Echoes from the Past
Echo Park performs Tommy May 1-2

By Frank Ruggiero

From “Overture” to “Underture,” perennial Boone band Echo Park is bringing The Who’s classic rock opera, Tommy, to the Valborg Theater May 1 and 2.

The 1969 concept album, composed primarily by guitarist Pete Townshend, is considered the first rock opera, telling the story of Tommy, a “deaf, dumb and blind” boy, and the tragic, cruel and ultimately enlightening encounters that fill his life.

Inspired by The Who’s live performance of Tommy in 1989, in which guest artists performed the opera’s various roles, Echo Park plans to bring some local flair to the production.

“We thought we could do that here, because we have enough local artists to make it work,” said Rusty Blanton, guitarist and backup vocalist, who also plays the role of Cousin Kevin.

For instance, Becca Eggers-Gryder is stepping out of bluegrass favorite Amantha Mill to play Tommy’s mother, while bluesy rocker Melissa Reaves assumes the role of the Acid Queen.

“Patti LaBelle and Tina Turner don’t have anything on her,” lead vocalist and keyboardist Bob Rochelle said of Reaves, referring to some of the role’s more popular incarnations.

Rochelle plays the role of Tommy, while Billy Ralph Winkler, county commissioner and former high school band teacher, plays Tommy’s mother’s lover.

“Tommy was one of the albums I grew up listening to,” Blanton said. “We’re all big fans of The Who, and we just wanted a good excuse to play a big concert in a nice hall.”

The hall comes courtesy of Appalachian State University, the concert from the Watauga Arts Council, which will benefit from ticket sales. Echo Park has a rich history with the arts council, having performed regularly during the summer Concerts on the Lawn series at the Jones House.

Named after the Blowing Rock neighborhood, Echo Park has grown alongside its home community. In the fall of 1979, Echo Park the band was established, featuring Blanton, guitarist Kyle Graham, drummer Mark Williams and bassist Bill Fisher, the local television personality known commonly as Fish. Rochelle joined the band in 1988, after Graham and Williams moved to pursue different careers, leaving a core trio to carry Echo Park into the 1990s.

Easily likened to the progressive rock sounds of Yes and Rush, Echo Park also combines the harder edge of bands like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. But this changed after a concert mishap in the early ’90s, when the band’s drummer fell suddenly ill and could not perform. This left Blanton, Rochelle and Fisher in a predicament.

“We were just trying to come up with something, and we started this whole acoustic set,” Blanton said.

This led to an acoustic era for Echo Park, though members continued the search for a new drummer, eventually finding one in Blanton’s family tree. At the age of 13, Blanton’s son, Jamie, joined the group, and Echo Park returned to their progressive roots.

The foursome played with various keyboardists until 2007, when Steve Roark, who had played with Echo Park in the ’90s, returned to Boone.

“So, the band is fully back,” Blanton said. “The first night after Steve came back, playing together felt just like home.”

“We fell right back into it like we didn’t miss a beat – or measure,” Rochelle added. “The older I get, the more I appreciate the band, the type of music we play and the camaraderie we have among us.”

Like so, Rochelle said the group is eager to perform Tommy, calling this particular effort a rebirth of Echo Park and its music, though passersby during band rehearsals also seem excited.

“We had a student show up when we were practicing with the window open,” Rochelle said. “This guy was just standing there, and said, ‘You guys are awesome.’”

Cherry Johnson, executive director of the Watauga Arts Council, said Echo Park’s performance of Tommy demonstrates the council’s diversity in programming, from classical to traditional to The Who.

“We wanted to inject some rock into the Watauga Arts Council,” Blanton said.

“And this will help us maintain the level of programming we give to the community,” Johnson said.

Tommy will be performed Friday and Saturday, May 1 and 2, at the Valborg Theater on the ASU campus, beginning at 7:30 p.m. each night. The Watauga Arts Council is selling a limited number of tickets for seating in the first six rows. Tickets can be purchased online at www.watauga-arts.org, by phone at (828) 264-1789, or at the Jones House Community Center, located at 604 W. King St. in downtown Boone.

Additional tickets are available through the Valborg Theater box office.

Tickets cost $15 for adults and $12 for students, with $10 of the cost considered a tax-deductible donation.

For more information, call the Watauga Arts Council at (828) 264-1789.

Echo Park CD

Though it took a few decades, Echo Park has also released its debut album, Echo Park. A CD release party will be held at Geno’s Restaurant & Sports Lounge in Boone on Friday, May 8, at 8 p.m. Admission is $5.

For more information on Echo Park, or to purchase the CD, visit www.echoparkband.com on the Web.