It's funny how sometimes things just seem to unexpectedly fall into place over time. Things go out of style, only to come back in style years and years later. Rock and roll can be that way too. An era like the 80's, with all its classic rock hits, now seems to have struck again with a generation that has reinvented itself with musical roots tied to those years, creating the basis for a newer, more progressive rock of today.
Flashback to 1989 and we find two wandering local musicians (hey, aren't they all?), guitarist Bill DeHart and bassist Butch Samolewicz, who manage to find their own common ground, a band they will call "Big Brother." Together they would venture onward as they searched for that ever elusive "niche," playing classic 80's rock n' roll anywhere and everywhere from New Jersey to New Ringgold for the next few years. In 1995, the band changes its name to "Fox Chase", however, by the end of 1999, Fox Chase was in a fallout.
With the falling out of Fox Chase, came the nucleus of a new band with members Bill, Butch, drummer Tonto, and singer Billy Geer. Two of the band's members, Butch and Billy Geer, each had a name which they felt was right -"Chalk Boy" and "Loose Rooster" and when the band couldn't decide on one they used both, and "LOOSE ROOSTER and the CHALK BOY" was now official.
In 2000, Jeff Smith, who was the lead singer in the Allentown based band "Magnum" during the early nineties, replaced Billy Geer. Jeff's forte was Zeppelin, ACDC, and Aerosmith, the perfect voice for that classic 80's sound the band was always after. But Jeff's keen sense of music direction also steered the band's repertoire toward more current trends in music, and along with that came songs by Dave Matthews Band, Puddle of Mudd, and others.
Then in May of 2001, Jeff broadened his horizons a bit and landed a job which required him to be out of town just enough to miss a few weekend gigs here and there. So he called a friend of his, Michael DeFrank, who was the guitarist/vocalist in "Magnum" along with Jeff, to fill in whenever Jeff couldn't be there. Incidentally, Butch and Michael were also together in Magnum in the mid 80's, touring the east coast from PA to Florida.
Well, Michael agreed that a "part time" situation filling in for Jeff was a perfect fit, but it wasn't long that he and the band discovered that approaching this as a "full time" addition was even more welcome. The addition of Michael as a 5th member of "LOOSE ROOSTER and the CHALK BOY" added not only his guitar expertise, but another lead vocal as well, reinventing the band once more to now do covers of Van Halen, Bon Jovi, and Creed, again blending contemporary rock with its predecessors.
In the spring of 2003, the newest member of the band, Timmy Nagle, one of the finest drummers in the Lehigh Valley, and also from the high profile band, The Armadillos, joined Loose Rooster. For the next year, Loose Rooster and the Chalkboy played various places from the Jersey Shore to Northeastern PA. During the spring of 2004, after a whirlwind night in Dodge City, the guys decided to change their name and give the band a somewhat new look.
By the summer of 2005, Big Bone Daddy became a 4 piece band, with Butchie, Bill, Jeff, and Tim rocking clubs from New Jersey to Pennsylvania, still making fans happy!
Unfortunately as time passes and life changes, dynamics within the band also must change. August 26, 2006 at Donovan's Reef in Sea Bright, New Jersey, proved to be the last show for bassist Butchie. He decided the time had come for him to retire from playing and has allowed for some new blood to run through Bone Daddy. He will be sorely missed by everyone. We hope it isn't the last we see of him. However, with Butchie's departure from the band, it opened the door for newcomer Will Bundy to step into the bass guitarists spot and join the the guys as the newest member to the band. Will brings along a very energetic persona on stage and fits in well with the guys!
2007 brought even newer changes within Bone Daddy. Drummer Tim Nagle, in pursuit of new playing opportunities, left Bone Daddy. This opened up the door for long time drummer Russ McAdoo to join forces with Bone Daddy to keep the beat alive! Russ has played with many acts over the years, ranging from original bands in the New York City area to The Norm to the current band, The Cabana Boys. He brings along a breath of fresh air to the band and is guaranteed to keep your feet thumping to the music! And rounding out the band is veteran keyboardist and sax extraordinaire, Bill Bundy, bringing a new sound to the band. Bill has played with many acts over the years such and is a talented addition to the band. With the addition of keyboards and sax, look for an even wider array of music from your favorite BONE DADDIES!
Look for new music from our Earth Shatterin' Bone Rattlin' Big Bone Daddy!!!
Add Stephen to the group as master mix, sound and light technician and you have
.......
one hell of a kick ass band!
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