BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Before Philadelphia familiar-rock band The Hooters opened the huge Live Aid concert in 1985, or had the hits “And We Danced” and “Day By Day,” they were a Philadelphia ska-reggae band just finding a sound.
Now, nearly 45 years later, The Hooters, as well as still playing those songs for which they're most recognized, are reintroducing crowds to that sound that originally brought them together.
The group's latest album, "Rocking & Swing," is a return to those early roots.
“We were looking to do something new over the years."The Hooters' Rob Hyman
And more than a year after the disc's release, The Hooters are finding fans familiar enough with the new (old) songs, that it's incorporating more of it into its concert set list.
It expects to do that when it plays at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 23, at Univest Performance Center in Quakertown.
Tickets, at $50-$90 for limited reserved seats and $40 for lawn seating, remain on sale at theUnivest Performance Center website.
“We were looking to do something new over the years," The Hooters co-founder and keyboardist Rob Hyman said in a recent phone call from his home outside Philadelphia.
The group's last disc of new music, "Time Stand Still," was over 15 years ago.
"With the touring and as everyone’s moved on with various projects, almost everyone in the band has their own studio, we all do solo gigs, some of us teach, so it’s a little harder to get focused on just a direction," Hyman said.
The foundation of the record
He said he and Hooters guitarist and co-founder Eric Bazilian were sitting in his home studio outside Philadelphia and digging through boxes of cassettes — "our first demos, which Eric engineered in this little four-track cassette format.
“And we even had to find a machine to play the tapes. So we went online, found a little tape player, and the tapes sounded great.
“And we kind of dug into those, and actually, that was the spark. And we said, ‘Hey, we should revisit this stuff.’"The Hooters' Rob Hyman
“And we kind of dug into those, and actually, that was the spark. And we said, ‘Hey, we should revisit this stuff.’
“So we did and we started writing some stuff. But more importantly, we just resurrected some of those demos, and we transferred them to digital format, and we actually used those as the foundation of the record."
Some songs on the album "literally were recorded in the ‘80s," Hyman said.
They include the ska instrumental "Pete Rose," a tribute to the retired Philadelphia Phillies player that Hyman said they wrote during the World Series.
The song “Goodnight," which closes the album, is basically those 1980s demos, Hyman said.
"We added, maybe, some drums or some vocals here and there," he said. "But some of the music on those songs, that was originally from the ‘80s.
“So it’s kind of exciting mixing this old-world and new sound with technology."
Original side of the band
In a separate interview, Bazilian said he had concerns.
“For years I wondered, and occasionally expressed this to Rob if it would be possible for us to actually return to our roots and do a ska/reggae album," he said.
"And where we landed on that was that we had evolved past that. First of all, it’s a different band from the ska band."
Bazilian noted that in those early years, it had rhythm guitarist John Kuzma [who played 1980-82 and died in 2011] and bassist Bobby Woods [who played 1980-82 and died in 2010].
But Hyman said the current lineup of The Hooters was able to do new songs in the same style, including the disc's first single, "Why Won’t You Call Me Back."
The band also revisited a couple of previously released 1980s songs — "Engine 999" from the 1987 album "One Way Home" and "Brother Don’t you Walk Away" from 1989's "Zig Zag" in the reggae-ska style.
“Those had fallen off the set list recently, but those were songs, again, from the ‘80s that we really liked," Hyman said.
He said The Hooters played those songs during its recent summer European tour, "and they kind of knew those songs, but they really embraced the new arrangements."
"And this summer, the new stuff settled in," Hyman said. “So you just have to find it, and this year we really found it."
He said, "We’ll bring that to Quakertown. I think last year [when the band also played Univest] the album still was relatively new, but this time we’ll feel really comfortable with the material.
“And the grooves and the vibes just add another dimension to the show, but it was a side of the band that was always there. In fact, it was really the original side of the band.
"Even when we did [the 1983 debut album] ‘Amore,’ you could sense some of that stuff.” In fact, the group's first hit, the reggae-ska "All You Zombies," appeared on that disc.
Lehigh Valley - an early supporter
That reggae-and-ska-infused sound was what The Hooters first brought to the Lehigh Valley.
Hyman spent part of the 1970s playing in another band, Wax, that included Valley residents Rick Levy as its guitarist and Beau Jones on bass.
“We … really had some hard-core fans in that area, and then they followed us into Philly."The Hooters' Rob Hyman
“We played a lot up in that area,” Hyman says. “In barns and parties and just kind of hung out there.”
When Hyman and Bazilian formed The Hooters, the group found a welcoming crowd in the Lehigh Valley in its early years.
“We … really had some hard-core fans in that area, and then they followed us into Philly."
Hyman remembered playing at an Allentown club called Nikko’s, where the band played at least four times in 1980. The Hooters also played the former Castle Gardens at Dorney Park early on.
“And probably some other clubs that I may be forgetting,” Hyman said.
Bazilian in interviews has credited Muhlenberg College’s WMUH-FM as one of the first radio stations to play the group’s records, and Valley station WZZO also was an early supporter.
Even at its peak, and after it hit it big with its double-platinum debut album “Nervous Night” in 1985, The Hooters played the Lehigh Valley frequently.
It played Lafayette College in Easton in 1985 and in 1986 Lehigh University’s Stabler Arena and Muhlenberg College, where it sold out the 3,800-capacity Memorial Hall in just days.
The Hooters' future
With The Hooters revisiting its roots, it's fair to look at its future.
The band next year will observe the 45th anniversary of its founding, and Hyman said it has plans — though he's keeping them under wraps.
“As far as winding down ... 45 is kind of how we started — in terms of vinyl," he said. "And we’ll definitely be aiming to celebrate that, I’ll say that without a lot of details.
"But there’s been a lot of talk and it’s kind of an obvious big number to celebrate."
"The songs kind of become our life."The Hooters' Rob Hyman
This deep into a career, "anything to do with aging, I guess there is a certain degree of denial and ignoring it," he said with a laugh.
"Especially in a rock band, it’s really important when we get onstage that we do the show we’ve kind of always done, you know?
“It’s a pretty energetic show, and we’re up for it. It’s a physical show. And then after the show, it used to be, like, ‘OK, where’s the party?’ And now, it’s like, ‘Where’s the Motrin?’" he said, laughing again.
“But physical limitations aside, I really think we’re working on the show, and I think they’re better than ever. I think we’re playing better than ever.
“We work hard on the music, too. Honestly, it’s a living, breathing thing. Some of these songs we’ve played since the 1980s, which is unbelievable.
"But it’s a testament to the song itself, to our fans who still want to hear it."
After the 45th celebration, he said, "Then we’ll kind of evaluate where we are."
"I mean, honestly, we could never have predicted we’d be doing this as long as we have, so we want to take in the moment," he said.
"Forty-four was pretty great this year. We’ll bring it to Quakertown, and the fans, they kind of grow with us.
"The songs kind of become our life," he said.
Then Hyman quoted The Hooters' song "Day By Day."
"We go, ‘Nothing lasts forever, only fades away,’" he said. "Well, we’re trying to stop that as best we can. But of course nothing lasts forever. So we’ll go down swinging.”
