Your Mount Rushmore for bands from Buffalo

[Draconator]

Lance Diamond deserves some consideration. Gamalon also. 

Edited yesterday at 03:50 AM by Draconator

[Simon]

4 hours ago, SinceThe70s said:

Isn't moe. from Buffalo?

 

Yes, they came out of UB.

I think them and Spyro Gyra are the only acceptable answers to this question. 👍

[US Egg]

About 40 years ago Willie Nile was seen as someone who might hit the big time. He was popular in the business.

[Wacka]

Cory Wells from Three Dog Night was from the east side.

[BillsFanNC]

8 hours ago, US Egg said:

About 40 years ago Willie Nile was seen as someone who might hit the big time. He was popular in the business.

 

Great call.

 

Willie emerged in the early 80s to much critical acclaim complete with Dylan comparisons and a support act for The Who.

 

Then he  mostly disappeared for the better part of twenty years. His 1999 return album Beautiful Wreck Of The World is great. Since then he's been very prolific, still putting out new music as recently as 2021 in his 70s.

 

 

 

Buffalo references:

 

 

Tribute to Jeff Buckley:

 

 

[BillsFanNC]

Been quite some time since I went down the Willie Nile rabbit hole ..

 

 

Also for the cover song thread. He did an entire album of Dylan covers a few years ago.

 

 

[US Egg]

1 hour ago, BillsFanNC said:

Great call.

 

Willie emerged in the early 80s to much critical acclaim complete with Dylan comparisons and a support act for The Who.

He was somehow related to my 1st wife, they’d talk occasionally about him being in NYC. Never heard or saw him.

 

Someone I did hear and see because of her was Buffalo’s Vegas boys, the Scinta Bros. Her cousin hired them for his summer luau’s before they got steady work in Sin City for quite awhile.

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

I seem to remember Shakin Smith and his blues band at the Bona Vista on Hertel, late 70s.  And probably every other bar on Hertel or Elmwood that had live blues. 😁

[Goin Breakdown]

Not that they'd be top 4, but any hardcore punk fans in here remember buried alive?  

Edited 6 hours ago by Goin Breakdown

[muppy]

no thread about Buffalo band would be complete without mention of the CONTINENTAL bar venue.  I was never a regular but I have a very good friend who was. I'll ask if he has any specific memory or the live bands. I recall they had live music and including rock alt rock and punk as I recall 

Edited 20 hours ago by muppy

[Bills4everNY]

I bought the Willie Nile LP "Golden Down" in 1981. A few of the songs on it were getting played on WOUR in Utica. There's not a song on it that I don't like.

 

 

Willie Nile and Springsteen. 

 

[Rico]

1 hour ago, muppy said:

no thread about Buffalo band would be complete without mention of the CONTINENTAL bar venue.  I was never a regular but I have a very good friend who was. I'll ask if he has any specific memory or the live bands. I recall they had live music and including rock alt rock and punk as I recall 

I was there quite a few times. My most memorable show was Lords of the New Church (Stiv!)

 

[Rico]

I don’t have 4 bands, but I will say

Rick James and the Stone City Band

moe

Billy Pirahna and the Enemies

Mark Freeland’s Electroman (only cause he talked me into buying his EP when I was in this long-lost record store on Hertel)

 

The KING of them all was Dr. Dirty John Valby, but I don’t know if he was from Buffalo or just WNY.

 

EDIT: Just checked, Valby was born in Buffalo. 

Edited 17 hours ago by Rico

[Draconator]

Honorable mention goes to Peter Case of The Plimsouls, for "Million Miles Away", covered by the Goo Goo Dolls in their punk days, and The Coverups (Green Day playing bars and nothing but covers of other bands). Peter Case is from Hamburg.

 

 

Edited 17 hours ago by Draconator

[Wacka]

Valby lives in Clarence. His wife has (had?) a place on Main St in Clarence called Penny Lane. He would play piano there occasionally.  First saw him at the Red Balloon om Sheridan in Amherst in 1975. Last saw him in 93 in Hartford CT. 

My friends there told me you have to see this guy that sings dirty songs. I played dumb. When he started I started singing along to every song, Their jaws dropped and then I told them he was from Buffalo and had seen him maybe a 100 times. When I when up tp buy a tape, I mentioned the Red Balloon, he said  "Hey! An old fart from Buffalo!"

Edited 7 hours ago by Wacka

[Bray Wyatt]

No love for Every Time I Die?

Edited 5 hours ago by Bray Wyatt

[Rico]

1 hour ago, Wacka said:

Valby lives in Clarence. His wife has (had?) a place on Main St in Clarence called Penny Lane. He would play piano there occasionally.  First saw him at the Red Balloon om Sheridan in Amherst in 1975. Last saw him in 93 in Hartford CT. 

My friends there told me you have to see this guy that sings dirty songs. I played dumb. When he started I started singing along to every song, Their jaws dropped and then I told them he was from Buffalo and had seen him maybe a 100 times. When I when up tp buy a tape, I mentioned the Red Balloon, he said  "Hey! An old fart from Buffalo!"

Valby on a good night with a hot crowd was just spectacular, one of the great live experiences.

[Mark80]

Rick James

Goo Goo Dolls

Moe.

Tugboat Annie

[US Egg]

2 hours ago, Wacka said:

Valby lives in Clarence. His wife has (had?) a place on Main St in Clarence called Penny Lane

My ex(2nd) use to go to his house. Her ex played hockey with Valby, said it was amazing, this be in the later ‘80’s. She also said he had a maze of some kind in his backyard. Guess the idea was to get loaded and lost in it.

[Draconator]

5 hours ago, Wacka said:

Valby lives in Clarence. His wife has (had?) a place on Main St in Clarence called Penny Lane. He would play piano there occasionally.  First saw him at the Red Balloon om Sheridan in Amherst in 1975. Last saw him in 93 in Hartford CT. 

My friends there told me you have to see this guy that sings dirty songs. I played dumb. When he started I started singing along to every song, Their jaws dropped and then I told them he was from Buffalo and had seen him maybe a 100 times. When I when up tp buy a tape, I mentioned the Red Balloon, he said  "Hey! An old fart from Buffalo!"

 

His wife sold it and it became the Lion and Eagle Pub. It closed in March of this year and the owner of the Hilltop Inn in Alden bought it and is bringing back the Penny Lane name. Opening in July. Exact date hasn't been announced yet.