In the early 60's when I was in my late teens, I had a 5 piece rock band called "Bobby and the Galaxies" We were the house band at a southern New England amusement park which had a ballroom that held 3,500 people. We played there every saturday night along with a different guest act every week. Sometimes it was a full group like the Kingsmen, Beau Brummels or the Chartbusters, other times it was an individual like Jerry Lee Lewis, Dion, Freddy Cannon or Lou Christie. We backed up the individual acts. Also, some nights they would play at several different locations in the area, and we would travel with them to back them up for those shows as well. We also were the house band for a local TV show called "Jamboree". It was kind of like American Bandstand but with live music. Here we also backed up the guest acts and got to do 1 feature number on each show as well as play the introductory and ending theme song. It was a lot of fun and a great experience. We got to meet and work with many of the stars of the era.
After I graduated from college, I got married and got a real job, (that paid a lot less than I made as a musician) I continued the band part time, until my job transferred me to northern New Jersey. There I learned how to play dance music and standards. I worked with the Herb Zane and Lester Lannin orchestras for a brief time and worked mostly with the Don Hellerman orchestra. We worked some New York city spots, such as Sardis and the Empire room of the Warldorf hotel, on several occasions.
My job forced me to move several more times. first to upstate New York, and next to Connecticut. I continued to play music with local bands. In 1980 we were transferred to Baltimore, Md.. Here I played with a trio called the Decades and had the pleasure of having my daughter sing with the group for several years.
In 1994 I retired and moved to the ocean on the eastern shore of Maryland near a resort town called Ocean City. If you're not familiar with it, it has the nicest beaches on the east coast. I decided to go back and do what I love to do, play music. I bought a Solton synthesizer and spent a year teaching myself this instrument and polishing up my repetoire. While I occassionaly work with an oldies group called the Honeycombs, I mostly do a solo act. The Solton synthesizer, along with my guitar and vocals, makes it sound like a full orchestra.
Well that's it in a nut shell. I hope you found this interesting and I also hope it gives you enough confidence to try me for your next party or function. Remember I guarantee your satisfaction and have a list of references of satisfied customers that you can contact. Until then, may God keep you and bless you.
