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Show Swede Alley Band: P.C musicians : will say it with rhythm at the Zephyr Jelt Jensen The Swede Alley Band tunes up: Left to right (back row) Ken McDaniel (lead, rhythm guitar), John Winston (lead, rhythm guitar) ; (front row) Greg Friedman (drums), Tom Bain ( bass ) , Curtis Willey (acoustic, rhythm guitar and vocals ) . by ROBIN MOENCH Record copy editor Maybe you caught them at the Rusty Nail Saloon last weekend. Or it could be you're planning to sit in on their session at the Legacy Social Club this weekend. But whatever you do, says Swede Alley Band founder Curtis Willey, be sure to buzz down to the Zephyr Club in Salt Lake City Dec. 22 and 23, when the Park City-based band opens in "the biggest gig of dUr existence." ex-istence." "We're looking for a lot of local support down there," says Willey. "It's the hottest club in the the state, probably the hottest in the West." And the band hopes their shot at Utah's bigtime will result in more engagements. "A good review could open up any club in Salt Lake to us," ' says Willey. The band's five members performed per-formed in their "first official gig as the Swede Alley Band" last Hallo-, ween at the Legacy on Main Street. Last summer, as Headin' Out, they " often played Bear Lake, on the Utah-" Utah-" Idaho border. :; J'TJie boys in this band all are. longtime Park City-area residents ' who range in age from 23 to 32 "go-,.,! "go-,.,! jng pn 12 or 15," adds Willey with a l smile. . 3rt j Introductions? Drum roll, please. , j n. Ken McDaniel plays lead aridn rhythm guitar. He's married and lives in Oakley, about 16 miles east of Park City. He works as a Snow . ., jCat driver at the Park City Ski Area, , 1 John Winston is a native of Maine " ; ' who ' moved to Park City 12 years !J ago. When he's not playing lead and rhythm guitar with the band, he 1 "works as a waiter at The Cattle Com-1 Com-1 " pany on Park Avenue. ; fi Bass player Tom Bain is a California Califor-nia native. He tends bar at the Baja ! 'Caritina at the Park City Ski Area, " 'skis and Winterstiks. :V!) Drummer Greg Friedman, son of 'iPark City artist Judy Summer, is a ""student at the University of Utah and works at the Progressive Music record store in Salt Lake City. Willey is the front man for the band. He sings and plays acoustic and rhythm guitar and harmonica. He works at the Baja Cantina and is the entertainment for the Park City Sleigh Company's dinner and sleigh rides at Park Meadows Golf Course. ( - ,."I play acoustic solos in a tent with a j. haystrewn platform, . couple, of s 9bwomi ?iV)ib '-- it-. As you can see, in addition to their musical careers, they all have what Willey calls "real jobs." And that means they have to squeeze in prac- ' lice time. "Last summer, we had plenty of time to practice. Now we , have a problem setting up practice around our winter schedules." H They rehearse from about 11 p.m. to 2 a.m., after they all leave their night jobs. "It's hard to be creative at that time of night," says Willey. "So we bash through what we can to ' remember our arrangements and keep the ball rolling." They trade off practice time in the Memorial Building on Main Street for dates at local benefits, including a fundraiser for cancer-stricken Park City resident Brent Bloomen-thal, Bloomen-thal, a spaghetti dinner and auction at the Treasure Mountain Middle School and a party at the Legacy after the Cutthroats-Heat football game last fall. They have a benefit of their own in mind one that would raise money to fight multiple sclerosis. Willey's friends, Bob Rufato and Dave Lawrence, are stricken with the debilitating neuroligical disease that victimizes chiefly young adults. The onset of the illness was sudden. "It ' .happened in just a couple of months", i . f i Willey says. ' '" ' The benefit- is . planned for sometime after the New Year and Willey invites anyone who would like to contribute to thfef cause to, come out for the concert.--..M Willey can't sum up the character of the music the band j makes because they haven't settled on a particular sound. "We're not trying to categorize ourselves," he says. "We're just trying to find our niche. We find a song we like on a record, try it our way and if it gets to be too much work to like it, we get rid of it." The band dresses up a bit on stage they wear sport coats. And Willey compares them to the San Francisco-based group, the Dynatones, in attitude. "But we're not trying to emulate the Dynatones," he says. "We throw in a little more types of music, a little reggae." In their act, "we spotlight the originals and sneak in the less familiar. We definitely are not a Top 40 band. We take a song and make it our own." The original tunes come from Willey's pen. His aim is to write songs and produce and arrange .music fulL time He's been playing music since he was a 15-year-old living liv-ing near Hartford, Conn. "We've all been playing since we were youngsters," he adds. "Collectively, we've got a lot of years of practice." Two of his songs are included in the band's repertoire. "Boy Oh Boy" is dedicated to Park City Rugby Team member Buddy Macchia, who died last year. "John Winston and I played a lot of rugby parties," says Willey. "(Buddy) would always insist in-sist on this song and sing along. He was big enough that we had to play it," he smiles. Willey stumbles on the title of his latest tune, "Take a Look at the Man" "That's how new it is," he laughs. If you'd like to hear the Swede Alley Band, head down to the Zephyr Club Sunday or Monday night, Dec. 22 and 23. "It would be a feather in our cap to have a good showing," Willey says. "We're just a happy, fun-loving boogey band," he adds. "We're guaranteed to make you dance and shake your tailfeather. We're not serious, professional, sticks in the mud when we get out on stage, that is. We're that in practice," he says with a smile, , 4 . Vl l ...'.. |