Peter Santilli (top left) and Carl Brenner; Steve Mitchell (bottom left) and John Grove
Carl and the Passions are ready to wow you with some good old rock 'n' roll.
You probably won't recognize the name but chances are good you'll recognize the sound. Band members Carl Brenner, John Grove, Peter Santilli (alias the Rev. Raynard Colt) and Steve Mitchell played together from 1978 to 1983 under the name Aloha. Santilli and Mitchell also played in a band called Rocky Rat Revue.
This new band, Carl and the Passions, can be heard at 9:30 p.m. Saturday at the Cavalcade, 4109 Fortino.
Although they've been apart for almost 10 years, the four musicians decided to get together again for limited engagements, Grove said. "Not every weekend, just for special occasions. Maybe one, two nights a month. We want to keep the quality high and, I want to stress this, to enjoy ourselves and have fun."
Aloha broke up "mainly for lack of direction," Grove said, but the chemistry between the players wouldn't let them stay apart forever. "We enjoy it a lot — there's some real magic between the four of us. I've been in 33 bands and this one is just special."
Grove promised audiences "a totally original show — like they would have seen 10 years ago when we were playing as Aloha." And he promised a treat in Santilli's piano playing. "There are not many piano players floating around like Peter Santilli. He's just great!"
Rather than label their music "oldies," Grove said he prefers to call it "music that is valid —it's withstood the test of time. There are no oldies just for the sake of oldies, to fill in the gaps." MDRV — Mary Jean Porter