The Numbers Band

Long-running blues-rock combo the Amounts Band was shaped in Kent, OH in middle-1969 by singer/guitarist Robert Kidney and saxophonist Terry Hynde (the sibling of long term Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde), who together continued to be the nucleus of the group throughout its years of existence. Officially dubbed 15 60 75, but generally called basically the Quantities Band by viewers, their primary lineup also included guitarist/keyboardist Hank Smith, bassist Greg Colbert, and drummer Tim Hudson; the group produced its live debut in July of 1970 at the favorite Kent nightspot the Kove, shortly playing the membership a minimum of four nights weekly to an evergrowing legion of supporters. Though originally steeped in Chicago-style blues, the Quantities Band quickly started growing into jazz aswell, forging the personal sound they continuing to pursue throughout their profession. The group’s roster continued to be in a apparently consistant state of flux, nevertheless, and by 1972, included bassist Gerald Casale and drummer David Robinson; as inner pressures continuing to mount because the calendar year finished, Kidney dissolved the task, joining his sibling Jack’s band Ruler of Hearts. (Casale would afterwards co-found Devo.) Within weeks, Ruler of Hearts advanced into a brand-new Quantities Band — as well as the Kidney brothers, the revamped lineup also included Hynde, bassist Drake Gleason, and drummer Jay Dark brown. After 2 yrs of relentless gigging, Dark brown still left the group, starting the entranceway for Robinson’s come back; tempo guitarist Michael Stacey also agreed upon on ahead of recording the Quantities Band’s 1976 debut LP Jimmy Bell CONTINUES TO BE around, a live work cut per year previous at Cleveland’s Agora Ballroom while starting for Bob Marley & the Wailers. Bassist Bart Johnson changed Gleason with time for the group’s July 1977 NEW YORK debut on the Bowery membership Traxx; based on legend, their functionality was the immediate motivation behind John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd’s development from the Blues Brothers. Still, because the Northeast Ohio music picture became extremely popular thanks to works like Devo, Pere Ubu and Tin Huey, main labels continuing to bypass the Amounts Band, plus they did not launch their second recording 15 60 75 The Amounts Music group 2 until 1982. An individual, “Within the life span,” followed annually down the road Hearthen, the label possessed and managed by Pere Ubu’s David Thomas; immediately after, Johnson was changed by bassist Fred Trabuzzo. In 1985, the Kidney structure “THE PET Speaks” was included in the Golden Palominos, the all-star underground group helmed by Cleveland indigenous Anton Fier; using the 1986 LP Stream of Silence, Kidney became a complete contributor towards the project, and also toured using the Palominos the next yr. The third Amounts Band album, One of the Wandering, made an appearance in 1987 aswell; although the solitary “HIGH HEEL SHOES Are Harmful” earned substantial regional airplay, the group still continued to be little-known beyond Ohio, and in 1989, longtime member Michael Stacey resigned from responsibility. By this time around, many years of hard living got swept up with Kidney, and in 1990, he received, ironically plenty of, a kidney transplant; the live Blues from the Amounts made an appearance a yr later, as do 15 60 75 Twenty, a series compiling materials from days gone by two decades. A fresh studio work, Hotwired, was released in 1992; although no additional recordings had been released through the 10 years, the Figures Band — right now comprising the Kidney brothers, Hynde, bassist Frank Reynolds, and drummer Frank Casamento — continued to be a constant from the Ohio live circuit in to the following century.