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Jack is looking for a trip to Southern Ohio the week of November 16.
Sound Check:
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Personal Rant – Why People Do Not Live in Northeast Ohio
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New 'Call of Duty' could set entertainment record
By Paula Schleis
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 08:48 p.m. EDT, Jun 26, 2009
This isn't a story about how to get rich and famous playing music.
It's about learning that one can make a lasting contribution to music without ever topping the Billboard charts or getting on the cover of Rolling Stone.
It's the story of Robert Kidney, whose 39-year experience with the Numbers Band — a legend in the local music scene — has culminated in this advice to young artists who might never be able to quit their day jobs:
''Fame does not make an artist great. It just makes him or her profitable,'' he said. '' . . . Don't ever think that because you're not on the radio, there isn't value in what you do.''
Sitting in the backyard of his modest Tallmadge home, the 62-year-old band founder, guitarist, singer and songwriter is satisfied that he has made his mark.
Over the years, his group has had many near-brushes with fame and garnered reviews in just about every major industry publication in the country.
And they're not done. The Numbers Band still plays somewhere most Saturday evenings. A new CD is due out this summer; it will be their seventh.
Kidney's brother and bandmate, Jack Kidney, admits the group's abstract style of rock isn't easily defined and, as a result, not very commercial.
''Obviously, the industry thinks we are an acquired taste, and they haven't acquired the taste,'' he quipped.
But Jack Kidney said he and current band members agree with his brother's insistence that they not change their style to chase a buck.
''We either make it with what we're doing, or we don't make it,'' he said.
Early days
The Numbers Band was formed in 1970 after Robert Kidney was asked to front a band that had just lost its singer. He renamed the group 15 60 75, an obscure reference to some music theory. That's still the official name, but fans could never remember it and took to just calling it the Numbers Band.
The group's musical direction was influenced by Kidney's military service in Chicago, where he became ''completely absorbed'' in blues. So the band covered artists like Elmore James, Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley, as well as original work.
''But everyone else was doing Rolling Stones, Bob Seger, the Doors — that's all we heard from audiences. We were on the outside of popular music from the beginning,'' he said.
Still, Kidney's confidence was high when he entered a battle of the bands at the Cove on July 4, 1970, to determine who would be the house band for the hottest nightclub in Kent.
''Water Street in Kent was like Tijuana in the 1970s. It was packed, 800 people. I remember I turned my back to the audience, picked up my harmonica and [told his bandmates], 'We're gonna take this place tonight.' ''
They did.
And so playing at the Cove four nights a week became Kidney's full-time job, paying enough for him to keep a small apartment in town and giving him time to cultivate his craft.
''I had become immersed in writing. I was fanatical about it. I listened to a lot of different kinds of music and popular music was not one of my focuses,'' he said. ''I wanted to make music that was completely, utterly new.''
It's not easy to describe his music, he admits. Free jazz. Rock and roll. Blues. African-American influences. Bob Dylan-type poetry.
But originality can be the antithesis of popularity.
In 1974, the Numbers Band opened for Bob Marley at the Agora in Cleveland, and made their first album from the live performance.
Audience response was lackluster.
''They were scratching their heads like, 'What is this?' You could tell they didn't get it,'' Kidney recalled.
That same year, the band's manager landed a meeting with executives at WMMS, then a national player in the radio industry and known for breaking original new stars like David Bowie.
But the program manager pushed an album from Johnny Cougar (Mellencamp) across her desk, saying that's the sound the station was interested in.
The Numbers Band couldn't have been more different.
Kidney was learning a lot about the industry, but it wasn't influencing his writing.
''I wasn't making music to sell. I hoped people liked it. I hoped it would be phenomenal to a record company that they would pick it up. But I wasn't involved in the industry; I was involved in music,'' he said.
''Some people look at the art form and see it as a commodity. Some look at an art form and say what can I lend to this, what can I do with it, what does it mean?'' Kidney said. ''I had strong feelings about what I wanted to do, and it wasn't chasing a . . . dollar.''
That same year, the Cove burned down, and the Numbers Band began a 25-year stint at another Kent nightclub, JB's.
Others find fame
The band took another hit when the New Wave sound started rolling through the area in the late 1970s and into the '80s.
''That was probably more damaging to my band than anything because then we were over with,'' he said. ''They called me the old man who played the blues — and I was 27.''
One band member, Jerry Casale, left to help form Devo. Another member, Chris Butler, left to join the Waitresses, who were signed by Warner Bros. Another member, Terry Hynde, saw his sister Chrissie Hynde earn fame fronting the Pretenders. Local acts Tin Huey and Rachel Sweet also found national recognition.
''I started getting static from some people I was working with,'' Kidney said. ''People were going to see the other bands and club owners were running us down to our face. We were in the dead zone.''
Kidney was not about to change genres. As a matter of fact, he announced the band would no longer cover other artists' material.
The announcement that the Numbers Band was going 100 percent original drew boos from fans and caused bandmates to grumble and club owners to bristle. Kidney stood firm.
''Over the next year we kept playing our original material and gave people the opportunity to come in and take us at face value,'' he said. Eventually, ''the audience level went back up and even better than before.''
But gone were the days when Kidney could afford to let music support him. With a wife and a daughter counting on him, he joined his brother in rehabbing homes and apartments in the high-turnover college town — a job he continued to do until retiring about three years ago.
Recognition comes
Today, the band still plays wherever they can, and even though they're still recording original music, they don't expect fame anymore.
''We've tried, man,'' Jack Kidney said. ''It's a young man's game. You just don't see older people hitting it.''
The spotlight still occasionally finds them.
In 2000, the band reissued their 1976 recording of Jimmy Bell's Still in Town. They were reviewed in Rolling Stone, found favor on many college radio stations, and were flown to London to play at the Royal Festival Hall.
''All these kids were hip to what I was doing and they were calling me sir,'' Kidney said. ''All of a sudden, I felt vindicated. What I had done had great value. It just took 30 years. It was a great moment.''
The Wall Street Journal did a front-page story on Robert Kidney and the Numbers Band — basically a piece on why they're not famous.
Last year, Robert Kidney's Rosalee was covered by Chrissie Hynde on the Pretenders' new album, Break Up The Concrete.
Looking back, would Kidney have done anything differently?
He wishes he understood more about the music industry early on, before doors started closing and bridges started burning. But he's never regretted his musical decisions.
His parting advice for young artists at the same crossroads?
''I never made any money, so what the hell do I know?'' he said, shrugging.
''But I think you should give it everything you have, be completely committed to your music, and see if it sells,'' he said.
If it doesn't, then decide how badly you want to be popular.
''Why do you think they call it popular music? You do what people want. You look around and see what people want and give it to them,'' he said. ''Me, I never sat down and said, 'I gotta write stuff people like.' ''
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com.
The Numbers Band
Founded: 1970
Web site: http://www.numbersband.com
Band members:
Robert Kidney, founder, guitar, vocals, songwriter
Terry Hynde, vocals, keyboard
Jack Kidney, vocals, guitar, keyboard, harmonica
Frank Casamento, drummer
Bill Watson, bass
Schedule:
• Today, 9:30 p.m., the Parkview Nite Club, 1261 W. 58th St., Cleveland.
• July 4, 5 p.m., Kent Heritage Festival, downtown Kent.
• July 4, 9:30 p.m., the Outpost, 4962 state Route 43, Kent. This event is a celebration of the band’s 39th anniversary. Former band members will be on hand.
• July 23, 6:30 p.m., Akron Art Museum after-work concert series, One South High Street.
This isn't a story about how to get rich and famous playing music.
It's about learning that one can make a lasting contribution to music without ever topping the Billboard charts or getting on the cover of Rolling Stone.
It's the story of Robert Kidney, whose 39-year experience with the Numbers Band — a legend in the local music scene — has culminated in this advice to young artists who might never be able to quit their day jobs:
''Fame does not make an artist great. It just makes him or her profitable,'' he said. '' . . . Don't ever think that because you're not on the radio, there isn't value in what you do.''
Sitting in the backyard of his modest Tallmadge home, the 62-year-old band founder, guitarist, singer and songwriter is satisfied that he has made his mark.
Over the years, his group has had many near-brushes with fame and garnered reviews in just about every major industry publication in the country.
And they're not done. The Numbers Band still plays somewhere most Saturday evenings. A new CD is due out this summer; it will be their seventh.
Kidney's brother and bandmate, Jack Kidney, admits the group's abstract style of rock isn't easily defined and, as a result, not very commercial.
''Obviously, the industry thinks we are an acquired taste, and they haven't acquired the taste,'' he quipped.
But Jack Kidney said he and current band members agree with his brother's insistence that they not change their style to chase a buck.
''We either make it with what we're doing, or we don't make it,'' he said.
Early days
The Numbers Band was formed in 1970 after Robert Kidney was asked to front a band that had just lost its singer. He renamed the group 15 60 75, an obscure reference to some music theory. That's still the official name, but fans could never remember it and took to just calling it the Numbers Band.
The group's musical direction was influenced by Kidney's military service in Chicago, where he became ''completely absorbed'' in blues. So the band covered artists like Elmore James, Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley, as well as original work.
''But everyone else was doing Rolling Stones, Bob Seger, the Doors — that's all we heard from audiences. We were on the outside of popular music from the beginning,'' he said.
Still, Kidney's confidence was high when he entered a battle of the bands at the Cove on July 4, 1970, to determine who would be the house band for the hottest nightclub in Kent.
''Water Street in Kent was like Tijuana in the 1970s. It was packed, 800 people. I remember I turned my back to the audience, picked up my harmonica and [told his bandmates], 'We're gonna take this place tonight.' ''
They did.
And so playing at the Cove four nights a week became Kidney's full-time job, paying enough for him to keep a small apartment in town and giving him time to cultivate his craft.
''I had become immersed in writing. I was fanatical about it. I listened to a lot of different kinds of music and popular music was not one of my focuses,'' he said. ''I wanted to make music that was completely, utterly new.''
It's not easy to describe his music, he admits. Free jazz. Rock and roll. Blues. African-American influences. Bob Dylan-type poetry.
But originality can be the antithesis of popularity.
In 1974, the Numbers Band opened for Bob Marley at the Agora in Cleveland, and made their first album from the live performance.
Audience response was lackluster.
''They were scratching their heads like, 'What is this?' You could tell they didn't get it,'' Kidney recalled.
That same year, the band's manager landed a meeting with executives at WMMS, then a national player in the radio industry and known for breaking original new stars like David Bowie.
But the program manager pushed an album from Johnny Cougar (Mellencamp) across her desk, saying that's the sound the station was interested in.
The Numbers Band couldn't have been more different.
Kidney was learning a lot about the industry, but it wasn't influencing his writing.
''I wasn't making music to sell. I hoped people liked it. I hoped it would be phenomenal to a record company that they would pick it up. But I wasn't involved in the industry; I was involved in music,'' he said.
''Some people look at the art form and see it as a commodity. Some look at an art form and say what can I lend to this, what can I do with it, what does it mean?'' Kidney said. ''I had strong feelings about what I wanted to do, and it wasn't chasing a . . . dollar.''
That same year, the Cove burned down, and the Numbers Band began a 25-year stint at another Kent nightclub, JB's.
Others find fame
The band took another hit when the New Wave sound started rolling through the area in the late 1970s and into the '80s.
''That was probably more damaging to my band than anything because then we were over with,'' he said. ''They called me the old man who played the blues — and I was 27.''
One band member, Jerry Casale, left to help form Devo. Another member, Chris Butler, left to join the Waitresses, who were signed by Warner Bros. Another member, Terry Hynde, saw his sister Chrissie Hynde earn fame fronting the Pretenders. Local acts Tin Huey and Rachel Sweet also found national recognition.
''I started getting static from some people I was working with,'' Kidney said. ''People were going to see the other bands and club owners were running us down to our face. We were in the dead zone.''
Kidney was not about to change genres. As a matter of fact, he announced the band would no longer cover other artists' material.
The announcement that the Numbers Band was going 100 percent original drew boos from fans and caused bandmates to grumble and club owners to bristle. Kidney stood firm.
''Over the next year we kept playing our original material and gave people the opportunity to come in and take us at face value,'' he said. Eventually, ''the audience level went back up and even better than before.''
But gone were the days when Kidney could afford to let music support him. With a wife and a daughter counting on him, he joined his brother in rehabbing homes and apartments in the high-turnover college town — a job he continued to do until retiring about three years ago.
Recognition comes
Today, the band still plays wherever they can, and even though they're still recording original music, they don't expect fame anymore.
''We've tried, man,'' Jack Kidney said. ''It's a young man's game. You just don't see older people hitting it.''
The spotlight still occasionally finds them.
In 2000, the band reissued their 1976 recording of Jimmy Bell's Still in Town. They were reviewed in Rolling Stone, found favor on many college radio stations, and were flown to London to play at the Royal Festival Hall.
''All these kids were hip to what I was doing and they were calling me sir,'' Kidney said. ''All of a sudden, I felt vindicated. What I had done had great value. It just took 30 years. It was a great moment.''
The Wall Street Journal did a front-page story on Robert Kidney and the Numbers Band — basically a piece on why they're not famous.
Last year, Robert Kidney's Rosalee was covered by Chrissie Hynde on the Pretenders' new album, Break Up The Concrete.
Looking back, would Kidney have done anything differently?
He wishes he understood more about the music industry early on, before doors started closing and bridges started burning. But he's never regretted his musical decisions.
His parting advice for young artists at the same crossroads?
''I never made any money, so what the hell do I know?'' he said, shrugging.
''But I think you should give it everything you have, be completely committed to your music, and see if it sells,'' he said.
If it doesn't, then decide how badly you want to be popular.
''Why do you think they call it popular music? You do what people want. You look around and see what people want and give it to them,'' he said. ''Me, I never sat down and said, 'I gotta write stuff people like.' ''
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com.
The Numbers Band
Founded: 1970
Web site: http://www.numbersband.com
Band members:
Robert Kidney, founder, guitar, vocals, songwriter
Terry Hynde, vocals, keyboard
Jack Kidney, vocals, guitar, keyboard, harmonica
Frank Casamento, drummer
Bill Watson, bass
Schedule:
• Today, 9:30 p.m., the Parkview Nite Club, 1261 W. 58th St., Cleveland.
• July 4, 5 p.m., Kent Heritage Festival, downtown Kent.
• July 4, 9:30 p.m., the Outpost, 4962 state Route 43, Kent. This event is a celebration of the band’s 39th anniversary. Former band members will be on hand.
• July 23, 6:30 p.m., Akron Art Museum after-work concert series, One South High Street.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Canton, OH
Posted 10:40 PM, 06/26/2009
The Numbers Band is sweet. . .I've seen them a few times. .They are good dudes. . .
big bend, wv
Posted 09:42 AM, 06/27/2009
Best band in the land....I saw them wed and sat for many many years. best time of my life. Always walkin the narrow road!
Dade City, Fl
Posted 01:38 PM, 06/27/2009
I WISH I HAD A FEW OF THOSE CDs. I MISS HEARING SUMMERTIME BLUES AND JIMMY BELLS IN TOWN AND OTHER SONGS.
Akron, OH
Posted 04:54 PM, 06/27/2009
Nice guys. Hard working.
Posted 12:59 PM, 07/18/2009
I first saw them in 1978. I got it!
Kent, OH
Posted 03:55 PM, 09/08/2009
Could someone please give me a list of all the night clubs that in existance in downtown Kent around 1973 and up to 1985?
