THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 17, 1995 TAG: 9512140172
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: John Harper
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
In real time, the Virginia Beach-based Boneshakers band has been together 12 years. But with the short life most bands lead nowadays, that puts them over 100 in rock 'n' roll years.
The four-man band, which plays Port O' Call in Kill Devil Hills Dec. 23 and 31, plays a powerhouse mix of alternative-style originals punctuated by the occasional cover tune.
Lead guitarist David Paranzino and lead singer Hall Vought are the original members. Drummer Bruce Crump joined the band three years ago after a tour of duty with southern rockers Molly Hatchet. Dave Hull became the Boneshakers' bass player in 1994.
``I moved to Virginia Beach from California and met the others,'' Paranzino says. ``The other guys had put ads on a bulletin board.''
Soon, the newly formed band was playing the small-club circuit in Hampton Roads. But it didn't take long before word-of-mouth advertising moved the band to bigger venues.
``Things happened so fast,'' Paranzino says. ``One night we were playing to 30 people in a Virginia Beach nightclub, the next night we played to 16,000 people when we opened for Heart.''
In the mid '80s, the band released ``Oh So Black,'' an album of original songs. The album did well, selling about 10,000 copies on an independent label.
The band was on a roll. It became one of the first bands on MTV's ``Basement Tapes.'' It toured with the Hooters, Squeeze, Hoodoo Guru, the Connells and Richard Marx.
All the while, the band played the Baltimore to Birmingham bar-club circuit. And there were the private parties for large corporations. Throw in a couple of bar mitzvahs and weddings, and you're talking about a lot of time on the road.
So about three years ago, the Boneshakers cut back on the road work. Now, the band plays mostly in Virginia and North Carolina. All four members have full-time day gigs. When the band is not playing, the guys are recording songs for a second album.
A year ago, Paranzino built a home studio. Vought brought in a bunch of original songs.
``It's taken us about eight months to record six songs,'' Paranzino says. ``But we're really happy with the way they've tuned out, the new songs are incredible.''
Paranzino says the group is shopping the songs around, hoping to get a record deal from a major label. In 1993, the band was named ``one of best unsigned bands'' in a contest sponsored by ``Musician'' magazine. More recently, the band's song ``In a Heartbeat'' was used as part of one of the regular station breaks on the syndicated ``Howard Stern Show.''
But the band still likes to play live. It averages about 12 dates a month, including regular appearances at the Port O' Call. Paranzino says it's one of his favorite places to play. The group alters its playlist slightly, playing more cover tunes of bands like Toad the Wet Sprocket and Stone Temple Pilots.
``That's what works best in that venue,'' Paranzino says. ``We tried working from a song list but that didn't work. I usually call out songs to the other guys. We've been playing together so long, everything works.''
And what about the New Year's Eve gig?
``We usually do the Spin Doctors' `What Time is It' at a little before midnight,'' Paranzino says. ``Then we go into U2's `New Year's Day.' ''
What? No ``Auld Lang Syne?''
``We do sort of a 10-cent version of that,'' Paranzino says. MEMO: John Harper covers entertainment for The Carolina Coast. Send comments
and questions to P.O. Box 10, Nags Head, N.C. 27959.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo courtesy of Cellar Door Productions
The Boneshakers, which plays Port O' Call Dec. 23 and 31, plays a
powerhouse mix of alternative-style originals..
by CNB