The Back Alley Boys were ahead of the country music curve. So they took a few years off while it caught up to them.
This weekend, the Auburn-based band will play its first shows together since November 2004. Their original lineup of guitarist and vocalist Jason Teska, drummer Ron Thompson, bassist Mike Capucilli, guitarist Terry Quill, keyboardist Rich DelFavero and slide guitarist Eric Brown decided to schedule the shows while they're all home for the holidays.
“It's always good to see the people you grew up with,” said Ron Thompson. “It takes you back to the old days.”
From 1991 until their amicable disbanding, the Boys toured the Northeast in support of such stars as Toby Keith and Kenny Chesney. The group also recorded a full-length album and two EPs, one of which won the Boys a 2004 SAMMY award. They shopped their material to major labels, but the Boys were met with hesitation.
“That modern country with a Southern rock flair that you hear a lot today, we were doing that in the mid-'90s,” Thompson said. “Nashville was afraid of us, we were too alternative.”
The Boys went their separate ways due to burnout and outside commitments. A few members have since moved away from the central New York area, but Thompson believes modern technology could permit them to record new material despite the distance.
“There are eight to 10 originals we never recorded, and it would be fun to get them out there,” he said.
Regardless of any future recordings the band might make, Thompson looks forward to the atmosphere of their first live performances in a few years. Above all other moments in his musical career, he cherishes the Boys' Sept. 14, 2001, performance opening for Dwight Yoakum, when they played “Pink Houses” by John Mellencamp to a sea of clapping hands.
“The ultimate reason we play music is to bring that piece of happiness, that escape from whatever's coming down on your shoulders,” he said. “It's the neatest job in the world.”
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
If you go
What: The Back Alley Boys
When: 9:30 p.m. Friday
Where: T.C.'s Place, 11238 South St., Cato
Cost: Free
For details: Call 626-3653
“It's always good to see the people you grew up with,” said Ron Thompson. “It takes you back to the old days.”
From 1991 until their amicable disbanding, the Boys toured the Northeast in support of such stars as Toby Keith and Kenny Chesney. The group also recorded a full-length album and two EPs, one of which won the Boys a 2004 SAMMY award. They shopped their material to major labels, but the Boys were met with hesitation.
“That modern country with a Southern rock flair that you hear a lot today, we were doing that in the mid-'90s,” Thompson said. “Nashville was afraid of us, we were too alternative.”
The Boys went their separate ways due to burnout and outside commitments. A few members have since moved away from the central New York area, but Thompson believes modern technology could permit them to record new material despite the distance.
“There are eight to 10 originals we never recorded, and it would be fun to get them out there,” he said.
Regardless of any future recordings the band might make, Thompson looks forward to the atmosphere of their first live performances in a few years. Above all other moments in his musical career, he cherishes the Boys' Sept. 14, 2001, performance opening for Dwight Yoakum, when they played “Pink Houses” by John Mellencamp to a sea of clapping hands.
“The ultimate reason we play music is to bring that piece of happiness, that escape from whatever's coming down on your shoulders,” he said. “It's the neatest job in the world.”
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
If you go
What: The Back Alley Boys
When: 9:30 p.m. Friday
Where: T.C.'s Place, 11238 South St., Cato
Cost: Free
For details: Call 626-3653
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