THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 27, 1995 TAG: 9504260147
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FRANKLIN LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
He was not one of the most famous Depression-era gangsters, but he did have a colorful name - Legs Diamond.
A band in the Midwest thought it was groovy and called itself Legs Diamond.
A Virginia band also thought it was a groovy name.
A lawyer in the Midwest, representing his musicians, was not too happy.
The Virginians said - what the hey! - and switched to Leggs because a representative of L'Eggs had said they would be good pantyhose representatives.
He forgot to check with the front office.
Bottom line: In 1983, the band became Leggz.
Doug Settles, who sings and plays guitar, isn't thrilled with the name, but the band is hanging with it.
Leggz will open this year's every-other-week We Be Jammin' Thursdays! concerts, sponsored by Franklin's Downtown Business Association, May 4. They will concentrate on music of the '50s to the '70s.
``It's a family thing,'' Settles said, during a phone interview from his Roanoke home. ``We even bring kids on the stage to dance with us.''
What Leggz plays depends on where Leggz plays. For instance, a recent engagement at Concord College in West Virginia was a driving hard-rock affair. They were dressed in blue jeans. Their look was wild.
The next day, they played a wedding. They were dressed in tuxedoes and played old rock 'n' roll.
The band has 120 songs on its cards, including some bluegrass and ballads.
They seldom practice because the musicians and vocalist Robin Trent live in Roanoke, Richmond and Winston-Salem. The band has been around 12 years, mostly with the same personnel, so ``we pretty well know that we can come to a performance and play,'' Settles said.
Leggz is planning to get the We Be Jammin' sessions off on the right foot. For information, call 562-8511. ILLUSTRATION: Leggz will kick off this year's We Be Jammin' concerts May 4.
by CNB