A Night at the Opera (House)

A great write-up about a recent show by ETA fan and SIDEBURNS Magazine follower, Agnes Hay:

The Historic Smith Opera House

On Sunday, Sept 22nd, I had the good fortune of attending an ETA show at The Smith Opera House in Geneva, NY.

The show included performances from three ETAs: Matthew Boyce, Patrick Johnson and Cody Ray Slaughter. Cody was the winner of the 2011 ultimate ETA competition in Memphis.

Before the show began, I spotted Eva Brand in one of the aisles with camera in hand. I decided to approach her and introduce myself. She was most congenial and told me her daughter would be accompanying the other two ladies singing backup with the band.

Photo Credit: Agnes Hay.

Matthew Boyce was first to perform Elvis’ 50’s era concert years, followed by Cody singing the ‘68 Comeback special songs. Patrick Johnson then came on stage to sing a set of Elvis’s Vegas songs. Lastly, Cody returned to the stage to sing a few of Elvis’s Aloha from Hawaii songs.

It was an awesome event in a historical landmark dating back to 1894. The Smith Opera House will be celebrating their 125th birthday with tours of the theater beginning Oct 29th and lasting throughout the year. A. H.

To see ETA Patrick Johnson’s television interview: https://foxrochester.com/news/good-day-rochester/elvis-tribute-artist-set-for-local-performance

Editor’s Note: I was curious about the purple scarf that Agnes is sporting in the photo of her with Cody Ray Slaughter. Here is what Agnes had to say about the purple scarf:

“It was from Cody. It was the last one he handed out. I wanted him to sign it; but after the show when he was out in the lobby, there were so many guests around him I didn’t think I would get the opportunity to get his signature so I asked Matthew to sign it. He did, but then I decided to wait to get Cody’s signature. There are both signatures on the scarf. LOL”

What a splendid story, Agnes! Thank you for sharing with SIDEBURNS Magazine followers. C.M.

The Rev-Tones

Music in a Higher Gear from Peterborough’s Rev-Tones

High-energy Local Rock Band Performs at Market Hall Nov. 8

 by ED ARNOLD Special to The Examiner

The Rev-Tones, an eight-piece band of local musicians, performs Nov. 8 at Market Hall. - SPECIAL TO THE EXAMINER

It was last November at Showplace when the local band The Rev-Tones opened for Andrew Martin and the 70s Revolution. Maybe it was the professionalism the locals showed or the music from the 1950s and 1960s, but the band stole the show and audience members wouldn't have been hurt had they played all night.

Press Conference for The Decades Show in Peterborough is a wrap. #AndrewMartinMusic — with John Rowlands and George Sicker.

Well, that's what the eight-piece band of local residents is going to do on Nov. 8 at Market Hall in their solo performance and first at this venue. Tickets are $33 including fees, and are available at the Market Hall box office and at markethall.org.

The band, which began in 2014 when leader George Sicker was looking for musicians and local rocker Rico Fama suggested some names, will spend the night rocking out the tunes of Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, Chuck Berry, Conway Twitty and so many others of their favourites from the 1950s and early 1960s.

The band consists of George who does lead vocals and guitar; keyboardist Dan McCarthy, bass guitarist Doc McCallum, drummer J.R. Robertson, saxophonist Cam Brien, backup singers Cliff Walsh, Jeff Craft and 17-year-old Noah Abrahamse.

COMING SOON TO A SOFT SEAT THEATER NEAR YOU.........THE REV-TONES. ROCK AND ROLL THE WAY IT WAS WRITTEN TO BE PLAYED! Copyright John Robert Rowlands 2017 — with George Sicker.

If you haven't seen or heard them you're missing some quality talent. Most of the members have been performing in rock bands for decades so they have polished their talents playing in the bars, dance halls, Legions and festivals.

George was the leader of a Travis Tritt tribute band that toured full time, and Danny was in the Continentals, Fugitives and various bands in Toronto while Doc and J.R. followed similar routes. They are the four original members of The Rev-Tones, named by Fama who thought of the combination reverb and tone while George thought it was because "we revved it up, so I really liked the name."

They don't do too many gigs, as most of them work full-time and they like quality over quantity.

Their latest gig was at the successful '50s and '60s festival in Prince Edward County before more than 5,000 people in the outdoor environment.

After ETA Thane Dunn’s show. Photo Credit: C. MacArthur.

It might seem strange for George at the age of 50 enjoying the sounds of those decades but he says he has been hooked since he was about eight years old.

His parents, who had a country band in Bancroft, instilled the love of music but it was on the family's car radio one Christmas when they were in Peterborough that Elvis Presley's Blue Christmas came on.

"I said to my Dad 'who is that?' He was surprised I had never heard of Elvis but from then on I loved him. We were at my grandmother's house for that Christmas and I asked if she knew that song, she just laughed because she had the album. She gave it to me and I still have it today."

He is an Elvis fan with a huge collection of memorabilia of the man who helped bring rock and roll music to the world back in the 1950s.

November 5, 2016 ·With Steve (Michaels) Kabakos. Photo Credit: George Sicker.

But George has been in bands playing the hard rock of AC/DC and Guns 'n' Roses while also playing guitar for Rattlesnake. "To me the music of the 1950s and '60s is the hit, this is the music that people of all ages enjoy even today," he says. "The music is so great and we try to play it as it was played in those days."

One of the best-known rockers from the era, Geoff Hewitson, will be the master of ceremonies and if The Rev-Tones could talk him into performing just one of the songs he did when he was with the Fugitives or the Continentals fans would be in for a treat.

George has seen Geoff performs and knows how good he is but also knows Geoff doesn't perform very often and they are lucky to have him as the MC.

The tickets are on sale at Market Hall for $33 regular seating or $38 for cabaret seating on the floor, which George hopes will also leave some room for dancing.

"After the concert at Showplace we had plenty of people saying we should put on our own, so we are doing it," he says.

Thank you Elaine Wren Huras for this wonderful pic from last Friday night! — with Sharon Bowers Walsh, Karyn Jones-Sicker, Sharon Roebuck, Steve Michaels as ELVIS, Steve Kabakos (Michaels), Jo-ann Daponte and John Rowlands.

It's a risk, but one the band is willing to take to play the music they love in a nice venue before a Peterborough crowd. Last November's memories still linger and as much as they would like to think it is their talents that people will come to hear, they know it is the quality of the rock and roll music from those days that will give the audience an enjoyable night.

Learn more at http://therevtones.ca/

The article about the Rev-Tones is credited to Ed Arnold, for the Peterborough Examiner. Additional photos have been added to the body of the original article, and credits appear with each photo. Thank you, George, for sending this great article.

Les Chat Sauvages

Les Chats Sauvages (The Wild Cats), a 1960s French rock and roll band, was originally composed of Dick Rivers (Hervé Forneri) on vocals, John Rob (Jean-Claude Roboly) on guitar, James Fawler (Gérard Roboly) on guitar, Jack Regard (Gérard Jaquemus) on bass, and Willy Lewis (Wiliam Taïeb) on drums. The later was successively replaced by Armand Molinetti, Dean Shelton and Andre Ceccarelli.

In February 1961, the British music magazine, NME, reported that the band’s concert at the Palais des Sports de Paris, while headlining with UK rock singer, Vince Taylor, had turned into a full-scale riot.  

The departure of Rivers in the summer of 1962, who was replaced by Mike Shannon, affected the band's popularity, which nevertheless continued its career. They charted with the song "Derniers Baisers", which was covered with success by C. Jerome in 1986, and Laurent Voulzy in 2006.

In 1963, John Rob visited New York with the group's American manager, Andre M. Lauffer, a New York attorney, for the purpose of "making the rounds" of the popular television shows. They met with The Ed Sullivan Show producers and were promised consideration for a future appearance. The laws for overseas entertainers were restrictive and the group could not meet the requirements at that time.

Les Chats Sauvages broke up in 1964.  In 1982, they released an album with Dick Rivers, to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of their formation.

En 1982 les frères Roboly, Willy Lewis, Henri Séré ( en remplacement du regretté Gérard Jacquemus ) et Dick Rivers investissent le château d'Hérouville pour l'enregistrement de ce bel album. Ici l'adaptation de " Should i do it " des Pointer Sisters. L'expérience n'aura pas de suite.

Editor’s Note: While I don’t know enough French to understand the lyrics, I do know that the music of Les Chat Savauges sounds a lot like groups I listened to in the early 1960s. As the teens used to say on American Bandstand, “It has a good beat, and I can dance to it.”

While they do not sound much like Elvis Presley, as with many singers and groups of the era, you can see the influences of Elvis and American rock and roll in their music and style. C.M.

Information from Wikipedia, with edits by Carolyn MacArthur, SIDEBURNS Magazine Photo of Laurent is credited to meoldy.tv.