Wednesday, June 27, 2012

I'm Seventeen (Live) - Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers 1990


Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers perform "I'm Seventeen" live on local Philadelphia station, 1990. 

From Marc Pelletier's former Tommy Conwell tribute website:

1990 |
Guitar Trouble

      TROUBLE..... best describes the Young Rumblers' sophomore effort and the band’s commercial challenges in 1990; Columbia urged Conwell to work with professional songwriters to improve his original material; Country-rock guitarist Billy Kemp replaced the popular Chris Day; Pete Anderson, former producer for Dwight Yoakam, was hired to produce; Sony’s subsequent purchase of Columbia/CBS affected the Rumblers' label relations.
     A revamped, “Didn’t Want to Sing the Blues” and “Rock with You” were the only songs from the 1989/90 live circuit to make vinyl. Bruce Hornsby and Johnnie Johnson, legendary keyboardist for Chuck Berry, contributed to Guitar Trouble. The catchy pop/rock single, I’m Seventeen received extensive radio airplay but a cool response locally. 

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Performance - Part I



This is the fourth installment in Audio Rumble's Tommy Conwell rockumentary series:

Part 1: Intro
Part 2: Beginnings
Part 3: Signing Tommy's Guitar

Tommy Conwell Rockumentary | Links, Special Thanks


Thanks to everyone who shared images, videos, audio, stories and overall kind words and encouragement for the master's thesis capstone project, "Tommy Conwell: A Rockumentary."

DJ Caterina received an A+ from her professor, a Philly local media press mention, and walked the University of Texas-Dallas stage with a master's degree in Emerging Media and Communications on May 19, 2012.

= Thesis Capstone Videos =
May 1 Introduction

May 2 Beginnings


June 15 Performance, Part I


June 20 Performance, Part II



| DJ CATERINA WOULD LIKE TO THANK | 

  • My friends and family (and boyfriend!) for their patience; listening to countless hours of Tommy Conwell’s music in my home and in my car and hearing me talk about the project for over a year. 
  • Nora Kelly (Executive Editor, The Review, University of Delaware, Class of 2012) for a copy of the Young Rumblers' first concert review from the 1984 school newspaper.
  • University of Delaware's college radio station 91.3 FM WVUD for donating  tracks from their audio archives.
  • Dallyn Pavey with In the Pocket.
  • Dan Kropp, for his major assistance in my research — he knows what he did!
  • Joe Reynolds and Chris Tamase for their encouragement, enthusiasm — and tapes!
  • Marc Pelletier for his encouragement and creating the original and now-defunct (but still the best!) Tommy Conwell tribute web page.
  • Mike Vanduser for The Zippers archival images and music video, "Evolution." (And Timothy Gager for more cool Zippers' images.)
  • John Hennessy for his permission to use one of his classic early 1990s-era Tommy Conwell videos from Walsh's - some of my favorite videos ever.
  • The YouTube community.
  • Johnny Z for his assistance at the New Hope In the Pocket gig.
  • Creative professional Carol Welker for the Audio Rumble logo.
  • The music scene in the 1980s, Wilmington, Delaware on Facebook for posting the vintage Rockett 88 video.

This rockumentary is dedicated to the late Sandy Kinden and anyone who ever traveled to see their favorite Philadelphia-Delaware-New Jersey bands up and down the east coast in the 80s and 90s.  

Thank you, Tommy!

Thursday, June 7, 2012

I Knew The Bride When She Used To Rock And Roll - Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers



Live television simulcast on PRISM and WMMR from Veterans Stadium on Labor Day, 1986. Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers (3-piece band) perform "I Knew the Bride When She Used To Rock and Roll."

Saturday, June 2, 2012

I Feel So Good (live) - Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers


Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers play the blues with a cover of Big Bill Broonzy's I Feel So Good live at Market St. Square in Wilkes-Barre, PA. September 8, 1988.