June 17, 2002
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
News
By I-chun Che When Daddy-O is on stage, the San Jose-based band aims to bring its audience back to the '50s, the time when rock & roll was born. The six-member band is a music jukebox, playing everything from Gene Vincent to the Platters. They say the magic of '50s music lies in its simplicity. "The music from the 1950s doesn't challenge people or divide people," said Terry Carleton, the band's guitar player and drummer. "It's light-hearted and doesn't anger anyone." Willow Glen resident Paul Reginelli, the band's keyboard player, said '50s music evokes nostalgia in people. "It was a time of peace and love," said Reginelli. Although music is an essential element of its performance, the band members take pride in their ability to engage the audience. Daddy-O always plays Johnny Otis' "Willy and the Hand Jive" and Chubby Checker's "Twist" during its show. The band invites the audience to move their arms and swing their hips with them on the stage. They don't even mind being silly. Although the five male members normally dress in old-fashioned black suits, Carleton sometimes puts on the costume of Austin Powers. The only female member, Catherine Grillos, is an inpersonification specialist. To imitate Carmen Miranda, Grillos once made an elaborate hat decorated with pineapples, bananas and other tropical fruit to go with a colorful Brazilian carnival costume. In one show, Grillos, wearing Nancy Sinatra's signature high-heeled boots, sang "These Boots are Made for Walkin' '' with Carleton, who had donned an Austin Powers' wig and black-framed glasses. "We want the audience to have fun," Carleton said. "Daddy-O is a show/ comedy band." Daddy-O plays about 100 gigs every year at casinos, private parties, car sales and county fairs, among other venues. They also played at Willow Glen's Dancin' on the Avenue festival two years ago. Willow Glen resident Gary Pomeroy, who is better known by his stage name, Guy Here, said his most memorable gig was probably The Gong Show. The Gong Show was an amateur talent show, hosted by Chuck Barris, that aired in the late 1970s. Three celebrities served as judges of the talent each week and rated the performance on a scale of one to 10. Any act that was deemed too awful to continue could be gonged at any time and rejected immediately. The top scorer of the day won a grand prize of $516.32. Daddy-O went to the show in 1979. Pomeroy said he thought they wouldn't be able to play that day because so many members were late. "But when we were on the stage, it went smoothly," said Pomeroy, who was only 19 then. The gray vest and matching pleated slacks looked loose on his thin body. Daddy-O, a two-man band led by Pee Wee Herman, and a gospel chorus got the same scores on the show, but Daddy-O won in the end. One of the judges was actor Carl Ballantine, who complimented Daddy-O for being an energetic group. The most hilarious comment might have come from Gong Show panelist Whalen, who quipped, "I want their hairdresser" through his purple-haired puppet, Madam. All the Daddy-O members had the pompadour hairstyle, which looks unusual by today's standards but was fashionable back in the 1970s. Pomeroy taped the show and still watches it once in a while. "I wish I could fit in that outfit again," said the 51-year-old guitar player. Daddy-O was founded in 1971 by five San Jose musicians who liked old rock & roll. "We were just a bunch of goofballs who started the band for fun," said Steve Boatwright, who established the band's tradition of combining musical performance with comedy skits. Back then, Boatwright and another founding member, John Tristao, were with a band called People, whose hit "I Love You" reached the top ten on the Top Forty charts and sold one million records. According to Boatwright, the band was named Daddy-O because it was a popular expression in the '50s. "If you were Daddy-O, you were cool."
Since 1971, about 60 musicians have played for Daddy-O. Some of them have just taken it as a temporary job. But some, like Reginelli, who used to watch the old Daddy-O perform, joined the band to continue the free and relaxed mood of the '50s. Like the music they play, the members of Daddy-O are oldies but goodies. |
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