Arts & Entertainment
Locomotion Still Groovin' After All These Years
Four Berlin High School classmates started the band and remain the core of the horn-driven sound.
Four former Berlin High School band buddies formed a band called Locomotion in 1987. It started out just for fun but turned into a profitable and professional gig for many of them.
Chris Urso and his brother Sal, and Gary Pajor and made up the original line-up with a few others. Berlin native Jim Schribert joined soon after. They have remained in the band despite demanding day jobs like, oh let's see...Sal is the Principal of Willard Elementary School.
Berlin Patch sat down with the original members and conducted a question and answer as they reflect on their years playing together.
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Locomotion has played in Berlin lots of times but they are excited to be playing twice in a month in their hometown. They will play April 15 at the Hawthorne Inn and again May 14 at the Lions Club Annual Beer and Wine Tasting at the Berlin Fairgrounds.
Q: Tell me about how you guys formed. Is there a funny story behind it or did you just think it was a natural thing since you were all in the BHS band together?
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A: First of all, just four of us in the band are from and grew up in Berlin, attending Berlin schools from elementary school to McGee Middle School to Berlin High School: Chris Urso - saxophones, Sal Urso - trombone, Gary Pajor - drums, Jim Schribert - guitar.
The initial core of the band was guys with whom Chris worked at his corporate day job at the time, guys who had a strong interest in forming a Connecticut-based rhythm and blues dance party band with a full horn section. Over the years, the music became much more diverse to include funk, rock, pop, disco, and swing, but the overall instrumentation has remained the same to this day: Full horn section, two lead vocalists (male and female), and rhythm section.
Q: How did you come up with the name?
A: It came up during a "band name" brainstorming session early on. We wanted a name that communicated "good times," "movement," and "energy." The name "Locomotion" seemed to fit the bill nicely.
Q: What was the first gig and how did it go?
A: The first gigs were mainly backyard picnics and parties of friends from Chris's work at the time. Early on, it was funny because we didn't have a lot of material so we ended up playing many tunes several times to get three sets of music out for the gig.
Q: Have you had any terrible experiences, and what have been some of the highlights?
We played a private party outdoors many years ago in Glastonbury, for a friend of our former bass player. We battled small swarms of yellow jackets while playing, getting stung a few times in the process; later, the sky opened up and we got drenched in a massive downpour of rain, forcing us to end early.
Several years ago we played a New Years Eve gig in Simsbury. After returning home, half the band got sick at like 3 a.m., most likely from food poisoning from the meal they served us at the gig.
Finally, the very first time we played at Foxwoods, we all traveled to Ledyard, in a blizzard only to find out they canceled the show when we arrived.
Highlights include the shows we played in recognition of winning the Hartford Advocate's Grand Band Slam for several years, and the "Best of Connecticut" celebration in 2003 in which Connecticut Magazine named us "Best Band in Connecticut."
We've also been honored to perform at many black-tie affairs including the Inaugural Ball for former Hartford mayor Mike Peters, and fundraisers for the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Arthritis Foundation, Relay For Life, and a couple of years ago for the Mohegan Sun Federal Tribal Recognition Gala.
Q: Did you think you'd still be doing this 24 years later?
A: Back when we started, it was anyone's guess how long we'd be together as a band. Individually, all of us pretty much thought we'd be playing in some way, shape, or form. But to think Locomotion would still be together and playing after almost a quarter of a century is not something we thought about back in the day.
Q: You have had some changes in singers and other musicians, have you ever thought, this is it?
A: The horn section - Chris, Sal, and Mark - and drummer - Gary - are the original members, but there have indeed been quite a few personnel changes over the years. And anytime changes are made it takes a lot of time and effort to get a new member up to speed in this group. In some cases, sure, it would have been easier to just pack it in but at the end of the day we've always had stronger feelings to keep the band going.
Q: Describe a gig to someone who has never seen you guys play.
A: A nine-piece high energy dance band with full horn section that encompasses both an audio and visual show, playing R&B, funk, pop, rock, and swing from the 60's right up through today.
Q: Are you looking forward to playing two Berlin dates?
A: Yes, it's always great to play for the hometown crowd! We're really looking forward to the show on April 15 at The Hawthorne Inn. And the Berlin Lions Wine Tasting on May 14 at the fairgrounds is sure to be great.
Q: What is the farthest you have traveled to play
A: We played a wedding a few summers back on eastern Long Island, NY. We took the ferry from New London to the island, played the wedding, spent the night, and returned the following day. We've also played in Lenox and Worcester, MA, and Newport, RI.
Q: Favorite place to play?
A: Any place where you won't gained rained out or stung by bees or eat contaminated food! Seriously though, professional venues where national acts perform are cool, like the Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun. Banquet and meeting events at venues like the Aqua Turf and the Connecticut Convention Center are always a treat, and family-oriented shows like municipal summer "Concerts on the Green" and the Band Shell at Walnut Hill Park, New Britain, CT are always a blast.
Q: Any brushes with greatness, opening for someone more famous than yourselves
A: In the late 80's, we played the Waterbury Arts Festival, opening for the headliner Orleans, the pop rock group that had huge hits with "Dance With Me," "Love Takes Time," and "Still The One."We played a private event for NFL quarterback Steve Young, and shared the stage at fund raiser events with Chris Berman of ESPN, UConn Women's Basketball coach Geno Auriemma, and former Connecticut Attorney General and now U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal.
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