Onstage at TLA: Buzz Zeemer

Bring back the 90s! 😍 Watch the complete live 1996 performance of Buzz Zeemer at Philadelphia’s Theatre of Living Arts. Premiered July 1996 on PRISM.

Happy Birthday, Tommy Conwell!

Another birthday and forever cool. 

Happy Birthday, Tommy Conwell! [January 14, 1962] 

🎸🎶🎉😎

Rumblers gotta rumble! The Foundry - June 22

June 22, 2019! 

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! 

Tommy Conwell - National Anthem at Wing Bowl

The best national anthem you would have heard over the 2016 Super Bowl weekend happened on Friday, February 5, in Philadelphia.

See the official SportsRadio 94WIP video of the performance on Facebook:

And fan video, too! From WIP Wing Bowl, Wells Fargo Center, 6 a.m.

Image posted by The Hi-Fi on Twitter. [ @thehifiband ]

Tommy Conwell and the Little Kings - Prime Time Pub in NE Philly

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]

Tommy Conwell's Aggressive Pop

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.

What Can You Tell Me About Tommy Conwell?

Guy:  Hey, DJ Caterina! 

Me:  Yeah? 

Guy:  What can you tell me about Tommy Conwell? 

Me:  Rocker Tommy Conwell? 

Guy:  Yep. 

Me:  The guy with Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers? 

Guy:  Uh-huh. 

Me:  Frontman for the band Tommy Conwell and the Little Kings? 

Guy:  That's the one.

Me:  Guitar player for the 90’s band Buzz Zeemer? 

Guy:  Sure. 

Me:  Contributor to David Uosikkinen's In The Pocket project? 

Guy:  Yeah, that guy. 

Me:  One of the great guitarists in America, Philadelphia's own Tommy Conwell? 

Guy:  Yes! 

(pause) 

Me:  Uhm, I don't really know much about him. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Tommy Conwell plays "Hideaway" - 1997

Per Wikipedia:

"Hide Away" or "Hideaway" is a blues guitar instrumental that has become "a standard for countless blues and rock musicians performing today".[1] First recorded in 1960 by Freddie King, the song became an R + B and pop chart hit. Since then, it has been interpreted and recorded by numerous blues and other musicians."

Here's one of Audio Rumble's favorite versions: Tommy Conwell plays "Hideaway"

Live From Walsh's Tavern
43rd and Walnut
Philadelphia, PA
Closing Night Extravaganza!
March 13, 1997

The A's & Tommy Conwell and The Young Rumblers - New Years Eve | The Trocadero

Rock With You (live) - Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers

In what has now become a Young Rumblers tradition, singing duties on the song "Rock With You" in concert is split up by the band. You know this, right? Yeah, first it's Paul Slivka, then Rob Miller, and then it wraps up with Chris Day -  with Tommy sprinkled in here and there, of course!

This audio version is probably one of the first times the band performed this song and Tommy takes the full vocal lead. Also features some alternate lyrics. Rock on, Young Rumblers!

[December 18, 1987 at Empire Rock Club, Philadelphia, PA. Live on WMMR.]

Gonna Breakdown - The Blockley, 10/5/2013

Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers perform at the Blockley in Philadelphia on 10/05/2013 with the song, "Gonna Breakdown."

Courtesy of Servis Family Videos on YouTube - published on Oct. 22, 2013.

'Rumble' On The Streets - Review of First Album from Philadelphia Daily News

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the release of Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers' Rumble. [July 8 - August 8]

'Rumble' On The Streets Tommy Conwell Brings Back 'Heartland' Sound

By JONATHAN TAKIFF, Daily News Staff Writer

Posted: August 09, 1988

     When a band has been warming up in the bullpen as long as Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers, you might suspect they'd go a little crazy, act a bit excessive, when they finally take the field with their major league album debut.

     On the contrary, one marvel of "Rumble," the group's four-years-in-the- coming Columbia album hitting the streets (and stores) today, is how straightforward, how frill-free and nitty-gritty, their musical nuggets seem.

     Another marvel - much more important - is how often these guys seem to be connecting with home runs, track after track. And they make it look so easy!

     Close those eyes and hold the 'phones to your ears. You'll readily envision this blues-rocking quintet performing live - knocking out their 1950s- flavored Chuck Berry-ish tribute "Workout" or flying high on the giddy ''Walkin' on the Water," cutting to the quick with their rebel yell "I'm Not Your Man" or wailing their "Boss"-like "Love's on Fire."

     Tommy's raspy/righteous vocals are just as warm and intimate on tape as in concert. I can almost see this consummate mugger rolling his eyes and licking his sweat. His spitfire guitar runs are a mite abbreviated compared to his showboating live renderings (playing one-handed or behind his back), yet recorded versions still maintain the sting and vigor.

     Overall, the band (original drummer Jim Hannum and bassist Paul Slivka, late 1986 additions Chris Day on guitar and keyboardist/guitarist Rob Miller) sounds cohesive but never sterile or packaged in this Rick Chertoff-produced long player. And the good impression lingers even after hearing the album a half dozen times.

     Don't take just my word for it. America's rock radio programmers have also responded well to Conwell's clarion call of back-to-the-basics "heartland" music, by making "I'm Not Your Man" the most-added track to their playlists for two weeks running. Other ear-catchers like "Half a Heart" and the touching ballad "If We Never Meet Again" (a Jules Shear original also found on his Restless Sleepers album in a less-accessible rendering) are already being talked about as strong follow-up singles.

     "We want radio to tell us what the hits are," said Rumblers manager Steve Mountain. "We want them to spread the word, rather than us hype them."

     Leading up to their radio coup, the Rumblers stomped a whole lotta rump at a recent Columbia-organized showcase performance at the Chestnut Cabaret (on the stormy night of July 21). Lured by a big advance buzz on this band - including a favorable Rolling Stone profile, the 70,000 sales of the group's indie record "Walkin' on the Water" and a bidding war involving 13 record labels for the Rumblers' services - the pilgrims came to Philly in droves. They included the nation's top 15 concert promoters, representatives of the 10 biggest record chains and 30 radio programmers from the United States and Europe. And when all was said and sung, these seasoned pros cheered as hard as the old-line hometown Conwell fans.

     How is Tommy Conwell reacting to all this fuss? With the same sort of low- stress, forthright and good-humored attitude that makes his music seem so fresh. "Nobody can schmooze like industry people. They can make you feel like Beethoven," he related the other night before hitting the stage at 23 East. ''All that's nice. It's fun, if you don't take it too seriously. But what I do take seriously is that people seem genuinely enthused, ready to support us, and that's no jive."

     Asked why he chose to tack a comical rap onto the beginning of "I'm Not Your Man," Conwell suggested (tongue-clearly-in-cheek) it's "because we're always controversial. Yeah, The Rumblers are such upsetters. Actually, we're giving radio two versions - with or without the talk - so they can play it as they want."

     Quite a student of soul and blues music, Conwell, 26, concedes that his rap was inspired by a "soul humorist of the '60s, Rudy Ray Moore. He was the soul version of Lord Buckley, a really hysterical guy."

     Yet in general, there isn't nearly as much straight-ahead blues to be heard in the Rumblers' sound today, at least not compared to four years ago, when the group first started as a trio. Conwell, a native of Bala Cynwyd, started out taking piano lessons in second grade and in high school started to play jazz guitar. Then, at the University of Delaware, he started making connnections between jazz and blues, and learned how to emote through his ax.

     "I still love the blues, still go to the record store and buy blues records all the time. But I haven't written a song like 'A Million Pretty Girls' in a while. I guess it comes down to the realization that I'm not black and I don't live in the 1950s. I'm a white man in 1988. I do the blues because I love it, but I don't think I can do it justice as much as with rock and roll, which is music for young white guys who love the blues. That's how it was when Elvis Presley did it. And how I want to continue holding onto it, in my way."

     "There are no blues songs on this album," said Conwell. "But in my guitar solos I flatter myself to think I can hear the influences of Chuck Berry and B.B. King, Albert King and Elmore James. There's also some Philly funk - on Kae Williams' collaboration 'I Wanna Make You Happy' - and Texas blues when I play my guitar through a Leslie organ amp on 'Everything They Say Is True.' So while it's basically rock and roll, there are blues nods all over the place."

WMMR Radio - Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers, Live 1987

Audio of a WMMR radio spot featuring Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers opening for Bryan Adams at the Philadelphia Spectrum, recorded June 23, 1987. 

The clip includes interviews [at the end] with John Lilley and Rob Hyman of the Hooters, who discuss their tour with Bryan Adams, the Young Rumblers, and their new album - released in July 1987 - One Way Home. 

Also featuring WMMR DJs “Bubba" John Stevens and Pierre Robert. 

(Note: Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers screenshot images taken from their February 20, 1987 PRISM concert performance at the Spectrum.)

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

May 7 – Signing Tommy’s Guitar

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!

tommyconwellstore.com

I Knew the Bride - Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers (1986)

Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers recorded live at the Empire Rock Club, Philadelphia, USA on December 19, 1986. Performing a cover of Nick Lowe's "I Knew the Bride."

It's On This Weekend!

Text courtesy of Benchmark: 

The Blockley invites you to Turn Back the Clock!

Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers return to the old Chestnut Cabaret on Friday November 4th, and Saturday, November 5th, for a very special 2-night reunion run.

Tommy and the Rumblers rocked The Blockley last November to a sold out audience - their first Philly headline play in nearly 15 years! 

Complete with old friends Richard Bush and Smash Palace; dinner seating; and a VIP meet and greet with Tommy and the boys; it promises to be an epic weekend of music!

Tommy Conwell at Walsh's Tavern - 1995

Tommy Conwell. On guitar. With a band. At Walsh's Tavern. In the town that rocked the nation, Philadelphia, PA. Vids courtesy of DocKunkle on YouTube. 

When I invent a Hot Tub Time Machine, you'll find me here at Walsh's...

A cover of The Fabulous Thunderbirds' Wait on Time.

Scotland the Brave

Walkin' To My Baby [another Fab T-Birds cover]

"TC Jazz Tip"

Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers Return to Philadelphia!

You wanted them in Philly - and now you got 'em in Philly!

An announcement from Tommy Conwell via e-mail from tommyconwellstore.com.

Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers Return to Philadelphia!

When: November 6, 2010
Where: The Blockley Pourhouse
(site of the old Chestnut Cabaret)
38th and Chestnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
215.222.1234

Hey, you guys! This is a big one for us. First time headlining in the Philly city limits since the early 90's, and at the old Chestnut Cabaret, where we had so many special shows back in the 80's. Tommy, Chris, Rob, Jim, and Paul. Ned and the guys at the Blockley are real into it, and the venue is real cool and nice. Tickets are only 18 bucks in advance. Come rock with the Rumblers on November 6!

See you then,
Tommy

BUY TICKETS HERE

Philly Spectrum - Thanks for the memories!

Thanks for the memories, Philly Spectrum! After four sold-out Pearl Jam shows this week, the Spectrum will be no more.

Philadelphia Weekly has a brief interview with Tommy Conwell about his Spectrum Music Memories. (Link no longer available online, 10/3/2020.)

On playing the Spectrum for the first time:

“The first time we played there as a legitimate opening act, we opened for Bryan Adams. I’ll never forget: We went on the stage and the lights went down and we just start our first song, and you could see all the people rushing in from the exits and you could see the silhouettes—it was like an ant farm or something—all moving down to their seats because the show had started and it was us. That was really like a wow moment.” 


Audio Rumble also remembers The Spectrum by showcasing Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers' breakthrough performance on live television. A performance on PRISM, Feb. 20, 1987, after the Philadelphia 76er's game:


Concert song links -

• Philly Spectrum Promo – Tommy Conwell
• Workout
• Million Pretty Girls
• I'm Home
• Do You Still Believe In Me
• Here I Come

2nd Annual Beru Revue Miniature Golf Classic Invitation (1985)

Images from the 2nd Annual Beru Revue Miniature Golf Classic Invitational tournament for charity held at Putt-Putt golf in Northeast Philadelphia, September 1985. Those who participated played a first round of golf and the scores from the first round were used to qualify you to play against WMMR personalities, members of Beru Revue, or even Tommy Conwell himself!