That powder keg is set to go off at 9 p.m. Dec. 28 at the Genetti Hotel Ballroom where Price will join the Nighthawks to help kick off New Year’s eve weekend with a bang.
According to Nighthawks founder, harmonica player and vocalist Mark Wenner, The Nighthawks will start the show with a short set, then do two more sets with Price and his keyboard player Jimmy Britton sitting in.
The ‘Hawks and Price collectively bring more than 60 years of road-tested experience to the stage and are among the most respected performers in American roots music.
“(Both Price and The Nighthawks) have accomplished so much in the last 30 years, and they are still a presence in the market today,” event promoter Fred Daniele said.
Price, who makes his home in Pittsburgh, has for three decades been among the top soul belters on the east coast.
The Nighthawks, who were founded in 1972 in Washington, D.C., by Wenner and guitarist Jimmy Thackery, helped define the blues-rock genre embraced by George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers and the Fabulous Thunderbirds.
Wenner, a graduate of Columbia University, had returned to the D.C. area with the intention of forming a blues band. He hooked up with Thackery, with whom he shared a love for electric Chicago blues typified by legends such as Little Walter, Muddy Waters, Junior Wells and Buddy Guy. They formed a band and called themselves The Nighthawks in tribute to bluesman Robert Nighthawk.
The band went through several rhythm section variations before settling in with bassist Jan Zukowski and drummer Pete Ragusa.
With that four-piece lineup, the ‘Hawks became the ultimate road warriors, criss-crossing the country, playing nearly every night of the year, and developing as solid fan base throughout the U.S., Europe and Japan.
The band became popular as a must-see live act, though Wenner describes the band’s recording history — which totals more than 25 albums, counting several Wenner solo releases and collaborations with other artists — as “whacked.”
For example, just after “Hard Living” (1986) was released, Thackery quit the band. On the heels of “Pain and Paradise” (1984), the record company went out of business.
“Jacks and Kings” was a “surprise runaway” released just in time for a resurging interest in the blues, Wenner said.
Although they’ve gone through a number of lineup changes — Wenner and Ragusa are the only members left from the early days — the present-day Nighthawks are still able to line ‘em up and knock ‘em down.
That is evident in a gig the band played here last year at the Sons of Italy lodge. Wenner, Ragusa and relative newcomers bassist-vocalist Johnny Castle and guitarist-vocalist Paul Bell showed a packed house why they may be the best Nighthawks lineup ever.
“Paul and Johnny — they’re hotter than a pistol,” Wenner said. “They’ve brought new life to the band.”
Bell and Castle are featured on “Blue Moon in Your Eye,” a live recording the band made at Wolf Trap in Vienna, Va., in 2005.
The album showcases The Nighthawks diversity and the fact that they are much more than a blues band. In addition to the band’s signature rockin’ blues, it features country, rockabilly, soul, straight rock and roll. Wenner, Ragusa and Castle share lead vocals. Bell’s guitar work alternately is hard driving and tasty, while Wenner’s ever-present harmonica — the band’s signature — is fat-toned and vibrant.
The CD, which is accompanied by a DVD of the show, has been selling well, Wenner said.
“It’s been pretty fantastic. We can’t keep them in stock,” he said. “It’s gotten a little XM Radio airplay and seems to be sustaining itself.”
“It’s been about two years (since it was released) and it’s still rolling pretty good,” he said.
The band has been laying down tracks for “an as yet unnamed” studio album.
“We’re going to have some unplugged stuff on this album,” Wenner said. “We’ll bring out the upright bass and dobro. It’s really pretty neat.”
Although the popularity of blues music ebbs and flows, Wenner said The Night- hawks have the advantage of a solid base that keeps them working pretty steadily.
“We’re lucky because we have a history,” he said. “We play biker events and places we’ve played once or twice a year for 30 years.”
“It’s cooking. It’s happening. Things have been good for us when it’s not been so good in the blues world in general,” he said.
Over the years, The Nighthawks have shared the stage with some of the blues greatest legends, including Muddy Waters, James Cotton, Paul Butterfield, Hubert Sumlin and Freddy King.
It was in 1973 during a gig in which they opened up for another legend — guitarist Roy Buchanan — that The Nighthawks became friends with one William Pollak, who is better known in these parts and beyond as Billy Price.
At the time, Price was the lead vocalist in Buchanan’s band. (He appeared on two Buchanan albums before forming his own band the Rhythm Kings.)
Wenner said he was “knocked out” by the way that Price, a white kid, could belt out blues and soul.
The ‘Hawks and Price became friends. After Price went off to form his own band, the band’s traded home venues, which allowed each to gain a foothold in new territory.
The Rhythm Kings’ horn section sat in on the ‘Hawks’ “Side Pocket Shot” album.
Over the years, Price has developed a large following in the Williamsport area, so much so that two years ago he headlined the Billtown Blues Festival.
To call Price as a blue-eyed soul singer does not come close to defining him. He doesn’t just sing — he bears witness and testifies.
My favorite Billy Price song, Otis Clay’s “Nickle and a Nail” from the live album “Sworn Testimony,” should be required listening for aspiring tent meeting evangelists.
According to Daniele, seeing Price and The Nighthawks together on one stage is a rare opportunity that should not be missed.
“It’s going to be a collaboration of two of the greatest blues bands in modern blues history,” Daniele said.
Wenner put it in slightly more earthy terms.
“We’ll be kickin’ ass,” he said. “Then Billy will come out and take names.”
Tickets are $25. Advance tickets may be bought at Francos Restaurant and Lounge, 12 W. Fourth St., and the Genetti Hotel, 200 W. Fourth St.
