OPENING ACT: Dave Grieco
60’s ROCK BAND THE DOUGHBOYS IN SPARTA
The Sparta Summer Concert Series, in it’s season finale, is thrilled to bring legendary NJ rock band The Doughboys to The Nicholson Pavilion this Friday evening. The Doughboys are a blues - rock oriented band that began back in the early sixties. They rode the wave of the British Music Invasion throughout their High School years. The music they play today still reflects back on those early days of inspiration but brings a fresh, energetic rawness that captivates young and old audiences alike.
Fervent fans of The Doughboys know their whole history, detailed on the Rock N’ Raw DVD – they first got together in ‘64 and played in various permutations through the rest of the 60’s. They gigged incessantly, won a battle-of-the-bands on Zacherle’s Disc-o-Teen TV show, were the house band at the legendary Café Wha? in New York City in the summer of ’68. They opened for every act imaginable including The Beach Boys, and released two 45’s, Rhoda Mendelbaum and Everybody Knows My Name, on Bell Records (which later became Arista Records) before splitting up for what they thought was for good. The band members went their separate and interesting ways – Myke Scavone fronted hard rock ensemble Ram Jam who scored an international hit with Black Betty; Richie Heyman played drums for the likes of Link Wray, Brian Wilson and Jonathan Richman while simultaneously pursuing an acclaimed career as a singer/songwriter (under his full moniker Richard X. Heyman); Mike Caruso landed session work with such notable pop producers as Bo Gentry and Kenny Laguna, and even jammed with Jimi Hendrix!
Since the band re-formed in 2000 at a surprise birthday party for drummer Richie Heyman’s birthday, The Doughboys have released six albums (Is It Now?, Act Your Rage, Shakin’ Our Souls, Hot Beat Stew, Front Street Rebels and Running For Covers), numerous singles, and a documentary film with accompanying live disc (Rock N’ Raw). They’ve played up and down the eastern half of the country, often sharing bills with such luminaries as The Pretenders, The Yardbirds, The Electric Prunes, Roberta Flack, Robin Trower and many others. They performed at the historic “Who Shot Rock n’ Roll?” exhibition at the Allentown Museum, at an all-star tribute to George Harrison at the New York Society for Ethical Culture, at the “Long May You Run” benefit at The Hamilton Live in Washington, DC, and have appeared at prestigious venues like B.B. King’s, the Sellersville Theater, the Stone Pony and the Starland Ballroom. Lead singer Myke Scavone is now also a member of The Yardbirds, touring the world as they continue to spread the gospel of the golden era of Rock n’ Roll.
In 2005, Gar Francis (of Stones tribute band Sticky Fingers fame, as well as work with Billy Idol and Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere and The Raiders) entered the picture after the untimely passing of founding member and brilliant guitarist Willy Kirchofer. When Gar joined the band, The Doughboys branched out into recording their own original material, and it wasn’t long before they entered the recording studio and laid down tracks for Is It Now?, the first album of their long and storied career.
The Doughboys’ songs have become huge favorites on radio around the world, especially with Little Steven Van Zandt, who named Shakin’ Our Souls his favorite album of 2012, and who has bestowed the much sought after rank of “Coolest Song In The World” on eight of The Doughboys’ songs on his Underground Garage channel on Sirius/XM radio. Additionally, Doughboys music is used extensively in film, television and advertising, including in such TV shows as “The Big Bang Theory”, “Californication,” “Breaking Amish” and “The Good Guys” and in the film “Coming Through The Rye.”
Well, more than nineteen years have gone by since their re-union, but The Doughboys haven’t slowed down one iota! From the looks of it, they’re planning on being around for many more years (and albums) to come.
Opening up the concert is the local area artist Dave Grieco. Dave Grieco is a Jersey born singer-songwriter of gritty American music. His style is lyric-centeric and draws heavily from folk, country and blues traditions. Dave will be performing songs from his debut album and from his forthcoming release, Dog Days, due out later this year.
This FREE concert is a family friendly, rain or shine event. Show begins 7PM at George Dykstra Park, 22 Woodport Road, Sparta, NJ. Next door at The Mohawk Avenue School if the weather demands. Please visit www.spartaarts.org for more information and updates.