Tommy Roe, Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers, and 8th Street Rox.
He currently plays with the Vanilla Soul Revue, Soul Patrol, and his jazz group, Uptown Combo.
So hey, there are the players. And if you're ready for a little three-stepping to the jump blues, look up Sweaty Betty.
The Mystic Knights came together as pick-up band formed in 1984 at The Decade, a byegone Oakland venue once known as the area's "Home of the Blues." Dom DiSilvio, the owner, approached Warren King to form an "all-star" band to pump up the club's slow Monday nights.
The result was indeed a Pittsburgh all-star jam band, composed of King (Houserockers, Diamond Reo, The Silencers, Red Hot & Blue), vocalist/drummer Ron "Byrd" Foster (The Igniters, Roy Buchanan's Band, the Houserockers, the Silencers, Kingsnake Allstars), guitarist Bryan Bassett (Wild Cherry, Molly Hatchet, and Foghat) and keyboardist Gil Snyder.
Eventually, the lineup changed and the band became "Warren King and the Mystic Knights of the Sea." Formed in 1984, they've had some changes and more top flight members; guys like Chizmo Charles and Guitar Zack Wiesinger have played with the band.
And thanks to Rev. John Wilson, we know how they picked up the Mystic Knights of the Sea moniker: "The name comes from Warren's nickname 'Kingfish.' In the old Amos and Andy radio/TV shows, the Kingfish was the Grand Poobah or whatever of the lodge 'The Mystic Knights of the Sea'." (Tim Moore played conniver George Stevens, aka The Kingfish, who held the MKOTS title of "Great Supreme Kingfish." So Warren King's nickname and his band's name are explained in one fell swoop.)
Now the band is made up of Snyder, vocalist/guitarist Craig King, drummer Joe Cunningham and bassist Harry McCorkle.
King is a Pittsburgh native, and growing up in the Hill provided him an opportunity to hear and see the talented players gigging at the Crawford Grill. He listened to everything from Motown to Zappa. His influences on the ax were Jimi Hendrix, George Benson, BB King, Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
He's fronted or performed in several bands over the years, such as Andrea Pearl and Mo's Black Magic, played in local clubs and bars, and opened for national acts coming through Pittsburgh like The S.O.S. Band, Con Funk Shun, Molly Hatchett, Bernard Allison, Carl Weathersby, Jimmy Vaughan, Buddy Guy, George Clinton & Parliament, Funkadelic and Martha Reeves & the Vandella’s.
Beside the MKs, King fronts the band King’s Ransom.
Harry "Alley Cat" McCorkle, the vocalist/bassist, has played with Big Walter Horton (harp player for Muddy Waters), Louisiana Red and Sugar Blue (harp player for the Stones). He's recorded with Rocky Fuller (Chess Records) and sat in with the backup band for Detroit's Capitols of "Cool Jerk" fame.
McCorkle also gigs with Gary Belloma & the Blues Bombers, Alleycats, Jaminators, Wil E Tri & the Bluescasters, Chizmo Charles & the Rhythm Aces and Jimmy Adler, while a session player for the Mon Valley's Bonedog Records. Busy dude - and he had bypass surgery in 2007!
Max Woodhall fills in on bass when McCorkle is jammin' elsewhere. Woodhall is a 50 year-old freelancer, and sits in with Jimmy Adler, Dave Iglar, Chizmo Charles, James Daugherty, Norm Nardini, Wil E Tri & the Bluescasters, King's Ransom, Jimmy King, Jill West & the Blues Attack, Sherry Richards, Sweaty Betty, Angel Blue & The Prophets, and The Real Band Deals.
Joe Cunningham, the drummer, is from Youngstown, and has been playing in bands since age eighteen. He works with Bon Ton Roulet, Chizmo Charles, and James King & the Usual Suspects.
But the glue man and last of the founding fathers is keyboardist and songwriter Gil "The Duke" Snyder. He not only writes and plays, but schedules gigs, too.
Snyder started as one of the original Iron City Houserockers (he played in the Brick Alley Band). He played on the debut album, “Love” and his name appears as the writer of six songs on the Houserocker's second album. "Have a Good Time, But Get Out Alive."
He's worked both in the studio and on stage with Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Little Steven, Steve Cropper and Mick Ronson. Snyder is a member of the City's Music Hall of Fame, an honor bestowed on area artists achieving three consecutive "Best of Pittsburgh" wins (he has four). He joined Walt Harper, Joe Negri, Tommy James, Kenny Blake and Porky Chedwick in the Hall of Steel City All-Stars.
His first paying job was as an organist; he played the 11:00 mass at St. Regis in Trafford. But his love was the blues. Porky Chedwick introduced him to the music of Muddy Waters, Hound Dog Johnson, and Howlin’ Wolf on WAMO.
That eventually led to him hooking up with Joe Grushecky. When that gig went south - Snyder blames the ownership change at Cleveland International Records, their label, when Little Stevie sold to a Japanese conglomerate - he moved on to White Hot and Blue.
Jeff Ingersol of Bonedog Records approached him after the Houserockers broke up. He had already put together WHB and offered him the job with the brass-driven R&B act. Snyder later joined Bon Ton Roulette, and then in 1984 the Mystic Knights of the Sea formed.
Snyder is also a talented film dude, too. He has a degree in cinematography, and won an academy award nomination in 1976 for an animated short called "Ooze.” A year or two later, he produced another short called "Space Infection." Warren King and Snyder created the soundtrack, and named themselves the U2 band. Should have kept the name, hey?
He has an extensive library of old films, 16mm, 8mm, and super 8. Snyder says that he'd like to do a film night somewhere if someone would give him a shot.
But he does more than lead a band and dabble in cinema with his time; he also operates, since 2007, a "Blues Power" open mike night in Irwin for starting bands looking for a venue. He runs them out of the Irwin Eagles or Shafton Firehall every Thursday. Snyder gets a special guest host every week, usually a band member but sometimes a guy like Norm Nardini will show up.
Which leads us back to band. The Mystic Knights have compiled no fewer than 10 In Pittsburgh magazine awards, won City Paper honors and made numerous local TV appearances. The Knights have also appeared in a number of Iron City Beer commercials featuring their tune "Spread Yourself Around."
In keeping with that theme, the MKs have frequently gigged pre-game at Heinz Field, pumping up the Steeler fans, and have performed for the Pirate crowd at the Hall of Fame Club at PNC Park.
The Knights are a lot more than a beer and ballgame warmup. They've opened for acts like BB King, Johnny Winter, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Mayall, Koko Taylor, Robert Cray and John Hammond.
They give 200+ performances a year, from the clubs to festivals, and have at least a couple of CDs out, 1991's "Live Blues Breakout" and "Heart of Steel."
The Mystic Knights have been pumping out the blues and R&B for over 25 years; we wish another 25 on them.
The Laurels are the story of Dick Muse, a McKeesport doo-wopper who started out in 1956 with the Condors, whom he met through a connection he knew at US Steel's National Tube Works where he worked in the summers.
The Condors plied the Steel Valley, appearing at the American Legion, the Swing Club, and the White Elephant. In fact, his first moment on stage was at the Elephant, where he sang the Heartbeat's "Your Way" with the band. Muse was with them just briefly before he went on to West Liberty State College.
It didn't take him long to get back into the business. He hooked up with West Virginians Bobby Gaynor, lead (and a great raspy R&B voice); Fred Hulme, first tenor; Noel Schwertfeger, baritone; and multi-instrumentalist Nick Ticich, bass. Muse was the second tenor. They all had one thing in common; they were all Porky addicts.
They dubbed themselves the Laurels, and by 1957 were doing campus gigs, and expanded to local clubs and hops. Their first trip to the Pittsburgh region was a performance at the White Elephant in 1958.
During the show, DJ Tom Nee introduced the group to Harry Latanzio, the owner of Harry's Danceland in Latrobe. The Laurels were signed to open there for national acts like The Coasters and Freddy Cannon.
That led to bookings at the Veterans Club of McKeesport, where they got the audience pumped for the likes of Pookie Hudson and The Spaniels. Latanzio then hooked the guys up with Elmer Willett.
Willett owned the Vogue Terrace club (which become the namesake for one of his acts, the Vogues) and ran a local label, Willett Records, out of Carnegie. The Laurels taped "Every Minute of the Day" and "Lips of Fire" for Willett, but he never released them.
But Lennie Martin and Lou Guarino at World Records liked their sound, and issued "Working Man" b/w "Don't Go" in 1960. They credited it to the Pennants for still unexplained reasons. Oh well, at least they got a 45 out. And just in time. Act one of the Laurels was nearing its end.
Muse, an English major, received his B.A. in 1960. The Laurels disbanded after graduation to deal with the real world, and he went on to a teaching career. Muse was one smart guy, and in 1978 earned a M.A. degree in English from California State College.
But the lyrics of Shakespeare, classic as they were, couldn't quiet the doo wop siren cooing in Muse's head.
Ray Bishop was looking for material to release on his local label, and contacted Muse in 1982 to see if he had anything left from the old days. Muse called Gaynor, Hulme, Schwertfeger and Ticich. The original Laurels, more than two decades after their day in the sun, reunited in the studio to see if they could finally get out a song with their name on it.
Bishop released "I Wonder" b/w "Every Minute of the Day," the song Willett shelved, that year. They followed it with "A Little Romance" b/w "Summer's Gonna Be a Ball" on Bishop's other label, Alexis.
When his original mates returned to their homes - they had no intention of barnstorming again - Muse kept the group going with singers like Richie Merritt, who would go on to sing with The Clovers, and former Condors Julius Davis and Lonnie Brown.
The Laurels' discography grew with the single "Honey I Love You," b/w "So Much In Love" (a cappella), the EP "Barbara/Lonely/Summer/Hydrogen Bomb/Crying in the Chapel," and a final single, "When I'm With You" b/w "Truthfully." Those tracks were released on RAM (Richard Andrew Merritt) Records in 1985.
In 1988, Muse pulled the plug and became a member of The Memories, a showband that featured a revolving cast of local all-star musicians. He started his own oldies group, the DeVilles, in 1990.
Two years later, Muse, with Lonnie Brown, Jeff King, Jim Baker and Larry Davis, once again became the Laurels; later in the decade, Tony Santaguido of the El Monics and afterward, the Marcels, joined the cast. They hit the oldies circuit, crooning old standards like the Versatiles' "Lundee Dundee," Little Richard's "True Fine Mama," Shep and The Limelight's "Daddy's Home," The Five Satins' "In the Still of the Night, and Chuck Jackson's "Woke Up This Morning."
And for a group that waited two decades to make it to vinyl, these Laurels churned out CD's like gushing BP oil, turning out four releases between 1993-98. But the nineties were to be the Laurel's curtain call (we think!)
Muse joined The Skyliners in 1999 after the untimely death of David Proch, taking over second tenor for Jimmy Beaumont-led group.
So far, that gig has stuck with Dick Muse. But if his muse ever gets the urge to conjure up the Laurels once again...
Discography:
The Pennants:
1961 - "Don't Go" b/w "Workin' Man" - World 102
1961 - "Darling How Long" - unreleased
The Laurels:
"Every Minute of the Day" b/w "Lips of Fire" - unreleased 1958/59
"I Wonder" b/w "Every Minute of the Day" - Bishop Records 1982
"A Little Romance" b/w "Summer's Gonna Be a Ball" - Alexis Records 1982
"Honey I Love You," b/w "So Much In Love" - RAM 1985
"When I'm With You b/w Truthfully" - RAM 1985
"Don't Go" b/w "Darling How Long" - World 102 blue wax reissue by Crystal Ball Records 1989
Laurel albums/CDs:
"They All Sang in Pittsburgh" (compilation albums)
"Barbara/Lonely/Summer/Hydrogen Bomb/Crying in the Chapel" - RAM 1985
"The Test of Time" - 1993
"Our Town Has A Voice" - 1995
"R&B Odyssey" - 1997
"Keeping Tradition" - 1998 (a cappella)
"The Laurels" - 2005 (shortened reissue of "Keeping Tradition")
Old Mon would like to thank Dave Sallinger, Entertainment Editor of the McKeesport Daily News, for his article on the Laurels which was leaned on heavily in this post.
