Back in the day.

[DirtySanchez]

Ok, with the last few threads, some of you people have really shown your age. So I would like to hear about what the music scene was like in the area during the late eighties/early nineties. I didn't really get into the scene until the mid nineties and if you wanted to see anything in Altoona
you went to all ages shows at the YWCA or Becky Sheetz. The bars were mostly full of more bluesy bands, or cover bands playing the same Bush/ korn/ tool. Dragonfire really made some headway for Metal and Punk to get into bars in the late nineties, and now I think there's a great variety.

So how was it back in the day? I hear all the old timers sayin how it was so much better, so give examples/stories. I'd like to hear it.

[ZappasXWife]

The funny thing is, for me (and maybe others?) the late 80's and early 90's was the time I never went out much because I had babies at home. But I do remember before that the following:
-getting served when I was 17 at Jack & Georges and the Varsity (Cobrah's). Angelo Pattie was the bartender then and he knew me. Didn't know anyone at J & G though, it was just that easy.
-seeing Gregg Allman band playing at Ciscos (where Red Lobster is), standing right in front of him....I have his guitar pick.
-going to the Engine Room (or Red Arrow? were they the same place...I don't remember a lot from that time, it was wild) with rocker friends just to laugh at the disco people cuz we were all totally against that.
-Bands at City Limits (someone help me here, what was the name of it then?) always a HUGE crowd.
-Gentle Thursday at University Park
-we used to go to a bar called Banholtzers to drink cheap and get high right in the bar while they were open. The owner/bartender was blind and really old (I'm goin to hell for that one) and never knew.
-My boyfriend who is a lot older than me remembers the Taylor Hotel and the Ratskellar (the same place maybe?) downtown and the Penn Alto. There was rockin music scenes at those places too.

Sorry I don't remember the local bands that much (except Wicked Truth, Thin (or Hybrid?) Ice, Billy Price, maybe some others if I think long enough), more the SCENE than the music probably because I wasn't a musician but a fan, AND I did a lot of extracurricular activities then.

[RamRod 1]

Bands at City Limits (someone help me here, what was the name of it then?)

How about "The Coach's Inn" or some kind of Steakhouse? I played there in "79" with "Fantasy Airlift"

[Jim Price]

The first band I ever saw in Altoona was Harrisburg's Full Moon, performing at Penn State Altoona's Slep Center in 1980.

The first concert I ever saw in Altoona was Kix, Nitro and The Front at Sir Skate back in...if memory serves me correctly, the summer of '83.

The first bar gig I ever saw was Rock-It at the Larchmont in Hollidaysburg circa the summer of '85. Rock-It soon evolved into Shockzone and then Sidewalk Romeo; at that point, Marta Ahmed (remember her?) was singing for them.

The second bar gig I saw was Black Angel playing at the Loop Tavern in Hollidaysburg, sometime later that year. Black Angel rocked the house that night and was heavy-hitting. Also heavy-hitting was the MAJOR bench-clearing brawl that erupted during the third set...I tell people that if that fight (during which I understand somebody got their skull cracked with a crowbar) didn't scare me off from going to see bands in bars, nothing would!

1986 and '87 were when I really started frequenting the local music scene. In Altoona, the big rooms were Cisco's, the Coaches Inn (now City Limits), the 4D's, the Engine Room, and Pellegrine's. There were smaller rooms that ran music too, such as Aldo's (at that point, Aldo's was just the current restaurant area, a one-room bar), the old Sebastiano's Hotel (now the Monkey Wharf) and The Tavern (later nicknamed "The Stabbern" after some stabbing incidents; the place was razed for a medical center parking lot). There were also nearby out-of-town rooms such as the Buckhorn Inn (the original was torn down, the building that is now the White Lady Tavern was built several feet away), Rodeo Lounge and Brass Rail Lounge in Duncansville, The Golden Lariat (later The Hill) in Cresson (The Hoffman Hotel in Cresson was also popular, but closed up shop before I began checking out bands), Frank's Pier and the Blue Moon in Gallitzin, Charlie's Tavern (now Coal Car Saloon) in Dysart, and the Triangle (now Racer's) in Bald Eagle. If I really wanted to travel to distant and exotic locations to see live music, Philipsburg had Scha's and Pokey's, Huntingdon had the William Penn Inn and Mount Union had the Hill Valley Hotel.

Musically, the scene was less diverse back then than it is now. Popular rock cover bands were the big draws then as now. The Front, Shockzone/Sidewalk Romeo and Xeno were the crowd magnet bands in Altoona in the late 80's. Also popular was Audio (doing dance-geared music) and the original XL. 80's era metal was popular as well, with Slammer, Bashful, Anaconda, Rapid Fire, Giornesto, Chilling Vision, Fatal Maim, Thin Ice, Tommi-Gunn and Psycho frequenting local stages. Also making the rounds back then were The Edge, the Rolling Rockers, Saber Tooth, Guardian, Edge Of Sundown, Bitter Route (from Johnstown), and a lot of other names I could spend all day listing...

The Hurricanes were just getting started back then. They mostly played up the mountain at that point, and didn't really establish an Altoona presence until the 90's.

Oh, and one other name we had back then who has since left the area; I was just reminiscing this guy with somebody on Myspace this week - Louie Brumbaugh!

Back then, as now, I saw good and bad nights as far as crowds. Bad nights seemed a little less frequent, but still occurred. One thing that has improved between then and now - less fights now. I saw some real slobberknockers back then; now, most of the big rooms have security that can quickly isolate and send fighters out the door if anything erupts.

I think the all ages scene is healthier now, as far as stability of venues. It seemed that in the late 80's and 90's, the all ages scene moved around from room to room. Just as a place would get established, a fight or vandalism would happen, and places stopped allowing all ages concerts and new locations had to be established. Now, it seems that Lion's Den and the Jaggard Street U.M. Church are pretty stable locations, and kids seem to take care of their scene a little better.

Those are some of my observations about the scene then and now...

[moxham123]

Going from the early 70's to the early 90's, there used to be many places that would have live bands. There were bands playing somewhere 7 days a week. Bands could play many regional bars and private clubs, as well as, festivals, weddings, parties, banquets, church halls, fire halls, school dances, concerts, bandshells, and college parties. Unfortunately, things started to change in the area in the early 90's due to massive job layoffs, people not going out as much, population getting older, less people, PLCB laws, and DJ's & karaoke took a lot of gigs.

I was able to play as many days a week as we wanted back then. I was in several bands during that time that played within a 150 mile radius of Johnstown and we were never out of work and made decent money. We could also go into a new place out of town and still get big crowds without people knowing the band and the club owners would pay well knowing they always had a crowd.

The Johnstown area used to have some great places that had bands several nights a week. There was Ace's Lounge, Mynderbinders, The Factory, The Pyramids Lounge, The Golden Key, and Forest Park Club were the bigger places in the 70's and we had The Post (then, it became Foxy's), Fastlane Lounge, Sundance Saloon (formerly Mynderbinders and then it was called City Limits), Hardee's II (formerly The Factory) and many other places in the 80's.

There are very few places in Johnstown area having live bands anymore and people do not come out and support live music like they used to do.

[BDR]

Huntingdon had the William Penn Inn ...

I was the unofficial 19-year-old roadie for Thin Ice during the "Penn" days ... songsmith was the first to provide me a mic on a bar stage ... and I've craved it ever since.

r:>)

[Bag]

Ahhhh, memories.......(and a drug induced haze)

Bashful ripping it up at Hill Valley Hotel, the Pig Pen (Wm. Penn Inn) Sab's and the place in Marysville(?) etc... Those M Fers got me laid like I was actually IN the band! Love Ya Hoover!!

Harpo, Dirty Looks, Hybrid Ice at the Scorpion in St. College on Wed. nights! Yeah, WED. fuckin nights! Huge crowds, hot girls......

Defiance, Thin Ice, Blackout, Slammer, ..... I could go on and on! The late 80's will never be matched for the SHEER DEBAUCHERY that was had!

Sex, drugs and rock and roll.................

Just remembered, the place in Marysville was the Paradise Night Spot. I think I got laid 4 out of every 5 times I went there. Now that's a good club!

[Mistress_DB]

I wasn't even old enough to get into a bar in the 80's. Some of the band names sound familiar though since I knew a few local dj's back then.

[trilogy]

i lived close to london back then ,i remember sham 69 ......skids........punk was a huge thing in uk ........let me know if you understand this sanchez?

[Plastered Bastards]

On the other side of the coin,being involved in the total underground punk and hardcore scene in the mid 80's and still today.
We did it guerilla style: i.e. having shows wherever anyone would give us a space.
1. Guilifity's in Altoona,Necracedia (punk/hardcore band) would play there with Giornesto
2. Geeseytown Firehall
3. Mill Run Firehall
4. Engine Room (Early 90's)
5. Findley Hall in State College (I witnessed some of the best punk bands of the day from '85 to '92. C.O.C.,Agnostic Front,The Mob,Descendants,The Meatmen,The Detonators,Dr. Know and so on.)
6. Electric Banana in Pittsburgh
7. City Limits in Pittsburgh
8. Anyone's house or back yard (And hope that the po-po didn't sho)
9. Knights Of Columbus Downtown Altoona
That's just some from off the top of my head.
But the scene changed every year since then,it was always tough to find a place but somehow we always pulled it off with somewhat good success.
So,that just shows my age.
Cheers!

[DirtySanchez]

Yep, I completely understand Trilogy. Punk rock rules.

[HarleyRo1]

Jim...thanks for the trip down memory lane. I sure miss those days - the places and the bands.

[Possessed]

City Limit's out in Penn Hills rocked!
I saw so many bands there in the late 80's Early 90's.
Lets make a list.
Slayer on South of Heaven tour. Does that show my age a little? Sepultura, Kreator, Gwar, Death, Pestilence, Obituary, Testament,
Green Jelly, The Ex-Cops, and Voi-Vod with Soundgarden opening!!!!
My old band Gehenna opened for The Mentors at the Electric Banana. That was mega fun. I also saw Sacred Riech, Obituary and Sepultura playing at the Banana and a few others that I don't remember that well. Those times were fun but a bit fuzzy after all these years.

[313]

My old band Gehenna opened for The Mentors at the Electric Banana. That was mega fun. I also saw Sacred Riech, Obituary and Sepultura playing at the Banana and a few others that I don't remember that well. Those times were fun but a bit fuzzy after all these years.

I was at that show! El Duce (RIP) of Mentors was so drunk he could hardly stand up let alone remember the words, so I helped him sing SFCC. I wish I could say I remembered the opening band that night but I really can't (sorry!).

Now, back in the day I frequented the clubs in MD, since I was of legal drinking age there. The Md. hard rock/metal scene was really happening at the time, with National bands Kix and soon-to-be national acts like Ratzalad/Wrathchild, Deuce, Child's Play, and Dirty Deal playing the Rabbits Foot (Frederick MD), the Old Mill (Hagerstown), the legendary Shiley Acres shows, and the Other Place (Cumberland). Other bands that were regulars on the MD scene at the time include Sabotage, Mannekin, Washed, Blackmail, Fell Danger, Teacher's Pet, Monarch, DC Star, Centerfold, Backstreet Kids, Hell Razor, Neglected Toyz, Wizzard, Killerhit, Krakken, and Mis-fit.

In Blair County, in addition to the ones Jim mentioned, I remember Black Diamond, Tyrant, Pulse, Toyz, Piranha, and Cut the Mustard from the early 80s. The Kon-Tiki downtown is another club that I don't think was mentioned. Out of town bands like Blue Ash and Diamond Reo played regularly around here too.

In Cambria Co., I remember the bands Smilin' Dogg and Fantasy Airlift. Bedford County had Shotgun, Wild Turkey, Windflower, and Prism.

[orangekick]

Ok, with the last few threads, some of you people have really shown your age. So I would like to hear about what the music scene was like in the area during the late eighties/early nineties. I didn't really get into the scene until the mid nineties and if you wanted to see anything in Altoona
you went to all ages shows at the YWCA or Becky Sheetz. The bars were mostly full of more bluesy bands, or cover bands playing the same Bush/ korn/ tool. Dragonfire really made some headway for Metal and Punk to get into bars in the late nineties, and now I think there's a great variety.

So how was it back in the day? I hear all the old timers sayin how it was so much better, so give examples/stories. I'd like to hear it.

I was one of the people that was putting on the shows at the YMCA back in the day. I saw so many good bands that it all runs together anymore. lol... There were a lot of good shows back then.

[Bag]

Dirty Deal!! Those metal midgets were good!

[mjb]

gehenna, wasn't kango the guitar player(one of them)? that kid had some real talent back in the day. too bad, he sure had a good set of ears. probobly still does. i havn't seen him for a while, i'm sure he's not playing though. too bad.

[old Skool]

Ha, yeah some good & crazy times indeed. I remember I was like 19 and we were booked at the William Penn in Huntingdon. We were from Indiana & Johnstown and none of us had ever been there. Everybody talked like this was THE place to play so we were pretty excited when we booked the show. Well that excitement pretty much got kicked in the nads as soon as we pulled into the parking lot. There were one or two cars in the parking lot sitting on cement blocks (no joke!), several others parted out and weeds grown up everywhere. When we walked into the bar there was a stripper on a table with two toothless guys drooling below her. They were so poor that after they stuck the dollar bill in her g-string they would borrow it back so they could give it back to her again! We actually ended up with a decent crowd that night but never went back. Another great memory was the night of my 21st birthday. There used to be a cool club in Indiana called Cycads. We went there that night to see a "local" band everyone was talking about by the name of High Voltage. They kicked ass and the guitarist slammed. We talked to the guitarist during break and he was totally cool and down to earth. I was really impressed that the place was packed but this guy took the time to talk to a couple punks about his guitar rig. This guitarist turned out to be Nick Catanese now with Black Label Society. Sweet! All in all it did seem as though there were more clubs to play back then and people travelled more often to see bands as well. The light shows were alot larger too! I guess everybody started getting older & just didn't want to carry that much crap anymore ha,ha!

[Brian of the Clan Plush]

from the Centre County end of things I remember bands like Harpo, Hybrib Ice, the Ozone Rangers, and Coda playing places that don't exist anymore, like The Ranch, Carls Bad Tavern, The Scorpion, The Brickhouse, even the State College VFW used to be a great live music venue.

I agree that one thing that has changed is "the show". There was alot more importance then on the whole theatrical aspect of the shows, ridiculous light shows and fog and nobody played without at least a 48-channel board. PA systems came in tractor trailers, with giant scoops and bass bins as big as sheds. I miss how popular the scene was, but I'm glad the gear has gotten smaller.

[DirtySanchez]

Yeah, Matt (Imfedup) knows Nick pretty well, from his high voltage days.

[VENTGtr]

Ha, yeah some good & crazy times indeed. I remember I was like 19 and we were booked at the William Penn in Huntingdon.

When we walked into the bar there was a stripper on a table with two toothless guys drooling below her. They were so poor that after they
stuck the dollar bill in her g-string they would borrow it back so they
could give it back to her again!

YES! I remember walking in there for the first time to book a show
and seeing the stripper and the folding tables around her and a coupl'a
old drunk guys sitting on folding chairs. The guy who ran it's name was
Turk!

Forgot about that place. Man. I wish it was still open. The guys with
whom I work now would freak! That would be great.


Ya, the Brickhouse was a hole, but it was cool. I was there for the last
show before they demolished it. Considering it was about to come
crashing in any minute was prolly a pretty easy job.

[ZappasXWife]

Ya, the Brickhouse was a hole, but it was cool. I was there for the last show before they demolished it.

I was at that show too, the last one! Do you remember the band Ventgr because I certainly don't. I DO remember the bathroom though, I think it was unisex and the toilet was like in pieces. That was a fun night, but kinda a blur.

[Bag]

Ha, yeah some good & crazy times indeed. I remember I was like 19 and we were booked at the William Penn in Huntingdon.

When we walked into the bar there was a stripper on a table with two toothless guys drooling below her. They were so poor that after they
stuck the dollar bill in her g-string they would borrow it back so they
could give it back to her again!

YES! I remember walking in there for the first time to book a show
and seeing the stripper and the folding tables around her and a coupl'a
old drunk guys sitting on folding chairs. The guy who ran it's name was
Turk!

Forgot about that place. Man. I wish it was still open. The guys with
whom I work now would freak! That would be great.


Ya, the Brickhouse was a hole, but it was cool. I was there for the last
show before they demolished it. Considering it was about to come
crashing in any minute was prolly a pretty easy job.

A great place to see strippers too!

If you were into bad tattoos and stretch marks.

[Brian of the Clan Plush]

I salvaged one of the bricks after it was demolished as a memento. I can't remember who the band was, but I think Dana Hawk was their drummer (he played with alot of the popular bands at the time, and currently plays with JR Mangan). I remember the Brickhouse furniture consisted entirely of wooden picnic tables and picnic table benches