Players
Uncle Dicky, Keyboard, Vocals:
Uncle Dicky does it all at the famed Pleasure Palace Studio. In addition to creating the great studio, he records all the sessions, songs, and set lists, makes CD’s for everyone after the session, serves food and drinks for the band and our guests, and even turns on the air conditioning once and a while. He’s the man behind it all. If it wasn’t for his great generosity, penchant for playing every week, and many times twice a week, and accommodating everyone, none of this would be possible. He can always be seen “Bangin’ on his own Piano” while he’s getting in tune to the straight and narrow. “Who” said that? Oh yeah, “The Who” said that! You can hear his smooth, Sinatra, trained voice on more songs than anyone on this site. Some of his classics are; “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”, “I’m on Fire”, “Up on Cripple Creek/Franklin’s Tower”, “Deal”, “Bertha”, “Casey Jones”, “Badge”, “Live With Me”, “Locomotive Breath”, “Baby Blue”, “You Ain’t Going Nowhere”, “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues”, “Black Magic Woman”, “Fire on the Mountain”, and many more.
Slowhand Mark, Lead/Slide Guitar:
Slowhand is the man on lead on the majority of the PPB songs. He was the first to join the band after the trio of Gary, David, and Uncle Dicky formed the band 20 years ago, and his great guitar work changed the whole nature of the band in the early days. He is a self taught musician, who has an incredible ear, and some pretty amazing guitars and equipment. You can call him a “Guitar Enthusiast”, because that’s what he is. Slowhand can play some hard and loud biting guitar, which you can hear on “Fly Away”, “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, “One Way Out”, “Johnny B. Goode”, “Never In My Life”, “You Don’t Love Me”, “Badge”, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, “All Along The Watchtower”, “Black Magic Woman”, “Rock & Roll Hoochie Koo”, and more, but he also has a beautiful touch when it comes to slower songs such as “Mustang”, “Loser”, “Baby Blue”, “Stolen Car”, “Tangled Up In Blue”, “Little Wing”, and some great Blues work on “Red House/Hasidim/Hungry Blues, and other Blues classics. He also plays a mean slide guitar, and is obviously a very versatile guitarist who plays a lot of rhythm as well. A “Classy Man” for all seasons. His daughter Jessy, an aspiring singer, debuted on the website in January 2012, on the song “Kiss”. Jessy is making a name for herself, and did a great job finally singing with the band for the first time, and with her dad!
S-Bone Steve, Drums & Vocals:
S-Bone is one of the greatest guys you’ll ever meet, and also one of the greatest drummers you’ll ever hear. His entrance into the band was legendary, on a very eerie night; 9/9/99, a day that will live in infamy with the PPB. On that night, Gary quit the band in a huff, the cops came a knockin’, but no one heard them because the music was so loud, and a good friend of ours ended up with his head in the toilet. But, once Steve took over, the band changed forever, as he can basically play anything, at any tempo, and sound great doing it. He’s played professionally in the past, but now prefers the PPB to outside gigs, which he still does occasionally. He’s also a great singer, and provides unlimited comic relief to the band with his hysterical interjections on songs such as “Born On The Bayou”, “Green River”, Gotta Serve Somebody”, and “The Hasidim Blues”, among others. You can hear S-Bone’s classic drum solo on “Amnesia”, and his powerful and classic beat on most songs on the site except for “Mustang”, where Bronkhorst Mitch took over on drums because S-Bone had to leave early. He not only bangs it out, but also sing on many songs including, “Never In My Life”, performed by the trio of S-Bone, Slowhand, and Bronkhorst, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, “Everything Is Broken”, “Rock & Roll Hoochie Koo”, “Dear Prudence”, “White Room”, “Sultans Of Swing”, “Why Does Love Have To Be So Sad”, “Stormy”, “We’re An American Band”, and more.
Bronkhorst Mitch, Bass Guitar:
When Bass Howard headed South for good, Discount Al, struck again, finding Bronkhorst Mitch to join the band. Bronky knew a few of the guys from High School, where he and his brother were famous musicians. Bronk can play many instruments, and is literally, a “Walking Encyclopedia” of music. However, as he admits to even himself, the music didn’t die when Buddy Holly’s plane crashed, it died in 1975. So, Mitch isn’t interested in playing anything that was created after 1975, but sometimes he’ll give in to try and appease the fellas! When Bronk arrived, he brought in so many Cream and Mountain songs, among others, and got the band to play much more complex songs than they ever did before. This was mainly due to his amazing ability to play any song on the Bass (as long as it’s prior to 1975). Bronky knows old rock so well, that every time any person from that era dies, and it’s happening often these days, the band has to play a tribute song to them. And, believe me, sometimes no one’s even heard of this guy, or song. So, he teaches it to everyone until we get it right, and make a fitting tribute to “The Dead Guy”! After a number of years of being silent, we finally found out that Mitch can sing a tune or two also pretty well. His most classic song, which isn’t on the site, due to not being able to get a clear recording of it, is Cream’s “Outside Woman Blues”. But, you can hear him sing a few others including, “Politician”, “Deserted Cities/Spoonful”, “Spoonful”, and the fun Dave Mason tune, “You Can All Join In”. You can also hear his amazing talent on Bass on songs like “Never In My Life”, “White Room”, “Southbound”, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, “Smoke On The Water”, where that’s him up front talking about Deep Purple, “Kiss”, “Dear Mr. Fantasy”, “Gimme Shelter”, and “The Seeker”, among others, where his son Zak, a great, and occasional guitarist with the band, sings his first and only song, that debuted on the site in January, 2012, with Jessy’s “Kiss”. Bronky comes from quite a musical family, and he now has quite a musical family. His lovely wife, Marcia, even comes to many of the sessions to hang out with the band, and hopes that Moe Joe is there to play “The Boss” for her!
Da Ripah, Lead Guitar & Vocals:
You only need to hear the Dicky Betts tune, “Southbound”, to understand why Dave D. is called Da Ripah, or (The Ripper). He really rips it out on that song. When Moe Joe left town in 2005, Da Ripah, a friend of Mitch’s, joined the band. Man could he play, but he needed to learn the ropes of playing with the PPB, and dealing with all the incredible nonsense that goes on with any band in the world! Once he did that, he became a full time regular member who “Shaked and Baked” the band into new directions, and some great new songs. Dave is into all kinds of music, from old classic “Chuck Berry” style rock and roll, to Reggae, to The Beatles (prior to his arrival there was a “No Beatles policy, unless Uncle Dicky was performing “Imagine” solo while everyone was getting ready), to Clapton, Neil Young, Elvis, Paul Simon, and even The Blues. He’s quite a versatile guy. Da Ripah really looks forward to his weekly PPB Jones, and is one bundle of energy. He’s amazing. He can play for 2 – 3 hours in the band, then go upstairs and play Uncle Dicky’s acoustic guitar for another hour while everyone is sitting around bullshitting or watching a ball game or two, and then after he leaves, he sometimes goes to a bar until the wee hours of the morning, and performs for a bunch of drunken maniacs. We have no idea how he does it. Perhaps it’s because he’s a bit younger than the rest of us, or maybe it’s just his insatiable love for playing. He’s so incredible, that if you tell him you want to try a tune on Wednesday, he’ll have it all figured out, note by note, for Thursday night’s session. You can hear his amazing licks and sound on “The Boxer”, “Keep on Runnin/Just My Imagination, “Wild Horses”, “Drive My Car”, the Jeff Beck version of “People Get Ready”, “Little Sister”, “Further On Up The Road”, “Be Thankful For What You’ve Got”, “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”, and many more. Da Ripah really changed the course of the PPB forever, and upped the energy level to blackout levels. He is one of the most talented and versatile guitarists that ever played with the PPB or anywhere.
Moe Joe Vak: Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
Moe Joe Vak was the fifth man in. He’s been playing with the band for over 20 years, but moved away in 2005, and doesn’t get to play all that often any more. But, when he does, it’s usually a fun night, because like Steve Martin, he’s a “Wild & Crazy Guy”. Moe Joe plays Rhythm Guitar, if he can keep it in tune, and sings a number of songs, if that’s what you can call it, including some original music that the band doesn’t want to play. You can say (well at least he does) that the Moe Joe Man is an entertaining and funny guy, who loves to thrill the crowd with his improvising and bluesy style, like that on the classic he first wrote as a goof over 30 years ago, “The Hasidim Blues”, and songs like “Green River” where he does a bluesy poetic (Leonard Cohen style) interlude in the middle, as well as “Fly Away”, where he makes up his own words because he didn’t know them! His song “Amnesia” was written one night at a session right on the fly while the band was fooling around, and “Mustang”, and “You Better Be True”, are also his originals, but are just first takes, and not perfected yet, or maybe ever. Moe Joe is definitely into the blues. He wrote another song that the band enjoys playing called “The Hungry Blues (“Red House/Hasidim/Hungry Blues) where S-Bone Steve, and Uncle Dicky do a hysterical background “Hasidim” during the song, which they weren’t supposed to do, but makes it even more of a classic. Moe has a tendency to lose his voice, as he sometimes yells and screams more than sings, but makes up for it with his passion and energy that gets the crowd moving and shaking. The Moe Joe Man is the one everyone comes to see and hear. NOT! But, if you are there with him, you are certain to have a hell of a time. BTW, If you haven’t figured out yet that he also created and runs this website, well then you just don’t understand what a creative guy this man of many talents is! Long Live the PPB!
David, Rhythm Guitar & Vocals:
David formed the band in 1992 with Gary. They used to play in Gary’s basement, in a little room that barely held all of Gary’s drums. When Uncle Dicky, Slowhand Mark, and Moe Joe joined the band, all in progression, someone had to stand and play in the hallway, because the room just wasn’t big enough. It was usually Moe Joe. They didn’t have a name, and they didn’t have many songs, but they are clearly the “Steve Jobs”, and “Steve Wozniak” of the PPB! So, we owe it all to them, and deservedly so. David is a big fan of The Grateful Dead, as are so many people. He’s attended so many Dead shows, has so many concerts on CD’s, and knows every detail about every show and song, that when we play a Dead song, he sometimes had to stop the band to tell them exactly where they were off. He hasn’t stopped following them either, as he takes in every “Further” show he can find. His knowledge of The Grateful Dead is amazing, and because of it, that’s basically where the band started; playing mostly Dead songs. In fact, he turned Uncle Dicky on to The Dead, and taught him songs he never had known before, and how to sing them too. Moe was definitely into The Dead, but some of the other guys weren’t, so David turned on a lot of the guys to some of the greatest music ever made. He loves to play and sing Talking Heads songs, Dylan songs, and even many Elvis Costello ones. David is an eclectic guy who introduced the band to so many unique songs over the years, some by obscure bands that only he would have known of. It was his genuine enthusiasm for the music that really kept the band going all these years. He will be forever in our debt for it. Thank you Dave!
Discount Al, Congas & Percussion:
Discount Al joined the band in 1995, just after the Pleasure Palace Studio was officially opened. He brought in some nice Congas, and other percussion instruments. Al also plays a mean harp, but had a tendency to leave the sessions right in the middle of a song, sometimes without even telling anyone. In addition to his music ability, Al is a promoter of bands in the local area, and now down near his new home in Florida. He left the band in 2011 to get out of Dodge, and soak up the sun. Not a bad choice at all. So, what did he do then? Well, besides promoting bands down there, he started up the PPB South with Bass Howard, and Hairstrand Alan. During Thanksgiving 2011, Moe Joe joined them for the first official PPB South session to include three members of the original PPB. The music wasn’t too great, and Howard spent the whole night playing with his mixing box, but a fun time was had by all. Al played the electric drums, and did a pretty good job at it, but, to keep in style, he left the session early, as he usually does, and missed the great after party! You can hear Al go to town on “Black Magic Woman”, and “Sympathy For The Devil”. Two songs that seem to be made just for Discount Al! He also designed the PPB logo, and made up some great shirts for the band members, their families, and friends. Al makes his annual appearance at the Palace every spring or so where the old members reminisce about the “Glory Days”. He’s a great guy, and we miss him a lot.
Bass Howard, Bass Guitar:
Until Discount Al brought Bass Howard into the band, approximately ten years after the band was formed, the band didn’t have a Bass player. Moe picked up a bass that was lying around one day, took it home, and did a pretty decent job occasionally, but that was much later, and he didn’t do it too often. So, once Howard showed up, the band was complete. Unfortunately, he didn’t stay all that long; maybe five years or so, before moving South. But, he was great in every way possible. He could not only play a mean and steady bass, but he is also a very fun, and funny guy. He is most famous for saying to the guys, “Hey, don’t fuck with my playtime”. Howard had two favorite songs, none of which are on the website, because we couldn’t play them very well, or sing them. One is the famous Spirit song, “I Got A Line On You”, and the other is The Doobie Brothers classic, “China Grove”. Whenever Howard returns for a session, which isn’t too often these days, the band always has to play “China Grove” or it just wouldn’t be a special night. Howard also plays guitar, and is so electronically and technologically savvy, with a pin point perfect ear, that he always knew, and made it very clear to everyone, when anyone was even slightly out of tune, or off. In fact, he was infamous for always fixing and tuning Moe’s, David’s, and Pete’s guitars. He would just rip them out of their hands and take over. But, it was always in good fun, as you just can’t find a better guy who’s more fun to be around than Bass Howard. You can hear his sound on many classics including; “All Along The Watchtower”, “Sympathy For The Devil”, “Locomotive Breath”, “Sultans Of Swing”, “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”, “One Way Out”, “Fly Away”, “You Don’t Love Me”, “Bertha”, “Badge”, “Cadillac Trio”, and more.
Bob, Lead Guitar:
Bob is an old friend of Steve’s, and joined The PPB a while after S-Bone got comfortable at The Palace. Bob isn’t a regular weekly player, but does make it to the show approximately once every few months or so. He’s a really great guy, who just loves to play, and is a “Master Guitar Picker”, who originally played in a band called The Mnemonics, that has a style similar to Mark Knopfler, and Earl Scruggs, His unique brand of guitar picking adds an element to the band that they never had before. You can hear his great sound on “Friend of the Devil”, “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere”, “Bob’s Jam”, “Glendale Train”, “Steppin’ Out”, and “Baby Blue”. Bob’s favorite song, the Lowell George classic, “Willin'”, is not on the site because we always seem to mess it up one way or another, but we usually play it when Bob is there. It’s always a fun and calm night when Bob is around. Just a really nice, mellow guy who really appreciates a night out playing with the boys.
Doctor J., Lead Guitar, Vocals:
Dr. J. is an old friend of Slowhand Mark’s and an early contributor to the PPB. He used to play on a semi-regular basis, semi meaning about every couple of months or so. He hasn’t made too many appearances over the last 5 or 6 years, but still “picks up his guitar and plays” when he can. Another great picker and lead guitarist, Dr. J. has a style all his own, and is known for his two famous songs; “Pleading” and “Rebel, Rebel”. The “Good Doctor” also composes his own songs and has recorded a number of them with another band. It’s always good to see Dr. J, and it’s always a very enjoyable session when he rides into town on his “White Horse Mescalito” to play a few licks. Hope you’re woman’s not in bed with ol’ Panama Red!
Heavy Hands Heitz (HHH): Drums
Heavy Hands Heitz is an old friend of Da Ripah’s. He’s a very cool and unique guy to say the least who not only can play three hours straight non-stop at WARP speed, but also brews his own beer known to the world as “Heitz’s Home Brew”. The beer is dark, of course, like the man. Jack Bruce would say it’s a “Strange Brew”. But, one taste from the old country bottles they come in and you’ll be hooked. HHH has played numerous gigs over the years with The Rippah at bars and parties all over town. In fact, The Rippah gave him his unique name for his non-stop ability to bang the hell out of those drums all night long. A few years ago Heavy Hands played a session or two when the band needed a backup drummer for S-Bone on that rare occasion he couldn’t make it. As time went by Heavy Hands played some Friday night sessions with the band, and eventually became known as the “Friday Night Drummer”. S-Bone prefers to play on Thursday’s these days, so it all worked out well. In fact, now a days there are many double sessions where S-Bone will play Thursday and Heavy Hands will play the next night. You can hear Heavy Hands get down on “Ohio/Black Magic Woman”, “People Get Ready”, “Friend of the Devil II”, “Be Thankful For What You’ve Got”, “Little Sister, “Further On Up The Road”, and more. On June 7, 2013 Heavy Hands Heitz became the official Sound Engineer for the band when he adjusted the P.A. system for the first time in 17 years and the sound and the mix suddenly and amazingly became a lot better.
Jazz Man Jonno: Bass Guitar
Jazz Man Jonno is the newest member of the band, and more of a backup player. Since Bronkhorst Mitch tries to play as many sessions as he can, Uncle Dicky has to find a way sometimes to squeeze the Jazz Man in. There are even a couple of other bass players filling in these days such as Piet and Al. Why is it always the “Bass Players” who can’t come every week, or quit the band like Bill Wyman? It’s fun to play with Jonno. He brings a very different aura to the band. Unlike all the other bass players before him; Bass Howard, Bronkhorst Mitch, and Santi, Jonno is schooled on Jazz and Funk. His hero is the great Marcus Miller. Of course Jonno can play some down and dirty rock and roll, but even then he brings his unique rhythm and blues style with a taste of Jazz to each song. And, when Jonno is there with The Rippah and Heavy Hands, the beat can get so amazingly fast that even The Flash can’t catch them. You can hear Jonno on “Ohio/Black Magic Woman”, “People Get Ready”, and “Friend of the Devil II”, all recorded at the May 24, 2013 Friday night session.
Founding Father Gary, Drums:
Gary is the man who started it all with David in the basement of his house in 1992. They added Uncle Dicky and played in a room so small that it barely fit all of Gary’s drums. And man, did he have drums. If it wasn’t for Gary, none of this would have probably ever happened, prompting many to say, “Why Gary, Why?” The answer my friend is blowing in the wind, the answer is blowing in the wind. Thank you Gary, wherever you may be.
Uncle Pete, Backup Singer & Fan:
Moe Joe and Dicky have known Pete since High School. He’s been hanging out at The Pleasure Palace long before the studio was ever created, mostly to watch a ball game, and enjoy good company. Pete plays a little rhythm guitar occasionally, but now, when he does show up, mostly just sings backup wearing his beautiful blue tie-dyed PPB shirt designed by Discount Al. Pete is famous for singing the lead on one particular song, Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb”, which is what he usually is when he’s hanging with the boys.
Cheech & Chong: The Inspiration
What would The Pleasure Palace studio and sessions be without a little comedy? Sometimes in the middle of a song, if you listen very carefully, you can actually hear in the background Cheech interject his famous words, “Hey, it was only an Ambulance”, and Tommy say, “Wow, Man”. But, you really need to listen carefully, just like you do to hear Larry Fine at Woodstock saying, “Hey, don’t take the brown acid”.
Jerry Garcia: The Legend
He died in 1995, the same year the Pleasure Palace Studio officially opened. So, it is an eerie coincidence that he just happens to be hanging from the ceiling looking over the band, and watching them carefully to make sure they represent him well, and keep the mood festive and mellow. If you are lucky, you can see him “Driving That Train”, but he’s usually doing that when no one is around!
Curley, The Ultimate Stooge:
Does anything more really need to be said?