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ohn
Cafferty, vocals, guitar
Gary Gramolini, guitar
Robert Cotoia, keyboards
Pat Lupo, bass
Michael "Tunes" Antunes, saxophone
Kenny Jo Silva, drums
Even with a hometown in Narragansett, RI, theses guys
qualify for inclusion in the Boston Rock & Roll
Museum, if solely for the amount of sets they played,
long before being famous, in long gone clubs, like KKK
Katy's, Bunratty's, and The Groggery. Just as The Beatles
left home for months at a stretch and went to the Reperbahn
in Germany, working nightly and sometimes 8 (eight!)
sets on any given Sunday, they had no reason not to
become a personally close, and musically tight-knit
unit. The Beaver Brown guys worked together for over
a dozen years, gigging night in and night out, 6 and
7 night club gigs, 2 and 3 sets a night, and deserved
the ultimate success that came their way.
In 1972 the band began by playing the usual covers in
the usual local clubs and colleges. They worked themselves
into a better band and took more and more "road-work"
on Cape Cod, the Jersey Shore, ski-resort country and
in Boston proper. Along comes Antunes about 1977 and
the band tours all of New England.
In 1980, the boys record a single, "Wild Summer
Nights/Tender Years," which got some airplay along
the Eastern Seaboard and got the kids a showcase gig
at New York's prestigious Bottom Line club.
In 1981, veteran producer Kenny Vance, who sang with
Jay & The Americans during the sixties, took movie
director Martin Davidson to see one of their shows.
Davidson offered Cafferty the job of writing the music
for what was to become the film "Eddie and the
Cruisers." The Beaver Brown single was naturally
added to the score. The movie was released in the late
summer of 1983 to decent reviews but a tepid (some say
seasonal) box office. However, when the flick was showcased
on TV's movie channel, HBO, during the summer of 1984,
the soundtrack began selling in large quantities. This
resulted in a renewed interest in the band that recorded
the sound track (but did not appear in the movie itself).
The boys found themselves in big demand. Ironically,
John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band came to the
forefront of the pop music scene, eclipsing the actors
who starred as Eddie and the Cruisers.
Extra Point Trivia Answer: The name Beaver Brown was
the name of the paint color used in the band's first
rehearsal studio! Now back to our regularly scheduled
band bio.
Band tunes "Hearts of Five" and "Voice
of America's Sons" were released from the Stallone
films Rocky IV and Cobra. Cafferty was again the Springsteen
sound-a-like voice lip-synched by Michael Pare in "Eddie
and The Cruisers II: Eddie Lives." John wrote all
the songs. While waiting for the movie soundtrack to
arrive, members of the band (Pat, Gary and Kenny Jo)
formed a fun summer unit, "The Boys of Summer."
Cafferty was a major domo in the Feed The Hungry "Rhode
Island Bandwagon" effort. (LP, Caldor, 2986).
Gramolini's brother Joel, a former South Side Johnny
sideman, fronted his own Boston band, gigged with The
Whitewalls, and Big Sixteen, among others. John Cafferty's
cousin is the namesake of RI act Steve Smith and The
Nakeds.
Discography
On The Dark Side/Tender Years (45, Scotti Bros., 1983)
On TheDark Side/Wild Summer Nights (45, Scotti Bros.
04594, 1983) #64 (10/83) and #7 (9/84) Re-released as:
(45, Scotti Bros. 04594, 1984)
TenderYears/Down On My Knees (45, Scotti Bros. 04682,
1983) #78 (1/84) and #31 (12/84+) Re-released as: (45,
Scotti Bros. 04682, 1984) (These songs taken from the
movie Eddie and The Cruisers)
Tough All Over (45, Scotti Bros. 04891, 1985) #22 (6/85)
C-I-T-Y (45, Scotti Bros. 05452, 1985) #18 (8/85) From
the LP "Tough All Over"
Voice of America's Sons (45, Scotti Bros. 06048, 1985)
From soundtrack of Stallone flick, Cobra
Tender Years (LP, Scotti Bros., 1984) Released in January
and re-released in November.
On The Dark Side (LP, Scotti Bros., 1984) Released in
August.
Tough All Over (LP, Scotti Bros. FZ 39405, 1985)
Roadhouse (LP, Scotti Bros., 1988) Produced by JC and
Karl Rasmussen and members of the band at Fat Trax (RI9
and Normandy Sound (mixed by Phil Green and Tom Soares)
Eddie and The Cruisers (LP-ST, Scotti Bros. FZT 38929,
1984) Soundtrack
Rhode Island Bandwagon (LP, Calder, 1986) Feed the Hungry
compilation with John Cafferty.
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