Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers - 1985

1985 was rockin' with "3 bands and totally open bar!" 🎸 #rockett88 #tcyr

New Year's Eve in 1984 with The Hooters, Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers

 Cheers to all of you in 2022! 🎶🎉🎸 

And great memories of NYE's past! On this night in 1984, it was The Hooters at Philly's Tower Theater in 1984 with special guest, a 3-piece band called Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers!

Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers - Live at Veterans Stadium 1986

Thirty years ago this month, Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers (Tommy Conwell, Paul Slivka and Jim Hannum) perform in concert live via television simulcast on PRISM and WMMR radio from Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia on Labor Day, September 1, 1986. 

The event was also a celebration for PRISM's 10th Anniversary Birthday Bash! 

Included in the select video playlist is a pre-concert Tommy Conwell interview (with rehearsal footage) and interviews with Rob Hyman and Eric Bazilian of The Hooters before the concert. 

Setlist:

- Workout
- Tonight's the Night
- It's Your Life
- I'm Home
- Do You Still Believe in Me
- I'm Not Your Man
- Walkin' on the Water
- Roadside
- Million Pretty Girls
- Dig the Possibilities
- Yeah Yeah Daddy

| Encore |
- Demolition Derby
- I Knew the Bride When She Used to Rock and Roll 

 

The Crawl - The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers

Tommy Conwell on his musical influences [Guitar Trouble press release]:

“First I wanted to be Charlie Parker on guitar,” he muses of his early jazz and bebop years, “and then all I ever wanted to be was Jimmie Vaughan...” 

Jimmie will be inducting his brother, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this Saturday in Cleveland. ‪ In the meantime, enjoy two covers: 

- The Fabulous Thunderbirds and Stevie Ray Vaughan - "The Crawl" in Austin, 
Texas, 1983

 
 
- Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers - The Crawl [Ambler Cabaret, 1985] 

Bring It On Home to Me (live) - Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers

 
Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers [3-piece band] perform a cover of Sam Cooke’s "Bring It On Home to Me” with guest Bonnie Jones (Bonnie Jones and the American Boys) at the Ambler Cabaret, 1985. 

Tommy Conwell - Vocals, Guitar
Paul Slivka – Vocals, Bass
Jim Hannum – Drums

Hideaway(live) - Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers [1984]

Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers [3-piece band] cover Freddie King's "Hideaway" in 1984 at the Deer Park Tavern in Newark, DE.

Long Tall Sally | Wipeout (live) - Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers

Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers [3-piece band] cover "Long Tall Sally" and "Wipeout" in 1984 at the Deer Park Tavern in Newark, Delaware.

Rumblers Rock Stray Cats

Audio tracks of Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers covering the Stray Cats original “How Long You Wanna Live, Anyway?” in 1984 and 1987.

3-piece vs. 5-piece? Listen to both and compare!

↘ Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers [3-piece band] cover the Stray Cats "How Long You Wanna Live, Anyway?" in 1984 at the Deer Park Tavern in Newark, DE.



↘ (Audio track only). Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers perform “How Long You Wanna Live, Anyway” live at Shenanigan's in Sea Isle City, New Jersey. [September 2, 1987]

The Crawl (live) - Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers

It doesn't get any cooler than Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers covering the Fabulous Thunderbirds' original, "The Crawl" at the Ambler Cabaret in 1985.

 

Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers at JC Dobbs, 1985

In 1985, the legendary JC Dobbs in Philadelphia was celebrating its 10-year anniversary.

Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers (3-piece band) performed an (early) set on July 2, 1985.

Here is the setlist (in order):

- Workout
- Demolition Derby 
- Night and Day
- 6 Days on the Road
- Satisfaction Guaranteed
- Welcome to My World
- Backs Turned to Love
- Early than Late
- Million Pretty Girls
- I Want You
- I’m Home
- Write Myself a Letter
- Rumble
- Dig the Possibilities
- Nervous Breakdown

House of Blue Lights [Live] - Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers

Another Chuck Berry cover from the Young Rumblers! Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers (3-piece band) perform "House of Blue Lights" at the Ambler Cabaret, 1986.
[Listen for Tommy's band introduction of Jim Hannum and Paul Slivka at the end.]

Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers - Little Queenie

Tommy Conwells' Young Rumblers (3-piece band) perform a cover of Chuck Berry's "Little Queenie" at the Ambler Cabaret, 1986. [Images courtesy of Luke Ostertag.]

Out In the Street - Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers

Tommy Conwells' Young Rumblers perform a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Out In the Street" at the Ambler Cabaret, 1986.

Rockin' and Reelin' with the Young Rumblers - Fine Times [1984]

Rockin' and Reelin' with the Young Rumblers 
Fine Times Magazine (1984)
by Donna Brown

 
"Yeah, Daddy!"

 
That's Tommy Conwell's catchphrase these days. He uses it onstage when he's particularly pleased with a song and offstage when he's getting excited about a topic.

Tommy Conwell, Brad Fish and Chaz Molina

We're sitting in an Italian restaurant keeping the wait­resses from going home, and Conwell is trying to explain the differences between a rockabilly rhythm and a Chuck Berry rhythm. He's tapping away on the table and singing the notes aloud. 

That same easy nature and cool patter have helped propel Conwell and his band, the Young Rumblers, to the top of the local music scene in a matter of months. There's a buzz on the street about the band, and it has spread with astonishing speed. Because of it, the Young Rumblers have rocketed from playing Sam's Steakhouse to opening for the Hooters and headlining at the Stone Balloon.

The name itself conjures up an accurate image of the band-all the members are young, and the noise they make is like onstage thunder. It’s fat, loud and full of life. While the music is based on blues, it's injected with a contemporary, even punk, energy. More and more Conwell originals are showing up in the set, and they're as far away from traditional blues as possible.

"I wanna keep doing it our way," Conwell explained. "I want it to be intelligent music. That's the one thing lacking in blues. I'm going down to see my baby/take her to my house/put her in my car/going downtown. God, I hate that shit. It's so dumb! But the music's great - the music's full of fire, full of feeling. That's what I love about it.

"My songs are very ambitious," he continued. "I really write on personal experience. We can do it if we want to; 'Be true to yourself,' 'Baby, I believe in mira­cles, and you believe in me' - that's what I feel right now."

Conwell's blues chops came relatively late in life. His first influence was jazz, especially Charlie Parker. "Parker is still my main musical influence;" Conwell said. "He's the greatest jazz man who ever lived:" Con­well, 22, turned himself on to jazz when he started listening to George Benson's Breezin' album shortly after he'd acquired his first guitar, the fat Guild he still uses.

"I picked up Downbeat magazine and started to learn about jazz;" he recalled. "I was just starting to play and I wanted to play like George Benson, so I never had that Jimmy Page influence. I can't play rock to this day. I learned by hanging around with pros like the Danny Mento Orchestra.

"They used to play at the Cherry Pit at the Cherry Hill Holiday Inn every Friday and Saturday night. And I'd always go see them because I loved jazz. They played 'My Way' for about 20 old ladies, and there I was. I used to take my guitar down and ask to sit in and they would let me once in a while. I idolized them when I was 18, not the rock stars. I didn't wanna be no rock and roller. I was into music; I was really into jazz and bebop. I was in a jazz quintet in high school."

Because Chuck Berry was influence number two, though, Conwell did appreciate rock and roll, but of a different sort. "Then I dug punk a lot - the Ramones, Sex Pistols. I used to go to the Hot Club in Philly all the time, and that was a huge influence. I saw a lot of smaller acts like the Speedies, Rattlers, the Cure, Johnny Thunders. It was one thing to read about it, but it was good to be a part of it. It's amazing what a good vibe it was. Very open, not snobby. They let anybody in for a $6 cover. It was like somebody's basement, all the walls painted black. It was great:'

When Conwell came to the University of Delaware from Bala Cynwyd as an English major; he joined the Zippers, a new wave-ish band that eventually evolved into the Maytags. "We were doing punk and new wave cov­ers, just stuff we liked,” Conwell said. "But we weren't that stupid, because it did sell. The college punk crowd ate it up. That's one thing I've learned from my experience - how to see a market." After that came a brief stint as a drummer with the Christian Snipers.

But it was in Rockett 88 that Conwell started to get people talking. He was the perfect foil for Mark Ken­neally's boisterous brand of blues. While "Doctor Harp" entertained with ribald stories and harmonica shenanigans, Conwell was wowing crowds with his flashy guitar style and youthful good looks. Rockett 88 has always been one of the hardest working bands around and it was during this time that Conwell started to learn the business of music.

"Not long into Rockett 88, I was feeling, 'Jeez, I could do this myself,'" Conwell said. "But I didn't have the knowledge, I thought, 'Well, why not do it myself? Be my own boss.'" But before he could plan his own band, Conwell was asked to join Radio Carolyn, the revamped Imports. "They said we weren't going to play locally, that they were starting with a New York management company. There would be all money gigs, no career gigs. I thought, 'Man, they can't be making this up. It's too far-fetched.' That was pretty dumb of me, but ...I wanted to be on MTV, I wanted exposure, I wanted to make records. But I knew that if it didn't work out, I would start my own band.

The Young Rumblers usually rehearse in Newark, but one night they commandeered Wonderland in the Pike Creek Shopping Center, where bassist Chaz Mol­ins works. It was after hours, and the music attracted a coterie of kids heading for the pizza parlor next door. Peering through the windows, they could only see the backs of Conwell and Molins. Drummer Brad Fish was obscured by record racks.

The band was readying for their first date with the Hooters and planning to make the most of their 40 minutes onstage. Most of the set would be originals like "Work Out," "Walking on the Water;" "Dig It," the brand new "Yeah, Daddy" and Conwell's favorite, "Satisfaction Guaranteed,” which pretty much sums up his outlook: 

"I wanna be one of the few / who believe in what they do."

"It's ballsy to say, but I have to believe that l am my best product," Conwell explained. "I'm younger than most guys who play the blues, a different generation. Punk made me want to rock, jazz made me want to play. We have a good mix between them that I hope is self-evident. If you've got a couple things going for you, you might want to flaunt one and let the other happen. I don't want to flaunt my rootsiness, 'cause that's there. I want to flaunt my punkness."

One way the Young Rumblers do that is with a garage-sale-cum-new-wave look. Molins' punkish hair and Conwell's spiky mop contrast with their bowling shirts, ties and fatigues. Conwell sometimes writes messages on his chest for the evening's end, when he strips off his shirt "When I played before Rocky Horror (at the State Theater in Newark) and wrote shit on my chest, I wanted to give them, what they wanted. They didn't want to see some country guitar picker. "The Young Rumblers appeal to a lot of markets," Conwell said. "That's one thing I was conscious of when I started it. We appeal to blues fans and Joe-off-the ­street, because everybody likes blues and everybody likes to hear someone cookin' on the guitar."

"Girls are another market," Conwell continues, grin­ning. "I sell myself to girls. I sing personal songs like 'I Love You' or 'I Want to be Your Driver,' or my stuff like ‘Work Out’ and 'She's a Fine Little Girl, the Best in the World. 'I try to sing personal songs and mean them. I'll put my guitar in their face and go 'oooo-oooo' and make them giggle. That's one of the biggest ways I sell to them. All I gotta do is get them to relax and we'll have a good time.

True enough. When Conwell cuts through the dance floor, trailing a long guitar cord behind him, no one is immune. If you're not reacting, odds are he'll climb on your table - playing all the while - then crouch down and "talk" to you with the guitar.

"I know how to create a stir," Conwell admitted. "'Be wild but be good. I have some concept of entertain­ment and I'm always thinking, 'How can I make things fresh?' I don't use a set list. I say, 'Let's do this one.' I like treating it as a job."

Conwell recently quit his other job, as a cook, to devote himself to music. "I liked being a cook," he said. "I used to be a landscaper and that was too damn strenuous. I like something you can put a little pride into. It's hard to be proud of digging ditches."

Because he wants to be proud of every aspect of the band, Conwell is taking weekly vocal lessons. In Rock­ett 88, he only sang back-up and the major flaw in the earliest Young Rumblers gigs was Conwell's obvious uneasiness at singing lead. Now he's strikingly confi­dent, making the most of his Presley-like sideways smile.

Out of the spotlight, Conwell looks like a milk-fed all-American WASP, but onstage he looks more like Eddie Cochran-meets-Brian Setzer. Conwell, however, disdains the comparison. °I don't wanna be rockabilly. I've got the fat guitar, I play rootsy music, put my hair up a little bit. But it's kind of a revised rockabilly look. I figure that's enough, because it catches the eye of that market. But I don't want to cater to them.

"I guess I don't like rockabilly because I've been tagged with it," he continued. "If I hadn't, I wouldn't have anything against it. I don't want to get rid of that fat guitar, because I’m not gonna make it rockabilly. I’m gonna make it me.

"As a songwriter, I’m a baby," he added. "I've always been more conscious of my playing than my songwrit­ing, but I'm coming to the end of that. The thing about writing is it's so risky. You have to lay out so much of yourself." Conwell credits his creativity to his girlfriend, Carol. "She's my inspiration and she's very supportive. I don't know what I'd do without her, which is real weird because it hasn't been long that I've felt that way."

He relies on his band, too. 'The first time I saw Fish play, I was totally knocked out. He's got the magic, not technique. He's got that indescribable thing. And Chaz looks contemporary, he's pleasant, young and has a good ear. The band is so young, but I know how much potential they have.”

Fans, in fact, have already affectionately tagged the three members Ham, Fish and Cheese. That's approp­riate, since Conwell admits he's a shameless ham when it comes to winning over a crowd. "I realize that it can be intimidating to have all this attention poured on you, but I think I have it figured out. I'm gonna keep on doing just what I'm doing. It can be stifling, but I’m trying not to be intimidated, because I have faith in myself."

Living Room (live) - Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers

Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers (3-piece band) perform "Living Room" live on WXDR radio in Newark. (1985)

Six Days on the Road (live) - Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers

Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers (3-piece band) perform "Six Days on the Road" live on WXDR radio in Newark, 1985.

Truck Drivin' Son-of-a-Gun (live) - Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers

Tommy Conwell’s Young Rumblers (3-piece band) perform "Truck Drivin' Son-of-a-Gun" live at the Empire Rock Club in 1986.

Talkin’ Cheese with Chaz Molins

The following is an excerpt from articles originally found on www.mpprojects.com/tc.

Twenty years ago, University of Delaware student Chaz Molins was the original bass player in Tommy Conwell’s Young Rumblers. Fans affectionately tagged the trio… Ham (Tommy Conwell), Fish (Brad Fish), and Cheese (Chaz Molins).
 

Although not a member of Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers during its impressive run at fame and record deals, bass player, turned counselor, Charles Molins, reflects on his early years.

Did you ever think that Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers would be remembered after two decades?

I recognized Tommy’s guitar virtuosity and always figured he would be like a Stevie Ray Vaughan-type guitar hero.

I guess Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers sounded more rock n’ roll than Ham Fish + Cheese?

Originally the band was called Tommy Conwell’s Young Rumblers. Tommy figured that many of his fans from his previous band, Rockett 88, would recognize his name and come check us out. The Rumblers came from the Link Wray instrumental, Rumble. We would open every set with it; it was a good sound check song. Bass and drums start the song. Tommy would usually be off stage. Then as the guitar part would crescendo, Tommy would make his entrance.  

Rodeo Joe (live) - Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers

Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers perform "Rodeo Joe" live at The Ambler Cabaret in possibly late 1985. (Year not confirmed). 

Satisfaction Guaranteed - Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers

Left to right: Paul Slivka, Tommy Conwell and Jim Hannum

Satisfaction Guaranteed
Article from Delaware Beachcomber by Sean Rojas
[Date unknown, possibly 1985]

Talent is not something that can be acquired. It may be tuned or refined, but someone is born with it; practice and discipline bring it out. Some people can practice all they want and never be great, but people like Tommy Conwell that have talent just fine tune it.

Tommy is a young man with a future in the music business. He is 23 and when it comes to music, he is much older than his years. He plays his guitar with talent. Tommy used to play with the rhythm and blues band, Rockett 88. This is where he learn­ed to be the showman that he is.

Tommy says, "Mark Keneally of Rockett 88 taught me a lot. He has a great amount of energy, and so do I, but he taught me how to channel it for the most. 1 didn't calm down. I'm just more constructive." Conwell started playing for Rockett 88 when he was at the University of Delaware as an English major. Once he started playing, he left school.

When queried about his educational future and his parents' thoughts on the situation he replies, "Finish? I hope not. I hope I won't have to if the music does well. When I left school after three years, my parents didn't like me quitting, but they got used to it pretty quickly when I started making more money than I ever had before."

At the time, he hadn't been playing the guitar too long, only since ninth or tenth grade. When he was younger, he had taught himself how to play the piano. He learned some boogie-woogie, tried his lips at the trumpet, and used to buy harmonicas all the time. Then he tried his hand at the bass because it seemed less complicated as the multi-fretted guitar. The guitar didn't come until high school.

At first Tommy's playing was something fun, just something to do. As he started to get bet­ter, he began to play with friends and turn the music into something constructive. Tommy comments, "It happens if you play enough, you start to make money. I kept a good perspective throughout; I always wanted to be in a band that had a name, but I didn't get caught up in a fantasy. It wasn't a surprise when money started coming in, but it wasn't something that I took for granted."

He reflects, "It was fun at first, you know, playing around anytime you want, but then I started playing with Rockett 88 and things began to change. I still had a great time, but it began to be work. I began to have doubts; they seem to spring from hard work. I think everybody has that problem at one time or another. It wasn't until I left the band that I real­ly lost that feeling. It didn't really have anything to do with the band, it was me. After I left them, I sat around for awhile and that's when I realized how much I needed to play. So I got these guys (The Young Rumblers) together."

This band, Tommy Conwell's Young Rumblers, has only been together since Feb. 24, 1984. They started with a good momen­tum and have increased it throughout the past year and a half. The band now is Tommy on hollow body electric guitar, Jim Hannum on drums, and Paul Slivka on bass.

Tommy expounds on the future. "The guys in my band are really good players. As a mat­ter of fact we're looking to cut an EP in the near future. We're just doing some recording on our own now, something that lets us know how we sound. Our record will come out on a small label like Antennae Records, but we have some really good producers lined up. I can't say who, but they're well known in the Philadelphia area."