Rockin' the Regatta

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REGATTA SCHEDULE

(Water Street closed from Washington to Jay streets 6 p.m. today-6 p.m. Tuesday)

SATURDAY

10 a.m. (tentative) - Opening ceremonies. Boat racing starts; midway and arts and crafts area open.

11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. - 15th Annual Bear Bash

11 a.m.-noon - Country line dance group Dancin' Boots

Noon-1:15 p.m. - Kids Talent Show

1:15-1:30 p.m. - Prize give-aways

1:30 -2:30 p.m. - The Corral

2:45-3:45 p.m. - Bear-E-Oke

3:45-4 p.m. - Prize give-aways

4-5 p.m.-Ridin' Shotgun

5-5:15 p.m. - Prize give-aways

5:15-6:15 p.m. - Corrine King

6:15-6:30 p.m. - Prize give-aways

6:30-8:15 p.m. - Sweetbriars

8:15-8:30 p.m. - Prize give-aways

8:30-9:30 p.m. -- Rich Schlesinger

SUNDAY

10 a.m. - Boat races start

11 a.m.-10:30 p.m. - Midway and arts and crafts area open

Noon (tentative) - Dash for Cash

1-4 p.m. - Lead Foot

4-6 p.m.- Dead Horse at the beer tent

4:30-6:30 p.m.- Phil Reeder

7-10 p.m. - Johnny Jolin Band, sponsored by Froggy 101, State College

10:30 p.m. - Fireworks, co-sponsored by the Lock Haven Sons of Italy and Clinton County

MONDAY

8 a.m.-2 p.m. - Boat races

11 a.m.-10 p.m. - Midway and arts and crafts area open

2-10 p.m. - Entertainment sponsored by 92.1 The Mountain

2-3 p.m. - Zero Hero

3:30-4:30 p.m. - Kwitchurbitchin'

5-6 p.m. - Face Down

6:30-7:30 p.m. - Snug

7:30-10 p.m. - Hybrid Ice on the city's floating stage

Back by popular demand, Hybrid Ice will perform on the floating stage as part of the Lock Haven Jaycees' Labor Day Regatta on Monday beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Going back to the early 1970s, Hybrid Ice first came together as a couple of high school kids from Danville looking to jam. When it was time to name the band, drummer Rick Klinger came up with the name "Hybrid Ice" after encountering the name in a Reader's Digest magazine.

According to the band biography on its Web site, Klinger had actually read "Harbor Ice," and had made a mistake in the translation. Either name had no real meaning, although fans have been trying to make sense of it for years.

As the 1970s wore on, Hybrid Ice brought together a unique combination of players-Galen (Rusty) Foulke (guitar, vocals), Chris Alburger (guitar, vocals), Jeff Willoughby (bass, vocals), Rick Klinger (drums, vocals) and Robert Richardson (keyboard, vocals).

They blend an unparalleled mix of vocal abilities while performing intricate instrumentals on their respective instruments of choice.

Hybrid Ice first came to Lock Haven in 1977, playing at a bar called Assante's (later Avenue Cafe) on Bellefonte Avenue. They covered many popular songs of the time period, putting emphasis on more challenging progressive-rock songs. It was the norm for the audience to hear covers from Kansas, Styx, Boston, Journey, Queen and Yes on any given evening.

Locals describe the scene at Assante's in the early to mid 1980s as the place to be in Lock Haven on a Saturday night. The chairs were always empty and the dance floor packed-elbow to elbow, with sweaty bodies bouncing to their favorite songs. Clouds of smoke would slowly rise in the thick, pulsating air as the bass from an amplifier would thump in the dancers' chest.

Paul Mahoney, former owner of Assante's, said that Hybrid Ice was "the best band he ever had there." A simple sign on the door was all the promotion it took to sell tickets, which would bring "350-400 people" into the 250-seat capacity club.

Mahoney said the crowd really took notice when Richardson joined the band for their second gig at Assante's.

"Bob went to Bucktail Area High School, so he drew a lot of people."

"I remember we played there and it was OK, but then we went out on the road, and came back... it was nuts," Richardson recalled. "There were people sitting on the floor, it was like whoa... something changed... you couldn't move."

Hybrid Ice provided much more than entertainment on those nights at Assante's- they played the background music behind many people's lives. For those who were there, certain songs bring back memories of new love and the passion that goes with it, as well as happy times shared with friends. Each song, whether it be a cover or original, can take the listener back immediately to a time gone by and a life changed.

In 1982, Hybrid Ice released their first self-titled record, which immediately sold out at every outlet across the state. It was almost impossible to get an unsigned band radio airplay, but to their surprise, radio stations discovered their record and began to play the cut "Magdelene."

"It really took off for us when we got a (PR) agency out of Atlanta, Georgia," Richardson remembered, "and then we hit the road, and that's what really changed for us.

"We were playing the college circuit and local clubs around here, but when we got signed with Century Artists, they put us on the road and put us on the test of how many days can you play in a row before you die."

"We played 27 nights in a row," Foulke said, "We were young; we could do that."

"When we came back, that really made a difference for us," Richardson said. "You know, you get really good when you play every night."

Their immense popularity and masterful live performances enabled them to open for many popular bands of the time, including Hall and Oates, Kansas, Foreigner, Bad Company, Joan Jett, Toto and Todd Rundgren among others.

Foulke remembered the night they opened for Hall and Oates.

"The best part was when we came in two limos. They were ahead of us in their limo, and we came in our limo. There were so many people crammed in our limo that it was dragging on the bottom, and there were sparks coming off. They were getting out of their car and looking back and there were 12 people coming out of our limo. We got a big kick out of that."

Richardson remembered the massive crowds at the Baltimore Civic Center, "Wow... it's a whole different experience... 15,000 people screaming!"

Even though the band was receiving all of these wonderful opportunities and massive exposure through these major acts, they were never offered a recording contract.

"We always had contacts with record companies and managers, but there was just never the deal," Richardson said.

"It's all about timing, and it just never really happened for us. It should have and never did."

"Yeah, but at the same time, you show me any one of those major acts, and I'll name them-Chicago, Styx, Kansas, Boston-who, right now, tonight, have all five of their original members," Foulke chimed in.

"Boston is a great example," Richardson responded. "How many record companies passed on them? Every one of them passed on Boston... when they had that first album which was a huge hit!"

In the 1990s show attendance started to wane, and some band members left, needing to find other means to make a living. New singers and players took their places, but no one seemed to stick around very long. Eventually, the band was playing less and less, compared to just a few years before when they were playing once a week. A show in July of 1998 was their last one.

Two years later they noticed a demand for their first two LPs on CD format through eBay.

"It (reuniting) was all because we wanted to re-release our records on CD. Everybody else was selling them on eBay, we figured we may as well cash in and make money off of our own product," Richardson said.

Hybrid Ice decided to release them on CD in 2000, which ultimately led to a few reunion shows.

"These guys said, 'Hey, do you want to do a couple of reunion shows?' Alburger remembered. "I said, 'Sure, why not?' So we went in, tried it, and it's amazing the stuff you remember from 10 years ago. It just all came back! We were just going to do one or two shows to see what happened, and the people just kept coming out, so we said, 'I guess we'll just keep doing it!'"

Hybrid Ice reunited on the floating stage in Lock Haven for the first time in 2006 and played on the Jaycees stage during the regatta in 2006. Last year, the band performed on the floating stage twice, in Julyand again for the Labor Day Regatta.

The band just played on the floating stage again last month to an overflowing crowd.

"What was really weird for me was, the first time we played here, we didn't know," Klinger said. "We just kind of showed up; we had a job to play. We didn't realize that thousands of people would show up. It just really took us back."

Hybrid Ice is currently in the studio working on a new album. They hope to have it released in time for Christmas.

"We're in Bob's studio right now recording," Klinger said. "We have 11 new songs that are over halfway done."

"Our new record is so good that we're even going to play it," Foulke exclaimed.

"That will be fun to revamp all three records into a show. We're looking forward to that," Richardson said.

All band members agreed that hearing The Beatles on the radio when they were children was a huge influence.

"I knew the first time I wanted to play rock and roll was when I heard 'I Saw Her Standing There' by the Beatles on the radio when I was in elementary school," Alburger remembers. "I said, 'That's what I want to do for the rest of my life. That was it.'"

The enthusiasm evident as the band members talk about their music comes through even more strongly when they're playing for an audience.

When they performed on the floating stage this past July all band members worked the crowd, each one taking a turn throughout the evening to sing lead, change instruments, prance on the cat walk, and dance on the stage.

"We always had the attitude that people don't just come to hear us, they come to see us and to be entertained," Richardson said. "The more you can get the crowd interactionwe feed off each other and it really, really works."

Their initial motivation for playing has not gone away. The love and power of music has driven them to achieve many dreams in the last 30 years.

"It's in your blood, and it stays there," Alburger said.

Catch Hybrid Ice perform on the floating stage this Monday night, as they close the Labor Day Regatta and rock the amphitheatre, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

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A full review of Hybrid Ice's concert on Monday night can be found on Jacqueline Plessinger's blog at www.lockhaven.com.