A(not so)Brief CobbleRocker History



Like their namesake, the Cobblestone Inn in Liverpool, NY, the CobbleRockers have a rich and diverse history. The CobbleRockers were playing the hits when they were hits, and have a genuine love for the artists and sounds they emulate. The CobbleRockers are educated musicians, and understand the nuances of a tremendous number of styles and musical elements. Add that to the fact that the CobbleRockers simply love to make music and get people dancing, and you've got yourself the makings of a darn good time.

The drummer with the voice, Jan Fetterly (an inductee of the Syracuse Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), started his musical career with Sam and the Twisters, Syracuses's FIRST rock n roll band, in 1959 along with Al Wolf and Mickey Palumbo. This wildly successful group recorded original hits with Fooba Wooba John and Baron Daemon's Transylvania Twist, among others. After Sam Amato (or is it Armada?) retired in 1968, the group changed it's name to the Livin' Ennd, adding guitarist Dave Pasternack and vocalist Sandy Bigtree. Fred Sweet later replaced Dave and after Sandy's departure with a short stint by Judy Dag, Dan Elliot (of the Monterays) performed with the group for awhile. Alas, all good things must end and the group called it quits in 1974.

Bassist, Tim Cleary, came along somewhat later to the music scene as a fresh faced kid out of high school taking over the bass playing duties in the local group WilkesBury Brigade after Gary Goal (one of the best ever) left for greener pastures in 1971. Tim received much of his vocal directives from the lead singers he worked with in that group. With names like Ronnie Leigh, Dan Elliot and Tommy Forest, he learned from some of the best. It was during this time period (with both groups playing at the Poorhouse North on a regular basis) that Jan and Tim became acquainted while developing a mutual respect for each other's abilities. Late in 1975, as Wilkes Bury Brigade was winding down, the two of them hatched a plot to form a new group and they've been at it ever since.

Too Loose (originally Loose, remember?) kicked off in 1976 and never looked back. House gigs at Martino's in the summer of '76, moving to Oscar's Place that fall (feeding the fish every Saturday night) and staying 'till 1980 when the move was made to the Pub in the Park until 1984. The group grew in stature and popularity throughout the '80's until, in the early '90's, many of the large venue halls and engagements Too Loose had worked for years began to close down or reformat their entertainment requirements. It was during this period that Jan and Tim were becoming increasingly discouraged by tempers and attitudes within the group. To help overcome these feelings, Jan located the Cobblestone and plans were made to have a fun time trio play on Thursdays. After first choice Dave April begged off temporarily due to prior commitments, Ray Kribs came on board. Ray self admittedly knows 80% of  80% of every song ever written, so the newly minted Cobblerockers were on their way.

Thursday nights at the Cobblestone became a madhouse almost immediately as the Cobblerockers played virtually anything anyone asked for. The no frills sound was augmented every week by numerous guest musicians and singers, all of whom contributed to the good times. Finally, with a commitment to the music as well as manageablility, Jan and Tim disbanded Too Loose at the end of 1994. Dave April, relocated from Connecticut via Boston, and veteran player from show bands such as Talos and the Shakers, by this time lead guitarist for Too Loose, now came over to the Cobblerockers, giving the group it's fourth and final piece.

About a year after this, with the Cobblestone for sale due to unrelated financial reasons, the Cobblerockers bid a fond adieu to the old place and headed out into the world. At the same time, however, Ray Kribs was forced to leave the group because of business commitments. This left the other three with the daunting task of finding a replacement. After weeks of auditions and ads placed in the local papers, just when all hope of finding someone who could do the job was fading out, a shy kid stepped up and did just that. Andy Tompkins, Watertown native, now relocated here, as well as keyboardist and guitarist from the group Nightshade, performed his audition for the band at a live show. He's been with the group ever since.

At the end of the summer of 2000, our valiant lead guitarist, Dave, developed a musical wanderlust and bid us a fond adieu. Replacing Dave was no simple matter. After two months of torture (similar to Andy's case, ay?) we finally got the right fellow by the name of Bill Sokolowski. Bill, although MUCH younger than the rest of us, proved himself capable and willing to take on anything we threw at him. Bill's previous work had been in duos and party bands as well as owning the Voodoo School of Music. Things had gotten a bit off track during our search for a new guitarist, but the group entered 2001 with new energy and committment that should sustain the band in the forseeable future.

As usual, Jan and Tim started tinkering in an effort to improve the group's versatility. In the spring of 2001 they concocted the idea to add a girl singer to the group. Hmmmmm...who to get, though? Let's see if our old Too Loose comrade in arms, Toni Powell, is doing anything. Toni had joined Too Loose in the early spring of 1981 and quickly became a crowd favorite with her soulful vocals, fluid dance routines and her exotic manner of dress. No doubt about it, she was a definite focal point on stage. In addition, she also played keyboards and helped immensely in filling out the big Too Loose sound. She stayed with group for 13 years before leaving to pursue a country music career. Several years later she hung up her mic and devoted herself to her business. Anyway, we placed a call to her and what do you know!! She thought it would be a great idea to get back on stage with her old buds and work proceeded feverishly to incorporate her material into the band's repetoire. Needless to say her return has been hailed as a major improvement to the group and all members were delighted with her performances and work ethic.

Then came a bombshell. At the beginning of the summer of 2001, our wonderful keyboardist/guitarist, Andy Tompkins, told us he would have to leave the group at the end of the summer for personal reasons. The rest of us totally understood Andy's reasons for leaving and sadly bid him a fond adieu. Now what? Three months of advertising failed to net another keyboard player, so Billy Soul, our new guitarist, mentioned that he could also play keys and would be willing to take over Andy's multi-tasking role. This gave us an edge, in that, now we could look for a guitar player. At last, the right guy answered our ads. Dennis Leroy, the sweet singing and hard playing guitarist from the popular local band, Holy Smoke, had decided to come off of a self imposed one year retirement from music. Dennis worked his way into our songs lists and in a few weeks was ready to go.

After all that went on in 2001 you wouldn't think that anything else could happen. Well, it did. At the end of the year Billy told us that was returning to school to get his degree and would have to leave. Toni's business venture, meanwhile, was taking off by leaps and bounds so she had to say farewell to tend to that. Dennis then found out that due to family committments he could only perform every other week. Of course, this left Jan and Tim scratching their heads over just what the hell was going on. However, after an intensive and exhaustive search, along with a couple of fortuitous phone calls, the right people were found. Greg Hulbert, a music teacher who had played with guitarist Loren Barrigar and other groups came on board as our keyboard player. The other great find was Adrian Gerard, former lead guitarist for Yesterday Again, Ivory and, most recently, Abbey Road. Greg and Adrian are both accomplished vocalists as well. Anyway, after an exhaustive rehearsal schedule to bring everybody up to speed, the newly revamped Cobblerockers debuted in the middle of April. Since forming the group way back when, this has to be the most well rounded and musically exciting bunch of musicians we've ever had. Putting fabulous instrumental arrangements together with vocal harmonies that can tear your heart out, well, this version of the band just has it all.

I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention that part of our newly revamped image is due in part to the return in the year of 2002 of our legendary soundman from Too Loose, Jeff Giordano, who after a long sabbatical as a recluse has returned to work his magic and make us sound as good as we can be. And from the looks of things, this gang wants to hang together for a while.

Here we are in the year of 2005 and yet another change for the Cobblerockers. Not a replacement, but a new face in the band. After much discussion and even more searching we found a lovely and talented young lady who goes by the name of Trina. This Oswego County native began her singing career at her parents church at the age of four. She continued honing her vocal skills over the ensuing years and most recently was a performer in an acoustical act. She credits her musical influences as diverse as Classic Rock, Disco, Country, Jazz and "Heavy Metal"and artists such as Heart, Patsy Cline and Christine Aguilera. Trina blends all these styles into a gorgeous vocal presentaion and is a most worthy and welcome addition to the group. Stop out to see her. You'll be back for more.

CATASTROPHE!!!! The year 2006 rolls in and the band is virtually gone. Our soundman Jeff quits. Adrian calls it a day as he wants to go in a different musical direction. Trina gets married and drops off the face of the earth never to be heard from again. Finally, Jan emails us saying that he is resigning from the band leaving Greg and Tim as the remaining pieces. At that time rumors were flying all over town that the Cobblerockers had broken up and were all done. That was one rumor that would be proven untrue as good personnel replacement and fine musical arrangements provided a major foundation for getting the band back on track. Remember our old friend Dennis Leroy? Now able to work every weekend and being available was the perfect spot to start. That takes care of lead guitar and some lead vocals (think Lou Christie or Frankie Valli). For our drummer we found Pete Seaton, formerly with the Deltunes for 5 years. Pete may not be a lead vocalist but his hard hitting and flamboyant drumming more than make up for that. Now came months of hard musical practice and work to put together a whole new sound system. On May 20, 2006 we played our first gig as the newly ressurected Cobblerockers. The public and the various club owners have agreed that this latest version of the band has a great sound and is worth coming out to see over and over. Hopefully you'll get out to see us yourselves and then, by gum by golly, we're really gonna show you something.

Ya know, it wouldn't be another year without something happening to provide a setback for the group.  This time it appeared in the form of physical injury to our lead player Dennis in early summer of '07.  He went and had an accident at work, wound up with a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder (among other things) that required surgery to fix and extensive rehab that kept him away for months.  During this period guitarist/vocalist Ken Burke stepped in to sub for Dennis while he recovered so we were able to keep playing, although advance booking was halted until we had an idea of when Dennis would return.  Now we have that idea so thank you Ken for all your help and a welcome back to Dennis sooner rather than later.

As of November 2007 all future bookings are being accepted and we hope to keep everyone happy and dancing!! Over fifty years of hits for the new millenium!! That's our motto and a commitment to play great music wherever we go. But, don't take our word for it. C'mon down to our next gig and see for yourselves! Tell any of the guys in the group that the website sent you and they'll let you buy them a drink (ha ha). See you then!