A Step Back In Time...Rob Carlton Band

A Step Back In Time...Rob Carlton Band



By PETE PAPPALARDO

For the Pocono Record
October 03, 2008

Joe Bouchard, one of the original members of the classic rock group Blue Oyster Cult, will appear at the Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg today along with the Rob Carlton Band, performing rock originals.

"Blue Oyster Cult will probably be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame pretty soon. They're the ones that played 'Don't Fear the Reaper' and 'Godzilla,' which they used on the Autotrader TV commercials," said Rob Carlton.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Joe Bouchard Band; opening act, the Rob Carlton Band
WHEN: 8 p.m. today
WHERE: Sherman Theater, 524 Main St., Stroudsburg
TICKETS: $15
INFORMATION: (570) 420-2808

WEB SITES: http://www.shermantheater.com/ , http://www.blueoystercult.com/  and http://www.joebouchard.com/

Carlton, an East Stroudsburg resident, first met Bouchard while he was working on a CD at the Boogie Hotel, a recording studio in New York City. Carlton and his band, Empyre, were recording there in the '90s at the same time as many of the household names of rock were using the studios.

"We had a band in the '90s, and we were looking to get something done. We wound up at the Boogie Hotel. Springsteen played there, and Foghat, lots of others. Joe (Bouchard) used the studio, too, and he was looking to produce some bands. He called and said he wanted to produce us. We did a CD and played the tri-state area, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania," Carlton said, adding that his band opened for Blue Oyster Cult a number of times during that period and has since worked with Cinderella and other national rock acts.

Blue Oyster Cult, who once toured with Black Sabbath, AC/DC and Led Zeppelin, has continued performing, having undergone numerous changes in personnel since its inception with Joe and Albert Bouchard on bass and drums. Most of the original members are either still in that group or are pursuing careers in music that run the gamut from producing and studio recording to teaching and publishing music and instructional books.

Bouchard spends considerable time composing and arranging, and has recently appeared with other members of BOC, Guns and Roses and other current rock musicians.

Carlton is also a composer and long-time member of the American Society of Composers, Arrangers and Composers.

"It's kinda cool to be playing with local musicians; it gives the music a little something extra. When we write songs, everybody brings something to the table; it all goes around and everybody has input; the drummer might say he wants to do something here, or the bass player something there. It's collaborative," Carlton said.

Carlton's bandmates are Freddy Wales on guitar and vocals, Rubin Ariola on percussion and vocals, Scott Valentine on bass and Donovan O'Brien on lead vocals. Carlton said that Ariola's roots as a jazz and Latin percussionist add a different dimension from the standard rock-'n'-roll drumming, and Wales and he take turns with leads and back-up during the guitar breaks to give the band variety in sound.

Carlton has played with Robin Trower, has been cited in Guitar Player magazine and Guitar World and also has numerous endorsements from GHS strings, Spectre-flex cables. He was also named "Guitar World Home Town Hero" in the '90s, and his music is often played in the international markets of Europe and Japan.

The Rob Carlton Band has produced a three-song EP available through MySpace, and has continued working on a CD Carlton hopes will be out before the end of the year.

"We've been working with Sound Line Studios in Canadensis, where we did the first three songs. We have tracks on two more and hope to add another five before the end of the year," Carlton said, adding that the recordings have generated interest at the national level that may make an independent production using Disc Makers or Oasis unnecessary.


"With some of the interest we've been getting, we may not have to put it out ourselves," he said.