THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 30, 1994 TAG: 9410270207
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 20 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: John Harper
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
There are days when Rick Ostlund wonders if he should stop playing rock 'n' roll.
Ostlund, 45, is the father of three and the head tennis pro at Pine Island Racquet Club. He makes a good living, he's happy, but playing in a rock 'n' roll band is a dream. Heck, it's every boy's dream.
Rick leads The Neurocktix, a five-man band that is cranking up for the annual Halloween party at one of the group's favorite haunts - Kelly's in Nags Head. This is the 10th consecutive Halloween appearance for The Neurocktix. Not bad for a band that has had more break-ups, reconciliations, farewell tours and reunions than Prince Charles and Diana, Sonny and Cher and The Rolling Stones combined.
Ostlund started the band in 1984. Before that, he played rhythm guitar and sang with another Outer Banks band, Counter Clockwise. That band played the usual rock 'n' roll suspects: Stones, Springsteen, Dire Straits, Allman Brothers and Huey Lewis and the News.
One night during a Counter Clockwise gig, Greg Shelton asked to sit in. The boys in the band obliged and as Ostlund remembers, ``We were all absolutely awed by his guitar playing.''
Shelton played with Eddie Rabbitt, Mickey Gilley, The Tams and Carl Perkins after graduating from high school. He also jammed with some of the best bluesmen on the East Coast.
Shelton was ready to get off the road and settle down. A blues player at heart, he and Ostlund shared rock 'n' roll sensibilities. Both men liked music that was loud, spontaneous, energetic and raw. Ostlund recruited bassist Jay LaMaster and drummer Buzzsaw Sykes. The Neurocktix were born.
During the early days of the band, Ostlund and Shelton traded lead vocals. Ostlund handled the rock 'n' roll; Shelton sang the blues. The band's early mix was eclectic: Springsteen and Stones rock 'n' roll, progressive Cars and Police and blues scorchers such as Roy Head's ``Treat Her Right.''
Over the next few years, Ostlund was the only constant. By his own estimation, 21 musicians and singers have played in The Neurocktix.
One important addition came five years ago. The band was playing Kelly's, and Bobby Bear was in the crowd. Bear (real name-Robert Choates) asked Ostlund if he could sing a tune with the band. Bear and guitarist Shelton tore through ``Stormy Monday.'' Ostlund, Shelton and Bear liked the fit.
Bear added another dimension to the band. The man could wail the blues and shout '60s soul classics such as ``Mustang Sally,'' ``In the Midnight Hour'' and ``When a Man Loves a Woman.'' Bobby Bear joined the band.
In addition to Ostlund, Shelton and Bear, the current lineup features Bob Furr on bass and Bob Maker on drums. This incarnation of the Neurocktix has been together since 1992.
This past summer, Ostlund, Shelton, Maker and Furr did the ``unplugged'' thing at The Black Pelican Restaurant in Kitty Hawk - the quartet played acoustic rock.
So, will Ostlund ever retire from the world of rock?
``I've done it at least five times, but look at Mick Jagger. He's still rockin' at 50. I don't feel old.''
Ostlund likes the current band.
``The rhythm section is solid. Bear is great at singing all the classic rhythm and blues songs and even after 10 years, Greg Shelton's guitar work makes my jaw drop. Plus, I'm having fun.''
Catch The Neurocktix at Mike Kelly's annual Halloween party. They keep going and going and going. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Members of The Neurocktix include, clockwise from top right, Bob
Makar, Greg Shelton, Bob Furr and Rick Ustlund.
WHAT & WHERE
Who: The Neurocktix
When: Monday
Where: Kelly's, milepost 10 1/2 on U.S. Route 158
What: Halloween Party
HARPER'S INDEX
Other Neurocktix members over the years: Susie Barnes, Bobby
Webber, Jim Mills, Don Ray Wornstaff, Mary Ellen Riddle, Jamie
Jamison, Dan Martier, Greg Tahtinen, Kevin Ball, David Neal, Richard
Hedgepeth, Doug Leal, Skip Gray, Kevin Roughton, Tom Scheel, Brad
Noble, George Crawford, Buddy Allison, Mike Phelps, Mike Russell,
and Ray Evans.
by CNB