ANNUAL MANUAL ’09: The history of rock in the ROC

It’s cold in the winter. It’s muggy in the summer. But it’s
cool all the time. That’s right, Jack: Rock ‘n’ roll is here in Rochester.
Maybe you didn’t know it, but it’s always been here. From little dives in Charlotte
to arenas around the United States,
Rochester rock has been making a
dent since the beginning. There are a couple times we forgot our cool and waxed
a little square (Bowie and The Stones will never play here again), but for the
most part rock ‘n’ roll is one of this town’s strongest assets. Rochester
musicians don’t run grocery store chains, or giant factories, but they can —
and will — steal your girlfriends. Here’s a brief, totally selective history of
rock in Rochester. To add your own
rock ‘n’ roll memories go to rochestercitynewspaper.com.

1950’s

1957: Irondequoit
native Jerry Engler put out the single “Sputnik,”
which charted and got Engler on stage with icons like
Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, and the Everly Brothers.
After playing a show with Buddy Holly at the Rochester War Memorial, Engler traveled to Clovis, New
Mexico, in 1958 and recorded at Bob Keen’s studio, where Holly had recorded many of his hits.
Holly played on tracks “What A You Gonna
Do?” and “I Sent You Roses” five months before his death.

1960’s

1960: The Tempests’ “Rockin’ RochesterU.S.A.”/”Lemon
Lime” single is primo raw garage rock and extremely collectible. Formed at IrondequoitHigh School in 1960, this band
played shows at venues like the Grange Hall, now the House Of
Guitars.

1964: Quintessential garage rock band The Invictas form. The band traveled to gigs in a Cadillac
hearse emblazoned with its logo, and frequently played Tiny’s
Bengal Inn in Charlotte. In 1965
the band released “The Hump,” which became a huge hit nationally, but many
radio stations banned it due to its suggestive lyrics.

1965: The Rolling Stones’ only appearance in Rochester
ends abruptly when 3000 rabid fans storm the stage after just seven minutes.
Three attempts were made to resume the show, but ultimately fans got no
satisfaction.

1965: Guitarist Gene Cornish joins The Young Rascals, later
shortened to The Rascals. Cornish attended BenFranklinHigh School
while fronting several area garage acts like The Unbeatables.
The Rascals had a pile of hits, including “Good Lovin,”
“Groovin’,” “How Can I Be Sure,” “A Beautiful
Morning,” and “People Got To Be Free.”

1965: The Soul Brothers Six, led by John Ellison, got its
start playing clubs on Rochester’s
northeast side. The band recorded its first 45 for the Fine label, 1965’s “Move
Girl,” and in 1966 did “Don’t Neglect Your Baby” for Lyndell
Records. The band eventually relocated to Philadelphia,
where it signed with Atlantic and recorded what would be
its only hit, 1967’s “Some Kind Of Wonderful.”

1967: Local R&B sensations The Rustix
form, the first white act ever signed to Motown Records through its subsidiary,
Rare Earth Records. The label released “Bedlam” in 1969. Jimi
Hendrix’s first appearance in Rochester
in 1968 featured The Rustix on the bill, along with
Soft Machine

1970’s

1971: Short-lived blues-based rock band Rain released its
album “Live Christmas Night” on the Whazoo! Label, featuring artwork by Richard Storms. The live
recording featured knock-out rockers like “Billy Goat” and Chuck Berry’s
“Tulane.” The band toured regionally, and opened for bigger acts at the time
like Nazareth and The Amboy Dukes.

1976: During his Thin White Duke period, David Bowie spent a
few hours in the Rochester clink
the morning of March 21, 1976,
after being arrested along with Iggy Pop and two
others at the Americana Rochester Hotel. Vice squad detectives confiscated half
a pound of pot (a felony with a potential 15-year prison sentence). Bowie,
then 29, was freed after posting $2000 bail. He hasn’t been back since.

1977: Lou Gramm joins Foreigner. Gramm (short for Grammatico), a
graduate of Gates-Chili High School, started out as a drummer before switching
to vocals in Black Sheep. Black Sheep toured the country with KISS, Argent, Ted
Nugent, and Ten Years After before Gramm got the call
from Mick Jones to join Foreigner. During Gramm’s
tenure the band amassed 20 Top 40 singles. Foreigner’s “Rev On
the Red Line” is about drag racing on Lake Avenue.

1980s

1980: Punk legends The Cramps play their Rochester
debut at Scorgie’s, where singer Lux
Interior pulls down the ceiling, and owner Don Scorgie
in turns destroys the band’s drum set. The Andrews
Street club brought now-legendary bands like X,
The Ramones, Lords Of The
New Church, Johnny Thunders and others to town. Scorgie’s
also gave a venue to up-and-coming local bands like New Math, The Press Tones,
The Colorblind James Experience, The Chesterfield Kings, Personal Effects, and
The Bowery Boys before closing in the early 90’s.

1982: Initially an R&B instrumental act, Duke Jupiter
grew into what is now called classic rock. The locally based band toured
nationally, and at the height of its popularity in June 1982 effectively put an
end to rock concerts at Ontario Beach Park after 25,000 fans showed up for a
free concert that officials figured would draw about 5000.

1983: Metallica records its incredible “Kill ‘Em All” at Music
America Studios on East Avenue.
The album was engineered by the late Gary Zefting
(keyboard salesman at The Music Lover’s Shop)
and the cover was shot by Gary Heard in his studio in Village
Gate Square. According to the folks at The House Of Guitars, the band spent hours there drooling over guitars
they couldn’t yet afford.

1988: Eddie “Son” House dies. House lived in Rochester’s
Corn Hill Neighborhood from 1943 to 1974. House’s recordings in the 1930’s and
40’s solidified his place as a Delta blues innovator and master. When he was
rediscovered here in 1964, House reportedly hadn’t touched a guitar in years. During
one of his local sessions House recorded the tune “Rochester Blues.”

1990s

1995: One of the few local artists who put punk and its
ancestors in perspective was Luke Warm (Andrew L. Ogrodowski).
Warm was a glam disciple, a punk prophet, an instigator, and chiefly a rocker. His
stage persona was his persona. He lived rock ‘n’ roll, and tragically died rock
‘n’ roll on March 17, 1995.
In 2008 his last band, SLT, released the band’s only album, “Dirty Sleep.”

1995: Local alternative band Nod released the album “I’m Around.” Nod’s music is filled with raw, ragged emotion that
either thinly veils — or completely buries — the tune. It’s an acquired taste
with fans around the world, including alternative rock giant Sonic Youth, which
has covered Nod songs. Nod continues to play and record, and released its sixth
album in 2008.

1998: Wendy O. Williams commits suicide. Born in Rochester
in 1949, Williams was the vocalist, saxophonist,
chainsaw operator, and sledgehammer wielder in 80’s punk band The Plasmatics, known for its ultra-violent stage act, which
included demolishing cars, or driving them through walls of TV sets.

2000s

2003: At the time of his murder in 2003, Roger “Unkle Roger” McCall was the longest-running single-station
DJ in the country. His Sunday night “Homegrown Show” on WCMF spotlighted Rochester
bands in the scene he loved, and was part of (McCall was also the bassist in
The Fugitives in the 80’s).

2004: The Worm Quartet — a local one-man band led by a man
simply known as Shoebox — scored the No. 1 Most Requested Song of the Year on
the national “Dr. Demento Show” for his “Great Idea
for a Song.” (He repeated the honor in 2005 with “Inner Voice.”) Shoebox is 300
pounds, proudly sports a mullet, and plays odd synthesizer-driven madness. He
tours the states in a Chevy Cavalier.

2007: Gym Class Heroes win Best New Artist at the 2007 MTV
Music Awards. Formed in nearby Geneva
in 1997, the band has exploded with its blend of clever hip-hop with live rock
instrumentation.

This article appears in Mar 18-24, 2009.