| Rockin' Roots and C.Y.O. Dances  The earliest recollections I have of this era, are some of the places where the bands first started playing. Gigs were few and far between, and as you would expect - a big deal when they happened. It was a very competetive thing to get these gigs (it paid to have connections), and it added to a band's status to land them on a regular basis. Most of the opportunities included HS Dances, C.Y.O. Dances, house parties, and later the Teen Clubs that sprung up in & around town. The Marconi Italian-American Club on Zazetti Street sponsored a few dances, and the St. Lukes C.Y.O. (which was actually in Ho-Ho-Kus) had a regular schedule of dances.
Two of the first bands to emerge onto the scene were THE IMPERIALS, and THE TEEMATES. Both bands took their original stylings from the very popular "Surf" music scene, with bands like The Ventures, The Pyramids , and other great surf/hot-rod bands as their major influence. The British Invasion wasn't in full swing yet, so Waldwick teens were still tied into a very Greasers-vs-Jocks-vs-Rah-Rah culture that set the area's musicians (and budding musicians) aside into a sort-of class of their own. The town's youth were still divided by an imaginary border that placed the "cool" people in the Golden Block, where as the Jocks, etc. were at home hanging out at The Chocolate Shop just a few blocks away. Look for an extended article covering this in the near future.
The IMPERIALS consisted of Tony Scafuro (guitar), Jim Caputo (guitar), Billy Edwards (drums), and Binky Biancardi (bass). My first images of The Imperials were probably at the C.Y.O. dances as they stood on stage with Fender guitars, collar-less Sharkskin suits, skinny ties, pointy Eleganza shoes, and big wavey hair styles that neatly said "cool" in every way. The Imperials actually had a 45 that played in the Choclate Shop juke box for many years. It was called "When Johnny Comes Draggin' Home". Yep...you guessed it...an instrumental surf/drag cover of the classic "When Johnny Comes Marching Home".
Tony Scafuro (who's dad was mayor), went on to form THE MIRRORS IMAGE with Jerry Welch (drums), and Russ Simon (guitar/vocals), and Binky Biancardi (bass). The Mirror's Image were the darlings of Greenwood Lake and many of the clubs on Rt. 59 in Nyack and Spring Valley, NY.
Billy Edwards went on to form THE DEACONS, and later THE 7TH CINDERS.
The 7th Cinders consisted of Billy Edwards, John Fiorentino, Lex Juby, and Denny Mondelli . The y released a 45 called "You Take Me For Rides on Greezie Records in 1966.
The TEEMATES were probably one of the biggest bands in the area. They also had a very sharp Ventures style, but soon wandered off into the British Pop stylings of the Beatles and the Dave Clark Five. Some of the places I remember seeing them were: The Marconi Hall, the Worlds Fair (NY), and the Waldwick Middle School auditorium where they performed an impressive concert showing off their Beatle-esq mop-top hairdoos, colored spotlights that effectively displayed their "bopping" shadows on the walls, and very impressive musicianship topped off by an incredible cover of the Ventures's "Safari" - complete with an amazing drum solo by Brian Post. Other members of the group included Richie Staff on guitar...but I don't remember the others (help me!). The TEEMATES released one album that I know of, called: "Jetset Dance Discotheque"...and it was released on Audio Fidelity in 1964 - that same obscure label that puts out those "Sound Effects" LPS. If you're lucky, you can still find one at record shows.
Oddly....The Teemates also had two 45's: "Dream On Little Girl" b/w "Movin Out", and "Night Fall" b/w No More Tomorros"...also released by Audio Fidelity in 1964. I learned to play guitar from Richie Staff.
The FABULOUS JAGUARS were from nearby Paterson, NJ. and were NJ's answer to The Ventures. They became a national act, but not before playing the same gigs we did as they grew.
Next: The NOMADS
|
