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Scorgies was a place for music and community. I wasn’t allowed. Luke Warm hated me and I could see why. No one in that joint gave me the time of day. And none of my buddies ever wanted to venture into downtown at the notorious “Scorgies”. I remember driving my buds around town to every lame ass dance place in the burbs until I got fed up and got the complaining pricks out of my car and into mommies bed just before midnight. Not getting laid at 19 will get a kid a little ornery I guess.

Once in awhile I’d go downtown to Andrews Street and just hang out till last call. Later I hooked up with some WITR guys and eventually did a show at the station. I remember the John Cale show since we drove him to the gig in either an AMC Pacer or a Pinto after an on air interview. Saw the Press Tones a lot and Colorblind James and The Ramones and so many Personal Effects Shows. Caught a few of the earlier gigs like The Cramps and New Math. Was a semi-regular in 84-85 for awhile but most of the crew I hung with wasn’t interested in the downtown scene. Eventually I lost a few friends suffering through pitchers and Donkey Kong one night at The Vineyard at Pittsford Plaza.

I remember lusting after Andi and getting hammered with my WITR partner Mike Baldwin. Later I spent some years working with Uncle Roger at WCMF and watching a high school classmate play drums with bands like The Projectiles (Brian Goodman).

But like I said I wasn’t a regular. I watched bands all over town in all sorts of different venues, often with an eye towards getting laid. Scorgies wasn’t about scoring, although I probably stumbled out of the place taking a girl home a few times. For a time I lived pretty close to the place. Often I’d find a place to park (very hard at times) go in for last call and walk the couple of blocks home.

You’d always find a friend in that place and very often some good music. And you’d also find someone in there who’d like to cut you or spit in your drink. I loved it.

Ever so slightly off-topic, but who besides me fondly remembers WSAY? 1370AM? It was the radio-station that was so bad it was good; so awful it was great? If there ever was such a thing as “underground” radio in Rochester, this was it! You’d be rocking out to, say, anything from Talking Heads to Van Halen, and suddenly a priest and two nuns would start reciting Rosary! Good times!

WSAY: By the 1970s, WSAY had become, in effect, a free-form radio station. Brown had little input into the music played on the station, leaving the choices in the hands of the DJs, who played everything from blues to country to heavy metal, interrupted promptly every night at six for the daily reading of the rosary (one of several paid blocks of time on WSAY).

Here’s a brief but good Scorgies story.

First just a bit o’ history:  In the late ’70s and early ’80s I was a regular at Scorgies and saw many great shows there. (Good thing the drinking age was 18). It was the center of my friends and my music universe, to be sure. Myself and my college crowd considered ourselves “New Wavers” or at least aficionados of the latest music. We shopped at Record Archive and listened to WUWU, the great Buffalo alternative station, and wore CBGB T-shirts that we bought at House of Guitars.   We saw all the bands; Press tones, New Math (freakin’ trancendental!), Personal Effects (Peggy Fornier had been my high-school Spanish teacher), Chesterfield Kings, etc. I remember a number of times trading insults with the Country Music Rednecks that were going to the Country Warehouse (which shared the same parking area). Oh how they hated us leather-clad kids with mod haircuts and cigs hanging from our lips.

I was even in a very short-lived band with Beth Brown before she was in Absolute Grey. We were called “Seizure Salad”!

As always, I digress. On to the story…

So, one night in early ‘82 I was hanging at Scorgies with my friend Lisa Button, and as often happened we were there until they pushed us out the door at two-ish. The bands were finished, and as we were guzzling last-call, a track came on the sound system. It was this mesmerizing, driving song with this great, drony guitar riff. It immediately caught my ear. I said “Wow! Who is this band?”

Lisa replied, “Oh, it’s this new band from England called… (wait for it)…..U2.”

That’s right, she said England.

The song was “I Will Follow.”

I went to Record Archive to find their LP the very next day. That was a lucky twist in-and-of-itself because Island Records US distribution was on strike, and I had to buy “Boy” as an import. $20!!! The import version had completely different cover-art  and was a much nicer package than the US version. It even had one different song. I still have it, and I think it’s worth a few bucks now.

In the spirit of the Little Rascals, as in, “Hey, let’s put on a show!” now comes your chance to turn that frown upside down, and start cashing in on the baby boomer nostalgia. Instead of just moping to your friends that, “hey, I used to play there,” you can now say, “Hey, I own it!” That’s right, the original temple of it all is up for sale. Anyone want to go in halves?

I was up there for a holiday visit & went by Scorgies to take a photo for posterity.  I don’t know how long it’s been since it closed for the last time, but the 2nd floor windows are broken out.  I shot a couple of panoramic photos & decided to post them as a bookend to the reunion show.  Sort of a reality check.  I’m sure everyone will recall that the further door on the left was the original entrance to the upstairs bar, and the nearer door on the right led to the restaurant side as well as the stairs down to the live room.  Those who were in bands will also recognize the alleyway side entrance where they would load in. 

Panoramic views of Scorgies, December 2008 (click to view full size)

(Article mostly Re-printed from Shindig & Freetime Magazines in the 1990’s – by Del Rivers)

I still can remember standing in The Mason Jar (a local bar known for serving beer in canning jars)…as well as Scorgies…listening to Luther and The BBB’s. What we heard was a mixture of 1960’s Retro-Rock combined with early 1980’s Power-Pop. The BBB’s were stand-outs among Rochester bands like The Bowery Boys (w/Geoff Wilson), The Insiders (w/Walt O’Brien), and The Chesterfield Kings (w/Greg Prevost). Of these die-hard followers of The Kinks, The Monkees, The Byrds, and The Who; Luther and The BBB’s stood out like a set of new Goodyear Tires instead of some cheapo retreads. The snappy Pop tunes created were on par with Syracuse, NY’s Flashcubes (w/Gary Frenay) or with any other Power Pop band that was on Bomp! or Voxx Records in the early 1980’s. Luther and his boys have progressed to that arena (musically, at times) that includes Cheap Trick, Tom Petty, or early Squeeze.
As time goes around, BBB members have followed different routes…Doug Cox, who briefly formed NYC’s Tonebenders, is now climbing telephone poles; Mike Abrams, now a family man, played a roll in both The Projectiles and The Infants; Judd Williams (known as a “legend” in Boston) plays with The Lyres, Riviera Playboys, and now tours with The Amazing Royal Crowns; and finally Jeff “Luther” Holtzman carried The BBB’s flagship through the ’80’s and ’90’s. (The BBB’s briefly changed to The 3-B’s as well). Many future members included ex-Insiders Walt O’Brien and Bob Janneck; It’s My Party/Housecats/Shakin’ Bones members Ken Peters and Hank “Blast” Karuth. In the lean years, Luther worked as a D-J for local bars and co-wrote songs that ended-up as releases from myself and/or McFadden’s Parachute.

Aside from my usual “namedroppings”, a good listen to the CD (Volume One) speaks for itself. Utilizing rare vintage instruments; Luther has created an array of cool, original Rock’n'Roll as well as some updated cover songs in the bonus set. Check out the Rockabilly-influenced “The Echo”, the yearly Christmas standard “Are You Ready For Christmas”, the Psychedelic “Knee Wash”, and aggressive Power-Pop songs like “Rest Of Your Love” and “In My Mind” – all guaranteed to become repeat listeners. (On Whole Lotta Shakin’ – we usually played his “Credit Card Christmas” which isn’t on the CD).

Despite the choking cigarette smoke, and overwhelming odor of urinals (at The Mason Jar – not Scorgies!); that time was a worthy Rock’n'Roll memory and the music is still vital today. I can’t wait ’til Volume Two comes along without the ’smells’ attached to the memories!! Hail to the Great Rickenbacker!!

(Note: Since this article was written, Luther has retired from performing but has recorded about four other unreleased volumes of music with and without Dave Anderson from Saxon Recording. His former band mates now play as Shakin’ Bones). – Del.

I just wrote a Scorgies recollection with homage to Personal Effects on my own blog. I must say that the many nights that I spent at Scorgies were quite unique and will never be forgotten, even if they are hazy memories.

I hope that it is ok that I cross-post it here. If not, that’s cool, I will cease and desist!

Scorgies was the best room in the city for live bands. They had no chairs in the place. The drinking age was still 18 so the crowd was alive. Mark Nuj had the best sound system in place down there. You could stand right in front of the band or watch from three sides.
Click photo to advance. (from The Refrigerator.)

From September of 1981 to the very last day in February 1986, I lived in Rochester, NY and I loved every minute of it. It was a crazy time in my life.

When other contemporaries of mine were busy settling down, focusing on careers, procuring advanced degrees, getting married and starting families, nothing was further from my mind than any of that.

I wanted to live and to live very loudly. And so I did.

At that time I had no idea of the depths of my sad past, but I knew I wanted to be happy. Frankly, I wasn’t happy, but one must think of how the water cuts through the rock to form the canyon or how the sea pounds the rocks to create the sand. I was happy in process I suppose.

So while others were doing some of the aforementioned life living, I spent my free time slinking around all manner of unsavory nightspots, drinking, dancing and whiling the nights away. It was not unheard of for me in those days to be out until 2am, fall into bed in my tiny studio apartment on trendy Park Avenue and be up at and work by 8am the next morning. Oh to be 25!

One of my number one hangouts was this total dive of a bar and with a great music scene. It was called Scorgies. (I particularly liked this recollection from another Scorgies blog.)

This place was a scene unto itself and was also the venue for many a great band both local and national, international. Eventually it became my number one night spot.

This meant sauntering in and trying to look cool. I can’t imagine I ever pulled this off, but I did my best. One had big hair and wore lots of black, I think that was key. That and looking almost bored, as if you just happened to walk in unexpectedly.

I would usually be with my friend MG. My friend MG and I are no longer friends and I must say that of all my lost friendships, I mourn this one most profoundly. MG was the single funniest person I have ever known in my life. We were friends from December of 1982 until early in 2002 and I do not think the wound of loss will ever fully close.

Anyway, M and I would get into my one of our cars and head off to see what the night held for us. Generally from 1983-1986, that meant first stop was Scorgies.

After entering the smokey bar space, courage would be mustered to go to the bar. Why courage? The bartender never really liked us. Maybe he was that way with everyone, but total disdain was his usual response. Even when the place was empty, he’d generally ignore us until he had no choice. He was a real local character and he has left this mortal coil. He went by the name of Luke Warm and you can about him and his passing here. I hope that Luke is resting in peace.

Once some drinks were consumed and if it were a show night, one would stumble down the stairs to the very dark and even more smokey show space in the basement. Low ceiling, black walls (to my recollection) and always the spot to experience some great music.

There was a local band that played there a lot and to this day I love love love them and their music. Oh it is very dated and very 80’s, but ahhhhhh- I can never get enough. So many memories are tied around Personal effects and their music. You can read more about them right here as well as listen to some of their songs and see some videos. (I will have one for you at the end of this post – the song “Nothing Lasts Forever.” My favorite song of theirs is “So So Hard” but no vid for that one, but here is the audio.)

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I recall some of the shows I went to at Scorgies but sadly many of them are faded due to what had to be too much beer and not enough sleep.

Lost youth.

Except that I was getting older and in 1985 when I got to hear Alex Chilton in February and The Replacements in August I was 27 and nearing the bend to 28 years old. And my recollection of either show is shaky at best.

Lost youth.

There were other nightspots – Idols opened in 1985 I think. While Scorgies was more of a punk place, Idols was definitely a true 80’s dance club, although it had its own punky edge.

I once went on a date there with a guy that I met through work, he was so knowledgeable about music! While we were there a song came on and he said “This song always makes me think of being at such and such.” The such and such indicated he was a young teen when the song came out.

I asked him, “How old are you?” and he looked at me and said “21!” WTF? “How old are you?” he asked in return? “27.” Ohhhhh…. We remained friends but that was that. (We each thought we were around 23 or 24.)

Another place that I spent a lot of time at in that last year was right across the street from Idols, it was called The Liberty and it was a very chic gay bar. My friend MG and I would traipse back and forth between the two – going from one environment to the other.

Such was my life in those days. If I wanted to live out loud was definitely doing so, but sadly in ways that were not healthy for me.

That said, I can’t imagine I would change too much. What happens in the past is what makes you who you are when you finally start to pay attention. Which is how I have come to see things as a 51 year old theology student, church secretary, stepmother and suburban resident.

Nothing lasts forever, as the song says. Enjoy.

"Cousin" Brian Goodman

Stan mentioned a “Where are they now” section so I thought I would write this!

I left Rochester in 1994 and moved to Albany, NY

I got a job selling drums at the big music store here Drome Sound. Within 2 weeks of moving here I was drumming in 1313 Mockingbird Lane Albany’s garage band! While in 1313 we released 2 45’s both of which I got to sing lead on the B-side! 1 45 even had a song I had written!!!

My son was born in 1996 and I did the stay at home dad thing!  Susan  from Susan & The Surftones had just moved to Albany & was out the last 1313 show. She approached me and asked if I wanted to join the band. We did a few CD’s for the German Gee Dee label & a 45 for a Belgian label. We also did 3 tours of Europe while I was in the band.

The 1st was in 1997. It was 8 shows in 10 days and was only Germany.

The next tour was 2000 and was a 1 month tour that took me to Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and the next tour in 2001 was also 1 month and was some of the same but also adding Denmark.

(Thank god I have an understanding wife!!!)

After those tours I try to make it to Germany at least once every 3 years. This year I went & also visited Prague, CZ.

Now I run the mail order dept. at the local record store Last Vestige ( www.lastvestige.com ).

Most of my time is spent selling records to the Russian!!!

I started Thee UMMmm… a 60’s garage band & also Das Schmucks a 3 pc Turbonegro cover band.

I also play drums and sing with The Knyghts Of Fuzz, & Big Kombo and I do a Russian WW2 re-enacting thing www.3rdriflediv.org & http://www.myspace.com/3rdriflebrigade

Looking forward to A Projectiles reunion! The Last attempt was on a day when Rochester decided to have a MAJOR snow storm!!!

Cheers!

Cousin Brian Goodman

WITR, Backseat Sally, The Press Tones, Delroy Rebop, Cappy & The Frenchmen (l-r)

The rarer shorter red cable Delroy Rebop button.

Buttons seemed to be a cheap and easy way to promote bands and causes back in the day, and here’s a few from the collection. The top left is from WITR and reads “Rock N Roll Party,” although I can’t remember if that was a show, or just a promo button from the station. To the right of that is a Backseat Sally button, though the colors seem to have faded over the years. In the center is a Press Tones button, a personal favorite, as I always like the deco style text. I would have worn it to the reunion, but I just uncovered it the other day. Bottom left is a Delroy Rebop button, with an image of a microphone. Last time I saw Del was in NYC many moons ago. Finally there is a Cappy and the Frenchmen button, and though it didn’t scan too well, it reads “Th – Th – Th – There’s a Thing” across the top, a reference to a song of the same name, with “And It’s Called Rock’N Roll” across the bottom. Just to the right of the WITR logo on the button you can make out “89.7 fm”, and at the end of the word “Frenchmen” is a picture of the Eiffel Tower.

From the March 17th 1995 issue of City Magazine, we have Luke’s Obit. I don’t have a credit for the author of this piece (H.B. Ward?), perhaps Chuck or Pat could fill in the rest of the details.

Luke Warm

IN MEMORIAM

Andrew L. Ogrodowski, a lifelong local rocker known mainly as Luke Warm to his friends (and a few enemies), died on Friday, March 17, in his bedroom in his mother’s home in Greece. It was a warm spring evening and he’d been listening to the radio. He was 35.

His sudden death forces us to press the details of his life into some sort of comprehensible whole. Two years ago, when he was he was 33, Luke laughed, saying, “I’m just a guy who was saved by glitter and glam rock in the ’70’s,” as he tended bar downtown at the Abyss. As Luke perceived his life and tried – as he often did, to understand what it meant – that was no exaggeration at all.

The guy just wasn’t made to be normal. He invented and adopted the name Luke Warm around 1972, as a 12-year-old boy, to complete the elaborate stage persona he had conceived for his first rock band. After an early introduction to NYC glam rockers like T Rex, Luke gradually became the premier collector of rare T Rex records and memorabilia in the US.

Early in life. Luke stopped trying to fit in. “I remember a Red Wings game in the ’70’s,” recalled Luke’s friend and fellow musician Pat Lowerey on the phone recently. “There’s Luke walking down the stairs of Silver Stadium in a cape and full New York Dolls makeup in broad daylight. To him it was normal.”

Luke’s sense of style gave his rebellious energy an outlet and helped him find an identity. But unlike so many fashion bags, he never confused style with basic human grace. Lowerey, once the drummer for Luke’s best-known band, SLT, recalls a defining moment in Luke’s life. At one of SLT’s club dates, a band of hard core, head-shaved punks had been slated to open for them. Listening to them as SLT waited to go on, Luke appreciated the opening band’s energy at first, but then noticed that their lyrics were full of Anti-Semitic, homophobic and racist slurs. “These guys are skinheads!” he said to Lowerey.

That made him mad. “You know how some bands are too cool, like, ‘Don’t approach me?’” said Lowery. “Well, Luke wasn’t like that at all. As soon as he got on stage he just ripped into that band: ‘I Love Jews! I love fags! I live with a black chick!’ He was pointing at the skinheads and yelling into the mike, ‘We got a bunch of fuckin’ Nazis opening our show?’”

Like no one else in Rochester, Luke loved and devoted himself to the local rock scene. In the ’80’s he worked as a DJ and bartender (notably at Scorgies). But a career at the perimeter of the slam pit just wasn’t involved enough for him. His consuming love of music led him to moonlight as the music editor of Downtown magazine. Luke’s prose was as inflamed and confrontational as the music he loved. In an excerpt from the opening of one of his concert reviews (of a local band called “The Bulus“) in 1983, Luke demonstrated his fierce allegiance to Rochester Rockers.

“In this day and age when words mean nothing and dance means everything, it’s nice to see there are bands around to confront this idiotic way of thinking with an iron fist and the Bulus are that type of band. There is nothing wrong with mindless pop, rather fun its dumb way, but there should always be an imaginative, agressive edge to rock and roll to keep it on its often wobbly feet.”

Luke played guitar back then, too, but not, as most remember it, very well. Then, sometime in the summer of ‘90, Luke disappeared from Rochester’s nightclub world. For 18 months, he spent his free time practicing by playing along with his collection of blues records. When he re-emerged, in early ‘92, he was ready to form SLT – a band whose combination of power, intelligence, and expertise came close to what Luke had been grasping at for most of his life.

The band lasted little more than a year. But SLT is now legendary among Rochester rockers and Luke’s vision, infectious energy, and confidence in the band (“We’re the best rock and roll band in the world,” he used to shout) had everything to do with the legacy SLT left in its wake. Lowerey put it simply: “He wanted to combine the passion of music with intelligent lyrics and play it with such force.”

Luke’s death on March 17 cast a sad and sentimental pall over a crowd of Rochesterians known for dispassionate cool. His wake packed the Miller Funeral Home on Monroe Avenue with hundreds of black-leather rock and roll rebels. The line of tattooed, pierced and crying mourners strung itself through four rooms, heads shaking.

Luke’s mother, Helen Ogrodowski, welcomed every downcast punk who’d knelt before his closed coffin with a warm, appreciative hug. The phrase “He was a sweet guy, wasn’t he” was repeated over and over.

“He was crazy,” said Lowerey. “You could just call him up and he would do anything. If I needed him to do cartwheels naked down Monroe Avenue because I didn’t feel good, he’d do it immediately.”

“He was a great friend.”

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audio clip courtesy Simon Ribas of the Presstones, see comments for details

Really enjoyed the show.  Left without getting your #.  You know us unemployed have to work together.

Don’t let the hair fool you I’m old enough.

Lou the Italian

First off, let me just say thanks to everyone involved with the Scorgies Reunion. I am sure my fellow Press Tones feel the same way (although some have trouble typing). Peter had our set planned out pretty good, clocking in at around 42 minutes, which would have allowed us a brief encore. For whatever reason, we ran long, and got yanked off the stage (set times were pretty rigid, and I’m not complaining, just letting you know), before we got the chance to do another number. So for your listening pleasure, here’s a live cut from when we played Abilene over the summer. It’s a song we usually finished the night with, called “Go Insane.” Back in the old days, Peter would take the solos, and at the end of the song, just leave his guitar in front of his amp until it started feeding back and annoying people. And then he’d wait some more before unplugging it. Flash forward, and now I do the lead work, and on this occasion, I started bending the strings pretty far, and so Peter started doing whale noises through the mic. It was a hoot.

Anyway, you paid for it, so here’s the song. . .

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Scott Weichman aka B.B. Lummox during soundcheck at the German House.

Somehow I wound up with a back stage pass for the Scorgie’s Reunion show at the German House in Rochester, NY. I took a few photos and had good time. It was really great to see everyone.

Like most people, I have a scattering of old newspapers, cassettes, videos, and records cluttering up my closet space. When I have the time, I try to convert cassettes and videos to CD’s, DVD’s, or stick it in a file on my computer (for YouTube or some other proper place down the line). Old mags and news clips get into bags like comic books or binders. All this takes a bit of time and expense, which I currently do not have. I only hope that when I kick it, that the cool stuff doesn’t end up in the trash. I already lost cassettes and videos due to deterioration; even some early Sony CD’s with labels won’t play anymore. A friend of mine has a cassette of John Cale playing at Scorgies. I’m hoping that he will preserve stuff like that. I have some video of Rick Baker & The Commercials now on DVD that I’m dying to upload. Many friends have bootleg cassettes of The Insiders that are impeccable. My suggestion is to preserve these things, only if you have the time or if the stuff is worth it in your heart. The best way, for now, is to get it on the internet so other fans can check it out. I thank Stan The Man, Tom Kohn, and others for getting this web site out. It may be a good starting place for your posters, stories, and a few website links to bands that are still at it! It doesn’t hurt to use a professional studio, if you have some bucks to convert and properly preserve stuff as well (not quite like the Eastman House working on 1920’s films, but to make stuff watchable and/or audible!).

I asked Scorgie – what did “Weekends” mean on the posters….he laughed so hard…it really meant “weekends” – in the beginning, that’s when he had music scheduled – on the weekends! Not during the week – music on the “WEEKENDS!”

It was a great night of music and old friends and acquaintances at The German House Friday night. I got their at seven and immediately started reminiscing about bands that played at Scorgies with Del Rivers and Brian Goodman. I came up with a few that I haven’t heard mentioned. The Rockats, (http://www.myspace.com/therockats )  a rockabilly band from New York City played their a few times and Brian said they had a record release party at the Top of the Plaza. Another band  was The Memphis Rockabilly Band (http://www.memphisrockabillyband.com/) who were their a few times and a lot of fun. The third I can remember was the Glen Phillips band (http://www.answers.com/topic/glenn-phillip)  who played all instrumentals and were a little different then the regular Scorgie’s bands. He was a great guitar player!! I hope those three can jog some of your memories. Too Tall Steve walked in (http://myspace.com/tootallblues) and we immediately started laughing about the only time we played at Scorgies in my first band Crawlspace and our bass player wrapped his foot around the guitar chord and his bass head came crashing down!! Don’t ask me what year, maybe ‘84-86′ ? I think Scorgie had some battle of the bands thing going. Well, it was great seeing those bands again and they sounded great !! I have to get that new Presstones cd !! Maybe Schwittek  is think of giving me one.

Kurt Wilkins of the Delta Rays and the Tinglers

What a show; everyone I’ve spoken to was totally blown away. I’m still firing on all cylinders, even a few that I didn’t even know I had anymore! I saw so many smiles Friday night, so many people genuinely happy to see each other.I only wish I could’ve stopped by Abilene to spend more time with everyone. But by that time my knees and feet were in need of hydrotherapy (too much dancing and bopping around trying to say hi to everyone!)

It’s hard to say without sounding too sappy, but one of the things I took away from my Scorgies days was a sense of community, I felt like I belonged there. Getting together with everyone at the German House re-affirmed that. While it’s been said that “you can never go back” that doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun trying to.

Ashley Black

At the end of the show, someone grabbed me and asked me “Did I hear you right, did you say this is was the first Scorgies reunion?” when I replied that I had indeed said that; she replied “good! That’s what I hoped you said!” All I can say is that if Tom, Vanessa, John and the hard working BopArts crew want to do this again, I’ll be on board!

Check out some more photos after the jump:

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I witnessed quite a few shows there. It was the place to be to hear original new music! The energy was high and the music was raw and exciting.  New Math was my favorite from back then.  Without new music, there can be no old music, music that we fall in love with and remember our whole lives. Music that gets into your soul, makes you feel alive!

I had the pleasure of working for Scorgie in the second phase of live music in the early 90s. It was a new feel and very exciting, but nothing can compare to the earlier phase. Scorgie would give ya the shirt off his back, if he still had it after a few tequilas and a rumble.
Thanks Tom Kohn for making last night happen.  It was AWESOME!

Thanks Don for everything!

Jon Dubner

The show was a blast. Long live Scorgies and thanks to all who pulled this thing together.

“International” tribute at the PCL Link Dump

Peace – John

Video courtesy johhnyuma

Just like in the old days, the infamous Scorgies videographers were in full force at the reunion. While Russ Lunn was shooting hi-def in the balcony, Ed Richter was taping from the stage and from the floor. Ed sent me this yesterday but, alas, I was too tired to post it.

Ed Richter and Peggi Fournier

Well kids it happened. Oh My God. NEW MATH Live. PERSONAL EFFECTS Live, THE PRESS TONES Live. If you read this Blog and you missed the show you really missed a part of Rochester’s recent History. Forget Renaissance Square. Forget the new Paetec office Bldg. None of that matters! History was made last night at the German House when the greatest reunion of Rochester’s legendary Bar & Club Scorgies happened. 400 plus friends shared a beautiful experience! The Music we loved, the friends we loved we all there.

Some personal friends: The Beardsley Sisters, Bob Martin, Gary Trainer, Peggy & Paul of course. Even an old girlfriend Roxanne showed up. Dick Storms, Dwayne Sherwood, Rock & Roll Joel and a guy we called Mark Mead. The whole cast of the movie showed up. Never knew this guy (Mark Mead) but everyone always talked about him.

The Beardsley Sisters

Here’s the best part we shot a multiple camera video of it all. With the grace of the gods it will be available soon. Special thanks to Russ Lunn for the master shots of the show. What Can I say? If you were alive and at Scorgies in 1982 and you were at the show last night you would understand my feelings.

ED RICHTER 11-22-08

(More photos after the jump)

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In 1985 Scorgie’s opened Yuk Yuk’s which later became Hiccups and then finally The Comedy Club at Scorgie’s.  The Funny Bone was our competition down the street and was never housed at 150 Andrews St…In 1993 – Scorge went back to music for one year – and in July of 1994 – we closed.  Thanks to everyone who made that reunion just a great “moment in time.”  We too now have closure and greatly appreciate Tom’s outstanding efforts in bringing this show and reunion to reality – what a blast from the past that was for all!  Thanks again to everyone.

as soon as i walked in to get in line i saw three people i recognized. the keith richards guy, the johhny ramone guy and some other guy i never knew the name of. they seemed to recognize me. the air was buzzing with a feeling like finding an old favorite shirt and having it still fit. it was awesome! I walked in and saw people i hadn’t seen in over fifteen years. a few i was nervous about but as soon as our eyes met it vanished.

we laughed and looked at photos of each others kids. some people had thier kids there. my daughter would sooner have slit her own throat than be a part of our pathetic past.  i got tears in my eyes several times looking around at the sheer joy of everybody there. the bands were awesome. that new math singer was easy on the eyes of this “older woman”.  when laben came out to sing riverview we instinctivley lined up to do the dance. i haven’t danced that much in a long time. i stayed out real late-past midnight! Abilene was cool but got too crowded for me. i got sober 11 years ago so i don’t really go to shows or bars much. the thought of a drink didn’t even occur to me as i basked in the stage light. my feet moved on thier own. i was dancing for joy.

Last evening was a blast! I am so glad that I went. I was on the fence because I am not real proud of the way I have aged. If I hadn’t gone I would have seen pictures and been very upset. The bands did an awesome job. If I didn’t get tired so early I would have thought I was 19 again.  Thank you to everyone who made it all happen. When I figure out how to post pictures or who to send them to I will. I was great to see all the familiar faces!

Patti (Street) Steeb

Tonight we played the Scorgies Reunion, along with New Math and The Press Tones. And it was a blast. All three of us played our asses off. The Press Tones played first and just absolutely rocked the house. Jeff Laben of the Cliches got up and did Riverview Restaurant with them and it was just like being at Scorgies again. The Press Tones were in great form – tight, exciting and showcasing their songwriting prowess.

New Math was up next. They opened with We Walk Among You (at least that’s the way I remember it), and I was dumbstruck. The band sounded great musically, but when the vocals started I really had to look twice to see if it was Kevin Patrick singing. I mean, I knew it wasn’t, but the fellow that was up there REALLY channeled Kevin’s vocal sound, style, delivery and tenor. Scary, almost. But before New Math, The Targets, with Sue Metro, did a couple of songs. Lots of fun. I’ll confess that they were a time before I became part of the Scorgies scene, but is it ever too late to become a fan?

We (Personal Effects) hit the stage pretty close to 10. First of all, it felt just as relaxed and natural as it always did when we played. I don’t know what it is about this band, but I’ve never felt nervous playing with them – just excited and joyous. And tonight, that seemed to come through. We played one of the best sets we’ve ever played and it didn’t matter that it was 20 years later.

The one really cool thing is that, for me, it brought closure to a time that sort of never came to a proper end, but lets it remain timeless. Tonight, it was great to have the last gig we never had. Great to run into long-not-seen old friends. Great to still be able to rip it up and pull off a great set. Tonight it was clear – we are just a rock and roll band who really loves playing music together. Sure, we may play again as Personal Effects. But if we don’t, we just closed the perfect door.

Thanks to the entire community for the opportunity to do this – with special kudos to Tom Kohn, The Press Tones, New Math, the other members of Personal Effects (past and present), Duane Sherwood, Stan Merrill and everyone who came together to pull this off tonight.

- Bob

PS: I just wanna give a special thanks to Ken Frank who is the bass player in Personal Effects (and Margaret Explosion). He REALLY brings great bottom to both bands and we could not have done it without Ken.

Photos by Nicholas Gerber

There is one undeniable fact. Don Scorgie had enough instinct, guts and taste to provide a platform for all of this. The whole thing would not have happened in Rochester without him. I want to thank him.

I did a series of paintings called “Local Icons” in 1988 and included him but I want to thank him here for some of the best times of my life.

I sent Rob the link to this blog and since he won’t be able to make it [from Portland, OR] here were his comments:

“Andrij!
Cool story. I don’t know if you remember, the very last club the Squirrels played in Rochester was Scorgies in summer 1993. We played a wedding and Manhattan Square Park after that, but Scorgies was it. In fact, I may be wrong, but I think we were the last band, or one of the last bands, to pretty much play there at all. After that, it became Token Joe’s.
I still remember because we decided to toss out the set list and just go for it. We wound up improvising a lot and playing better than we probably ever did. I still remember making up some poetry rant about a Vietnam vet during “Heroine.”
When the gig was over, I remember we all looked at each other and said, “why didn’t we always play that way?” However, by then it was too late, and we had lost Jim and Brian, and Tony and Pete were on their way to Buddhahood world. It’s weird, we never reunited, which may be cool because they’re always sort of a letdown when they do happen. We’re one of those “you had to be there” bands.
Ah, the old days.
It was a great ride.
Rock on and have a pint on me!
rob”

Press Tones - Not Any Older

The Press Tones played Scorgies 11,652 times. I think. It may have been more. The Pistoleros played Scorgies twice. Not sure, I can’t remember. The Crypt Kids didn’t play at Scorgies but we sure hung out there alot. I know ‘Open Season on Jim Freeze’ didn’t play Scorgies, I think Jim was banned from the bar at that point. The Folk Explosion may have played Scorgies, don’t remember. The Chinchillas played at Scorgies a few times when it reopened later on. We played downstairs in 1992 or 1993 and we had our CD release party for “Retro” upstairs in the bar. It 1999 or 2000 and they may have changed the name to ‘Token Joes’.

I don’t have any pictures from the early days. I was studying photography at school and I didn’t even carry around a camera. Oh well.

I met Richard Kaza at Scorgies. He managed The Press Tones and also brought in many national acts to the club. He opened and managed Idols and Freakazoid later on. It was great to see him when The Press Tones played at Abilene this past August.

At the Scorgies reunion show tomorrow I know I will see many people I haven’t seen in a long time, and I probably won’t remember them, but it should be an interesting evening.

Loving this blog. I really wish I could be at the show 11/21, but … can’t. It all started so innocently. My friend Rick Birch intro’d me to Scorgies and New Math back in the day, I don’t know, 1978 maybe? Big Daddy’s? Got to meet some of these music people in Roch. Old friend Danny Deutsch was a part of it. I remember a party where Kevin Patrick was promising to buy a new stylus for the host if he would just play “Volunteers of America” one time.

But then in late 79 or 80, I came back from Calif. and met Paul and Peggi and reconnected with Martin — whom I’d known since before he got his first Nehru jacket — and we started talking about songs and ideas. Next thing you know, we’re down in that basement six or seven days a week for most of the next two years. It was such a rich and rewarding time. We’d come up with ideas, work ‘em out together, add ‘em to a set list  and blast them out there. And people liked it! Eclectic, eccentric, Hi-Techs was a weird little rock n roll band, but the kids would dance, usually. We were together so much, it felt like family. And there were so many great friends in that crowd, in bands and the clubs and all the people around the whole “scene.” I’m tempted to name all these names, but that would be pointless. You’re mostly here.

So you look back 25 or 30 years to a little stretch you did between things — after college and California, before grad school, marriage and kids (and divorce) — and you think, that was special. That was a highlight. That was truly fine.

Zenon Pavlovych aka "King Farouk"

Long overdue! I asked Victor Tabinski who should write about Zenon, he referred me to Andy Tratch of the Urban Squirrels. Thanks, Victor!

Don’t know what to say about Zenon – how can one describe the man…

I knew him as a kid [we met being in Ukrainian Boy Scouts together back in '68] but had drifted apart by high school until I ran into him -  waiting in line to get into the Devo show [1st tour] at the Triangle Theater.

We caught upon things, compared musical tastes & next thing ya know we got our first apartment together on Wisconsin & Main St in the City…

The rest is history: we spent many years together rockin’ & rollin’, abusing ourselves, listening to great music, going to great shows, hanging out at great bars [Scorgie's included] with great friends, working with the Chesterfield Kings all over the country, being ski bums in Vermont, and just enjoying life at it’s best…

Zenon was my brother that I never had, could be the biggest asshole in the world, was always was willing to let you buy him a drink, would steal your drugs when you weren’t looking, and could be hell to live with/be around…but would give you the shirt off his back & loved you to death…

I can [barely] remember helping each other many a time up/down the spiral staircase by the bathrooms at Scorgie’s…We used to ride to all the bars to catch shows on my Kawasaki KZ400 [with Zenon wearing his brain-bucket helmet & clutching his beer]…I can even remember when Zenon had a stint DJing on Monday nights at the Penny Arcade [go figure]…

But most of all I remember Zenon’s “Lust for Life” [yes, just like the Iggy song]  and the fact that music was such a huge part of his life: I still have his albums & listen to them [even though they're way scratched because we were always out of sorts when we played them back then]…

We lost Zenon on the 4th of July weekend over 20 years ago -  fittingly he had gone down to NYC to visit friends & to see The Butthole Surfers: he never came back…

What a waste…what an asshole..what a Zenon move…

Long live the memory of Zenon Pavlovych: The Great High and Mighty Most Exalted Grand Mystical King Farouk!