It's taken a while for Johnny Maguire and his 1955 Gretsch Country Club to get
back on the local music scene. After hitting the road with the tireless Amazing
Crowns, a band he helped establish a decade ago, the comedown was considerable.
Splitting from an all-consuming unit like that involves junkie-like withdrawal.
"After I left the band," Johnny says, "I took two months off and didn't pick up
the guitar once. It was the first time I had done that since I was 18. I was so
sick of it."
After that layoff, he began to ponder his musical future. In his mind, the
Crowns had strayed from its rockabilly roots, so he began thinking about
getting back to basics. But not just rockabilly basics -- rock and roll basics,
C&W basics, roots music basics. "I like punk and all kinds of stuff, but
you've got to reach a lot of different people. With this band we did weddings
and parties last summer to get out and play and everybody liked it, from the
seven-year-olds to the 70-year-olds."
At first Maguire assembled a studio group to help him pound out some rough
ideas. But he was looking for real commitment, a band that could assist him in
achieving his vision. He recruited some youngbloods to get the job done: Johnny
"Hollywood" Safford on guitar/vocals, his brother Mikey "The Freshman" Safford
on drums, and "Handsome Joe" Princepe on bass. "They've all been great, and
they can sing and play," says Johnny. "They're all really into it and we get
along great."
Now together 18 months, the Lucky Diamonds have only played a handful of shows
-- 33, to be exact. "Wayne Newton plays more than we do," he cracks. "But I'd
rather sit down and write good songs and wait 'til the right time comes than
just go out and spend all our time on the road. If the songs are good, people
will like it and they'll come to see you. A lot of bands go out and play
everywhere as often as they can, but it's a killer. That's how they break
up."
These days, Johnny feels more and more like the band's time is about to come.
"I feel exhilarated," he says. "We're just getting our legs, trying things out.
We're playing now whenever and wherever we can. It's more of a struggle, and
for me it's frustrating to have to start everything all over again. But I'm
optimistic."
With the Crowns, Maguire and company started out as a classic rockabilly crew.
But when bands tried to pile on that trend, the entire rockabilly school got
diluted, and few fans cared to figure out who were the originals, who were the
faithful, and who were the pretenders. Given his musical rap sheet, Maguire
still has to ward off those pigeonholers who insist on calling him and the
Diamonds "rockabilly." The fact is he'll probably be running from that tag for
as long as he plays the archtop and wears the hat.
"I like to call it American rock and roll, music that had its roots in the
'50s and '60s." Johnny's heroes, including Buddy Holly, Bill Haley, and Elvis
Presley, illuminate his early leanings. But he's a music maven, and he devours
everything from Duane Eddy and the Beatles to the Clash and the Smiths. "The
first record I ever bought was `Splish Splash' by Bobby Darin. I remember going
to the record store and buying that and my brother getting Kiss' Rock and
Roll Over. My dad was a little older as a father and he got me into all
that stuff."
Little did little Johnny or his dad know he'd be playing in the style of his
dad's heroes as a pro guitarist and songwriter. He'll capitalize on his
leanings over the summer, as he, Princepe and the Saffords convene to make
their official debut.
"I found a studio in Connecticut that has wooden floors and old microphones,"
he says, unwilling to disclose to the name or exact location. "All the studios
where they made those old rock records had wooden floors," he says. "It
bounces. It makes the music bounce. I've done a lot of research on this and
have found that you've gotta have the right stuff to make it believable."
If everything goes as planned, the Lucky Diamonds will finish recording,
mixing, and mastering by September, in time for a fall release party. So far,
they're planning to release the disc on their own, though that could change as
more people hear the band's work.
Maguire seems genuinely rejuvenated by the Diamonds and the momentum he's
developed. "I don't care if there's one person at the shows we play. We'll play
the whole two sets, go in as the underdog, and play enough so they'll want us
back. We just wanna do some work, have some fun, and see how it goes."
The Lucky Diamonds play the Met Café on Saturday with Sasquatch
& the Sick-A-Billys, and the Skels.
ROOMFUL OF CHANGES. Roomful of Blues announces the arrival of a new
singer to replace Mac Odom. Mark DuFresne brings the band another incredible
voice, influenced by such blues/R&B stylists like Little Willie John,
Howard Tate, and Magic Sam, as well as greats from the gospel field. He also
brings back to the band an instrument missing since Sugar Ray Norcia left in
1997 -- the harmonica. Mark had been fronting his own band in the Pacific
Northwest for several years. Originally from Kansas City, he ended up on the
West Coast by way of Wichita and Minneapolis. A longtime fan of Roomful,
DuFresne first contacted the band when Norcia left, but at that time Odom had
already been hired. Roomful has recently decided to return to its roots, so the
band and Mac came to an amicable parting, and DuFresne, a man steeped in the
tradition, signed on. "Joining Roomful of Blues, the premier blues band in the
country, is the fulfillment of a dream for me. Indeed, joining this band has to
be the dream of any singer," DuFresne noted in a press release.
Another new face is bassist Brad Hallen. Brad's most recent gig was 18 months
with Susan Tedeschi, and he has played with many luminaries from the blues
scene, including James Montgomery, Mike Welch, and Hubert Sumlin. He has also
worked with many rock acts, including Iggy Pop, Jane Wiedlin, Elliot Easton,
and Aimee Mann, among others.
Lastly, and most significantly, Bob Bell, the band's longtime manager is
leaving the Roomful fold after 22 years on the job. "I am both happy, and yet a
little sad, because I am announcing that I am leaving Roomful of Blues to
pursue other interests," he said in a press release of his own.
Bell, a U.K. expat, first met the band in the spring of 1980 while vacationing
in the States. He joined the band as a publicist, driver, and sound engineer in
1981, and over the years assumed more management duties.
Over that time, Bell watched the band grow from a regional attraction to a
national act, and then become one of the most popular and critically acclaimed
blues bands in the world. "I have had a ball working with the band," Bell
writes. "I have had the privilege of hearing the best blues musicians play
night after night. It has been the kind of job that most folks can only dream
of, and I thank all the guys in Roomful, both past and present, for the
opportunity. If I were to mention one, I should mention them all, and 50 names
will take up too much space here. I value all of them as dear friends."
Bell leaves the band on May 18, after Roomful's show at the Regattabar in
Cambridge. The new business office will be at 772 Maple Valley Road, Coventry,
RI 02816 (401-385-9065), e-mail roomful@roomful.com, and the Web site is, as
always, www.roomful.com.
E-mail me with music news at big.daddy1@cox.net.
E-mail me with music news at big.daddy1@cox.net.
Issue Date: May 10 - 16, 2002
