Showing posts with label Carl Bonafede. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carl Bonafede. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 4, 2021

Jerry Elarde — Chicago Musician Releases New Music 55 Years After Last Release

In 1963 in Chicago, a band was formed. Yes, yet another group of teenage boys assembled in hopes of creating a sound that would remind teenage girls of the hits of the day across Chicago radio. They'd recognize and appreciate those songs these bands recreated when performed at weekend sock hops and teen dances held at some of the busiest venues in town, such as Dan Belloc's Holiday Ballroom, the Aragon Ballroom, the Embassy Ballroom, or Dex Card's Wild Goose to name a few. At the time virtually every teenage guy who’d heard The Beatles on the radio had joined or formed a band. Most of the bands were headquartered in someone’s garage, or more likely their basements, safely nestled away in their obscurity. Others, but only a select few, made it out of the basement and into paying gigs where they began to draw a reputation and a following.

This time in Morton Grove, one group that was founded named themselves "The Kingsmen." This band was the inspiration of Gerald (Jerry) Elarde, drummer and a vocalist who was a student at Niles West High School. Jerry invited his cousin, Carl Giammarese, to join a band he was putting together.

Carl readily accepted, as he'd been playing guitar since age 15. Elarde invited two of his Niles West schoolmates to join in: Nick Fortuna and Curtis Bachman, both of whom lived in Morton Grove. Carl, Nick and Curtis were (wait for it) guitarists, and Curtis was willing to play the bass. These personnel would come into and out of each other's lives several times in the ensuing decade; this was just the first of many musical groupings.

Curtis was fascinated by multiple instruments, including the drums. As a younger musician he recalled going over to Morton Grove neighbor Tom Radtke's house and watching him practice on his drum kit, since Curtis didn't own drums. Eventually Radtke (who grew up to be a first-call drummer in Chicago as an older teen and adult) needed a new kit for a new gig he'd signed up for, so Curtis bought Radtke's old Pearl white finish kit for $100 and then refinished them to a sky blue. Before Jerry had his first set of drums, he would then go over and play on Curtis's drum kit. Eventually, Jerry got his own drum kit. Interestingly, all three drummers would become music professionals for their primary careers.

Elarde’s home was one of the early rehearsal sites, but they also shared rehearsal time at Bachman's home, as their parents could only handle “practice” for just so long before the cover songs of early British invasion music and numerous other song styles made their way upstairs into the family home. Giammarese said, "In our earliest days, we had Jerry playing the drums and singing and then Nick, Curtis and I were all on guitars, our little Silvertone models, and we played through one amplifier! It sounded awful!" But such are the commonalities of the early beginnings of bands. From awful to well-known to beloved to superstars--there are many levels you can achieve, with practice.

The Centuries (as the quickly renamed band became better known to the public) got fairly well known in neighborhoods, especially in Morton Grove, where just Jerry's relatives alone in attendance could create the perfect large crowd! They got better and their band came to the attention of longtime icon of Chicago’s radio stations, pitchman Carl Bonafede. Also known as the Screamin’ Wildman, Bonafede had name recognition across 50,000 Watts of wherever radio stations broadcast. He worked every weekend record hop at Dan Belloc’s Holiday Ballroom and was constantly listening to every group in town in search of new talent to record and bands to book. Stars were waiting to be born!

Bonafede was also notorious for his rapid-fire speech pattern that allowed him to cram three minutes’ of information into 60 seconds of radio advertising. Bonafede had business cards printed up noting he was the band’s manager, with his phone number for booking and the promise they were up and coming stars of rock and roll.

They did a little traveling outside the neighborhoods, but realistically they were just another teenage band in Chicago. One day in 1964, Bonafede was in his station wagon, his band in tow, and they were speeding to a gig, with still a long way to go. A policeman spotted the “speedwagon” and pulled them over. The usual questions ensued.

“Officer, you’ve got to let us go. We’re late for a concert and my boys here have to get there in time. Teenagers are piled up over there waiting to hear them play,” said Bonafeded. The officer replied warily, “Who are they?” Bonafede said, “They’re the Kingsmen!” and the officer brightened up a bit and said, “The Kingsmen? “Louie Louis? That Kingsmen?”

Bonafede, ever one to take a mile if you give him an inch, said, “Absolutely! Yeah, these are’The Kingsmen’! Boys, sing him a little of your hit song!” To which, the “other” Kingsmen started singing “Louie, Louie, whoa whoa, we gotta go now, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!” The officer let Bonafede go without a ticket, and off they went, laughing and singing “Louie, Louie” the rest of the way to the gig.

Not long after that, Bonafede realized that he was lucky that the policeman didn’t know the real Kingsmen were from Portland, Oregon, and was grateful his group had changed their name to “The Centuries.” But when Carl Bonafede has his promo mind in full gear, you have to have a demand-driven adjective describing your band. He billed them, in all his advertising glory, as “The Fabulous Centuries!”

Bonafede got the guys into the Spectra Sound recording studio owned by Dan Belloc, to record two songs, both of which were written by Geoff (Jeff) Boyan. At the time Boyan was a popular songwriter who performed as part of the duo, Ron and Geoff as well as in other groups in Chicago. Boyan had a good handle on songs the crowds like to dance to at the ballrooms.

Years ago, Carl Giammarese told “Forgotten Hits” that the two songs “Yeh; It’s Alright” and “I Love You No More” were recorded in late 1964 at Lawrence and Western…I think it was the old St. Louis Insurance Building.”

Chicago music researcher Joseph Pytel, who maintains Carl Bonafede’s archives online, posted both songs on YouTube. Curtis Bachman has the lead on “I Love You No More”:

Hear Jerry Elarde sing lead on “Yeh; It’s Alright”, and to hear a young Carl Giammarese play a fiery guitar solo or two, check out these “Spectra-Sound Recording Stars”:

Because Carl Giammarese has been a lead vocalist since 1982, it’s easy to forget what an amazing guitarist he was at age 17. Fortunately, in this video you get to see some rare footage of the teenagers, including Jerry Elarde, the drumming vocalist, Carl, Nick, and Curt. Giammarese said, “I’ve always admired Jerry’s great singing voice, but it blows me away he could sing and never miss a beat on the drums at the same time.”

Life can change in the blink of an eye. Eventually Curt Bachman left The Centuries to join Jean Terry and the Tri-Dells for a few months. It was not at all uncommon for band members to come and go in various bands while people searched for sympatico sounds and personalities and found their groove together. But Curt was the only one playing the bass at the time, and it left the band without a key element.

At this point, Jon-Jon Poulos and Dennis Tufano would try to convince Carl to join the group then called The Pulsations, and that was one of the toughest choice Carl would ever have to make. It was anything but easy for him, but Jerry was gracious and understood and put love of family over personal feelings.

Later, The Pulsations needed a bass player so Carl, with the approval of Jon-Jon and Dennis Tufano, invited Curtis to join them, and he accepted. The new configuration sounded great and George LeGros sang primary lead vocals with Dennis Tufano on harmony. Curtis played with them for a while, especially through the first 3 weeks of their 13 weeks on the "All Time Hits" TV show.

Two more personnel changes would happen before the end of their TV residency: Curtis had a real affinity for a heavier sound and ultimately left them, and the continued TV audience recognition, to join another band, Truth, which had a slightly harder sound. So, with that vacancy at bass, ultimately, at Carl’s suggestion, The Pulsations invited Nick Fortuna to play bass (which Nick learned fast as he’d been playing rhythm guitar far longer) for the newly rechristened Buckinghams as they were now known. Nick had his first experience with the bass as he auditioned for and got the gig working for Chicago's well known act, Baby Huey (and the Babysitters). John Poulos was already the drummer and primary founder of The Pulsations.

Their manager was (wait for it) Carl Bonafede. And of course Bonafede billed them in promo pictures and posters as "The Fabulous Buckinghams -- Royalty in Rock and Roll."

Undaunted, Jerry formed several of his own combos and became a very well-known musician in upscale Chicago restaurants and venues. Everyone in Chicago enjoyed his music throughout his career. Coincidently, many years later, Jerry and Curtis would play together again at one of the lovely restaurants in Miami (FL)'s famed hotel, The Fontainebleau. Some things just come full circle.

Flash forward to many decades later. Recently, Carl invited Jerry over to his Twenty-four Seven recording studio and suggested they record some songs again, since Jerry still had such a great voice and Carl was experimenting with his new recording setup. Turns out that was a great idea. Carl really enjoyed producing the tracks and even sang harmony in sections.

Because Carl's fans have been enjoying new music that he's been writing and releasing throughout the COVID-19 quarantine at home, he decided longtime fans from back in the days of The Centuries forward would enjoy hearing these songs featuring Jerry. Naturally, these days the easiest delivery system is digital streaming.

Carl said, "It's my pleasure to share two songs featuring Jerry Elarde, and they’re live across all streaming media now." Timing on this is fortunate, as Jerry is now making great progress from a recent slight health challenge. Both guys have discussed the possibility of recording more songs together later this year.

Check out Jerry's tunes on Spotify: “I’ll Still Be Loving You” here and “Unchained Melody” here. If you enjoy the songs, give them a “heart” and “Follow” Gerald Elarde as an artist to get notified when new songs are uploaded.

Friday, September 9, 2011

The MOB—From Chicago, IL to Sioux Falls, SD in 30 years or less: Andantino di canzona

Fourth in a series of “How The MOB (one of Chicago’s first horn bands) landed in the South Dakota Rock & Roll Hall of Fame” in April 2011.

Andantino in moda di canzona

“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain,” or so goes the spoken demand in “The Wizard of Oz”. Remember that? To be sure, Chicagoland is no ‘land of Oz,’ but the music scene is a seemingly close community. Many will stand at various gates, but they’re ready to welcome you inside, not keep you out. But where exactly is Command Central located?

One person who knows the answer is music researcher/historian Joseph Pytel. Pytel, or “Joe” to his friends, is today known in Chicagoland music circles.

He casts an even wider net, thanks to social media, for his ability to uncover and discover facts, figures, trivia and tidbits on Chicagoland musicians. His work is so substantial and his ‘finds’ so great, many are in awe of his research skills. People never know where, how, or when he has time to find these things. How does he do it?

Credit can be shared with the one and only, Carl Bonafede. Yes, The Screaming Wildman of 60s radio and ballroom dance fame. THE Carl Bonafede, one and the same.

Bonafede is ever the impresario, enterprenuer and a man who hasn’t seemed to age a day in 45 years. He is now revealed as one who definitely deserves some of the credit for bringing honor, long-overdue and most well-deserved, to The MOB.

After spotting on Facebook that Ana Lord and Alan Schrank had been in communication with Joe Accardi, Joe Pytel consulted with his friend and musical history mentor, Bonafede. Pytel had joined in the search for MOB members and knew that Bonafede had known Jim Holvay, since having approached him for songs for some groups he was managing in 1965.

Pytel was serving in the Navy in the 1960s and 1970s, when The MOB was “back on the road again” touring the United States and Canada, so he never saw them perform live. He was familiar with their music because Pytel and Bonafede had discussed every nuance of Bonafede’s career several years ago as Bonafede was preparing his autobiography.

Because Bonafede was in on the Chicago rock music scene from the very start, he’d known Jim Holvay was touring in one of the two Dick Clark Caravan of Stars bands that Jimmy Ford was responsible for putting together. Holvay had about 10 songs already recorded by other artists, so in the early days of The MOB, Holvay and his associates were already on the road. Bonafede traveled to meet up with Holvay and asked him if he had any songs he had for his new band. Holvay said he did.

Bonafede met up with Holvay one day while The MOB was on the road. Bonafede had brought a reel-to-reel tape recorder with him. And, with a guitar that Holvay had bought for $10 in Tijuana, he sang and played a song for Bonafede to consider. Songwriting partner and fellow MOB member Gary Beisbier supplied the voicings on the ‘answer’ part to that song. It did well for Bonafede’s group.

Bonafede joined forces with Holiday Ballroom owner and bandleader Dan Belloc, who’d already written a major hit, “Pretend,” made famous by Nat King Cole. The duo co-produced the record with engineer Ron Malo adding his own signature touches. The single wound up being played at a faster tempo than Holvay had written, but as it turned out, the public liked it. It became Bonafede’s (and Belloc’s) first and only number one hit: “Kind of a Drag.” More on Holvay/Beisbier compositions can be found on Carl Giammarese’s web site.

Bonafede’s “finds” and promotional/management skills also included young, up and coming DJs who played the dances where Bonafede would book them, places like the Holiday Ballroom.

Then as an agent with Willard Alexander and the CASK Agency, Bonafede booked performers including Mickey, Larry and the Exciters (featuring Mickey Esposito and Larry Alltop), and Ral Donner. He also produced music, over 255 records, for artists and groups including: the Rail City 5, Lincoln Park Zoo, Thee Prophets, The Delights, and more.

When Joe Pytel approached Carl Bonafede to ask him what he knew about The MOB and tell him how there were some people looking for members, but to no avail, Bonafede had an idea. He filled Joe in on how the band came to be formed, and turns out Bonafede had pictures (from the old days as a booking agent), and instructed Joe to “put the whole kitchen sink up on the wall, and see what comes back."

Bonafede may not have known how to use the Internet or personal computers, he had Joe (and later other talented social media friends) to help with that. What Bonafede had was an undertanding of how to get the word out and the power of promotion of a good cause, at which he was most accomplished as a behind-the-scenes kingmaker. At Bonafede’s suggestion, Pytel started creating YouTube videos of The MOB, to get more people talking on the Net.

Pytel purchased The MOB’s music from eBay, and in beloved vintage record stores, including Chicago favorite, Beverly Records. Joe initially used photos that Bonafede had given him of The MOB in the early days. Later, Joe connected with Alan Schrank, and even more video creations ensued.

Fortuitiously, it was not long afterwards that people started talking more about The MOB. That ultimately led to Ana Lord getting an e-mail from someone who suggested where she could find Al Herrera. No, there’s not an exact dotted line between the two events, but the buzz, the furor, the air of excitement about The MOB, and “finding those guys again” was ably assisted by the resources and wisdom of Carl Bonafede and his mentoree, Joe Pytel.

“How do you find all this stuff?” is a question that has been posed to Joe about 20 times in the last few weeks. Pytel’s researching skills are versatile. A devoted Chicago Blackhawks fan, Pytel can just as easily talk hockey stats as the classic rock music that he embraces. If he likes it, he learns everything he can about it.

Pytel honed some of his graphic skills working at his job for a printing specialty firm, plus his sons taught him a few tricks they knew. He’s a natural at figuring things out. His wife, Thaiz, is always an enthusiastic supporter of whatever it is Joe is researching at the time, so it’s a family affair, this passion for Chicago music.

His e-mail sign-offs can vary from “Chicago Joe” to Joseph, to JayJay331, his YouTube user handle found on more than 100 uploaded ‘finds’ of music where he’s created video montages set to favorite songs from the 60s forward.

For examples of Joe’s work in behalf of making the music of The Mob (and a substantial number of compositions penned by James Holvay and Gary Beisbier) rise to the forefront, visit this link, which is his personal YouTube channel.There you are going to find a lot of gems.

Everything that goes around comes around, and there are times when everything old is new again. To seven men, founding members of The MOB plus two more recent MOBsters, the renewed enthusiasm and excitement for their music can be traced back to several researchers, including Ana M. Lord, Joe Accardi, Mike Baker, Alan Schrank, and a few more who remain for someone to discover. But, add to that group the names Bonafede and Pytel. They’re two more of the heroes of Chicagoland Rock and Roll, on the road to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Joseph also has a great sense of humor:

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

The MOB--From Chicago to Sioux Falls, SD in 35 years or less: Prelude

The following is the first in a series of “How The MOB (Chicago’s first horn band) landed in the South Dakota Rock & Roll Hall of Fame” in April 2011, and how one woman’s spark of ingenuity brought four strangers together in a single goal. Their mission? To give the gift of remembrance to 7 men who likely thought they’d long been forgotten, overlooked, disregarded and worse yet, cemented into obscurity.

Lord, Bonafede, Pytel, and Shrank—Ever heard of them? Probably not. No, they’re not a Michigan Avenue law firm, but they’re a powerhouse group nonetheless. They are behind-the-scenes movers and shakers who made their acquaintances two years ago, via Facebook, not in person, and managed to make some pretty exciting things happen for musicians who had not been together, much less seen each other, in 35 long years.

No, there was no acrimony that had broken up one of Chicago’s first-ever horn bands better known as “The MOB”. It was just that the music business had moved along without them, despite multiple attempts to harness the attention and support of national labels. As a fall-out to lack of results measured in vinyl sales, the young men, some newly married, had to face their futures square on. They could either remain traveling troubadours living in the world of “the band”, while playing at having a real life, or they could get off the road, find ‘real’ day jobs, and delight their families by settling down, once and for all, and getting perfectly serious about their futures.

‘Real’ life wasn’t such a bad alternative, but a choice was necessary—one or the other. You really can’t keep one foot in one world, and one in the other. When you’re on the road 250-300 nights a year, your home life can easily implode, as some members of the band known as The MOB would come to realize. The final trumpet sound was heard on New Year’s Eve, 1980, at the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles. And with that sound, ended an era for a beloved band of Chicago natives, formed in 1966.

The group that had been the amalgam of three professional band entities had sought fame and fortune and toured as faithful road warriors for 14 years, many sacrificing personal lives to do so, and amassed a large fan base who, seemingly, forgot all about them after the music ended. Or so they thought.

Not the case. Memories of The MOB, their music, their songs, their countless 45s demos and singles, some LP albums, continuous club-booking and attendance records, in fact did not die, not completely. It’s possibly still unknown, by even some of the band members, how the 35-year musical drought ended and how their ‘old’ life came back to life one more time and culminated in one unforgettable night in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Those responsible ‘movers and the shakers’ are not names known throughout the music business, not really. But it’s often those outside the key lights who make big things happen. Their secret? Passion. Because they are passionate about their subject, these ‘kingmakers’ invested hours of hard work, for days, weeks, months, and even years, overlooking obstacles and frustration, to reach their goal. It’s a story worth sharing.

How ‘this’ version of The MOB came to find itself in Sioux Falls, South Dakota the third week in April, 2011 is also a poignant tale. Four separate independent variables intersected to revive the enthusiasm and the memories, for a groundbreaking reunion attended by over 2,000 people. And the kicker is that only one of the four kingmakers actually got to attend the awards evening they’d made possible. The best news is that the one who ‘did’ make it is a first-class photographer and graphic artist, so the pictures made up for the others missing the show. And there’s a DVD to talk about as well.

This, then, is the series on a superb Chicago horn band that waited politely for some 35 years to be heralded formally by a group of appreciative music afficionados, not in their own home town of Chicago, but in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The next story introduces The MOB, its members, and helps clear up some of the present-day confusion of “Who really is a (real) MOB member?” or “Who can truly call themselves a music MOBster?” To quote Alan Schrank, “The party’s not quite over”. Check out Part II of The MOB--From Chicago to Sioux Falls, SD in 35 years or less“.