THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 3, 1994 TAG: 9406010136
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: S07 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JUDY PARKER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940603 LENGTH: Medium
Standing in the shadows of some of rock's greatest early performers and performing some of rock's greatest early hits are The Mahoney Brothers who'll perform on the Budweiser Twin Stages at 8 p.m. Saturday.
{REST} It might only be make believe, but the trio from Hamilton, N.J., re-create the rockabilly sound of the Everly Brothers hit ``Wake Up Little Suzy,'' Jerry Lee Lewis' piano thumping ``Great Balls of Fire,'' and segue into Elvis' haberdashery hit ``Blue Suede Shoes,'' and Buddy Holly's riff-filled ``Peggy Sue.'' Those are just a few of the selections from their ``Jukebox Heroes'' `50s rock 'n' roll show.
``The boys found out early in their career that if you play the oldies but goodies, and play them well, people will come out to hear it,'' said Bill Mahoney, the trio's father and manager.
``Those songs rekindle a lot of good memories and and get a strong audience reaction.''
The Mahoney Brothers got their start 15 years ago in the family's basement before establishing themselves as quality musicians playing for high school dances and small clubs in and around their south Jersey hometown.
``They'd get a lot of requests to play songs from the `50s and `60s, but hardly anyone would ask for anything from the `70s,'' Mahoney said. ``So they decided to put together an oldies show.
``For a while they did a Beatles act and earned a reputation as the best Beatles imitators in the business. But they got tired of doing the same songs night after night. So they decided to diversify.
``Their act is a tribute to people like Rick Nelson, the Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, plus a whole lot more.''
On the road six to eight months each year, the trio has headlined at Caesar's in Atlantic City, Kings Casino in Aruba and appeared on Dick Clark's television special ``Summer Safari.''
``The boy's show is a real production number,'' Mahoney said.
``During the Everly Brothers spot, for example, they play with guitars that are exact replicas of the ones Don and Phil played.
``And they even dedicate a song to Nipper, the RCA radio dog, when they sing Elvis' ``Hound Dog.'' Nipper's 3-feet-tall and right on stage with the boys.''
{KEYWORDS} PORTSMOUTH SEAWALL FESTIVAL
by CNB