Look at that crowd! Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers on NPR's Free at Noon.
Young Rumblers fans enjoyed a rare musical weekend - two concerts in two days in the Philly area from Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers!
The first concert was Friday, Nov. 22 for Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers' at NPR's Free At Noon concert for the NPR Live Session of the Day. Here they kick off the show with "Goin' Back to Philly!" The next day, Saturday, Nov. 23, Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers performed at The Ardmore Music Hall, with opening band, The Whips.
Tommy Conwell performs “Small-Time Has-Been” on WYSP’s “Loud and Local” in 2011.
This was the second to the last "Loud and Local" show on Aug. 21, 2011.
Track Cover #3: Out of the Blue Some background information on the covers from the new Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers record, Showboats and Grandstanders. The three covers on the album are “The Rest of the Night,” “The Little Things,” and "Out of the Blue." “Out of the Blue” is a song written by Robert Hazard.
It was released in 1982 as one of five tracks from the EP called Robert Hazard. From the blog, Eighties Rare Videos: “Robert Hazard was a mainstay of the Philadelphia music scene during the late 1970's and early 1980's. With his band, Robert Hazard and the Heroes--Michael Pilla, Jerry Weindel, Ken Bernard, John Lilley, Rob Miller--he performed David Bowie-influenced new wave material that was modern and catchy, and generated a sizable local following.” In 1982, Kurt Loder, a writer for Rolling Stone magazine, caught Robert Hazard and the Heroes in concert. “Loder was so impressed by the band's show that he wrote a full page article about them in the November 1981 issue of Rolling Stone. In the article, he predicted that the "limousine life" could not be far away for this band from Philadelphia.”
Source: www.phillyrockers.com Loder’s glowing article for the mag, and the national interest led to a recording contract with RCA. The album received positive reviews and reached #102 on the album charts. The single “Escalator of Life" peaked at #58 on the Billboard charts. Hear the live version of “Out of the Blue” from Robert Hazard and the Heroes:
Several years later, Cyndi Lauper recorded the Hazard-penned "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" – the track from her debut album, “She’s So Unusual” was a huge hit, peaking at number 2 on the Billboard charts in 1984. Robert Hazard died after surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston on August 5, 2008. He had released his last album, Troubadour, in October 2007. In a Billboard magazine article (10/28/1995), author Dan Delvea discusses a bit of Philly's past in "Diverse Acts, Indie Labels Discover Freedom in Philly"
"....the Hooters, Robert Hazard and Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers made [Philadelphia] a mainstream rock outpost in the '80s."
Robert Hazard and Tommy Conwell collaborated on two songs for the Young Rumblers: "Love's On Fire" and "Everything They Say Is True." Both songs were featured on two releases by Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers: the 1986 indie-album, Walkin' On the Water, and the band's 1988 national major label debut on Columbia Records, Rumble. At Ardmore Music Hall on May 13, 2017, Tommy Conwell gave a preview of “Out of the Blue” — one of the songs promoted as a track for the new Young Rumblers album.
Tommy’s live acoustic performance:
Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers also included “Out of the Blue” live in 2018 as a band, and have been performing it in concert ever since.
Some background information on the covers from the new Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers record, Showboats and Grandstanders. The three covers on the album are “The Rest of the Night,” “The Little Things,” and "Out of the Blue." Track Cover #2: It’s the Little Things 'Cause it's the little things that mean a lot It's what you are, not what you got - Sonny Bono
(1967) Up around the way, jokers come and jokers go It’s what you are, not who you know - Tommy Conwell
(1992) “It’s the Little Things” is a song written by Sonny Bono. It was released in 1967 as a single from the LP, Good Times, the first soundtrack album by American pop duo Sonny and Cher, in conjunction with the film of the same name.
"It's the Little Things" was the first single released in the U.S. and reached #50 stateside and #3 in Canada. The soundtrack only reached #73 on the Billboard album charts. In an interview with "David Uosikkinen In the Pocket" podcast, Tommy Conwell tells David and Andy Vineberg that his arrangement of “Little Things” is inspired by a version by The Skeletons. Their cover version was originally released in 1992 from the album “Waiting” on the Alias Records label.
Some notes about The Skeletons from an LA Weekly, Dec. 1992, article: “The Skeletons (led by bassist Lou Whitney and guitarist D. Clinton Thompson), evolved out of the Morrells, a skewed jumpabilly band that released on indie album a decade ago and themselves evolved out of an earlier band called, among other things, the Skeletons.
(On the Waiting album)…songs seem buoyant even while carrying essentially dread-full, downbeat lyrics. In addition to the double-edged originals, the Skeletons triumphantly recut Sonny Bono’s “It’s the Little Things” in a way that you can’t ignore the man’s utter two-facedness.” - Review by John Morthland In May 1993, the Ithaca Journal said that “the Springfield, Missouri-based Skeletons have earned the reputation as a ‘must-see’ live band.” Another band that has covered Sonny Bono’s “It’s the Little Things” is Redd Kross, from their 1987 Big Time (RCA Records) LP released in 1987, called "Neurotica." Observed to be a blend of various genres including garage rock, power pop, punk rock, art rock and pop rock, Wikipedia says “the album was influential to the grunge movement.”
The album was produced by ex-Ramones drummer Tommy Erdelyi. However, the track does not show up until 2002, when two bonus tracks were added to a reissue: Robert Hecker's "Pink Piece of Peace", and Sonny Bono's "It's The Little Things." Probably one of my favorite tracks on "Showboats and Grandstanders" -- I really love this song from TCYR! 😍
Some background information on the covers from the new Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers record, Showboats and Grandstanders.
The three covers on "Showboats" are “The Rest of the Night,” “The Little Things," and "Out of the Blue.”
Track Cover #1: The Rest of the Night
This track on TCYR’s Showboats and Grandstanders album features backing vocals and harmonica from Kenn Kweder. The track was recorded on November 30, 2018.
“The Rest of the Night” is a track from Warren Zevon’s twelfth and final studio album, The Wind. The song is written by Warren Zevon and Jorge Calderón. The Wind was produced by Jorge Calderón, Noah Scot Snyder and Warren Zevon. Calderon also co-wrote seven of the 11 tracks on the album, and plays bass, acoustic guitar, various percussion, electric guitar, and provides background vocals.
(Jorge Calderon holds the unique distinction of having been credited on all of Warren Zevon's post-1976 albums with the exception of My Ride's Here.)
The Wind was released on August 26, 2003, by Artemis Records. Zevon began recording the album shortly after he was diagnosed with inoperable pleural mesothelioma—-a cancer of the lining of the lung—and it was released just two weeks before his death on September 7, 2003.
The album won in the category for Best Contemporary Folk Album at the Grammy Awards in 2004. "Disorder in the House," performed by Zevon and Bruce Springsteen, also won a Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance (Group or Duo) that year.
Warren Zevon’s last appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman occurred on Oct. 30, 2002. Zevon credited the comedian and TV host as "being the best friend my music ever had."
It cuts out, but you can see another Reilly's Daughter video from 2019 here—a lot of excellent TC guitar work on this one: 🎸🔥
#RIP Eddie Money. You’ll be missed! 💲💲💲 You can catch Reilly’s Daughter with Tommy Conwell next weekend on Sat., September 21 -- LaCosta Lounge and Deck Bar in Sea Isle City, NJ.
Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers recorded live in Amsterdam at The Paradiso on March 10, 1989 on VARA Radio - performing the Rolling Stone's "Hand of Fate."
Pop culture in movies, Netflix and generic radio stations tell us what we’re supposed to miss about the 80s. (Y’know, the same three classic rock songs on a loop.) Well, I’ve missed Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers—and I’m so glad this band is back with new music! And no record collection is complete until you’ve acquired this core five: Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers
The Ardmore Music Hall hosted a matinee concert on June 30 for a tribute to musician Darryl Ray. Proceeds benefited the children of Darryl Jenkins. A bevy of fellow musicians paid tribute including Tommy Conwell and the Little Kings, Dynagroove, Rockett 88, Matt Wallace and the Blues and the Darryl Ray Band.
DJ Caterina fell in love with the music of Tommy Conwell and the Little Kings in the early 2000s while a college disc jockey at UT-Dallas. See Audio Rumble's well-documented adulation here. RIP Darryl Ray. I will miss you. All YouTube videos courtesy of Stephen Haldis.
The Sky is Crying
More performances:
"Honey Hush"- Tommy Conwell, Little Kings, Matt Wallace in the final jam
Tommy Conwell and The Young Rumblers "Showboats and Grandstanders" had a record release party at The Fillmore Philadelphia's Foundry Room on June 22, 2019.
A week after the concert, WMMR DJ Jacky BamBam shared with me his amazement of the “real-deal rock n’ roll sound” of the Young Rumblers and the awesome inclusion of the horns: “No one does rock n’ roll horns anymore!!!” 🤘🏻🎶🎸
The concert celebrated the release of the first Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers’ album in 30 years called, "Showboats and Grandstanders"—made possible by TCYR fans through a crowdfunding campaign.
The album dropped on June 18, and the official record release party was held on Sat., June 22.
Tommy, Paul, Jim, Rob and Chris played songs from the new album as well as many favorites from the 80s!
Some highlights: Cliff Hillis, engineer on "Showboats and Grandstander" was a special guest and performed with the band on “Until the End.”
Also, Tommy Conwell, Chris Day and Jay Davidson served an all-out blues jam during “Million Pretty Girls.”
Check out the concert in glorious 4K on YouTube in video from Chris Cafiero.
It's here! The first new official Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers release since 1990's "Guitar Trouble"--not including the release of "Thanks But No Thanks" from the Tommy Conwell store in 2009--and it's called "Showboats and Grandstanders." The new tracks include seven original songs penned by Conwell and three cover songs, including a Robert Hazard song called ‘Out of the Blue,' a Warren Zevon song called ‘The Rest of the Night’ from the album "The Wind" and a vintage Sonny and Cher song called ‘It’s the Little Things.’
Check out the new album--it's definitely a love letter from Conwell to his band and their fans.
From a MontgomeryNews.com interview: "Conwell also has immense gratitude for his fans, who financed 'Showboats and Grandstanders' through a crowdfunding campaign."
Buy it today at the Tommy Conwell Store! Showboats + Grandstanders Produced by Tommy Conwell. Tracks: 1. Goin' Back to Philly 2. Small-Time Has-Been 3. Out of the Blue 4. It's the Little Things 5. Time Gonna Make It Right 6. The Only One 7. Until the End 8. The Rest of the Night 9. I Can't Rock in This Job 10. Whatever This Crowd Wants 11. Small-Time Has-Been (radio edit) 12. I Can't Rock in This Job (radio edit)
Listen to the interview here. From the WMMR website: Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers will release a brand new album 'Showboats + Grandstanders' on June 18th with a 93.3 WMMR RECORD RELEASE PARTY hosted by JACKY BAMBAM on June 22nd at the Foundry (inside The Fillmore).
Tommy called into BAMBAM’s Show to talk about it, debut the new single “Going Back To Philly”!! Take a listen to some great Rock and Roll!! Catch u at The Foundry Room 6/22/19!!
As Tommy would say “The 80’s Are Coming Back”!!! Great to have brand new music from a Philadelphia Treasure! TOMMY CONWELL AND THE YOUNG RUMBLERS!! xo.BAMBAM
In The Pocket – Episode 38 – Tommy Conwell Listen to this interview with Tommy Conwell on David Uosikkinen’s In The Pocket podcast and hear songs from the upcoming new album, "Showboats and Grandstanders" for the first time anywhere! The new tracks include seven original songs penned by Conwell and three cover songs, including a Robert Hazard original called ‘Out of the Blue' that the Young Rumblers have recently added to their live shows.
Showboats and Grandstanders is now available for purchase online at the Tommy Conwell Store.
A message from the Tommy Conwell Store -
Hey! The new Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers album Showboats and Grandstanders drops June 18, and the Release Party is Saturday, June 22 at the Foundry in the Fishtown section of Philadelphia. Tommy, Paul, Jim, Rob and Chris will play songs from the new album as well as all your favorites from, well, you know... the 80s! Come rock with us as we celebrate the release of our first new album in almost 30 years! CDs will be available at the show, as well as new t-shirts, hats, and more.
And from the Indiegogo New Music from Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers page: --New Rumblers album drops June 18-- Hi, Our new album, Showboats and Grandstanders, is done and set to drop on June 18. It took longer than we had hoped, but the whole idea was to have the freedom to work the way we wanted to, and that's what we did. We couldn't have done it without you, so we are forever grateful. Advance downloads, cds, and magnets will be sent out by June 10 so that you have them before the release date.
Thank you for you support! Tommy
From the DynagroovePhilaPA group FB page, an announcement 😢 on the passing of their Dynagroove band member, Darryl Jenkins, aka Darryl Ray, who died on May 2, 2019.
Watch Darryl’s video interview (from a few years back) with Tommy on his YouTube show, “Cigars, Booze and Conversation.” ------------------------------------------- Tommy:There would be no Little Kings without Darryl Ray. Darryl:I hear ya. -------------------------------------------
In April 2018, Tommy Conwell and the Little Kings [Pat Coppa on bass; Paul Ramagano on drums; Tommy Conwell on guitar, vocals; and Darryl Jenkins on saxophone] performed two amazing sets at 118 North, in Wayne, PA.
Here’s a rare track of Darryl on vocals and saxophone.🎷 With Tommy Conwell and the Little Kings performing "Tanqueray" — Live at Grape Street Pub in Manayunk, PA. [11/13/1999]
Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers are back in Philly! Playing live at The Foundry Room at The Fillmore Philadelphia --it's a Brand New Record Release Party!
----------------------- Sale Dates and Times Public Onsale: Fri, 3 May 2019 at 10:00 am Live Nation Presale: Thu, 2 May 2019 at 10:00 am More ticket information here!
An update on the new Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers' album from the FB page "tommy conwell and the young rumblers - fans remember when..." The post is from February.
Maybe we can add 2019 to this "Important Music Dates in TCYR History" list! 😁
Officially the best title of a music podcast ever! “Episode 9: Fighting Over Tommy Conwell” from the Destroy All Music Podcast—and in this episode, host Pauly Thunders asks, “You guys want to know how Pennsylvania, I am?” Oh my god—do I ever! 🎶
Check it out here: http://www.radiomutation.com/…/…/23/destroy-all-music-ep-09/. At the 18:00 minute mark, we find out about his man-in-the-street argument about TCYR's best album—can you dig it?! And also wraps up the show by playing "Half a Heart" from the Rumble LP. Cool!
The Destroy All Music Podcast is based out of Philadelphia--Pauly Thunders plays and discusses a variety of rock and roll records, primarily of the punk and garage rock genres.
The Destroy All Music podcast is also a part of the Radio Mutation podcast network.
Read this March 1991 interview with Tommy Conwell from an Italian rock magazine called Mucchio Selvaggio. Tommy talks about the new album, Guitar Trouble, Texas blues, and basically predicts the emergence of grunge in the 1990s. He's a musical Nostradamus!
Tommy Conwell Interview by Stefano Mongardini Mucchio Selvaggio magazine, March 1991
In the wake of artists like Robert Cray and Jeff Healey, you can also fit in Tommy Conwell, a native of Philadelphia, but hopelessly in love with the Texas aspect of blues music, laden with whiskey and playing nightly like he’s in some Lone Star bar. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q: While coming from Philadelphia your music seems much more oriented to roots (rock), especially Texas blues. Some tracks are reminiscent of The Fabulous Thunderbirds: I'm thinking of “Let Me Love You Too” and “Rock With You.” A: Right. The Fabulous Thunderbirds have been a great influence for me, especially the first two albums. I like that kind of music, I'm a big fan of blues, and particularly Texas blues: The T-Birds, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Freddie King and Albert Collins. Texas blues has influenced most of today's young American blues artists. Stevie Ray's guitar has made many converts; so has Jimmie's (Vaughan). I count myself as one of those converts. But I also play the classic blues and try to put together different elements in my songs.
Q: "I'm Seventeen" talks about youth alienation—were you trying to be autobiographical? A: I started writing that song as a personal vision of someone who sees what a seventeen-year-old is today, from my point of view, that of someone over twenty years old. But much of what comes from that has autobiographical influences. This is how I mix my past and my present.
Q: What did you like most about some of the (other artists’) latest music releases? A: (I’ve been listening to) the discs of World Party. I loved the last Replacements album, like most of their stuff. I have not listened to the last Billy Bragg; I had bought his previous album, Workers Playtime, on which there were some great songs. By the way I bought it right in Italy, near Milan station (laughs)... Then there's that tribute album to Roky Erickson (Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye) and John Wesley Harding's version of “If You Have Ghosts" is just superb. I've listened to it I don't know how many times in a row. On that album, there’s also "Reverberation" by ZZ Top.
Q: Do you think there is still room in music for that kind of “dirty rock blues” like yours, while the majority of the audience is turning more and more blindly to the “FM” sound? A: We have a place there, although it does not have much prominence in terms of rankings. Rock in my opinion does not do statistically well. It does not receive respect and due attention, and for this few artists dedicate themselves to it. As you know people want to be where the action is. But I think something will soon happen, I hope. There's going to be a new rock 'n' roll. There will be a new wave because rock has reached the bottom, just like it happened in the 1970’s before the advent of the Sex Pistols or in the early '60s before the Beatles. These were two bands that brought it back in vogue and at the same time changed it. Something like this is going to happen, I'm waiting. I hope it will occur before I become too old to be a part of it (laughs).
Q: The scene for rock music seems to more complex these days. For example, on the one hand this seems to be the ultimate years for a rediscovery of the blues by a wider audience; on the other, a band like the Del Fuegos just got their album dropped by RCA. A: It's nice to see that the blues is getting the right attention, because there are very good musicians like Jeff Healey, Robert Cray and Robben Ford. I don't know if (the blues) is just a fad, and while remaining a big fan of blues, I don't think that's what will change in rock. It will be a scream much louder like it was for the Sex Pistols or for the Beatles. When there was the first English wave and then the New Wave, the rock was badly reduced: in the years before the 1960s for example, think Frankie Avalon and Fabian, while in the 1970’s there was (artsy) rock, which had nothing to do with rock ‘n’ roll. The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Sex Pistols helped everyone remember what the fuck the term “rock” meant.
Q: What differences do you see, in retrospect, between the recording of your first album and that of Guitar Trouble? A: With the first album I tried to do a lot and pay a lot much more attention. I wanted it to be contemporary, but that it was rock ‘n’ roll different from what the regular guy listens to on the radio, but still made it on the air. And that is still my goal today. My concern was being in a new place where I didn't know the rules. When you make the first album you want it to be perfect, and see that it's up to par. With Guitar Trouble, I wanted to do something more personal that would make us more recognizable.
Q: Name the guitar players who have inspired you the most. A: Jimmie Vaughan both as a rhythm guitarist and as a solo guitar player, and in the sound and tone he gets out of the guitar.
Q: There seems to be a lot of harmonica on your latest album. Is that Rod Piazza (The Mighty Flyers) who plays on Guitar Trouble? A: Rod Piazza is from Southern California and I had never met him before, but Pete Anderson (producer), knew him. We had contacted Kim Wilson of The Fabulous Thunderbirds, but he wasn’t available. Also, Rod is a great musician; on a song like "Didn't Want to Sing the Blues," I asked him to play as Little Walter, while in "Nice and Naughty," I wanted a style closer to rock ‘n roll; along the lines of Kim Wilson. To be clear, all the white bluesmen, excuse the expression, are not the real thing. In one way or another we always end up as sheer imitations, compared to the originals.
Q: "What Once Was" has a very nice acoustic guitar part--do you prefer this or the electric? A: It’s the first time I've played acoustics on a record. We’re primarily an electric guitar band. But I do want to try to play more acoustics, because there are many situations that require it. I like the sound of an acoustic at home, but I’m not an acoustic performer. I don’t think I like it.
Q: How does the guitar pairing work with Billy Kemp? Do you play more rhythmic parts or solos? A: For Guitar Trouble, I played almost all the parts for the guitar. A friend of mine played on a few pieces. But when we play live, we like to change it up. There is a rapport of sixty/forty regarding solos. I play more because I've always done it since I used to play in bars for a beer. But it's nice to change it up rather than having just one person do the guitar solos all the time.
