Lion’s Eye On Music Justus — Something Special On Jan. 24 at the Main Point in Bryn Mawr, Justus, a local band, will be appearing again. With an impres- sive show a few months ago and a demo tape, WMMR Radio has taken a special interest in this group. Based in the suburbs of Phila., Justus was formed in Jan. 1977. A club band, these five highly talented musicians are ready to hit it big. Musical interests include rock, funk, and blues. Yet their original music is that of beautiful blended harmonies with a very strong rhythm section. The band includes: Frank Taconelli on guitar, bass, and vocals; John Carty on bass, guitar, and vocals; Tina Toglia on acoustic guitar, keyboards, flute and vocals; Claire Pulise on acoustic guitar, percussion, and vocals; and Hal London on drums and percussion. Incidently, Hal is a freshman here at Delco. Keep Jan. 24 open on your calendar and ease your own curiosity. Go to the Main point and check out Justus. Tickets are only $3.00, but they're worth a million ! For further information contact the Lion’s Eye or Hal London. Steffi Stern Baby Grand—*‘Right Here, Right Now” As the new year begins, we’ve got a lot to look for- ward to musically. In 1978 many new bands formed and hit the charts—some stayed on top while others fizzled away. Yet, one band broke through with pure innovative, progressive music. This group calls them- selves Baby Grand and they clearly show that their form of Ancient Medicine is the best. At a recent in- terview, the background and truths were discovered. The band, originating from the Philadelphia area, includes three members of an early 1970’s group en- titled Wax. They are David Kagan on vocals, Rob Hyman on keyboards and harmonies, and Eric Bazil- ian on guitar and harmonies. The two new members that now form Baby Grand are Carmine Rojas on bass guitar and David Prater on drums. Wax, formed in the early 1970’s, was where Rob and David Kagan met and realized they had common musi- cal interests. Based around the University of Penna. campus where they attended school, the band attracted a large following. Writing songs in original styles— jazz-country-blues-rock — their popularity caught on fast. They played on bills with such artists as The Byrds and The Everly Brothers, with Alice Cooper, and in front of 20,000 people as the opening act for Chicago. In 1972 Wax had signed with a record company and proceeded to record an album. Soon after the initial recording tracks were laid down, the company went bankrupt and folded. Thus, Wax went searching for new labels. Finding no happy medium, the band went into the standard “club band” stigma, and Eric had joined in. After only a.year, Wax had disbanded. As David Kagan puts it, “I think the scene got disgusted with us about the same time we got disgusted with the scene. Instead of trying to make it at the Surf Club in Wildwood, we wanted to go to a higher elevation in music with a new perspective. Rob’s intentions were “to get away from the tyranny of the lead guitar of the early 70’s rock.” When the group disbanded, Hy- man and Kagan spent the next few years writing songs in hopes of a long awaited dream—to face the public once more with their special brand of music. They stayed in contact with Eric and Rick Chertoff who played drums in Wax. (Rick is now an Arista Records Staff Producer.) When Rick joined Arista, remember- ing how hard he and his friends had worked, he set up a live audition with the president of Arista, Clive Davis. Suffering from a stomach virus, David Kagan, along with Rob and Eric, traveled to New York. The result was so impressive that Davis signed the band with Chertoff producing. The decision of a new name for the group wasn’t too hard. States Rob, “Well, the Dave Clarke Five was taken so we were out of luck there. No, seriously though, the name was taken from a song we once did —a sort of ode to music. Baby Grand eventually be- came the concept, but we later dropped the song. The first album, simply titled “Baby Grand” is im- pressive from the first time it is listened to. Songs like “Never Enough”, “Boy In The Band,” and “Lady Of My Dreams” make one sit back and think. As Kagan puts it, “Although I write most of the lyries, they're not ‘true stories’, nor are they ‘inventive stories’. The songs are based on personal experiences but this is not to say that they are auto-biographical. Living in Phila. for 13 years, one tends to feel the urban energy. “Lady Of My Dreams” is about a stripper, so naturally you begin to think of the old Troc or some theater similar to it.” Soon after the completion of the album an old friend of Erie’s was in town. His name is Carmine Rojas, and he has played with such talents as The Crystals, Ruth SAV-A-CENT PHARMACY Discount Health and Beauty Aids 459 BALTIMORE PIKE SPRINGFIELD, PA. 19064 544-6296 LIMIT ON 5 OFFER WITH EXPIRES JAN. 28, 1979
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers