At first, we were called John Hoey and The Orchestra. As the popularity of the band increased we became John Hoey and His Orchestra. The final mutation was The John Hoey Orchestra.
There were five of us in the horn section and four rhythm pieces with John on the drums. Dennis was out front every night, singing and firing up the crowd with unrelenting energy.
At one point, there was talk about athletic competition between the horn section and the rhythm section. The rhythm guys claimed a disadvantage in numbers and demanded the addition of Dennis to their side based on the technicality that he played acoustic guitar. We countered by insisting that sound man, Matt Bohanski, be included with us as a sixth man, available off the bench between beers. Gebbie (a.k.a. Johnny Santos) made strenuous objections and demanded that Bohanski join the rhythm team to compensate for our 260 pound lead trumpet player, who, Gebbie said, counted as two people…
Such moments were followed by laughter. Laughter was followed by ass kicking, wall rattling, horn honking funk and soul music.
‘Chemistry’ and teamwork are always important. We enjoyed a special bond. It was like Late Entre stuff all over again, but this time with more guys.
This might require more than one page, too…