Blowing Air
The average Hammond B3 organ is about 44 inches tall, weighs more than 400 pounds and, along with its bench, is bulky and awkward to move. Yet rock bands and jazz musicians alike have been lugging the instruments around for decades. The reason? Any organist worth his salt will tell you: Nothing can imitate a B3.
Syracusans will get a chance to hear the legendary instrument at the upcoming Hammond Jammin’ VIII event. Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, 246 W. Willow St., will host the annual showcase of live local B3 music on Sunday, Feb. 26, at its Upstairs at the Dino venue. The jammin’ starts at noon.
Performers include organists Gary Testa and Front Street; Dave Flansburg with Rick Balestra, Howard Gersony and Kevin Putterick; Steve Schad with Steppes Revisited; Paulie Scire with Stroke; Bill Barry with the Fab 570; Syracuse New Times photographer Mike Davis with members of The Coachmen plus Skip Murphy, Pat DeSalvo and Mark Hoffmann; Jimmy Cox and Family with Bob Papaleoni; Al Petroff with the Midnight Mike Blues Band; and the Dave Solazzo Band with Larry Rosen.
Hammond Jammin’ has become a staple of the annual Syracuse Winterfest. This year Hammond jammer Gerry Testa and WAER-FM 88.3’s B3 Bonanza deejay Eric Cohen will co-host the event. Testa and his band Front Street will perform, but Cohen admits, despite his love for the B3, he’s never played.
“I’ve been hooked on Hammond Jammin’ since the first one was held in the back room of P.J. Dorsey’s eight years ago,” he says. Hammond fans will recognize Cohen as the host of WAER’s weekly B3 Bonanza series on Fridays at 3 p.m. “The B3 has a soulful, spiritual sound. There’s really nothing else like it.”
The B3 organ was introduced by Hammond in 1955 and initially used primarily by jazz musicians. It wasn’t until the 1960s that it established the rock and blues presence it maintains today. Bands such as Boston, Yes, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Bruce Springsteen’s E-Street Band incorporated the instrument into their studio performances and live acts. The B3 transcended genre, being featured in performances ranging from the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers Band to David Bowie and Sheryl Crow. Today, the B3 can be heard in rock, blues, jazz, soul and gospel, just to name a few.
Cohen says the B3’s allure lies in the cultural importance of organ music. “It’s everywhere,” he says. “From baseball games to church services to rock concerts. The organ is an essential part of our culture.”
Just as essential to culture in Syracuse is the event’s new home: Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. Hammond Jammin’ bounced from venue to venue before finally landing at Dino two years ago. “It {Dinosaur} is a great place for the event,” Cohen says. “The atmosphere is perfect for good, live B3 music.”
—Chris Baker
Glub Club
Shane Stillman can usually be found behind the drum set while Sean Muldoon croons away as part of the local rock band Stone Soul Foundation. But on Sunday, Feb. 26, 8 p.m., the boys will trade their respective drumsticks and microphone stand for something slimier. The Auburn residents will be featured on Hillbilly Handfishin’, a 60-minute weekly series on cable TV’s Animal Planet that features “city slickers” who travel to Oklahoma to try out “noodling” a.k.a. handfishing.
From song hooks to no hooks, the rockers traveled down to Oklahoma last summer to film the episode, where they used their hands and feet to catch monster catfish in murky waters. With the help of Oklahoman noodlers Skipper Bivins and Trent Jackson the two rockers tackled the southern tradition for the world to see.
—Jessica “Finding Nemo” Novak
