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A special three-hour feature on Max Creek aired on the Oct. 30 edition of Greasy Tracks to mark the band’s 50th anniversary.

Click here to check out an archive of the program, while a playlist is here. 

The spotlight included a decade-by-decade overview of live music by the band as well as interviews with members.

Best known as one of the earliest groups of the “jam band” genre, Creek’s roots can be traced to country music as the band got its start as a quartet in 1971: bassist John Rider, guitarist Dave Reed and drummer Bob Gosselin, augmented, albeit briefly, by an accordion player.

The humble beginnings of the group — heavily influenced by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and The Byrds — would go through a number of personnel changes and musical styles over time, yet still maintain many characteristics of those formative early years.

Although never known for their studio work, Max Creek released four solid albums, but really forged a legacy as a live act with a substantial repertoire of original material and tantalizing covers.

Rider along with guitarist Scott Murawski and keyboardist Mark Mercier proved to be a formidable group of composers, especially in the 1970s and 80s when, according to Murawski, crafting songs became especially competitive between the members.

Oddly enough, Murawski was focusing on becoming a trumpet player — Rider and Reed were also trumpet players — when Reed, who was the then-15-year-old Murawski’s music teacher, asked him to sit in with Creek in 1972 after hearing him play guitar.

The Creek-as-a quartet-again only lasted a few months as the underage Murawski was kicked out of the Rocking Horse Parlor — a Hartford club the group regularly played — for drinking a beer on stage. As fate would have it, Murawski would be back in the band in 1973, returning shortly after Mercier, once a roommate of Rider’s at the Hartt School, was hurriedly drafted by Rider to fill in for Reed who was sidelined by acute appendicitis ahead of some holiday shows late that year.

Stylistic changes were afoot as the band’s direction took to a more improvisational approach with less country and more acid rock filling the bulk of the band’s live sets. This created unrest at times in the band and Reed opted to pursue a solo career as Rider, Mercier, Murawski and Gosselin honed their chops, gaining a growing following and expanding their reach as a live act.

In 1976, vocalist Amy “Barefoot” Fazzano, joined the band — she had been a waitress at one of the clubs Creek played and usually sang while doing post-concert bathroom cleaning.

A year later, Creek put out their self-titled debut studio album — pressing 1,000 copies of their self-released LP — which featured all original compositions minus “Big Boat” — a bouncy re-arrangement of Willie Dixon’s “Tell That Woman” — which remains in the band’s sets to this day.

In 1979, percussionist Rob Fried joined the fold, providing a fuller sound as he alternated playing a wide array of percussion and a traditional trap set alongside Gosselin. A year later, the band’s second studio album, Rainbow (Wranger Records) came out.

The 1980s were the busiest years for the band when it came to playing live shows with 1982 proving to be the peak as the band logged 241 gigs that year.

The band recorded a three-night run of shows in June 1982 at Cellblock Eleven in Hartford and soon after released Drink The Stars (Wranger Records), a double album packaged with a poster and notes in a nicely designed box set.

A handful of Max Creek shows were aired live on WRTC so there’s a chance a track or two from one of those performances could show up on this feature. In 2017, a four-part, 11-hour feature on Creek aired on WRTC, featuring interviews with current and past members of the band. Click for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.

In 1991, DeGuglielmo was replaced by Greg Vasso who would do two spells with the band, the first ending in 1996 before he returned in for a second go-around 2004-2011. Scott Allshouse, who went to Creek shows as a high schooler in the 1990s, joined in 1996 and would partner with Vasso in the dual drummer format as Vasso returned in 2004 to take the place of Fried who left the band. In 1998, Creek recorded a pair of shows at the Webster Theater in Hartford for their live offering, Spring Water. Their New Year’s Eve gig at the Connecticut Expo Center in 1999 was also recorded and later released.

Fazzano would leave the band in 1983, but would often sit in during annual anniversary shows. Gosselin exited in 1985 and was replaced by Greg DeGuglielmo. This line-up recorded a pair of studio albums, Windows (Relix) in 1986 and MCMXC (Wranger Records) in 1990.

The Allshouse-Vasso partnership gave way to Creek’s current backline of drummer Bill Carbone and percussionist Jamemurrell Stanley who continue to handily carry on Max Creek’s rich timekeeping tradition.

The music and story of The Nervous Eaters , including an interview with guitarist/vocalist Steve Cataldo was featured on the Oct. 18 edition of The Devo Rock Show.

The Nervous Eaters appear at Café Nine in New Haven on Oct. 23. This special program will feature classic singles and rarities from their early years in the late 1970s as well as new music from the latest incarnation of the band, including their self-released Record 10 from 2019.

Regarded as one of the forerunners of the burgeoning punk/new wave scene in late 1970s Boston, the band got their start backing other artists such as Willie “Loco” Alexander, before they were signed to the short-lived Rat Records, a label that was connected to the legendary destination for up-and-coming bands from around the world, The Rathskeller, best known as “The Rat”.

The band’s first single, “Loretta,” was released in 1976 and garnered regular airplay in the Boston area, but failed to catch on outside the Commonwealth. This was a fate suffered by contemporaries such as The Real Kids, DMZ and to some extent, The Neighborhoods, who all had talent and a track record of outstanding live performances, but never broke out nationally.

While they would split up and reunite many times over the years, The Nervous Eaters never really fared well in the studio, yet their material, especially singles, remains highly sought after by collectors.

A Ric Ocasek-produced demo tape by the band got the attention of some label executives, including those at The Cars’ label, Elektra, which signed The Eaters. At this time, the label was enjoying the success of The Cars’ first two releases — The Cars and Candy-O — and would soon be focused on Panorama, which would not bode well for the newcomers.

Their eventual self-titled major label debut for Elektra was produced by Harry Maslin who had worked on David Bowie’s Young Americans and Station To Station and included guest appearances by guitarist Steve Cropper and pianist Nicky Hopkins.

Despite expectations, the album never took off and The Nervous Eaters felt the label had let them down by not putting any effort into promoting the release, despite the fact the band had been out supporting the likes of The Cars, The J. Geils Band, The Ramones and many others during the late 1970s.

Following the failure of the debut record and Elektra not doing a follow-up project with the band, The Nervous Eaters broke up for the first time in 1981.

They would reunite in 1986 and released Hot Steel And Acid, a six song EP.

There are very few drummers who even come close to racking up the number of sessions that Bernard “Pretty” Purdie has done and the Oct. 9 edition of Greasy Tracks spotlighted just a fraction of what the legendary timekeeper has accomplished.

Click here to check out an archive of the program, while a playlist is here. 

Dating to the late 1950s, Purdie — once considered the “house drummer” of Atlantic Records — played on 25,000-plus sessions, has appeared on more than 4,000 albums and recorded with 2,500-plus different artists. He also has a deep catalog of solo releases.

Artists he has appeared with, running the gamut from jazz to rock, include Miles Davis, James Brown, Steely Dan, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Louis Armstrong, Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, BB King, Joe Cocker, Bob Marley, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Mongo Santamaria, Peter Frampton, Hall & Oats, Hank Crawford and Jimmy McGriff to name only a few.

Employing an innovative use of triplets against a half-time backbeat, Purdie developed an immensely distinct and impactful technique known universally as “the Purdie Shuffle”.

The Sept. 25 edition of Greasy Tracks featured a spotlight on the legendary drummer Billy Cobham.

Click here to check out an archive of the program, while a playlist is here. 

Perhaps best known for his work with Miles Davies — beginning with the groundbreaking Bitches Brew — and Mahavishnu Orchestra, Cobham has played with dozens of other artists and bands and has a massive catalog of solo releases.

Not to slight the importance of Alexis Korner or Gram Bond when it came to having an eye for talent on the burgeoning British jazz and blues scene of the early1960s, but there was ultimately no better proving ground than John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers.

The Sept. 11 edition of Greasy Tracks spotlighted many of the incredible musicians who did time in one of Mayall’s line-ups.

Click here to check out an archive of the program, while a playlist is here. 

Forget the obvious Mayall alums Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor, but consider such fantastic players as Harvey Mandell, Gerry McGee, Ansley Dunbar, Keef Hartley, John Almond, Jon Mark, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Jon Hiseman, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Freddy Robinson, Larry Taylor, Don “Sugarcane” Harris, Blue Mitchell and Clifford Solomon to name but a few.

It’s quiz time.

In the grand scheme of things, what one individual — directly or indirectly and through no fault of his own — proved to be a unique catalyst for David Bowie, John Mellencamp and Lou Reed reaching stardom?

Only the very savvy would answer, and likely rather quickly, “Mick Ronson” without a second thought and they’d be correct.

Music from across Ronson’s career was featured on the Sept. 4 edition of Greasy Tracks.

Click here to check out an archive of the program, while a playlist is here. 

Bowie, Mellencamp and Reed remain the best examples — although there are many the talented guitarist and producer worked with over the years — but the remarkable notoriety and commercial success that trio attained due to their work with Ronson is incredible.

Things starting bubbling for Bowie following Ronson’s collaborating on his The Man Who Sold The World and Hunky Dory releases, but when Bowie put out The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars in 1972, the impact proved to usher the turning point of Bowie’s career as a recording and touring artist.

It was Ronson’s rearrangement and adding of some lyrics and vocals to Mellencamp’s “Jack & Diane” — a track that probably would have never seen the light of day if not for Ronson getting ahold of it. Mellencamp would make it a late addition to his American Fool album in 1982. It was the second single released from it and would spend four weeks at No. 1 in the Billboard Hot 100, while American Fool would eventually reach platinum status five times. The Recording Industry Association of America named “Jack & Diane” one of the songs of the century and it remains Mellencamp’s most successful single.

Similar to Bowie, Reed had released several albums and singles and made no lasting impression as a solo artist following his taking leave of the Velvet Underground in 1970. It should be noted that Bowie and Reed were admirers of each other’s work and it was when Bowie and Ronson co-produced Reed’s Transformer. Ronson also played lead guitar on the album. Bowie and Ronson were fans of the Velvet Underground.

Transfomer and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars are regarded as go-to albums when it comes to glam or glitter rock. Minus the distinctive vocals of Bowie and Reed, the other “voice” that was on each of those releases and is also easily identified was the guitarwork of Ronson.

Affectionately known as “Ronno” to most and the “Jeff Beck of Hull” to others, Ronson was a native of Kingston upon Hull, England, where he got his start playing in the early 1960s.

Classically trained as a child, Ronson became proficient on piano, violin and recorder as well as the harmonium — Ian Hunter said Ronson was an excellent keyboard player. He initially wanted to be a cellist, but moved to guitar upon discovering the music of Duane Eddy — there’s no denying that tell-tale twang — and then there was no looking back.

Ronson played with a slew of primarily Hull-based groups before being recruited to join The Hype, a in-the-works backing band for David Bowie in 1970. The band was short-lived, but Ronson made an important musical connection with Bowie. A series of albums and tours later, Bowie was a household name and Ronson was an in-demand guitarist.

While hardly as theatrical as his on-stage relationship with Bowie, his time spent working with Ian Hunter produced a solid body of work and some of the tightest rock and roll line-ups around on stage.

His touring, session and production work ran the gamut as he was associated with such artists/groups as Bob Dylan, Roger McGuinn, Pure Prairie League, Mott The Hoople, Elton John, Morrissey, among others, including Connecticut’s own, Roger C. Reale.

Sadly for Ronson, his label wanted to make him into a star, a role that the guitarist was never truly comfortable in. He only released two solo albums before his death in 1993 at the age of 46.

The Aug. 28 edition of Greasy Tracks featured the music of and interviews with Sam Morrow and Peter Parcek.

Click here to check out an archive of the program, while a playlist is here. 

Parcek is out supporting the release of Mississippi Suitcase (Lightnin’ Records), while Morrow is on the road following the release of Gettin’ By On Gettin’ Down (Forty Below Records).

A decidedly different sound than his country-tinged Concrete and Mud in 2018, Morrow, who says he prefers to write music first before dealing with lyrics, opted for a more-swampy/grooving feel for his all-original Gettin’ By On Gettin’ Down, giving a big nod to Lowell George of Little Feat fame. Morrow will include a Little Feat set at Arch Street Tavern.

Parcek’s Mississippi Suitcase — a mix of originals and some interesting covers — followed his 2017 release, Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven and was gained a nomination for best blues rock album in the 2021 Blues Music Awards (the former W.C. Handy Awards).

A native of Portland, Conn., Parcek is currently based in the metro-Boston area. He has released four albums and has had some interesting concert experiences.

In the 1960s, a London-based band he was briefly in played at a party that the Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd was involved with. Closer to home, on May 3, 1970, a band he was in was one of a handful of local groups that opened for the debut appearance of the Grateful Dead in Connecticut when they played Wesleyan University along with New Riders of The Purple Sage. Parcek remembers Jerry Garcia being very complimentary of his (Parcek’s) playing, but warned him not to drink anything in the backstage area.

The Aug. 21 edition of Greasy Tracks spotlighted the music of King Crimson and Frank Zappa ahead of Crimson’s appearance at the Westville Music Bowl in New Haven on Sept. 5 with The Zappa Band supporting.

Click here to check out an archive of the program, while a playlist is here. 

The extended feature included interviews with King Crimson vocalist/guitarist Jakko Jakszyk and bassist Tony Levin as well as guitarist Mike Kenneally and guitarist/vocalist Ray White from The Zappa Band whose members include a number of Zappa alumni.

King Crimson, led by guitarist Robert Fripp, continues to feature an unconventional, yet very innovative line-up of three drummers (Pat Mastelotto, Gavin Harrison and Jeremy Stacey) at the front of the stage with Fripp, Mel Collins (saxophone, flute), Levin and Jakszyk on a raised platform behind them.

On its current North American jaunt dubbed the “Music Is Our Friend Tour” — it was rescheduled from 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic put a kibosh on concerts — the band is going deep into a catalogue that encompasses 50-plus years of recordings. King Crimson is the first British band to play the United States following the COVID-19 shutdown.

In addition to Keneally, who was part of Frank Zappa’s final touring band — arguably one of his best line-ups — and White who first played with Zappa in 1976 and would continue to work with him through the 1984 tour, The Zappa Band line-up includes long-time sidemen Scott Thunes (bass) and Robert Martin (keyboards/sax/vocals) as well as Zappa Plays Zappa alums Jamie Kime (guitar) and Joe Travers (drums/vocals).

According to Keneally, a good portion of The Zappa Band set will include tracks featured on the just-released Zappa ’88 The Last U.S. Show.

The July 31 edition of Greasy Tracks featured a three-hour special on JJ Grey & Mofro ahead of their return to Connecticut as they play the Outdoor Stage at Ridgefield Playhouse on Aug. 8.

Click here to check out an archive of the program, while a playlist is here. 

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Grey and his band formed in the 1990s, released their debut in 2001 and have since put out six studio albums and one live collection spotlighting their mix of horn-laden, soulful rock and heartfelt ballads.

Mofro will be the lone band at the Ridgefield date, a change from the co-headlining status they’ve shared with Blues Traveler on a 11-date tour that runs through August, having been rescheduled from 2020 due to the pandemic.

The band last played the state in 2019 when they made stops at Infinity Hall in Hartford and two days later at The Katherine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook. The concert was filmed for the CPTV series The Kate. This marks their first Ridgefield appearance since 2017.

The July 17 edition of Greasy Tracks focused on the oft-overlooked harmonica with nothing but music featuring some of the best harp players of all time.

Click here to check out an archive of the program, while a playlist is here. 

Included in the program was an interview with harmonica enthusiast Nic Clark who discussed his just-released Love Your Life: Songs For The Whole Family (Little Village Foundation).

Traditionally associated with blues and folk music, the versatile harmonica – also known as the French harp or mouth organ — often is found in rock, jazz, country and classical music.