The Professor continued
Smith wrapped up the night with a funky “Play That Funky Music” medley that infused portions of the Temptations’ “Shakey Ground,” Parliament’s “Give Up the Funk,” Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” and Prince’s “When Doves Cry.” Watch for more chameleonic behavior from Agent Smith in the months ahead, including a possible Soundgarden tribute “Agent Cornell” angle. D.D. & the Pub Crawlers provided the musical soundtrack during my transition from 2017 into 2018 as they rang in the New Year at Altoona’s Unter Uns Music & Entertainment Society. The Pub Crawlers – nine members strong with four-piece horn section and Kevin Siegel filling in on drums – brought the party as they mixed it up between soul, ska, rock’n’roll, swing, pop and other favorites. Singer Dana “D.D.” Martino’s voice was in great form, backed by Art Martino on bass and backing vocals, guitarist Jim Howsare, keyboardist Tim Boland and Kevin on drums. The horn section – Anthony Martino and Lyndsay Reilly on saxophones, Adam Lingenfelter on trumpet and Nick Martino on trombone – brought their vibrant brass assault out onto the dance floor early and often, mixing it up with dancers and serenading the dance floor crowd. The group’s song selection tapped everything from Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie” to Sam & Dave’s “Hold On, I’m Comin’” and “Soul Man,” Labelle’s “Lady Marmalade,” the Mighty Mighty Bosstones’ “Impression That I Get,” Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4,” Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love,” Louis Prima’s “Jump Jive and Wail,” Wham’s “Careless Whisper,” Aha’s “Take On Me,” Cherry Poppin’ Daddies’ “Zoot Suit Riot,” Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s “You and Me and The Bottle Makes Three Tonight” and more. Coupled with the traditional champagne toasts plus hot dogs and sauerkraut at midnight, D.D. & the Pub Crawlers helped the Unter Uns crowd start the New Year on a happy note – and the group is already scheduled to bring in 2019 at the Unter Uns as well. The first new band I witnessed in the New Year was area country performers Railtowne during their first visit to the stage of the Four Dees Lounge last month. Five familiar area music scene names converge on this new project: Ty Ayers on lead vocals and guitar, Kenny Murdick on lead guitar, Paul Rainey on bass, Eric Wertz on drums and Nathan Beatty on keys. Playing their second show overall, Railtowne kept the dance floor busy all night with their blend of modern and classic country, including favorites from Jason Aldean, Joe Nichols, Sawyer Brown, Lee Brice, Big & Rich, Cole Swindell, Eric Church, Dwight Yoakam, Johnny Cash and more. Ty demonstrated a sturdy voice up front and also introduced an original tune toward night’s end, while Kenny – in his first country project – showed some dazzling guitar work of a different flavor. An additional highlight was guest Matt Pletcher stepping up to sing on a few songs, including Hank Williams, Jr.’s “Family Tradition.” A good-sized crowd greeted Railtowne on their Four Dees debut; watch for more of this group on area stages in the weeks and months ahead. Already established on State College stages, The Tommy Roberts made their first Altoona foray last month, playing at McGarvey’s for the first time. I arrived in time to catch the last song from show openers The Blacksnakes, who sounded strong on their brand of charged electric blues. The Tommy Roberts has expanded in number since the last time I saw them in 2016; joining the original acoustic inception of singer/guitarist Brian Cleary and guitarist, singer and harmonica man Nate Cutshall are bassist Chuck Haegele, drummer John Macko, fiddle player Aly Martin and Brian’s sister, Mary Ann, on backing vocals and tambourine. This fleshed-out version of The Tommy Roberts mixed up alt-country, folk-rock, blues and rock on a variety of original tunes and select covers. This group was musically strong and showed different angles on each tune, with Nate showing some fiery harmonica wailing and Brian delivering some hearty guitar solos along the way. The new original tunes sounded good, as well as their one of their established favorites, “Fishin’ for Pearls.” They also demonstrated fresh arrangements on “Hard to Handle,” a hip-hop-edged take on Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Chile,” and a funk-blues encore rendition of the Beatles’ “Blackbird.” The Tommy Roberts will go on hiatus for a little while, as Brian takes over guitar duties in the band Pure Cane Sugar and Nate will be working with other projects. While the Penn State student populace was out of town for the holiday break in late December, I finally caught up with Ted McCloskey & the Hi-Fi’s as they performed one of their weekly Friday shows at the Phyrst in State College. I Continued on page 23....
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Pennsylvania Musician Magazine
February, 2018