Shervin Lainez/ Contributed photo Caravan of Thieves Each member has been in bands before and four have side gigs in other bands.Ĭaravan of Thieves is a blend of big band swing and American folk music. “It feels like you are floating through this beautiful day,” he said, adding that “Sunshine Girl” also has fast become an audience favorite.īesides Waesche, The Neybas include Kevin Bornstein (bass/vocals, engineer by day), Nicholas “Toad” Eckert (guitar/vocals, carpenter by day), Emmet Hale (drums, estimator by day) and Greg Marshall (keyboards, engineer by day). Several songs are already resonating with audiences including the “ Aliens Have Taken My Brain,” which he describes as a paean to 60s sunshine rock. “I wanted to write something that was upbeat and kind of felt like summer and had a vibe to it like summer vacation,” he said.
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Songwriter/vocalist/guitarist Russ Waesche, a former communications professional and now full time musician, said the new album was in stark response to the dark mood during the pandemic lockdowns, during which he lost both his parents. Often seen at Hartford area clubs like the Hungry Tiger, Main Pub and Arch Street, the band will be at Crystal Bees in Southington July 9 and at the East Hampton Fairgrounds July 14. While they do some covers depending on the venue, they are best known for their high-energy danceable original music reminiscent of 60-70s sunshine rock. George Savic/ Contributed photo The NeybasĪnother Connecticut-based band that formed in the late 80s from a group of friends at UConn jamming together is The Neybas, which recently released its fifth album, Sunshine Hotel. Some of the songs are blatantly about hockey but most are kind of a left turn in a different direction that you wouldn’t expect,” Schneider said, citing “ Whirlwind,” which is about depression. “The whole idea was writing real songs but they have to be about hockey. Among their most requested or audience favorites are “Hockey Monkey” and “ Slow Whip,” one of their newest songs. They like surprising audiences who go into a show not knowing what to expect. People often pigeonhole The Zambonis as a novelty band as their genre is niche, often dubbed hockey rock. While each song is about hockey, many are also about more than that.įronting the band is Dave Schneider, the “captain” and a guitarist, along with Cary “Twang” Pollick, singer/guitarist, whose day job is a musician and graphic designer Alex “Swifty” Swift, singer and bass guitarist, not surprisingly a music teacher by day Buddy Rich Dart, singer/drummer, who does more drumming on the side, and Steve Tanski, singer and guitar, who is a painter as well as musician. They recorded their first album back in the 1990s at Bridgeport’s Tarquin Studios and are unique in that they only do songs about hockey…actually life, love and hockey. The Zambonis is just one of six Connecticut bands profiled here (though there are over 100 around the state).
If you need further evidence of the connection between band and audience, go online and search YouTube for “ Caravan of Thieves Bohemian Rhapsody New York City” and you’ll find a video from nine years ago with the Connecticut-based duo covering Queen’s iconic hit on the streets of New York with a little help from an enthusiastic audience singing along.Īll of The Zambonis' music is related to hockey. “After all of these years of music being such a central part of my life that I can actually make music and provide other people with a good time,” he said, adding that the experience of doing a live show is invigorating and flattering to see the audience respond positively. He’s been playing guitar since he was 14 and is now in his 60s, but it’s only been in the last dozen years that he felt confident enough to get on stage and perform live. This phenomenon is something that Bob Sherman, bass guitarist for The Rakes, understands well. This can be true whether one is doing a show in a local bar or in a massive arena. Band members sometimes describe it as the "X factor" and speak of the energy in a room coming from the band sending out its music and the audience feeding off it and sending it back. The experience of a live music show can be hard to quantify, but there’s nothing quite like it and for those on stage, it can be magical.
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