28 SCOTIA GLENVILLE 09.pdf - Pirate CNY

Page 14 July 16, 2009 Spotlight
Entertainment Spotlight
in the
By JACQUELINE M. DOMIN
dominj@spotlightnews.com
““C razy” Joe
Domingo can
still remember
the moment
everything changed for him,
musically speaking.
Domingo was on stage
with his heavy metal band at
the Chance in Poughkeepsie.
Sweaty and screaming, he
looked out into the crowd and
suddenly thought, “Why am I
doing this? I’m really not that
angry anymore.”
Before the set was over,
Domingo, then 27, had an idea
for a new band. It was simple,
really. He wanted to play music
that would make people dance.
The band that Domingo
created, Slick Fitty, is still
going strong 11 years later. It
will be the headlining artist
at Rockabilly Riot, billed as a
celebration of 1950s and ‘60s
Americana, on Saturday, July 18,
at Saratoga Music Hall.
Justin “J Man” Birk, the
group’s saxophonist, describes
rockabilly as “a mix of early rock
’n’ roll with country twang.” It
was Slick Fitty’s calling card
in its early days, although
Domingo acknowledges none
of the members really had a
background in that kind of
music.
To learn it, he went to
a music store, found the
rockabilly section and picked
out two compilation CDs
featuring rockabilly’s greatest
hits.
“Literally, the band learned
those two CDs,” he said.
It was enough to fulfi ll
Domingo’s dream of having
people dance to his music. Slick
Fitty found that the rockabilly
got people of all ages up and
moving.
“Older people could relate
to it, and for young kids, it was
more hot roddy than that kind
of music usually was,” Domingo
said.
The sound was not only a
hit across generations, but
Hey... Hey...
across continents. In 2004, the
group played at an open mic
night at Savannah’s in Albany.
A woman in the audience was
from Sweden and encouraged
Slick Fitty to fl y over and play at
a hotel she owned.
It was a crazy idea, but
Domingo and his band mates
were game. “No one had
serious kinds of jobs going on,”
Domingo said. “We were like,
‘Yeah, why not? Let’s just go and
have some fun.’”
Before they left, they decided
to see if they could fi nd a few
more places to play besides that
hotel. They did a Google search
for “European booking agents,”
describing themselves as a fourpiece
American rockabilly band
looking for a tour.
Musical success, Domingo
said, often hinges on being in
the right place at the right time,
and this was one of those cases.
One of the agents that they
contacted had just had a band
pull out of a tour because the
drummer had broken a thumb
or something like that. So, Slick
Fitty stepped in.
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Swing set
Slick Fitty to get people dancing at Saratoga’s Rockabilly Riot
Domingo said the fact that
Slick Fitty was American was
often enough to get people in
the door. But it wasn’t enough to
get them to stay, let alone bring
them back for more – the group
had to put on a good show.
Slick Fitty was able to deliver
because it had spent weeks
practicing, thanks to band
members’ lack of employment.
“We were really, really, really
tight,” Domingo said.
The response stunned
the band, which regularly
performed in front of crowds of
1,000 people.
“People went [crazy],”
Domingo said. “I’ve never
experienced anything like that.
Man, oh man, it was a good time.”
The group recorded a CD in
Germany, which Domingo said
went as high as No. 9 on the
alternative charts. Economically,
though, it didn’t make sense to
stay in Europe long term. Slick
Fitty eventually came back to
the States, and these days, most
of its gigs are local.
The repertoire has changed
somewhat, too. Instead of just
covering Little Richard, Roy
Orbison and Richie Valens, Slick
Fitty plays about 60 percent
original songs. Those songs still
get people on their feet.
“Our music – it’s not so
unfamiliar,” Domingo said. “It’s
not stuff that’s got 18 parts and
intense lyrics.”
“Everyone understands a
good beat,” said guitar player
“Million Dollar” Bill Harrison.
Harrison is the group’s
newest member, having come
on board only about a year and
a half ago. A veteran of Albany’s
music scene, he remembers
seeing Slick Fitty perform and
digging its music.
“They were right up my
alley,” he said. “They’re a good
rock ’n’ roll band.”
It’d be just as easy to call
Slick Fitty a good swing band or
country band or bluegrass band.
“You name it, we’ve got a full
set for it,” said Domingo, who
predicted the group could do 45
minutes of just about any genre.
No matter what kind of
music Slick Fitty is playing,
band members – the group
also includes drummer Mickey
King and bassist Brian “Bri Bri
Two Hammers” Springfi eld
– promise a high-energy show,
just like Domingo envisioned
more than a decade ago.
“People can expect a lot of
fun,” Birk said. “We’re very
dance-able.”
Rockabilly Riot is being
put on in conjunction with
the Saratoga SAVOY monthly
Diamond Dance, a large swing
dance gathering. The evening
kicks off at 7:30 and includes
dance demonstrations, art
exhibits, free food and Ben and
Jerry’s Ice Cream. The cost is
$15. Saratoga Music Hall is 474
Broadway in Saratoga Springs.
Clockwise: Slick Fitty lead singer “Crazy” Joe Domingo; Drummer Mickey King; Saxophonist Justin
“J Man” Birk; Guitarist “Million Dollar” Bill Harrison; Bassist Brian “Bri Bri Two Hammers” Springfi eld