THE BUOYS
GROUP MEMBERS: Bill Kelly (lead vocals, guitar), Jerry G. Hludzik (bass, vocals), Chris Hanlon (guitar), Fran Brozena (keyboards) and Carl Siracuse (drums).
BUOYS ALBUM DISCOGRAPHY: "Timothy" (Scepter, 1971); "Golden Classics" (Collectables, 1993).
HEAR HERE: Listen to Casey Kasem introduce the Top 40 entry of "Timothy" on April 11, 1971.
JERRY/KELLY BAND ALBUM DISCOGRAPHY: "Somebody Else's Dream" (Epic, 1978).
DAKOTA ALBUM DISCOGRAPHY: "Dakota" (Columbia, 1980); "Runaway" (MCA, 1984); "Lost Tracks" (1987); "Mr. Lucky" (Escape, 1996); "The Last Man Standing" (1997), "Little Victories" (Dak, 2000), "Three Live Times Ago" (2000); "Deep 6" (2003).
WEB SITE: Hludzik's official Web site
PAUSE & PLAY: First off, how did a then-20-year-old Rupert Holmes find the Buoys in Wilkes-Barre (Pa.)?
HLUDZIK: "Through our manager, Michael Wright. He had a musician friend by the name of Bob O'Connell who was from our area and he made the introduction to Michael, who in turn introduced us to Rupert. Michael and Rupert were friends and decided we would be their guinea pigs. The rest is 'Timothy' folk lore!"
P&P: Why would a record company (Scepter) agree to let a new band record just one song?
HLUDZIK: "Well, we used to sneak into the studio after hours. Michael had the keys to the Scepter building at 254 West 54th St. We experimented and recorded till sunrise. When we were ready, they sprung us on Scepter and Michael got a production deal and a couple of bucks. The Buoys were now on Scepter Records with Dionne Warwick and B.J. Thomas. We had a lot in the can, but they thought it was just 'Timothy.' When 'Timothy' took off, they hurried us off the road and rushed us into the studio and re-recorded stuff we had, along with Rupert's new additions to the LP. This became the Buoys' 'Dinner Music' album (later retitled 'Timothy')."
P&P: Knowing that Scepter wasn't going to promote the song, Holmes decided to write one that would get banned and thus gain attention. What was your gut reaction to "Timothy" (about three boys trapped in a mine, one of whom was cannibalized)? Did you think Rupert was nuts?
HLUDZIK: "Everyone thought he was nuts! But looking back, it was kind of genius."
P&P: Was "Timothy" a double-edged sword?
HLUDZIK: "Yes, it really stuck us in a box, but at least we had a box! Looking back on a follow-up hit to 'Tim,' it should have been a song titled 'Bloodknot,' but we fought for 'Give Up Your Guns.' "
P&P: The follow-up song, "Give Up Your Guns," is an overlooked gem. What's your personal favorite among the Buoys songs?
HLUDZIK: "I must say 'Guns' was my favorite. It was a bold and probably stupid move as a follow-up to 'Tim,' but its sound was just a few years too early for what was to come."
P&P: Will the unreleased Polydor album (from 1972) ever see the light of a CD day?
HLUDZIK: "Could be I have it! Polydor released a few singles, but never released the LP. They were pissed off we delivered an album without any Rupert songs. He, however, produced it. Rupert, to his credit, was trying to let myself, Kelly and Fran, who were the writers, show our stuff and get recognized, but it failed to impress the big wigs."
P&P: What has become of your Buoys band mates?
HLUDZIK: "Fran, Chris and Carl all still live in northeast Pennsylvania and until recently did a few reunion concerts over the years, but I think their half of the band is done. Kelly lives in Tennessee. We've been mostly estranged for the last 25 years ... BUT ... we started to speak again, baby steps, about a possible get-together. And now on the 15th of this month, I'm headed to Nashville to see if we still got it!! We've been offered a Fourth of July show , Dakota unplugged at a music festival in the Pennsylvania Poconos. Lots of cash, hard to turn down. Stay tuned ... film @ 11."
P&P: Tell us about your post-Buoys career. Dakota, in particular, was a feather in your cap.
HLUDZIK: "Well, Kelly and I left the Buoys in 1977 to pursue a new direction. A year later, we were paired with Chicago's drummer, Danny Seraphine, and Rufus keyboard player Hawk Wolinski producing our debut Jerry/Kelly LP on CBS Epic in 1978. This led to a name and label change two years later CBS Columbia released our self-titled LP in 1980, and Dakota we became. That same summer, we were the support act for the band Queen on their USA 'Game' tour. In the years to come, we shared the stage with too many to mention. In 1984, we moved to MCA Records and released the 'Runaway' LP and toured until we dropped. In 1987, we called it quits. Kelly and I went separate ways, not to record together again until 2003. He sang backup on Dakota's latest 'Deep 6,' as well as Bill Champlin from Chicago. Ten years after we split, we got an offer in Europe to record another album, so we did that. Minus Kelly, a total of four CDs were released since then for Europe and Japan. The new lineup is Jon Lorrance (guitar), Eli Hludzik (drums), Rick Manwiller (keyboards, vocals) and myself on bass and vocals."
P&P: What's on your musical plate these days?
HLUDZIK: "At the moment, a few production projects, one of which is a girl named Katie that is a few ticks away from signing a management deal with Vanessa Carlton's father. Watch for a song called 'Listen to Me.' "
P&P: Out-of-left-field question: Osama bin Laden - dead or alive?
HLUDZIK: "Dead as a door nail! Kidney failure."
P&P: What was the first record you ever bought?
HLUDZIK: " 'Meet the Beatles.' It changed my life."
P&P: What was the first concert you ever went to?
HLUDZIK: "Hard to say. Even at 14, pre-Buoys, I was in bands opening for major acts like the Small Faces with Mr. Stewart."
P&P: What's the worst job you've ever had?
HLUDZIK: "I've never had another job not music-related. This was, is and always will be the road I travel."
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