STREET BEAT FEATURE
Bob LaMere Band
by Ernie Thomas
Singer/songwriter/guitarist Bob
LaMere loves being on stage. His first public performance
was made on a whim and a dare, when his sister got married.
LaMere has since gone
on to perform lead roles in many regional theatrical productions, most
recently being taking part in this summer’s “Bravo Broadway”
at the Star Plaza Theatre.
The Bob LaMere Band
is rounded out by lead guitarist
Andrew Rhoades
and bassist Jon M. Romanovic. and is best described as a classic party band.
They boast a cache of
more than two hundred cover songs which includes something for every
taste. It’s all there for the choosing –– from rock and blues, to
country and oldies –– depending on what their audience that night digs
the most.
LaMere has not found
a permanent drummer yet, so he calls upon a few percussive pals when
gigs are booked.
“We’ve got Chris Karp
of The Crawpuppies playing drums with us on some shows when he is
available. Chris is just about the best drummer in Chicagoland.”
LaMere describes his
band as a “let’s get our rocks off” kind of group. Most of their set is
comprised of popular cover songs known to get people up on their feet.
“We may throw a
couple of my originals in, but generally, we keep it to covers when we
do the band gigs. This is just a way for us to jam and have a good
time,” he said.
Those who catch a Bob
LaMere Band performance will hear everything from KISS to Travis Tritt.
“I’m a big fan of all
kinds of music,” he said. A typical B.L.B. will likely include – Lynyrd
Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,”
REO Speedwagon’s “Ridin’ The
Storm Out,”
Travis Tritt’s “Anymore”
and always a few Elvis Presley standards.
Band shows are a
LOT different, than when LaMere performs as a solo acoustic artist.
Those stripped down gigs are done largely to showcase his original
country music, including songs from his self-titled, solo CD.
“I’m more ‘country’
when I do the solo shows, because my songs are more tailored to country,
sort of in the ‘crossover’ vein like Sheryl Crow and John Mellencamp are
doing these days,” he explained. “With the band, we rock a lot.”
LeMere is a jock
turned musician. While in high school, he inherited a like-new guitar
from his elder brother. “He got it for Christmas and never played it,”
said LaMere. While in college LaMere took up drums and banged around
with a “just for fun” garage-type band.
LaMere was getting
serious about music by 1996, when he co-founded
Ramblin’ Hearts, a country band that toured all around the Great Lakes
Region, playing festivals, fairs and clubs. The group released one
original music CD, Heartbreaker, before disbanding in early 1999.
LaMere tried putting
together a few later bands with his Ramblin’ Hearts cohort, Romanovich,
but claimed – “Nothing ever flew from those attempts.” He also spent
the next few years focusing on his two other passions, theatrical stage
work and opening a commercial recording studio. LaMere now owns
Rudger Recording Studios
and a video recording business in his life-long hometown of Crown Point,
Indiana.
“Andrew was a friend
of a friend,” explained LaMere on how he first met his lead guitarist.
“A girl who used to come to Ramblin’ Hearts shows knew Andrew and
introduced us. So I’ve known him for a couple of years, but this is the
first time we’ve played together [in a band].”
LaMere got a call to
open for country superstar John Michael Montgomery at the Star Plaza
Theatre in Fall of 2002. Though Ramblin’ Hearts was long gone, LaMere
quickly assembled and rehearsed with a collective of musical friends.
“I did that show with
Jon, Andrew and Chris [Karp],” recalled LaMere, so that was really the
first performance ever by the Bob LaMere Band, even though we weren’t
even a group [officially] until earlier this year.
In late 2003, LaMere
spent four months on the road with the Nashville touring group, Silver
Town, but ultimately felt the need to re-root himself in the region.
Upon returning, he formed this band which now plays out an average of
3-4 times a month.
LaMere’s solo CD and
his Ramblin’ Heart CD are both available for purchase on his website ––
http://boblamere.tripod.com
–– which also features a personal bio, BLB gig schedules, newspaper
clippings, and downloadable music and video files from LaMere’s various
projects.
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