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    The Poor Souls

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The Poor Souls promo picture, circa 2007.

Our first submission!!!  The Poor Souls from Pittsburgh, Pa., play classic rocknroll laced with their own signature style: powerful lead singers, tight three part harmonies, and screaming lead guitar work.  The Poor Souls are Mike on bass and vocals, Jack on drums and background vocals, Kenny on lead guitar and vocals, and Frank on rhythm guitar and vocals.  Thanks for being our first entry on the site.

Originally formed in Pittsburgh in the 1960's, The Poor Souls played rock and roll from the very start.  They made appearances at the legendary Oakmont teen club known as The Varsity House, as well as many school dances, private parties, and even a battle of the bands on the rooftop of Kaufmann's Department Store in downtown Pittsburgh, where they played original material.  "Dying Soul," an instrumental, was penned by Frank Fischetti and Alex Gionta.  The Poor Souls placed second in the battle.  The Fairfield Pack came in first and played "House Of The Rising Sun."  According to Fischetti, The Fairfield Pack were actually lucky enough to have had a Farfisa organ in their band!!!
(See the segment on The Argons, precursor to the Fairfield Pack, below.)
The Napoleonic Wars, (a la Paul Revere and The Raiders) a regionally known act at that time, played as the headliner.
The Poor Souls were preceded by The Amplifiers, whose line-up included Fischetti on guitar and vocals, Gionta on guitar and vocals, Jerry Collinger on bass and vocals (he played bass on the first four strings of an electric guitar), Nick Lombardo on lead vocals, and Leon Welgs on bongo drums.  The Amplifiers morphed into The Poor Souls and included Greg Pulice on drums after Welgs left the band.  Alex Caliendo joined and handled lead vocals after Lombardo called it a day.  Other members included John Colaizzi on lead vocals and Bobby "Peanuts" Patterson on drums occasionally.  The Poor Souls played together throughout the mid-to-late 60's, pushing out their rendition of tunes from bands such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Animals, The Kinks, The Young Rascals and The Zombies, to name only a few.  It wasn't until the late summer of '69 that each graduated from high school and went their separate ways.
Frank went on to college and formed Deputy Dawg, a high energy "frat rock" band that played on and off campus at Edinboro State College, near Erie, Pa.
(Deputy Dawg will be featured in an upcoming segment of bestrocknrollband.com).
Each of the members of The Poor Souls went on to college or various jobs and endeavors after high school, with Pulice travelling to Southeast Asia, courtesy of Uncle Sam.  Thankfully, he came back to jam another day.
After college graduation, Frank went on to form Backstreet, a highly successful Pittsburgh rocknroll band, along with original Poor Souls member, Alex Gionta.
(More about Backstreet can be found in the segment below).
Well somehow, believe it or not, by 2007 it had been 38 years since a Poor Souls lineup hit a stage.  It wasn't until Frank saw his younger brother Lou jamming in The Gang,
a revived version of a legendary 60's rocknroll band from Detroit, Michigan, USA, that he decided to strap on the old axe, rally some kick-ass musicians to join him, and bring to life what is today's version of The Poor Souls.  I guess history really does repeat itself.  Thank goodness that it does!!!
It's been about two years now since Frank was joined by Kenny Greene, Mike Berkey and Jack Kier.  Each of them brought years of experience to the 2000's version of The Poor Souls.  Kenny does to a guitar what the likes of fellow axe-men Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and his very own idol, the Motor City Madman himself, Ted Nugent do...he makes it cry, sing, or scream.  He lets his fingers do the talkin'.  Mike brings a powerful bottom end to the band.  But even more remarkable than his thumping bass lines are his McCartney-esque vocals.  The boy got chops and he flat out wails.  'Nuf said, period.
Jack brings over 40 years of pounding the skins to the table.  His tight rolls and thunderous foot pedal give the "Souls," well...their soul.  Jack, also known as "Jackie," was an original drummer for The Igniters, a quintessential Pittsburgh rocknroll band from the 1960's.
(Check out The Igniters story in their own segment below).
As for Frank, well, he brings an ear for harmonies like someone straight out of CSNY, a rock steady, in-your-face rhythm guitar, a vocal style reminiscent of Lennon himself sometimes, and an energy that is hard for a kid to muster, let alone a veteran rocker who picked up an axe for the first time before The Beatles ever stepped foot on American soil!!!
If you haven't taken the time to catch The Poor Souls yet, we at bestrocknrollband.com highly recommend that you do.  You will be blown away by their vocals.  Frank swaggers to Jagger's "It's All Over Now," Mike mesmerizes with Morrison's "Moondance," and Kenny's growl on Withers "Ain't No Sunshine" will kill you.
These boys is tight.
*************************
Here's a message from The Poor Souls, 2008:
-
A big thanks to all those who made it out to see us at one of our many gigs this year.  The BEATLEMANIA show was fun, and even though the weather was bad, it was great to see so many of our friends there.  Don't forget to check back here at bestrocknrollband.com for future gig information.  Also, we're working on getting more Poor Souls tee shirts made.  When the order arrives we'll let you know.  They will be a different color than the last time.
Thanks again to all our fans.  Until next time........
stay cool!!!
 -----------------------
The Poor Souls
Frank, Mike, Ken and Jack
Peace, love, souls!
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The Poor Souls tee shirt logo. Get one soon. Peace out.

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The Poor Souls business card, circa 1966.

The Souls in action at The Hula Bar
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Mike, Frank, Jack, and Monsignor Kenneth "Slick Fingers" Greene. Click the pic to enlarge it.

The Poor Souls Concert Series Logo - 2008
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The Hula Bar
759 E. Railroad Ave.
Verona, Pa. 15147
Call 412-828-6919 for information.
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Inn The Ruff
6229 Saltsburg Road
Pittsburgh, Pa. 15235
Call 412-739-9779 for information.

Scroll through to the bottom of the page to see newly added pictures and stories.

BACKSTREET

****************BACKSTREET - 1974*****************
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Gene Bisegna, Lou Fischetti, Frank Fischetti, Alex Gionta, and Joe Bisegna.

If you'ld like, click on any Backstreet photo (including the record, record sleeve, and newspaper ad) to see a full sized version of it.  When you're done, just hit the X in the upper right hand corner and you'll come right back here.  Dig it!!!

Backstreet color promo shot - 1974
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Alex, Lou, Joe, Frank, Gene.

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Backstreet bumpersticker

"Backstreet" was formed in 1974 after lead guitarist Frank Fischetti and drummer Gene Bisegna left the cover band "Yesterday's People" and ventured out on their own to start a new band.  Frank asked his brother Lou to play bass and recruited his childhood buddy and original "Poor Souls" guitarist, Alex Gionta, to play rhythm guitar, while Gene grabbed onto his brother, keyboardist Joe Bisegna.  With those five securely in place, "Backstreet" was born.  What followed was a hard working Pittsburgh rock 'n roll band who played all over southwestern Pennsylvania and southeastern Ohio for the next four years.  Their overall objective was to become a band who played nothing but original material.
Below are two pics from the first ever "Backstreet" jam which occurred on March 7, 1975.  It was a dance for Sacred Heart (all girls) High School.  The band played from 8:30 pm to 11:30 pm and made $200.  In the top picture Joe is seen with his then brand new Wurlitzer model 200, the first of which came out in 1969.  You might not know it, but the Wurlitzer 200 was played by bands such as Supertramp, with Rick Davies on keyboards, on the tunes "
Dreamer" and "Bloody Well Right."  Now you know exactly what it sounded like, right?  Frank is playing his first electric guitar.  It's a Harmony Silvertone Bobcat / Silhouette 2 pick-up Jaguar style
with a tremelo tail-piece.  That axe was purchased in Pittsburgh's North Side at the Pitt Loan Company in 1964.  He still has it today!!!  Between them is a Kustom 300 PA power unit sitting on Joe's piano speaker amp box.  That Kustom kicked out a whopping 300 watts of power - with built in reverb no less.
Below that photo is a picture of Lou playing his late 60's Fender Telecaster bass with a Jazz bass neck.  Behind him is a 1967 Fender Bassman amp.  The Telecaster is gone, but he still has the Bassman.
Below the jam shots is a scan of the first single released by "Backstreet" entitled: "Ooh La La (Apparently)" b/w "I Cried As I Fell," on Wave Records, and the record sleeve is below that.  The alley in the photo is located in Wilkinsburg, Pa.  Thesa are scans of actual copies of the disc and sleeve.  The record was released in early 1976 and received radio airplay on WHJB and several other radio stations around "the 'burg."  Check out the Green Tab newspaper advertisement below the record.  It's dated April 14, 1976, and told the public that the record was available for sale throughout the Pittsburgh area at "The National Record Mart," a popular Pittsburgh record store chain at that time.  Like Frank's pop used to say...this stuff is "ever good!!!"

Sheraton Inn on the Mall, Monroeville, Pa.
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Joe at the keys and Frank on guitar, 1975. Road crew manager Steve Sorce on the left.
Sheraton Inn on the Mall, Monroeville, Pa.
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Lou on the bass, 1975. Click on the pic to enlarge it.

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You don't see these things much anymore!
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Backstreet's first 45 rpm record sleeve. Click on the pic to enlarge it.
The Green Tab - April 14, 1976.
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Backstreet for sale at The National Record Mart

The Igniters
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Varsity House Crest
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Frank Czuri (Bob partially hidden)
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Jeff Bobula
The Igniters, May 1966
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Frank Czuri, Joe Santavicca, Jeff Bobula, Bob McKeg and Jack Kier
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Bob McKeg
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Joe Santavicca
December 1966
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Bob, Jeff and Joe
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Jeff and Richie
The Igniters, May 1966
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Bob, Jack, Jeff, Frank and Joe
January 1967
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Bob, Frank (partially hidden) Jeff
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Bob, Richie and Jeff
The Igniters
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Joe, Jack, Frank, Jeff and Bob

The Igniters were perhaps the best known and loved rocknrollers from the east side of Pittsburgh in the mid 1960's.  They were from Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, to be exact.  Their repertoire included songs from The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Them, and many other British Invasion bands.  However, The Igniters tight musicianship and powerful vocals and harmonies allowed them to perform many R&B favorites of the day, which was actually their preferred musical style.
When The Igniters played a gig, those lucky enough to have seen them were wowed.  The Igniters were the "house band" at the famous Pittsburgh teen club "The Varsity House," and packed 'em in every night.  Many times fans were turned away 'cos the show was sold out.
Most bands of the day didn't have the advantage of the sound of a growling Hammond B3 like the one played by the multi-talented Jeff Bobula, nor did they have the meticulous and calculated guitar playing of Bob McKeg.  When that was added to the rhythmic, soulful singing of front-man Frank Czuri and the thumping bottom end crafted by Joe Santavicca on bass and Jackie Kier on drums, "Badda-bing," you've got Pittsburgh rocknroll at its finest.  Here are the names of all the various members of The Igniters over the years:
Ron "Big AB" Abberzizzi, "Little Joe" Arena, Jeff Bobula, Bob Briede, Frank Czuri, Fred DeLu, Ronnie "Byrd" Foster, Gary Gentile, Jackie Kier, Bob McKeg, Richie Rubin, Joe Santavicca, and Dan Valerio.  Stu Heirs filled in on bass only for the reunion concerts.
Atlantic Records signed The Igniters to a record contract in 1968 but made them change their name to "Jimmy Mack and the Music Factory."  Research has found that their single: "Baby, I Love You" b/w "The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game," entered rotation at #54 on September 21, 1968 and climbed to #41 by October 20, 1968, on WAVZ in New Haven, Conn.  Later that year another name change occurred, this time to "Friends."  Friends recorded a 45rpm for Atlantic Records around 1970, but disbanded shortly thereafter.
Jack Thompson, a friend of The Igniters throughout the years, was instrumental in putting together a reunion concert by them at The Harmar House in Harmarville, Pa., on Friday August 22, 2003.  "Butterball," as everyone affectionately knows Thompson, provided these early pictures of The Igniters.
Stay tuned for more on the history of The Igniters, the other groups they played in throughout the years (look at the top of this page to see Jackie Keir) and more early pictures.  Where they are today...and reunion concert pic's, too, will be here soon!!!Please check back often, and if you have any shots of The Varsity House, or any other venue, send them in.  Needless to say, if you have pic's and stories of The Igniters that you want to share, send them in, too.

Click here for The Ignitersmusic web site.

Click here to check out FUN featuring Bob McKeag.

The Igniters at The Varsity House
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Jackie Kier on the drums.
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The Igniters rhythm section
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Joe Santavicca and Jackie Kier
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The Igniters layin' down the law at The V/H.
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l to r: Jeff on keys, Jackie on drums, Bob on guitar, and Joe on bass.

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Following the breakup of The Igniters - (Jimmy Mack and the Music Factory - Friends) in 1970, the guys branched out and went on to join, or form, various others groups of the day.  Around 1975, Frank Czuri joined The Jaggerz, Pittsburgh's wildly popular band who had released their #1 hit single, "The Rapper," from the album "We Went To Different Schools Together," recorded on Kama Sutra Records, in 1970.  Their next album, "Come Again," was recorded on the Wooden Nickel label and released in '75 by The Jaggerz, whose members then included Czuri on keyboards, Dominic Ierace (he wrote "The Rapper") on guitar (you know him better as The Pride of Beaver Falls... Pittsburgh's own Donny Iris!!!), Jimmy Ross on bass, Eugene Faiella on guitar, and Jimmy Pugliano on drums.
After Czuri's stint with The Jaggerz, he joined old friend and former Igniter, Bob "Bubs" McKeg, and formed Pittsburgh's hard drivin' rocknrollband Diamond Reo.  They had a top 40 hit in 1975 with a cover version of the Marvin Gaye song, "Ain't That Peculiar."  That group included Czuri (credited on the album as Frank Zuri) on keyboards and vocals, McKeg (credited on the album as Bob McKeag) on guitar and vocals, Norm Nardini on bass guitar, guitar, and vocals, and Robbie Johns on percussion and vocals.  Album credits also included Frank Johns on drums and vocals, Al Mossburg on guitar, and Chris Patarini on tenor sax.  By the way, it's "Bubs" McKeg on the "talkbox" guitar AND lead vocals on "Ain't That Peculiar."  Outta sight.  Diamond Reo went on to record three albums: 1975's "Diamond Reo," on the Big Tree label, 1976's "Dirty Diamonds," on the Kama Sutra label, and "Ruff Cuts," on the Piccadilly label, in 1978.   The  line-up for the "Dirty Diamonds" album changed and included Frank Zuri [sic] on vocals, Norman Nardini on bass, Robert Johns on drums, and a guy who is considered by some as Pittsburgh's greatest guitarist, Warren King on guitar.  Diamond Reo even made an appearance on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand" on Saturday, February 15, 1975, which aired on ABC.  Barbi Benton, of "Playboy" magazine centerfold fame, was the headliner.  She performed "The Teddy Bear Song" and Diamond Reo did "Ain't That Peculiar."  In addition, Diamond Reo opened many-a-concert for national acts such as Aerosmith, Canned Heat, the Motor City Madman - Ted Nugent, and even Frank Zappa.  After Diamond Reo had done their thing, Czuri and King decided to go in a new direction and formed The Silencers.  Others they enlisted to join were Ronnie "Byrd" Foster on drums (he had previously been in The Igniters and the famous blues guitarist Roy Buchanan's band), Denny Tacos on keys, and Mike Pela on bass.  They were signed to a recording contract by the CBS Records subsidiary label, Precision, before they ever played a gig together!  The Silencers were kind of the "house Band" at the great rocknroll venue, Fat City, in Swissvale, Pa.   Ah...those were the days!  Anyhow, in 198o The Silencers recorded the album "Rock N Roll Enforcers," which produced four local airwave hits: "The Peter Gunn Theme," "Modern Love," "Shiver and Shake," and "Head On Collision."  In 1981 the album "Romanic" produced another single, "Sidewalk Romeo."  Warren King left the group in 1984, causing their breakup.  Czuri, having realized that he needed a change, joined the vocal group "Pure Gold" in 1985, and continues with them to this day.  Other members from The Igniters, including Bob "Bubs" McKeg, have ventured out in many different projects over the years.  Stand by for more on them coming soon...

Click here to watch The Silencers...it's GREAT!

Click here for The Jaggerz official web site.

The Jaggerz
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Donnie Iris, Jimmy Ross, Benny Faiella, T Ray, and Frank Czuri. Click on the picture to enlarge it.

The Jaggerz on Kama Sutra Records
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The Rapper - Dominic Ierace. Click on the picture to enlarge it.

Click here to hear Diamond Reo do "Aint That Peculiar."

Pittsburgh Press - click on the pic to enlarge it
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The Silencers at Stage One in Monroeville, Pa., on Sunday, February 21, 1982.

Sweet Watered Wine in color.
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Lou and Joe. Click on the pic to enlarge it.

Sweet Watered Wine

John H. Linton Intermediate High School
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Sweet Watered Wine - March 13 & 14, 1975. Click on the pic to enlarge it.
Sweet Watered Wine in color.
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Lou, Joe, and Billy. Click on the pic to enlarge it.

Sweet Watered Wine was a pick-up band who got together to play a series of Variety Shows at John H. Linton Intermediate High School in Penn Hills, Pa., in the mid 1970's.  The band consisted of Joe Bisceglia on rhythm and lead guitar, Billy Baldwin on rhythm and lead guitar, Dave Valerio on drums, and Lou Fischetti on bass and vocals.  Baldwin had never before played in front of people prior to these gigs.  Their sets included original songs written by Baldwin, Bisceglia, Fischetti, and Valerio.  The band was heavily influenced by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Free, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Deep Purple, and Led Zeppelin.  Baldwin and Bisceglia's guitar work was phenomenal considering they were in 10th grade.  The pounding drum beats and rockin' basslines were the glue that made the sound the hit that it was with all their classmates.  More to come on the paths each took in their own bands over the years.  Stand by.......

1975. Click the pic to enlarge it.
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World of Entertainment Program. Artwork by Susan McDonald.
Sweet Watered Wine in color.
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Lou and Joe. Click on the pic to enlarge it.
1975
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World of Entertainment program

The Treez
1980-1983

Jim "Silky" Poli (r) - Drums (background)
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Frank, Tom, and Dave in foreground. Click on the pic to enlarge it
Joe, Frank, and Dave singing in the studio
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The Treez promo picture
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The Treez promo picture
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The Treez. Click pic to enlarge it
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The Treez - back cover view of 12" single "I Like When She Talks Dirty To Me"
Treez live at the Holiday House advertisement
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Pittsburgh Press ad featuring The Treez
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The Treez were a six member rocknrollband from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.  The group consisted of Joe Bisegna on keyboards and vocals, Dave Fiori on sax, flute, and vocals, Frank Fischetti on rhythm guitar and vocals, Tom Gaus on bass guitar, Jim "Silky" Poli on drums and percussion, and Dave Revilla on lead guitar.  The Treez never played a cover tune.  Instead, they pioneered a vision they had each contemplated for more than two decades.  Each of them had already conquered the bar circuit, playing in bands as far back as the 1960's.  The Treez abandoned their cover-band roots and wrote, arranged, and performed their own music.  Original music that is.  Powerful, catchy, foot tapping, original music.
The majority of their material was penned by the songwriting team of Frank Fischetti and Joe Bisegna.  Comparisons to Lennon and McCartney, Steely Dan's Becker and Fagan, and The Little River Band's Birltes, Goble, and Shorrock, were often made regarding these two craftsmen.  Sax player Dave Fiori also added to the repertoire.  The Treez "George Martin" was lead guitar player Dave Revilla.  He arranged every song.  A rock-solid bottom end was delivered by drummer and percussionist Jim "Silky" Poli and bass guitar player Tom Gaus.  The Treez enjoyed radio airplay throughout the tri-state area of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia.  Their 45 rpm single "How On Earth" b/w "The Winning Side" was recorded on Tank Records, and was picked up on Pittsburgh's WYDD-FM for several weeks.  That record was produced by Tony Monaco (keyboardist and lead singer of Thrills) and the associate producer was Howie Stein (Thrills), and was recorded in Pittsburgh at Audio Innovators.  The engineer was J. Struthers and the mastering engineer was the world famous Bernie Grundman.
Check back for more on The Treez coming soon.......

Treez in New York City. Click the pic to enlarge
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Joe Fischetti, Joe Biscegna, Dave Fiori, Sam LaCava, Don Noonan, Frank Fischetti, and Lou Fischetti
The Treez cassette tape
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Frank Fischetti - guitar and vocals
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Dave Revilla - lead guitar
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Joe Bisegna - keyboards and vocals
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The Treez newspaper article
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Dave Fiori - sax, flute and vocals
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"How On Earth" 45 rpm record - The Treez
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"The Winning Side" 45 rpm record - The Treez
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Tom Gaus - bass guitar
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VISA

The Graffiti Nightclub, Oakland, Pa.
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Visa rocks the house, circa 1985.

Stay tuned for the story behind Visa.  It's late and there's really someplace i'm supposed to be.  Put your pointers on the photo's (get your minds outta the gutter girls) and click it.  Our pics will grow right before your eyes!!!

Saint Francis College, Loretto, Pa., circa 1984
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Frank and Lou of Visa looking a bit weathered. Rocknroll, yeah, yeah, yeah!!!
Just a little teaser to wet your whistles.
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What ever happened to Lone Justice? Click below to find out.

Click on the article to enlarge it.  Click on the link to find out what happened to Lone Justice.  www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lone_Justice

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Here's a few pictures of one of Pittsburgh's premiere recording studios, Jeree Records, which is located at 1469 3rd Avenue, New Brighton, Pennsylvania 15066-2201, USA.  The telephone number is (724) 847-0111.

Jeree Records began in 1975 and was the collaborative effort of two great men, Jerry Reed and Don Garvin.  Reed was the Studio Manager and Garvin the Chief Engineer.  Over the years many-a local act would record there, including Pittsburgh's own B.E. Taylor, Backstreet, Billy Price, The Corbin-Hanner Band, Donnie Iris and The Cruisers, G-Force, The Granati Brothers, The Iron City Houserockers, Modern Man, Norm Nardini, Pure Gold, The Silencers, The Skyliners, The Spuds, Q, and Wild Cherry, to name a few.  Nationally known artists Glenn Burtnik (Styx) and Maureen McGovern also recorded at Jeree Records.

Donnie Iris, formerly of The Jaggerz and Wild Cherry fame, recorded his album "King Cool" there in 1981, which was subsequently released on the MCA label.  The hit single "Love Is Like A Rock" was on that album.  That 45 rpm fought its way to the # 9 spot on Billboard's Mainstream AOR charts in 1982.

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Click here to check out a live version of Donnie Iris and The Cruisers doing "Love Is Like A Rock"

The first song recorded at Jeree Records to make a stop on the national charts was recorded by the Pittsburgh band "Q," who formed in Beaver Falls, Pa.  Their 45 rpm record "Dancin' Man" was released in 1977 (from the album of the same name) on the Epic Records subsidiary label Sweet City.  It reached the # 23 spot on the Billboard charts.  "Q's" album, "Dancin' Man," reached the # 140 spot (out of 200) on the Billboard Album chart that year.
"Q" was comprised of Jeree Records Chief Engineer Don Garvin on guitar and vocals, Robert "Pecky" Peckman on bass and vocals, Bill Vogel on drums and vocals, and Bill Thomas on keyboards and vocals.

Click here to hear "Dancin' Man" by "Q"

Click here to visit the on-line home of JEREE Recording

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Sadly, Jerry Reed died on September 28, 2000.  He is sadly missed by all who knew him.  Since that time, Don Garvin has assumed the dual roles of Studio Manager and Chief Engineer.
Photographs courtesy of Anthony J.

From The Penn Hills Progress
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Bad Company, circa 1972-73. Click the pic to enlarge.
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Thrills promo shot, circa 1980
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Dave Fullerton, Rob Owens, Tony Monaco, and Bill Gilbert. Click the pic to enlarge it.

Thrills business card
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"Ladies and Gentlemen...Thrills."  That's the way their live shows began, and that's exactly what every audience got, thrills, any time this high energy rocknrollband, who were all originally from Penn Hills, (Pittsburgh) Pa. played.  Their picture (above left) was taken from The Penn Hills Progress newspaper, circa 1973, and lists the group name as "Bad Company."  That's what Thrills was known as until mid 1974 or so, when an English group decided to call themselves Bad Company.  That particular group, which was comprised of Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke, both formerly of Free (Alright Now), Mick Ralphs, formerly of Mott The Hoople (All The Young Dudes), and Boz Burrell, formerly of King Crimson (21st Century Schizoid Man), beat these Penn Hills boys to the Billboard charts by releasing their "Bad Company" album, and its # 5 charting first 45 rpm "Can't Get Enough."  If you're gonna get beat to the punch, that's not a bad bunch of guys to have it done by.  Anyway...
After the name change, Thrills climbed their way to the top in the Pittsburgh area by playing the college circuit, all the cover-band bars, etc., and decided to move to Long Island, New York, (USA), in 1977, to pursue their dream of landing a record contract and having a record hit the charts themselves.
The glossy picture (above right) is a Thrills official promo picture from 1980, the year their first album, appropriately entitled "First Thrills," hit the record stores.  That album cracked into the Billboard Top 200, leveling off at # 198, and was on the G&P label.  The 45 rpm "Breaking My Heart" was the single release from that album and it received a lot of airplay around Long Island.  To bolster their listening audience, Thrills embarked on a live tour, opening for national acts such as Steppenwolf, Foreigner, Quarterflash, Nick Lowe, and Pittsburgh's own Donnie Iris.  Thrills were on their way!!!
The following year Thrills recorded and released their second album, "Front Page News."  Utilizing the Smoke Tree Ranch recording studio located near Los Angeles, California, Thrills cut tracks that were of a markedly improved sound quality.  "Front Page News," Thrills sophomore effort, was commercially a success, especially in their hometown of Pittsburgh, Pa., and the surrounding tri-state area (Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia).  After all, Thrills had played the high school dance, college fraternity party, and bar cover-band circuit, in those states for many years and were loved in that region of the US.
An FM radio station in Pittsburgh in the late 1970's and early 1980's known as WXKX-FM, or 96KX (pronounced 96 Kicks) heavily promoted the 45 rpm "Tonight," a song written by Thrills guitarist Dave Fullerton.  That song remained in the Top 10 for over 10 weeks.  Another G.R.E.A.T. song from that album was "High Side of 55."  That song received extensive airplay, too, and was a kickin' tune!!!  As luck would have it though, the Front Page News album would be their last because the G&P record label fell upon hard financial times and dissolved, leaving Thrills without a record company.  That twist of fate wreaked havoc on the band and caused the breakup of the original four members.
Thrills 3, the groups third album was recorded with drummer extraordinaire Linda Mackley pounding the skins.  That LP wasn't released upon its completion, but was finally released, in a limited edition, after Thrills enjoyed some sort of "global Internet celebration," according to founding member Tony Monaco.
Members of this premiere Pittsburgh/Long Island rocknrollband over the years included Tony Monaco on keyboards and vocals, Dave Fullerton on guitar and vocals, Rob Owens on drums and vocals, (the late) Bill Gilbert on bass and vocals, and, as mentioned above, Linda Mackley on drums for Thrills 3 (go to bestrocknrollband.coms "Links Page" for some cool and current Linda Mackley links).
Thrills Manager, Tom Ingegno, was also an integral part of the group, (that's one of his old cards above) as was their sound-man, Howey Stein.
Tony Monaco and Howie Stein produced a 45 rpm record for another Pittsburgh band, The Treez.  That record, which included the songs "How On Earth b/w The Winning Side," grabbed airplay in five different states in the USA, on 20 different radios stations, and even beat one of rocknroll music's biggest legends in a "Rate-A-Record" competition in the Lone Star State.  (Check back for the scoop on that bit of bragging rites, as well as the full story of The Treez, which are all coming soon).

Click on the links below to check out a couple cool Thrills web sites, as well as two cool sites that showcase what Tony Monaco is up to nowadays.

The Argons
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The Argons

The photo on your site is the argons, not The fairfield pack!  (photo taken 1967/68 - a good guess ).  Upper left - wayne hoover, upper right - brian earley, center - jim poli, lower left - larry suprak, lower right - lying down - charlie brusco.  don't think there are many photos of the fairfield pack, maybe the varsity house, see what i can do? charlie and wayne left the argons to join the fairfield pack, in 1968 (with, dwight kuhn - bass, dale kuhn - organ, john macioce - drums, and later picked up marty saddler - vocals). 
great site - keep it up!  Wayne.

Oops, our bad!!!  Thanks for clearing this up for us Wayne.  We're glad you like the site.  Tell all your friends about it and maybe someone will have pictures of The Fairfield Pack and more of the Argons.  One thing we know for sure, both groups were GREAT!!!  Keep rockin' bro, and thanks again, bestrocknrollband.com

Click here for Charlie Brusco info...can you believe it?

Brandon Carter

Brandon Carter, circa 2008
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Brandon Carter, circa 2008
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Brandon Carter, circa 2008
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Brandon Carter live, circa 2008
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Hey guys,
I've been looking at your site for a while after hearing about it from a lady that I work with in Pittsburgh. She said she is friends with one of you and gave me a card about a month ago. I'm from Morgantown, WV (USA) and have been playing in bands and writing songs for the past 8 years. I'm 23 and a graduate student at WVU currently and I recently recorded an alt-country EP during the end of 2007. I'm hoping to make some headway in the realm of being a song writer and I wanted to send my information and some of my music your way. The best way to get it would be from my myspace page. 
Keep up the good work.
- Brandon

Thanks for checking out bestrocknrollband.com and tuning us in to your sound Brandon.  Keep on writing tunes, and hey...keep us posted on your road to success, too!!!
 
 

www.myspace.com/musicbybrandoncarter

***Click here to send your photos and stories to us at bestrocknrollband.com***

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