Their records reviewed and other ephemera
THE ROGUES – “Say You Love Me”/ “Secondary Man” (Thunderbird Records 507) 1967
The Rogues: From Buffalo, NY | were the same Rogues that released the awesome folk punk jangler “You Better Look Now” on Audition in 1966. Check it out on Teenage Shutdown Volume 5.
The R’n’B rave up “Train Kept A Rollin’” can be heard on Teenage Shutdown Volume 14.
Back to this 45 on Thunderbird. Here The Rogues sound like a completely different band than on their earlier offering. The A-Side “Say You Love Me” is a straight 60s pop song in the style of The Association. Their song “Windy” comes to mind.
The excellent flip “Secondary Man” is a magical slice of Beatlesesque ’Revolver’ era psychedelia with stunning backwards tape effects.
The Rogues issued a further single “Should You Care” / “The Rest Of The Way” (Thunderbird Records 511) Thunderbird Records also released choice 45s by The Druids and William Penn Fyve.
THE ROGUES – “Train Kept A Rolling”/ “You Better Look Now” (Audition Recording 6110) July 1966
Over the past week I’ve been focussing my attention on Buffalo, NY group The Rogues. They made quite a name for themselves locally with their British Invasion sounds and wild gigs at their own Club called ’The Rogues Gallery’. The English sound was mixed into a potent brew with the addition of jangle guitar.
Their debut single was a rockin’ version of “Train Kept A Rolling”, no doubt a live favourite. The Rogues probably heard this rhythm and beat from The Yardbirds who released it on their studio album ’Having A Rave Up’..
More interesting for me is the super cool flip and band original “You Better Look Now”. I first heard this magical folk 12 string jangler via The Chesterfield Kings back in the early 80s, who I may add did a sterling job with it.
Discography:
“Train Kept A-Rolling” / “You Better Look Now” (Audition Recording 6110) July 1966
“Say You Love Me” / “Secondary Man” (Thunderbird Records 507) 1967
“Should You Care” / “(To Lead Me) The Rest of the Way” (Thunderbird Records 511) 1967
Click on link for my Rogues podcast mix of singles
Young Rock ‘n’ Rollers Shoot for the Top With a ‘Teenie-Bopper Club’ of Their Own
By TONY BANNON “The Rogues,” yelled the girl looking stary-eyed in the direction of the bandstand, “why they’re the best.”
Making herself heard above the driving sound of a bass guitar, the teenaged miss with freshly ironed hair explained: “They play every song we want to hear—and they play slow songs too.” Best of all, she said, the Rogues are going to “really be famous.”
Why? “Because, like man, they’ve got their own pad, you dig?”
In this 1967 young men’s success story, the group of five wide eyed, fuzzy-haired teen-agers—aged 16 to 18—made such a name for themselves in two years that they were offered one-third of a teenage night club business.
Membership Costs $4
“We could have gotten a hall, but that’s like doing things in a back alley,” said Gaetano J. Deluca of 131 Albert St., Depew, an adult owner of The Rogues Gallery Inc., 1010 Niagara Falls Blvd., Town of Tonawanda.
“Guy and I put up the money, the Rogues put up their reputation,” another adult partner, C. Irving Smith of 118 Hunters Lane, Williamsville, said:
Their corporate pad, called Rogues Gallery, is a converted nightclub. The rug was taken
out, the tables stored in the cellar, the liquor removed and now it’s called a “teenie-boppers club.”
Teens, aged 13 to 17, are eligible for membership, at $4 per year. Sandwiches and pop are served across the bar. Parents, if they can stand the turned-on sound and youths, can “drop in any time.”
One Is a Pacifist
“We encourage parents to come,” added Mr. DeLuca. If there is a sensitive issue with the Rogues it is that of teenaged rumbles. “We don’t want any trouble here,” said one of the musicians seriously. “We want a refined-type place.”
To insure calm, the patrons are screened by Town of Tonawanda Police, who have “been around teenie-bop places” and “know the trouble makers,” said Mr. Smith.
The musicians — Dave, Mike, Bob, Gary, and Jim — are also about the least likely to willfully incite a riot. At least one of them, Robert J. Radel, 18, who plays the bass guitar, is a pacifist. “I can’t go hunting, even,” said Bob, a senior at Amherst Central High School.
Jim Wants to “Make It”
“Aggression is not natural, anymore,” he continued, “especially in these times. The U. S. has most of the things it wants now.”
Bob, a quiet, deliberate youth who is nicknamed “Slowpoke,” wants to study political science, philosophy and music at college next year. The group’s leader is James T. Pierotti, the lead singer and at 16, the youngest. The others call him “the baby.”
A junior at Williamsville Central High School, Jim wants “to make it as a singer.”
“The most frustrating thing anybody could do,” he said, “is to drop something when they are halfway through. I feel very strongly about doing a good job.”
Michael C. Spriggs, 18, lead guitarist, builds his castles on canvas. “I like to paint fantasy—like you see in fairytale books—like old castles, simple, but with a lot of color.”
Likes Simple Things
Mike, who came to the U. S. six years ago from Red Hill, Sussex, England, is called the Rogues’ “bright-eyed and bushy-tailed boy.”
“Simple things that I can understand are what I like.” said the 18-year-old freshman at Erie County Technical Institute, who majors in drafting. “I like to draw machines—I can understand them. I like to get real old things and fix them up and I like to keep things clean. They work better.”
What doesn’t he like?
“People who cover themselves up so you really don’t know what they are like.”
While Mike is the candid one —open and very free—Gary M. Jaros, 18, the drummer, is admittedly “the quiet one.”
David’s the “Lover”
The whole set up—the group’s success, the corporation—”is kinda hard to believe.”
Mr. “You-Name-It-I’ll-Fix-It,” Gary, a senior at Williamsville Central High School, is the group’s handyman.
“I like to work with wood and build things with little engines in them that run around,” he said.
David C. Smith, 18, rhythm guitarist, is the “lover of the group.”
As far as career goes, Dave, a freshman at Niagara County Community College, would like to be a lawyer, like his father. Mr. Smith is not only David’s father and business partner—he is also the group’s manager.
The Posters Change
The rest of the Smiths come in on week-ends when the Rogues play. Mrs. Smith is behind the cash register, while big brother, Michael, makes sure everything is on the up and up, and Ronald, 11, and Patricia, 14, help out wherever they can. It is an ambitious, young corporation.
“We want to change this place around at least every three weeks,” said David, pointing to the yellow and gold motif and the various posters and pictures on the walls of the Rogues Gallery.
“It’s the Rogues’ home-base and we don’t want the kids to get tired of it.”
The cluster of high school misses ogling the group gave no indication, however, that they ever would.
Rogues Gallery
comments:
* I just wanted to call your attention to the songwriters ”Calandra/Mallaber” on The Rogues single. Tom Calandra was the bass player in another Buffalo band Raven, who cut a couple of singles and an album for Columbia Records.
Tom Calandra (now deceased) was a very close friend of mine and I know Gary also.
A live album recorded at local club The Inferno also was released on a small label Discovery Records by a former manager. Gary Mallaber was the drummer in this same band and went on to major fame playing with Van Morrison (“Moondance”) and the Steve Miller Band among others.
Currently he is drumming for the Chicago Blues Reunion project with Harvey Mandel, etc. Thought I’d send you some trivia. Best always—-
* Heard The Rogues in their ’club’: Rogues Gallery. Think it was on or near Niagara Falls Blvd.
* The Rogues were the Best!!! They could sound exactly like any of the bands whose songs they played, Beatles, Stones, R & B groups, etc.
When they did concerts back in the 1960’s girls would scream as if it was the Beatles.
They released three 45’s but it seemed like the B sides were always the best, like “Secondary Man” and “You Better look Now”.
Michael Spriggs
Michael Spriggs, the lead guitarist has had the best post-Rogues career playing with CW bands in Nashville, and is still an A-list session player. http://michaelspriggs.com/
Love them still !! Does anyone have any tapes of any of their live performances???
* Also, you mentioned Raven aka the Rising Sons with Tommy Calandra and Gary Malabar. The lead singer was Tony Galla, who is still singing and playing blues in Los Angeles, California.
He is still awesome. I saw him recently and he did a great imitation of a duet that James Brown and Luciano Pavarotti did of “It’s A Man’s World”. Tony Galla sang both parts to perfection . . . now that’s talent. Check out him doing a 60’s hit “In Love”.
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