“It’s The Brotherhood And The Music”

“This is a song about friends, and this is what today is about,” said Richard Neal of the Birdmen right before performing another song by his friend and former bandmate, the late James Velvet, who was on the minds and in the hearts and voices of almost too many people to mention at Cafe Nine Sunday afternoon.

The occasion was Cygnus Radio’s weekly Sunday Buzz show, which became the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Local Bands Show on 99.1 WPLR. Velvet and Rick Allison hosted the show until Velvet’s passing in 2015. It is now hosted by Allison and Frank Critelli. The show is currently on Sundays at 10 p.m. on WPLR and also runs every Monday at ​“noonish” on Cygnus Radio

“The model for it was that James and I were good friends, the goofball friend and a working musician who happened to be a legend in the local music scene,” Allison said. ​“I had a recording studio. That was the barn, and the kids came to play.”

Allison, a local legend himself, was at that time doing voice work in commercials, but also had vast experience as a DJ — in Connecticut, New York, and Hawaii. (Allison also hosts a Cygnus show called The Allison Transmission, every weekday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.) When Allison and Velvet started their show, it just so happened to be ​“another time when the New Haven music scene was bursting at the seams,” so they easily cultivated acts to have on the show between old friends and new.

“We asked ourselves ​‘what would Velvet do?’ after he was gone and we knew he would want the show to go on,” said Allison. After a live celebration of Velvet’s music and a 90-minute on-air tribute Local Bands show that he and Critelli put together for their friend, Allison noted that ​“it was kismet. Frank just fit into that spot.” Critelli, a longtime local singer-songwriter, had frequently been played on the Local Bands Show and was a good friend of both Velvet and Allison.

“James is always here. It’s the brotherhood and the music,” Allison said.

Both the brotherhood and the music were at the front, the back, and all the way through Cafe Nine on Sunday afternoon as the place filled to the brim with family and friends, young and old, musicians and otherwise — all there to celebrate the show and the men who started it and keep it going. The love was everywhere, with people hugging, laughing, and reminiscing about the local music scene.

First to the stage was The Birdmen, who had played with Velvet as the Mockingbirds and on Sunday included Richard Neal, Johnny Memphis, Johnny Java, John Lindberg, and Tom Smith. They announced they would play a set of Velvet’s songs much to the delight of the crowd, who cheered almost endlessly and sang along to most of the tunes. After the first song, ​“I’m Still Here,” Memphis pointed to the sky and gave the thumbs up, in acknowledgment of their friend. Singer-songwriter Calvin DeCutlass, who had also played in a band with Velvet, joined them for a few songs at the end of their set. The crowd, which continued to grow and swell, loved every minute of it.

In between sets Critelli and Allison provided the crowd with their sweet and joyful banter as typically witnessed on air during the Local Bands Show and also on Allison’s Tuesday show on Cygnus, where Critelli guests each week. They lovingly acknowledged many others in the room during this time — including WPLR’s famed Wigmaster, who Allison credited with taking a chance with their show in the first place when presented with it.

“He was foolish enough to say okay,” joked Allison.

They also thanked their sponsors, WPLR, and Cygnus, as well as Velvet’s wife, who was in attendance.

“I do not have enough fingers and toes to count the people affected by James Velvet, and James would not have been who he was without Nancy Lee,” Critelli said. The audience cheered in agreement.

Big Fat Combo came to the stage next, introduced by Critelli as ​“one of the longest running bands in CT.” Tom Hearn, Cary Pollick, Tom Murphy and Johnny Murphy rocked through their own songs and covered songs by local favorites The Furors, The Poodle Boys, and Christine Ohlman. They also covered ​“Islands in the Stream” by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton ​“because we try to play at least one song we don’t care for,” joked Hearn. They were joined by Dave from the Zambonis for one tune, and also shouted out and thanked many in the local music community, such as Fernando Pinto, Kriss Santala, Margaret Milano, Dave and Brad from the Golden Microphone, local writers Chris Arnott and Fran Fried (many of these people were in attendance at the show) as well as Cafe Nine owner Paul Mayer, to whom they dedicated a song.

“We’re grateful to be a part of this community. It takes a lot of people to make a local scene,” Hearn said. He also recalled the first time he heard his song played on the Local Bands Show. ​“Everybody says you pull over, but I floored it,” he joked.

Singer-songwriter Chris Bousquet came to the stage with the returning Birdmen for two songs. Critelli joked that for Sunday they would be called The High Lonesome Birdmen, because Bousquet had previously been in a band with Velvet called The High Lonesome Plains. The Birdmen remained on stage to be joined by local legends Christine Ohlman and Jim Chapdelaine, both with their guitars and recollections about their friend and fellow musician Velvet as well as their love and commitment to the local music scene.

“I have premiered every record of mine at Cafe Nine and I will premiere all of my records here,” Ohlman told the crowd. She also thanked Arnott and Fried as well as Vic Steffens for their contributions. New Haven Register reporter Mark Zaretsky joined the band on harmonica for one tune.

I’m so happy to be part of the scene,” said Ohlman. ​“It’s a fabulous scene. Everyone in the country knows about New Haven.”

She also shouted out Mayer and Cafe Nine. ​“This place has music seven nights a week. You don’t find that anymore. So just like you came out today, think about coming out next week and the week after that. That’s what makes a scene.”

Nearly everyone who played that afternoon came back to the stage to illuminate the strength and beauty of that scene after Ohlman called them forward for ​“a classic Cafe Nine finale” of one last Velvet song, ​“I Got a Shirt.” The crowd sang and cheered along, and as they had all day, responded with loud cheering, clapping and shouts of joy and gratitude.

Allison reminisced later about being a kid in Syracuse, New York listening to a small local station that was a short bike ride from his house. He would go and stare in the window, write notes to the DJs, and then rush home to await the latest Beatles release.

“I still geek out,” he told me. ​“Last week I got a new Mold Monkeys release, and it could have been a Beatles lost tape to me, it was that earth shaking, and then to get the new An Historic record? I totally geeked. I still love to hear the new music.”

Allison said the Local Bands Show will continue as long as he continues. ​“It’s one of the most important things in the world to me, to Frank, to James,” he said.

Critelli had announced to the crowd during the show that Velvet was ​“everyone’s mentor” and that they were ​“in the presence of greatness” with regards to Allison. As he sat close to the two framed photos of Velvet that hang on the walls of Cafe Nine, tears welled up in his eyes. ​“I am absolutely grateful, and I am lucky to be here,” he said.

The Local Bands Show can be heard every Sunday night at 10 p.m. on WPLR 99.1, as well as every Monday at ​“noonish” at CygnusRadio.com. The Sunday Buzz happens every Sunday afternoon at Cafe Nine, usually starting at 3 p.m.. Check the Cafe Nine website for a list of future shows.