Finn & The Sharks
If you were around in the late seventies and early 1980's you probably were aware of an energetic neo-trend that grew up along side and within the Punk and so-called New-Wave Rock'n'roll scene. It was a revival of what might be c [+]Finn & The Sharks
If you were around in the late seventies and early 1980's you probably were aware of an energetic neo-trend that grew up along side and within the Punk and so-called New-Wave Rock'n'roll scene. It was a revival of what might be considered the first real rebellious teenage music genre that arose in the 1950's. It was called Rockabilly and right in the heart of it all was Finn & The Sharks.
The band consisted of, James "the Finn" Finnen on lead vocals, standup bass, guitar and baritone sax, Billy Roues* on lead guitar and vocals, Steven "Muddy" Roues* on stand up bass, harmonica and vocals, Ira "Junior" Hedges on guitar and vocals and Ed "The Hammerhead" Steinberg on drums. The band had a reputation for rocking hard and had an enthusiastic following whenever and wherever they played.
They recorded a four song EP entitled "Innercity Rockabilly" on their own label, Rebel Records (no relation to the Bluegrass label out of Charlottesville VA.) There was also a video of the title song that featured the band performing at the old Lonestar Café and at The Office which was their home base in Nyack NY. It was shown on MTV and also on the fledgling cable network Showtime. It got a lot of play in the club scene especially on the 'rockabilly nights' that became an obligatory part of the club calendar for a few years.
Finn & the Sharks do not fit neatly into the 'rockabilly' category. Their influences are broad and deep. Along with rockabilly the band could shift to blues, swing, soul and roots rock without losing that element of youthful exuberance that marked the music of the 50's and early '60's. One of the songs on the EP, "The Wheels Start Turning," has a distinct ska beat and features Jimmy's honking baritone sax. It was later re-recorded and released as a 12" and 7" 45 RPM vinyl single on John Hammond's short-lived HME Label. It garnered some airplay and was played on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand".
Throughout the early '80's the band played dates with the likes of Dave Edmunds, Wilson Picket, Sam & Dave, Robert Gordon, Sleepy LaBeefe, Commander Cody, Asleep At The Wheel, Kinky Freidman, The Sun Rhythm Section featuring Sonny Burgess & DJ Fontana and many others. Steven and Eddie backed up Carl Perkins in the feature film, "The
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