George Manney, a "highly regarded Philadelphia rock pioneer, filmmaker, archivist, and producer," made many contributions to the Philadelphia music scene.
He was a walking archive of the city's greatest music memories and a founder of the Philadelphia Music Hall of Fame.
A lot more will be said about George in the news and by his colleagues and friends, and even though I never had the pleasure of meeting him, it was cool to share and trade Philly music with him.
Image shared on Audio Rumble's Facebook page courtesy of George Manney on 3/10/2014.
Here is a recording of Tommy Conwell on "What I'd Say" - a cut from the CD, Last Minute Jam, Volume 2 (Minutes to Millenium), produced by George Manney.
Originally posted on Audio Rumble's Facebook page.
Concert poster and setlist for Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers live in Omaha, Nebraska at The Ranch Bowl Entertainment Center, Jan. 18, 1989.
Setlist: - Workout [intro] - Everything They Say is True - Walkin’ on the Water - Tell Me What You Want Me to Be - My Mae Mae - If We Never Meet Again - Gonna Breakdown - Love’s On Fire - Young Thing - Rock With You - I'm Not Your Man - Half a Heart - Million Pretty Girls - Dig the Possibilities - Workout | Encore | - Cruisin' Slow - I Wanna Make You Happy - Demolition Derby
David Uosikkinen's In the Pocket at Valley Forge Casino Resort on October 23, 2015. From left to right: Steve Butler, Tommy Conwell, David Uosikkinen and Cliff Hillis. Video from Adrian Hickman:
Every day from Sept. 15-25, 2015, Audio Rumble celebrates the 1990 album release of Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers’ Guitar Trouble with a retrospective featuring articles, audio, images, interviews, video and lots more!
Sept. 15 - You can hear Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers' Guitar Trouble online in its entirety on YouTube.
Sept. 16 - A record review of TCYR's "Guitar Trouble" [demo] from AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine: "...the best moments are quite effective -- the title track, "Guitar Trouble," rocks like nobody's business, "Hard as a Rock" gets that heartland rock anthem right in a way "Rumble" didn't quite do, and "I'm Seventeen" does have a ragged heart. Tellingly, those are all compositions credited to Conwell alone, suggesting that he may have known what he was about better than his major label benefactors."
Sept. 17 - Tommy Conwell promotional image - Columbia Records, 1990.
Sept. 18 - A second performance from Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers on The John DeBella Show in November 1990. The band rocks "Let Me Love You Too" -- go TCYR!
Sept. 19 - Covering Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers’ "I'm Seventeen" from Guitar Trouble isSwiss musician, Walti Huber, a folk singer-songwriter.
Sept. 21 - Gus Van Zant, director of Good Will Hunting (1997) and My Own Private Idaho (1991), directed Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers’ music video for “I’m Seventeen” on location in Portland, Oregon.
Sept. 22 - Houston Chronicle Review - Nov. 11, 1990
"Philadelphia's Tommy Conwell makes strides on his second album, Guitar Trouble. Thanks to the hippest producer in the land, Pete Anderson (Dwight Yoakam, Michelle Shocked), Conwell distances himself from the commercial pop-rock of his debut and embarks on a detour into basic blues-rock that makes no apologies for being white, young and British, circa 1965. The result is cocky enough to overcome its stylistic limitations." [Three and 1/2 stars]
A Cyndy Drue WMMR radio interview with Tommy Conwell promoting "Guitar Trouble" in 1990.
Words on the 25th anniversary of Guitar Trouble from Cyndy Drue:
"After the self-released "Walkin' on the Water" and then the debut on Columbia Records' "Rumble," Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers' third album "Guitar Trouble" was a natural progression musically. "I'm Seventeen" was the catchy single that rip-roared its way into our psyches with hooks all over it. To this day, that song and many of his others still sound fresh."
Concert soundboard recording (39 min, 42 sec) of Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers from the Guitar Trouble tour at Peter Clark Hall in Guelph, Ontario in 1991.
TCYR opened for Colin James for several dates in the spring of 1991.
Attention avid music lovers! It's been two years since the release of Travel Lanes well-reviewed EP, "Hey, Hey, It's Travel Lanes!" They have now graced us with the release of a new self-produced project entitled, "Let's Begin to Start Again." So it's now 2015 -- and exactly who are the musicians in Travel Lanes and why do they need to begin to start again? Again? Well, any invitation to start again should at least begin with an introduction of the talent.
In
this latest release by Travel Lanes, all songs were written by Frank
Brown except ‘Little Outta Love’ - written by Frank Brown and Gerry
McGoldrick. The tracks were produced by Frank Brown and Mitch Cojocariu. Personal aside: Let me tell you something about this little band from
Philly called Travel Lanes. I once asked Travel Lanes if they would be
able to play a gig on a weekend that I would, by chance, be in Philadelphia. (Unfortunately, they were not playing the weekend that I would be in
town.) They checked around and then found a place where they could play
so I could see them play live. I. WILL. NEVER. FORGET. THAT.
Something else that I will never forget are lyrics written by Travel Lanes’ lead singer Frank Brown. Frank is a long-time Philly music staple, however, his name is fairly common -- see the links to a music festival with his same name all over the place -- and with no real social media presence – it's hard even for me to find out anything about him other than his musical history: Flight of Mavis, Buzz Zeemer, some work with other bands on the now-defunct Record Cellar label, a solo album in '05, and then, of course, the Travel Lanes' EP release in 2013. But back to the lyrics… Frank Brown is my songwriting hero and I'll spend a greater part of this review analyzing lyrics from many of the songs on this new album. One of the first lyrics from the prolific songwriter that I latched onto came from a 1989 Flight of Mavis song that I first heard in 2004 (the year I discovered the band). The song is "It Comes in Time" which was featured in an Olsen Twins movie back in 2002. Don't ask. Don’t think that you shouldn’t call / it’s mine to take
I’m awake / If something’s on your mind, it’s on mine too / I’m part of you / And there’s nothing you can hide that I can’t find For my future screenplay, imagine a fade into a tiny apartment at night in the late 1990’s in the heart of Austin, Texas. A young, pretty girl calls a guy on the phone and hears these words back to her. It’s in the screenplay because it never happened in real life, but think of how nice if it would have happened if that guy would have said that instead of, oh, ...wait. Where am I and what am I talking about – oh yes...Travel Lanes! Which begs the question that maybe these lyrics aren’t as brilliant as I think they are, but maybe they do speak to something that can be recognized as special by the individual, and, therefore, are redeemed by being held to this higher, very personal, standard. Right. This blog has already covered my personal ‘history’ with Travel Lanes and how popular and influential an artist Frank Brown is in many circles:
“(Flight of Mavis) ran on the gas that was the songs of one Frank Brown, who
had a great voice if ever there was one.” - Nov. 27, 2002 [Philadelphia Weekly]
Not to mention Frank Brown’s stint as the lead singer of Buzz Zeemer -- which I mention because I have contractually obligated myself to mention Tommy Conwell in every post. This blog is called Audio Rumble for a reason!
But again, I don’t want to get caught up in any kind of nostalgia – a subject which (ha!) allows me to drop-reference another Brown-penned song from his solo effort in 2005 released by Record Cellar, "Out of the Blue." From a song called “Nostalgia”:
"Now I don’t want to talk about the kinds of things that happened long ago / I don’t want to celebrate the infinite wisdom of Columbo / Songs that meant the world to me are now only hawking mediocrity" So, true story about the first time I listened to “Let’s Begin to Start Again” (a week ago now) in its entirety. I was so awestruck in my first listen that I had to really, really think about what I had heard. Was it brilliant? Was I overwhelmed by the themes I thought I was hearing? Was I low on B vitamin supplements? Anyway, I decided to stew over these first impressions and not listen to the album for an entire day, so as to completely get my thoughts together before getting back to the music.
And now for a song-by-song review: ---------------------------------------***--------------------------------------- Class Trip This opening track from Travel Lanes really channels Cheap Trick. Crunchy guitars, powerful rhythm section, great vocals. And I'm talking about Cheap Trick in the late 1970's, y'know, after Budokan, but before Dream Police. It could easily be mistaken for a track in the 'Heaven Tonight' LP, because it would fit right in between "On Top of the World" and "California Man" - it's a great rock song! I know my Cheap Trick, so take my word for it. “Well, you’ve got your permission slip
/ It’s all you need on this class trip!” Plus I enjoy the almost menacing tone of the lyrics towards the end: "Hold tight, don't lose your grip / if you want to come home from this class trip!"
What? What do you mean "if" I want to return? How rough is the ride on this class trip? Holy cow - that is awesome! Where are my parents to sign this permission slip... In the World The first time I heard "In the World" was in May of last year. Travel Lanes played it in rehearsal at Dawson Street Pub and also played it in their main set. After the song was over, I cheered so hard for this song and Frank said, 'We'll keep that in the set' and I smiled like a Cheshire cat. It felt so great to hear a new Frank Brown song on its first night. Themes of true love and melancholy in spades. And it' s a great song.
Lyrics: “A picture that you took / that she kept inside a book /
It holds the memories of a summer so sublime” No Go "No Go" begins very rhythmic and has an engaging tone. Frank's vocals are not overly complex and neither is the song. But it has one of the best pleading lines a song has ever had about intimacy. Lyrics: “Darling, there’s a reason that this night is just so-so” Little Outta Love A song co-written by Frank Brown and Gerry McGoldrick, former lead of a couple of cool Record Cellar bands, including Napalm Sunday and Solid for Sixty. The soft-rock pop harmony and rhythm section find their stride just as the singer is "...trying to find (his) way up." Lyrics:“Not everything’s behind you
/ Sometimes it’s merely a precursor / nothing’s wrong just make sure your seatbelt's on” 100th I Told You Quick. Write a catchy, witty pop song that is under 2 minutes and 30 seconds. You can't do it, can you? That's too bad, because that's Frank Brown's stock-in-trade. By the way, did you hear Travel Lanes cover Taylor Swift earlier this year on WXPN? In my imagination, this is Frank Brown's way of throwing down the gauntlet and saying, "Yeah, Tay-Tay, I've been doing this pop music brilliance for years. Big deal." Nah, that's just me talking. Frank is probably way too nice to ever say that. But this song is so good, I'm not even going to give you a snippet of the best lyrics. You'll have to buy it yourself and check it out. Rocker's Dive Radio has been playing it a lot, too.
Lyrics: “…losing your nerve / as I’m finding mine”
The Year “The Year” is my personal favorite and, additionally, Frank Brown's vocals are at their best on this track. The overall feel is very reminiscent to me of Frank Brown’s work from his 2005 solo album, “Out of the Blue.” A review from music mag No Depression that year stated:
“This is what The Eagles would be if they were still making music every other year…. It’s like Don Henley and Glenn Frey came together again to make another classic…a bit of low-cal SoCal country-rock that temporarily turns Brown and band into...wait for the punchline...the Philadelphia Eagles."
Fact: No band currently does alt-country live right now better than Travel Lanes. In one night, I witnessed them cover (with much depth and expertise) both Ricky Nelson’s “Anyone Else“ and the Carter Family's “Lover's Lane.“ I proclaim Travel Lanes to be the music industry's updated version of The Eagles in 2015...but just a lot more exciting. Lyrics: “Life rearrangin’
/ Time started changin’
/ Not hard to see
/ when it inevitably unfolds in front of you” But I’m Not A straight forward rock/country-ish love song that's touching in the mood that it creates. This song reminds me of Buzz Zeemer's "Delusions of Grandeur"-era, which was a series of tracks that created an atmosphere so dreamy and rapt, it made you want to cocoon yourself into the next rainy day - because it was that good. This song is that good, too. Lyrics: “All I can do is follow through this love for you
/ There ain’t a doubt the way out’s an avenue
/ Sometimes this world makes me want to run away
/ But I’m not” TA So an inside source tells me that the title of this track is a real person's initials: 'The name
in the chorus is so much fun to say that Frank had to write the song.' "From the moment I heard it said, I had thissong going throughmy
head...." With that being said, let me know if you can figure out the name being said in this song because I'm lost. It will be added to the category of "Great Misunderstood Song Lyrics of All Time." But I love the creativity of how this song was created, the punchy and fun lyrics -- "Her aunt and uncle are extraordinary" -- and it's yet another great pop-rock song. And a mini-Flight of Mavis/Buzz Zeemer reunion with David McElroy on keyboards. Death An alt-country stylized track about the inevitability of death that might be a surprise for some, but it works here. And how poignant this bridge:
“While I know that you’re surprised / you‘ve got to try it on for size
/ All the things that you used to worry about
/ Well they all just went away with all the pain that you’re without” I won't give away the lyrics of the song at the intro, but once you hear it, you won't ever forget it. The song is a detached look at its subject, yet at the same time a personal and connected look at the weariness that the eventualities of death brings for everyone. And some great work by Point Entertainment's Jesse Lundy on guitar. Cream Soda At one level, "Cream Soda" expresses itself on the joyous effects of the simple pleasure of a cool refreshing childhood drink. On another, the band may be imploring us to enjoy their confectionery hooks, melodies and lyrics because they are as palatable as a cream soda. Whatever the case may be, it’s a happy, hip rock song that really comes to life with the line: "Cream soda, it’s the only thing that I’m sure of" It's so catchy, it’s a musical crime. I especially enjoy the fact that this song really amps up the listener for the last ¾ of the entire album. More Than Me Lyrics: "How come everyone seems to have more than me / Got more friends, got more money /How come everyone seems to have more than me / Seems so, I don't know" The almost universal lament of this track seems to get verified at the end when the song fades out and then fades back in:
"Everybody / everyone..." If you need a comparison about what this somewhat alt-country throwback sounds like, think a more Americanized Elvis Costello meets Ricky Nelson. Hey look! You said you wanted a comparison, right? But a good bit of roots rock, if I do say so myself. And that's Frog Holler's Michael Lavdanski on banjo. It’s My Pleasure And then the last track....this last Travel Lanes track was haunting me for days. The song opens with an acoustic sort of musical scale that then opens up into a piece that is quite ethereal. That scale runs throughout the track then, and ties everything together. It is a perfect cap to everything musically that came before -- which is fitting because it's as if saying, "Look at all we’ve been through on this musical journey. I’d do this all over again with you, you know?” Before I let you go, I need to know/
If you are a part of me, of me The last few lines - ‘All you are is dreaming’ - come across like a musical sigh in its repetition, as the listener becomes even more enchanted with the addition of the lines ‘So let’s begin to start again....you go first’ The release of acceptance to everything comes with the line ‘It’s my pleasure’ — a completely unexpected statement aside from the fact that it’s the title of the song. Is life but a dream? It's up to the listener to decide, of course, but in reference to the entire album, it's been a pleasure to hear this work. ---------------------------------------***--------------------------------------- For myself, the entirety of the tracks on Travel Lanes' "Let's Begin to Start Again" encompass almost all of life’s varied experiences. The album runs the gamut from youth and adventure in "Class Trip," "In The World" and its reference to true love via woefulness, the humor found in "No Go" and "Cream Soda," commitment and dedication in "Little Outta Love," the persistent failure yet hopeful tone of "The Year," and the sweet melancholy of "It's My Pleasure."
The fact that Frank Brown has surrounded himself with excellent musicians -- Mitch Cojocariu's bass, John Bicer on drums (both formerly of The Rigbees) and guitarist Derek Feinberg -- is no accident and fully fleshes out this Americana/indie sound, yet these guys are a step above. (As mentioned, the album is produced by Brown and Cojocariu with the latter taking lead in the recording, engineering and mixing.) Their time together as a band in both the studio and in their live shows has made for a cohesive unit and sound -– and they are truly one of the best bands around today.Travel Lanes' new LP is simply one of Frank Brown’s most ambitious and successful projects to date.
You will not go wrong in buying a copy of Travel Lanes’ latest, “Let’s Begin to Start Again” on CD Baby(for digital files), purchase the CD exclusively at Main Street Music in Manayunk, PA, and/or stream on Spotify. Do all three. You'll make a band happy.
Conwell Is A Jock Who Really Rocks by Phyllis Stark
Billboard Magazine | July 2, 2005
Tommy Conwell used to be a rock star. Now, he plays them on the radio.
The one-time leader of rock band Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers--who recorded two albums for Columbia Records--has been the midday personality on active rock WYSP Philadelphia since 2003.
But in the 1980s and early '90s, Conwell was a local guitar hero and one of Philly's most promising native sons. Conwell, now 43, began playing music professionally at age 20, when he was a student at the University of Delaware.
In 1984, he formed Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers, who quickly built a following playing at Philly-area clubs and campuses. Locals lined up around the block to see the blond, spiky-haired rock god and his band perform their high-energy, sweat-drenched sets. Such was the band's popularity that when a contest was held in 1987 for a free concert at a local high school, area teens sent in more than 11 million postcards.
After a label bidding war, Conwell and his band signed with Columbia and released their major-label debut, "Rumble," in 1988. That album was followed by "Guitar Trouble" in 1990.
In those heady years, the group got radio airplay and MTV exposure and appeared on the American Music Awards and on talk shows hosted by David Letterman and Arsenio Hall.
But "Guitar Trouble" marked the band's swan song, and the beginning of the end of Conwell's music career.
In 1993 he formed a new band, a punk rock/blues outfit called the Little Kings, who released two albums, including 1997's "Sho' Gone Crazy," on a tiny, independent label. By then, Conwell saw the writing on the wall, as both his career and his hair started to disappear. He went back to school, received his degree and became an elementary-school teacher.
"I always said, 'When I'm not sitting at the table in the music industry anymore, I'm not going to hang around begging for crumbs,' " he says of the career change.
He taught at an elementary school for five years before deciding that teaching was "entirely too much work for my lifestyle." He then began selling fencing for a friend's company.
In 1999, Conwell was still employed outside the music business when Infinity's WYSP tapped him to host its Sunday-evening local-music show, "Loud and Local."
"With him being a former rock star in Philly, it was a natural fit," WYSP VP of programming Tim Sabean says. Four years later, the station ran a contest to find its new midday jock. Conwell auditioned and was chosen by the audience to fill that role.
Sabean says Conwell's local connection is part of his appeal. "He talks about Philly and can relate to Philly." As an added bonus, Sabean says, Conwell is "recognized on the street from his rock-star days." One advantage Conwell's past has given him is that he is totally comfortable at the many public appearances he does for the station.
"I know what to do with a microphone in front of a live crowd," he says, noting that standing before an audience is hard for some jocks but has been his "bread and butter for a lot of years." Conwell continues to host the hourlong weekend program "Loud & Local," a part of his job he especially enjoys because he has complete creative control of the show. As a former Philly musician, his main goal for "Loud & Local" is to give exposure to bands for whom that kind of airplay means so much. "I try to make them all feel like rock stars, because I know how good that feels."
He also knows what the flip side feels like--when radio gives an artist the cold shoulder. During his major-label days, Conwell and his band visited hundreds of radio stations while on tour, and with each visit, he says, "you never knew what you were going to get. You might get treated like the Rolling Stones or you might get treated like a nuisance." So when musicians visit his station, Conwell's rule is simple: "You need to be sweet to them." Having tasted life in the major leagues, Conwell has no regrets about the twists and turns. "I've been lucky my whole life--from having the good fortune I had to make records on Columbia and tour the world, then that goes away and this [career] pops up. I'm on the No. 1 rock station in Philadelphia--the station I grew up listening to." Asked what is appealing to him about his radio career, Conwell, who still performs sporadically cites a new kind of creativity and notes that "the hours are great." But mostly, he confesses, "I like being famous." In fact, Conwell admits that making the transition from rock star to third-grade teacher was extremely difficult. "When I went into teaching, it was time to get over myself," he says. "There was a lot of ego deflation that needed to occur, but it was great for me. Some of the best lessons I learned were in that time period." That experience made him appreciate his newfound notoriety much more. "When it's taken away and then given back, that's when it's really the sweetest."
Song 13 - Walkin' On the Water In the Pocket's 13th song is “Walkin’ On The Water," originally recorded by Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers in 1986. Available on iTunes and Amazon.com! Dedicated to the memory of Tom Owston.
"I could have chosen any number of Tommy Conwell’s great songs. But, I chose ‘Walkin' On The Water' because it seemed autobiographical and all about how Tommy was truly feeling at that time. Cocky, confident, on top of the world, and it rocks like crazy!" - David Uosikkinen
Elton John's "Philadelphia Freedom" - Various Philadelphia Artists (1989) [Long Version]
Artists included on this recording: The Hooters, Patti Labelle, Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers, Grover Washington, Jr., Pretty Poison, Phyllis Hyman, Teddy Pendergrass, Robert Hazard, Jeff Lorber, Jean Carn, Britny Fox, Bobby Rydell, Schoolly D, Essra Mohawk, Sister Sledge, Billy Paul, Dee Dee Sharp and Tony Santoro.
Singing Our Song Local Superstars Get It Together
By Jonathan Takiff, Daily News Staff Writer June 5, 1989
Did Elton John's rendering of "Philadelphia Freedom" make you well up with civic pride? If so, you're gonna bust over a dynamic new Philly superstar treatment out on a just-issued album called "Philadelphia Freedom - Together." Trading licks (in the style of "We Are the World") are Teddy Pendergrass, the Hooters, Schooly D, Grover Washington Jr. and Patti LaBelle. Sharp ears also will detect the presence of Sister Sledge, Britny Fox, Jeane Carne, Bobby Rydell and Billy Paul, Pretty Poison, Dee Dee Sharp, Jeff Lorber, Robert Hazard, Essra Mohawk, Tony Santoro and Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers. Celebrating Philly's rich and varied base in contemporary music, the Nick Martinelli and Randy Cantor production of Elton John's fight song was a year in the compiling, done at the behest of the Philadelphia Music Foundation. The results are coherent and soulful - an easy addition to the playlists of WIOQ, Power 99, WUSL or WDAS, or even (because it's instant gold) WOGL and WPGR.
The boosters at PMF hope radio will get behind the song tomorrow in a big way. They're trying to get every radio station in the Delaware Valley to play the tune - to help the cause, in a City Hall ceremony at 3 p.m. today, Mayor Goode is to declare tomorrow "PMF's Philadelphia Freedom Day." Still, don't be surprised if rockers WMMR and WYSP instead opt to plug some of the classic tracks that flesh out the $7.98 "Philadelphia Freedom" album. Yup, it's the greatest hits by the Hooters ("And We Danced"), Patti LaBelle ("New Attitude"), Cinderella ("Nobody's Fool"), John Eddie ("Jungle Boy") and Robert Hazard ("Escalator of Life") on the rocking Side 1.
The flip side gets funky with McFadden and Whitehead's "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now," George Thorogood's "Who Do You Love," Teddy Pendergrass' "Close the Door," Sister Sledge's "We Are Family," Jean Carne's "Closer Than Close" and Michael Sembello's "Automatic Man." PMF board member Alan Rubens (the savvy talent agent/manager and sometime record company proprietor) negotiated the song rights for the PMF project, and Sigma Sound's Joe Tarsia (now PMF chairman) mixed the package. "It's a clear example of people helping people through music," says Tarsia of the superstar song and album project. "The monies raised will be used to further the education and careers of young people through our scholarship fund."
Over the past 2 1/2 years, PMF has contributed "in excess of $60,000" in music-field related scholarships, adds PMF director Loretta Barrett. Also keeping it local, Warner Bros. has pressed the album at its Olyphant, Pa., plant. And the Narberth-based Collectibles label - which specializes in classic rhythm and blues compilations and reissues - is putting the album and an upcoming tape version into national circulation. While best spread in Delaware Valley music stores, naturally, ''Philadelphia Freedom - Together" has also been shipped to distributors in Boston, New York and Los Angeles and will be "filtering out from there," says Collectables' president Jerry Greene.
Thanks to Joe Kohnow for sharing with Audio Rumble -
"Here are a few photos of Tommy jammin' on 'Johnny B. Goode' with my old band, Oscar Can't Win, when we opened up for him and the Little Kings at the Prime Time Pub in NE Philly." [Sept. 1996]
Thanks to Audio Rumble friend, Peter Hemgard, for posting this great video of a Swedish band covering Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers' "Workout." Performed by rock n roll band Southern Kings, live at Norrehus, Klippan, on May 30, 2015.
Wednesday, September 21, 1988 By Kathi Whalen Section: Style; Page C10
Length: 178 words
Tommy Conwell's Aggressive Pop
Philadelphia's Tommy Conwell has suffered links with one of his home town's biggest pop exports, the Hooters, but in fact he's steeped in the leaner bar band sounds and attitude of George Thorogood. Monday night at the Bayou, Conwell and his band, the Young Rumblers, barreled through time-tested R+B licks that they, unlike Thorogood, have resourcefully fitted into strong pop originals.
Conwell's aggressive personality was a plus in keeping the sold-out crowd attentive on this first date of his national tour.
Or at least the stamina was laudable -- his ho-hum repertoire of rebel-yell calls, which the audience never failed to shout back, sounded ridiculous coming from a young Northern boy.
Fortunately, the set proved he's mastered a more difficult art -- conjuring pop songs that blend irresistible hooks with a light rockabilly beat. "Workout" summed up the bluesy undertone that competed all night with ebullient Top 40 tunes such as "Half a Heart" and "I'm Not Your Man," but coupled in the same set they gave Conwell that elusive signature sound.
Tonight is the last show for late night's king, David Letterman. An article from Wall Street Journal (May 7, 2015) on David Letterman's love of Americana and roots rock music through the years.
"Americana incorporates 'elements of various American roots music styles,' according to the Americana Music Association, including country, roots rock, folk, bluegrass, R + B and blues."
Audio Rumble celebrates the last Letterman show with the appearance of Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers performing "If We Never Meet Again" on January 4, 1989. Thanks, Dave.
Images of Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers performing at The Ardmore Music Hall on April 25, 2015. All photographs courtesy of Bud Fulginiti. (Click images to see a larger file size.)
Dude: Hey, DJ Caterina, tell me another one of your TCYR stories... Me: Well, back in 1986, Tommy Conwell hired Rob Miller for the Young
Rumblers and then put him on keyboards because, Tommy said, Rob was the
better guitar player. Dude: Oh, come ON!!! Me: Yeah,
interesting, right? But here's Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers live
in 1990 playing Guitar Trouble with Rob Miller on lead guitar with
Tommy. I just love the guitar duel going on here. Dude: THIS IS AMAZING! Me: Anyway, check it out, kids...
