Hogwild Band Bio
In the cold bitter weather of January, 1980, guitarist Buck Secrist and drummer Kerry Calahan were searching for a bassist and another guitarist to put together a rock band. As it happened, guitarist Tony Phipps and bassist Dave Janes were looking for a guitarist and a drummer. In stepped mutual friend Dan Fraley who set up the meeting between the four musicians, they hit it off and Hogwild was born.
The four began working up a song list (Van Halen, AC/DC, Triumph, Bad Company, David Bowie) and soon decided that to play all the music they wanted (Styx, Foreigner, REO, The Who, Pink Floyd) they would need a talented keyboard player. In those days, without the aid of the Internet, finding capable players was much more difficult. Hogwild put up notices in local music stores announcing that they were auditioning keyboardists. Fortunately for Hogwild, one of the first to answer the ad was one Barry Elliott who was told that if he wasn't the“Real Deal”, not to bother to show up and waste their time. So Barry practiced real hard and passed the audition with flying colors.
Hogwild started out like most bands, playing the dives (Dragon’s Lair, Gus’s Place) but as time went on they honed their craft and eventually signed with Ajaye, the premier booking agency in Cincinnati. Ajaye convinced Hogwild that in order to play more and better places, they needed to play more “commercially accessible” cover tunes. So they ditched the Uriah Heep and Mott The Hoople tunes and went with Loverboy, Springsteen and the Babys. The agency also recommended that they shave off their moustaches. Barry, Kerry, and Tony complied, but being the rebels they were, Dave and Buck refused. 25 years later and they still haven’t. But Ajaye did get Hogwild better paying gigs plus they had the ones they booked themselves so the band stayed busy from 1981 through 1983. They did lots of high school dances and UC and Miami frat parties thrown in with the bar gigs at places like The King of Clubs and Stoney’s.
In August of 1982, Tony and Dave had actually written some songs and convinced the others to find a studio. Unfortunately, Alpha wasn’t the best studio in town, but it was cheap and they got the 3 songs (”Heartache”, “Fantasy Fair”, and “The Laborer”) recorded for posterity.
Sometime in 1983, someone decided that Hogwild sounded too much like a Southern Fried rock band so they changed the name to Hotshot. With the name change came a change in booking agencies. Ajaye had moved away from booking local bands, so Hotshot went with Oasis. Things were going good, but then Kerry decided that at 33 he was too old to rock and roll and gave his notice.
In December of 1983, Kerry was replaced by drummer Dan “Doc” Collins and Hotshot rolled on until April of 1984. It was then when the band got the news that Buck had to leave. He’d been offered a “Too Good I Can’t Turn It Down” job. It was a second shift position with rotating days off which meant he couldn’t play gigs at night. He also had a couple young sons at home he’d like to spend time with during the day since he’d be gone most nights. Buck was such an integral part of the band, no one wanted to continue without him so the band unfortunately had to break up.
While Buck was out of the music scene, the other former members of Hogwild/Hotshot wandered off in separate directions and other bands. Doc ended up in Relics, Dave and Barry formed The Urge, and Tony decided to seek his fortune back home in Monterey, Tennessee. By the time the Nineties rolled around Buck’s good friend, guitarist Billy Ball had started up his own rock band with 18 year old drummer Dave “Thumper” McCartt and named it Cutthroat Alley. Cutthroat Alley played out a lot, (54 weekends in a row at one point) and for a time had Fred Daniel (formerly of Relics) as their lead singer. By 2000, Buck had acquired enough seniority to get off the night shift so he teamed up with Billy and formed Ball Four with drummer Larry Holtzmeister and bassist Mike Belperio. Ball Four had fun and played as much as they wanted to until the untimely deaths of Larry and then Mike. Saddened but undaunted, Buck and Billy went searching for a new rhythm section. Billy wanted Thumper but he thought he was already in a band but he wasn’t. So after a year they got that all straightened out so Buck , Billy and Thumper enlisted the services of bassist Tim (T Bone) Tuttle and Sea Of Glass was born.
In 2007, Buck got the idea that a Hogwild Reunion gig would be a blast. He talked to his friends and everybody agreed and said they would definitely attend the event. He phoned Dave Janes who was still in Leadfoot Johnny and he said he’d love to do it. Dave called Barry Elliott, who’d been retired from playing in bands for 11 years, and he was definitely into a reunion. They tried in vain to locate drummer Kerry Callahan, who was rumored to be living out in Indiana and working for the Park Board. Tony Phipps was contacted in Tennesee but was too busy to make the trip up to Cincinnati. So Buck, Dave and Barry contacted Danny “Doc” Collins, the drummer for Hogwild from December 1983 through April 1984. Doc said he’d be willing to drive up from his home in Corinth, Ky to practice a few times for the gig and that it sounded like a lot of fun. So in September of 2007, rehearsals began for the Hogwild Reunion gig. After 4 or 5 practices they had relearned 25 of the tunes they’d played in 1984. On January 19th, 2008, Hogwild, claiming they just taken a 24 year vacation, played their first gig since April 1984 at Beach’s in the Northbrook area of Cincinnati. It had been anticipated there would be a lot of friends sitting in and playing, thereby filling up the rest of the night after the 25 tunes were done. Unfortunately, cold weather hampered attendance, but the 30 or so who were there enjoyed themselves immensely. Only Billy Ball and Tim Tuttle were there to sit in, but they did a fine job.
After a year had passed, Barry emailed Buck and Dave photos taken the night of the Reunion. The pictures reminded them of how much fun it had been to get back together and play. Buck had the idea that they could do it again, but instead of just playing tunes they’d done in 1984, maybe they could learn songs they’d NEVER done before but always wanted to. Dave and Barry were excited about the idea, but Doc was busy playing in his son’s blues band. After rehearsing with another drummer that turned out to be also busy in other bands, Buck had yet another great idea. As it was, he was in two bands, Sea of Glass and Hogwild. Why not MERGE them together? So Buck called Billy Ball and Thumper of Sea Of Glass and asked them how they would feel about joining Hogwild with Dave and Barry. They were pumped, as were Dave and Barry. And so the new Hogwild was born. In November of 2009, weekly rehearsals began with the new lineup and everything started gelling right away. Dave was so happy he decided to leave Leadfoot Johnny after 14 years. Enthusiasm remains high so if you want to be a part of it, come on out and party with Hogwild at some of their shows. If you are into the music of Kings Of Leon, Pink Floyd, Stone Temple Pilots, Bad Company, the Allman Brothers, The Who, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Journey, Styx, Kansas, Romantics, Van Halen, Europe, Lit, Jimi Hendrix, Sammy Hagar, Bon Jovi, Judas Priest, Don Henley, Foreigner, Cheap Trick, Billy Idol, Prince, Def Lepperd & Ozzy Osbourne you’re gonna love this band!
Dave Janes - Bass and vocals
Whassup? I'm Dave Janes, the bass player. After reading other website bios, I decided I liked the first person idea so I'm gonna apply it to my page, so here goes. I fell to earth September 11, 1952. I was transported to Mason early in my young life in a '52 Lincoln. At 14, I desperately wanted to play the drums so my dad drove me to a Hamilton, Ohio pawn shop & bought me a $100 set of drums. Upon discovering that all my friends played either drums or guitar, a voice in my head told me that in order to be in a "real" band with my friends, I would have to play BASS guitar. So my dad and I drove back to that Hamilton pawn shop & traded the drums for a Dixon bass.
Then, a series of different bands (i.e: Turtle Creek Express, Buttermilk, Blueberry Buttermilk, Sewer) followed. I know the names may sound odd, but it WAS the late 60s. The highlight of these years was when Buttermilk and then Sewer actually played some WSAI dances down closer to the BIG city of Cincinnati and we actually heard our band's name advertised ON THE RADIO. After high school, college and a short -lived marriage, I drifted from band to band trying to "Make It". I started with Ambush, then Tangent, then Blackhawk, then Watchtower, then Punch (who received a Honorable Mention, but didn't make it onto WEBN's Album Project in 1979).
After finding myself a great woman, I guess I finally found some measure of success (meaning mo' money) with Hogwild in the early Eighties playing high school dances, frat parties, clubs and even an occasional prom. But by '84, lead guitarist Buck Secrist left to become a bus driver and Hogwild broke up. After my short stint with Brigadoon, Hogwild keyboardist Barry Elliot and I formed The Urge and we enjoyed a busy and fairly profitable 3 years. By '88, the band called it quits and I struggled to put another bar band together. First, Phoenixx fizzled and then Body English kind of folded. In 1991, I joined Mad Leroy, a classic/Southern rock bar band put together by vocalist/keyboardist Dave Reynolds. This band played regularly for about 4 years at bars around town before we broke up in '95.
So again, there I was, looking for a band, maybe with some of the guys from Mad Leroy, thinking maybe we could focus on more bluesy material and shortly thereafter my 14 years with Leadfoot Johnny began. Leadfoot Johnny played a lot of gigs all over the Cincinnati area including Summerfair, The Taste Of Cincinnati and Tall Stacks and six seasons of eight weekends each at Pirate's Cove in the Four Seasons Marina. As with most bands, there were a few personnel changes which led LFJ from blues rock to more R&B/blues.
In September of 2007 Buck Secrist called me with a Hogwild Reunion idea. Maybe do a gig or two to celebrate 25 years. The same tunes we did 25 years ago. We couldn't find original drummer Kerry Callahan so we found the drummer we had when the band broke up in 1984, Doc Collins formerly of the Relics. I called Hogwild keyboardist Barry Elliott and as he hadn't played since Wiseguy broke up in 1996, he was way into it. We rehearsed 4 times and played a gig at what was known then as Beach's on January 19th, 2008. Great time! I loved the idea of playing rock again.
Then Buck and I went back to our own bands. He to Sea Of Glass and me to Leadfoot Johnny. Barry slid back into retirement.
About a year later, Barry emailed the photos from the night at Beach's. Those pictures reminded us what a blast it was playing together again so decided to fire up Hogwild again only not just a one off, with a different approach. We decided to play some DIFFERENT tunes than we did 25 years ago. Songs we always wanted to play then but never did. We tried Doc Collins again but he was busy with his own blues band with his son. After
trying another drummer who was busy with other bands, Buck decided to combine his two bands, Sea of Glass and Hogwild, thus bringing guitarist Billy Ball and drummer Thumper McCartt into the fold and the new Hogwild was born. There was a brand new energy when the five of us got together and it sounded amazing.
I loved this new band so much, I decided to leave Leadfoot Johnny after 14 years!
Influences: Paul McCartney, John Entwhistle, Chris Squire, John Paul Jones, James Jamerson, Tommy Shannon, Jaco, Chuck Rainey, Randy Meisner, Flea, Les Claypool, Willie Dixon, Geddy Lee, Berry Oakley Jr.
Buck Secrist - Guitars and Vocals
Buck is one of the guitar players for Hogwild. He started out playing the drums in cover bands in the mid-sixties, then later switched to playing guitar, and has been there ever since. He has also played bass in a few bands. Some of his major influences were Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Eddie Van Halen and Ritchie Blackmore to name just a few. He enjoys writing and arranging original material.
Dave "Thumper" McCartt - Drums and Vocals
For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to play the drums.
I have a vague memory, which was confirmed by my parents, of dragging my grandmother’s pots and pans out of her cupboards, setting them up in a row according to their tone and hitting them with wooden spoons. I was hooked.
I began my official musical career in the 5th grade at age 10 under the guidance of Russell Hinkle, the former music director for the Mt. Healthy High School band. During many years of association with Mr. Hinkle, I was instructed in concert and marching band musical styles, beginning with the snare drum and then moving onto various other percussion instruments including Tympani, Chimes, Bells, etc.
At age 13 I felt like I wanted to broaden my horizons and thus began several years of private instruction from John Gardner, a percussionist with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, where I learned drum set techniques for rock, jazz, funk and various other styles of music.
I started playing in clubs in 1988 at the age of 18, in a band named Stay Tuned which primarily played light rock/lounge style music on the east side of Cincinnati. In 1992, I ran into Billy Ball on a Sunday after one of the Stay Tuned gigs, and he told me he was in band called Cutthroat Alley, and that they were looking for a drummer. I auditioned, was really into the rock style and sound they had going on, and joined the band. Cutthroat Alley went strong for several years, performing at various large events including Summer Fair 1992 and 1993, the re-opening of the Southgate House, and the Spencer County Fair in Kentucky. After leaving Cutthroat Alley in 1995, I put together a band with Mike Hoskins, the former bass player from Cutthroat alley, called Orange Shutter in 1996. We played some rock with a lot of alternative and grunge music. Orange Shutter lasted until 1998, when the guitar player moved to Georgia. For the next several years I tried to get other projects such as the Shine, with Joe Pizzo from the Snowshoe Crabs and Tim Durham from Ever After, together but nothing ever came of them. One day in 2000, I got a call out of the blue from Billy Ball saying that his band Ball Four (with Buck Secrist from Hogwild and Mike Belperio from Indus Red) needed a drummer. I auditioned, but didn’t hear back from them for about a year because Billy thought I was already playing in a band. Once Billy heard I was available, he called me back and I joined the band. After the sudden and tragic death of Mike [R.I.P. brother] in 2003, Buck, Billy, and I formed a band in 2005 called Sea Of Glass with bassist Tim (T-Bone) Tuttle from Slicker. We played out locally for the last several years, and parted company with Tim in the spring of 2009.
Buck and Billy approached me with the idea of hooking up with Dave and Barry and forming a new band. After getting together with these guys for a jam session, I knew this was going to be something great. I’m looking forward to all the great music we are going to make together, and can’t wait for you all to enjoy it with us.
See you at the shows!!!!!
Dave (Thumper) McCartt
Billy Ball - Guitars and Vocals
I guess I was about ten years old when I heard my cousin West Davis band playing at a party in our garage. Jack Cecil was the guitarist at that time. I was hooked ! I knew that was something that I wanted to do. So I picked up my brothers old Kay acoustic, a Beatles song book, and a Mel Bay 45 record "lets tune up" and started teaching myself to play.
Over the years West would take me with him to rehearsals and gigs of various bands that he had played with, Seymore Duncan, Paul Bromwell and Don Griffin were a few of my early influences Especially Paul.
In 1992, I decided to get in the arena along with Russ Hanson we formed the band Cut throat Alley and along with thirteen (off and on) members, including Fred Daniel (Relics) played almost every weekend for the next five or so years.
Near the end of CTA Buck Secrist, my best friend and by far my biggest influence and I formed the band Ball Four Which lasted nearly ten years. The deaths of drummer Larry Holtzmeister and Bassist Mike Belperio led to changing the name of the band to Sea of Glass and of course Thumper and T Bone taking over the rhythm section of the band.
We now have joined forces with Dave and Barry to form the new Hogwild!
Hope to see you at the gigs!
Billy Ball
Barry Elliott - Keyboards and Vocals
I arrived on August 24, in the 1950’s. I was blessed with music loving parents and a brother 9 years
older than me. Being exposed to the music of the 1940’s and 1950’s at a young age started me on my musical path.
I spent my early years playing 33, 45 and even some 78 rpm records on our little mono record player(sometimes with a nickel taped to the tone-arm so it wouldn’t skip). Later, we had a small stereo hi-fi record player; with 2 speakers!!
When I was around 8 yrs. old my parents got me a little toy organ and I found myself fascinated with how the notes went together to form chords, etc. I taught myself a few chords and learned some of those early 60’s tunes from the records my brother brought home. Well, when the Beatles came along, I, like millions of other kids wasn’t happy just listening to the music; I had to make the music!!
I took some lessons from my music teacher at school, and actually formed a band at age 11. We performed at our 6th grade talent show. Me on toy organ; guitar player with 2 strings; drummer had a snare drum and 1 cymbal; 2 singers up front with tambourine and maracas. We played I’m Not Your Steppin’ Stone by the Monkees, and an old blues tune that our music teacher taught us. We won 3rd place!!
After dabbling in playing drums for a couple of years, I went back to the keys My first “real” band that got gigs and earned money happened when I was 19, 20 yrs. old. Great names: ‘Mirkwood’ ‘Spellbound’ ‘Rainbow Canyon’. That lasted 1-1/2 yrs. or so. I spent some time being the ‘lightman’ for a successful local band in the mid to late 70’s. Of course, after a while I wasn’t content to run lights for a band, I had to play……
1980: I went to the local music store, bought myself some basic keyboards, and started my search for a band. The music store’s bulletin board had a notice: Southern & Progressive Rock band looking for keyboard player. I called; auditioned; joined the band; the band’s name? HOGWILD.
Hogwild played for about 3-1/2 yrs. Great times... After a short hiatus, Dave Janes talked me into forming another band with him which became ‘The Urge’. That band, with some personnel changes existed for almost 3 years. I was feeling the need for something different when I was asked to audition for a local group looking for a keyboard player.
That was the beginning of ‘Wiseguy’. I was a member of ‘Wiseguy’ for 8 years, with a couple of personnel changes. Great band, Great memories. (Glenn: RIP)
So, then it’s 1996; Wiseguy’s last gig. I thought: I’ll find myself another band. I spent a couple of years trying to put something together. Then, I discovered how much I liked getting up at 7am on a Sunday morning. That lasted about 11 years. When Buck and Dave asked me to do a ‘HOGWILD’ reunion, I couldn’t say “no”. Well, those rapscallions put the bug in me. Now, I have to play again.
After the “reunion” gig in 2008, and then deciding to do another “reunion” gig in 2010, and then deciding, “what the hell!”, let’s just make it a band! So, I’m in a band again. Only because Dave, Buck, Billy, Thumper & Bird reminded me how much fun it is. After some thought, we decided to bring back the HOGWILD name. I look forward to many years with this band.
Barry Elliott