A Salute to Cleveland Guitar Hero –Butch Armstrong by Rick Bender

For those old enough to remember and experience the British invasion of the sixties and the wave of musicians it inspired here is the United States, you might begin to understand who and why Butch Armstrong is the person he is today. As the youth of America was bitten by BeatleMania and took up instruments to try and capture the sensational musical excitement of the time, it inspired here and everywhere a new age in Pop and Rock 'n' Roll heavily influenced by the blues. Young Joey SanFilippo (Butch Armstrong) from Shaker Heights, Ohio was one of those youths caught in the wave that has carried him through the years to today as Butch can still be found playing fabulous guitar with some of the best area musicians most nights of the week.

The video above was recorded on a typical evening at the Greenville in Chagrin Falls. The Greenville has a British Pub atmosphere not unlike the ones the Beatles played in the early days in Britain. Butch regularly hosts jam nights at local clubs during the week around town. If you have experienced the band in person, you will witness how the band grabs the attention of the crowd with great old tunes and talent that is only known by people who live the music as they do. The audience listens and is moved by this band. It is difficult to find musicians of this level and experience still playing in a small club atmosphere. If you search though, it isn't hard to find many more musicians in the Cleveland area who are also taking the ride. Butch is a musicians musician in a town known as the Rock 'n' Roll capitol. As he and his fellow musicians pass the love of the music on to the audience and the next wave of young musicians, many more will listen and be inspired as young Joey Sanfilippo was. –WM

Article: The Armstrong Bearcat Band written by Call Lilly

          The Armstrong Bearcat Band has undergone a big change recently. Stutz Bearcat has moved on to L.A. to work on rewrites of scripts for indie film companies. If you were a recipient of Stutz’s crazy newsletters for the band, you know the guy has writing talent as well as being a great bass player. His politically incorrect but “oh so true” ramblings, rants, and observations were hilarious! 

         Says Stutz in his own inimitable way: “As some of you know, I’ve been doing this writing stuff, bouncing back and forth to L.A. It has been a fascinating ride, to tell the truth, so I have decided to kind of see how far I can take it. You know, I may be doing a swan dive into an empty Malibu pool metaphorically … well hey, knowin’ me it might be metaphorically and LITERALLY as well.”

         Of course, with the the screenwriters now on strike, who knows what the future holds. “But don’t worry none for Stutzie boy here. One way or the other….I ain’t worried. I never expected any guarantees. I’m feeling strong, my flippin’ health is great. I got the sunshine on my back and my bike to ride along the ocean. That ain’t so bad. This place is great! Los Angeles - life on the edge of a bubble about to burst.”        

         Stutz Bearcat’s departure for the West coast brings an end to the twenty year collaboration with Butch Armstrong that put the band at the helm of Cleveland ’s blues scene. Their partnership was formed out of the weekly musician’s jam at the famous Euclid Tavern. The onstage chemistry between these two was mesmerizing. Both men are larger-than-life onstage -- Butch with his bald head and long beard that touches his chest, Stutz with his “wild-man” persona and a thumb apparently made of steel. Many shows found them jumping from the stage and into the crowd, with Armstrong tearing through fiery solos that exceed the speed of light and Bearcat thumping out blistering bass lines, sometimes performing on his back and knees. Brandishing their instruments like weapons, they played off each other with telepathic intensity. Add Billy Coakley to the mix with his kick-ass drum kit and his great big smile, and this red-hot blues trio was on fire!      

         Butch Armstrong (Joey SanFilippo) grew up in Shaker Heights and first picked up a guitar at age eleven, having been inspired early on by the Beatles. Joey and younger brother Vito, who played bass, along with their cousin Frankie on drums, actually formed their first band, the Neadles, at ten and twelve years old. They appeared on the Jerry G. show on WHK, and received a silver dollar apiece for pay. Later they would beg their mother to drive them to the Chagrin Armory to hear local guitar gods Glen Schwartz and Joe Walsh, and listened to Hendrix, Beck, and Clapton by the hour. Butch started his professional career right out of high school with Rastus, a local jazz-blues fusion band with a full horn section, and toured with them across the country. While in L.A. in the late seventies, he auditioned for the highly successful band, Chicago , after the accidental shooting death of frontman Terry Kath. They loved his guitar playing, but he wasn’t chosen, only because he didn’t sing back then, and Peter Cetera went on to get the job. This disappointment taught him a valuable lesson, and he vowed to work on his vocal skills. Returning to Ohio , he paid his dues for almost a decade in Goodfoot, a “post-disco” band that worked the lounge circuit steadily through the eighties. Although the style of music was not his favorite, he developed his vocals by singing harmony background.

           It was during this time that he started to lose his hair and gave in to the inevitable by shaving his head. He also liked to wear camouflage clothing. (Not a common look back in the “big hair” eighties.) Goodfoot’s lead vocalist at the time was John Morton, who jokingly dubbed his guitar player “General Butch Armstrong”. (“Butch” for the buzz-cut and “Armstrong” after George Armstrong Custer.) The name stuck but the band dissolved. When Stevie Ray Vaughan hit the airwaves, it led to a resurgence of interest in the blues. Players came out of the woodwork, and Butch saw an opportunity to return to his roots and play the music he really loved. In the late eighties, he started his own band, Butch and the Ramrods, which basically became the house band at the Euclid Tavern.

         Meanwhile, Stutz Bearcat was honing his musical chops in the Generators, the band that actually inspired the Michael J. Fox/Joan Jett movie “Light of Day,” partially filmed in Cleveland . He did a stint with Savoy Brown, and local blues legend Mr. Stress, as well as Frankie Starr and the Chill Factor. When he walked in to the weekly jam session at the Euclid Tavern and started jamming with Butch and the Ramrods, the connection was immediate and an alliance was forged that would take them on an unforgettable journey.       

         Flashback to 1989: 2,200 headbangers are packed into the Phantasy Theater (designed for a capacity of 1,500) to see headline act Living Colour. Alas, the opening act has mistakenly gone to Rochester , New York , and the crowd is getting ugly. Butch, Stutz, and Ramrods drummer Kenny Riscitto are rushed in from a recording session nearby as a last-minute replacement. They pound out a 45-minute classic roadhouse set, and leave the crowd flicking their Bics and calling for more.  And so the Armstrong Bearcat Band is born!    

         Their searing brand of hard-driving, in-your-face blues soon made them “the band in demand” when a local opening act was needed for concert venues. Over the years they have warmed up the stage for Albert Collins, George Thorogood, Johnny Winter, ZZ Top, Blue Oyster Cult, Robin Trower, Leslie West, Robby Krieger, Rick Derringer, Humble Pie,  The Kinsey Report, Danny Gatton, John Mayall, Savoy Brown, Kansas, Son Seals, Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Tinsley Ellis and a host of others too numerous to name. Often they have the crowd jumping to their feet and dancing in the aisles before the main act even appears (and many times get better reviews, too.)

         Armstrong Bearcat’s opening set for the Marshall Tucker Band prompted one reviewer to make the comparison that the trio had “half the musicians but twice the talent.” Opening at Nautica for Little Feat, Butch Armstrong’s rendition of signature tune “Mr. Cleanhead” had headliner Sam Clayton “sitting on the side stage looking stunned, but happy.” The tune, a tip of the hat to Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, often inspires Armstrong to jump from the stage and get his clean-shaven head stroked by the throng of adoring women that crowd around him.

         Eric Burdon was so impressed with the powerhouse trio that after their Agora show together, he accompanied them to the Euclid Tavern where they jammed late into the night. Another great Agora moment was the Meat Loaf show. Cleveland audiences are notorious for being less than kind to bands that open for Meat Loaf – fans are usually there just for him and no one else will do. And Meat Loaf does not allow opening acts to use his stage lights or sound system. Not so with Armstrong Bearcat – their electrifying set had the fickle audience in awe and halfway through, they found themselves bathed in ambient stage light, on orders from Meat Loaf himself.                        

         Sunday, September 2^nd, the day before Labor Day, was Bearcat’s last show with the band, at Cebar’s 185^th. He will certainly be missed, but the big shoes he left behind are being filled by the best man for the job, Michael Barrick, “a freakin’ fantastic bass player,” in Stutz’s words. You may know Barrick from the Bad Boys of Blues or the Walkin’ Cane Band. He is an awesome player, known for rippin’ it up on his beloved Alembic. He also plays a custom-made bass crafted by Jon R. Hill, and will no doubt be bringing his own distinct style to the Armstrong Bearcats.      

         Barrick is a central Ohio native who grew up on a farm in Bucyrus, graduating from Ashland College . He started his career as a trumpet player, and performed for ten years as a member of the United States Air Force Jazz Band, touring and recording in Asia, Europe, and the U.S.  After three years, he switched to bass guitar, and those of us who have heard him play are sure glad he did!

         Barrick and his wife decided to settle down in the Old Brooklyn area of Cleveland in 1994. After being in town for only two days, he met guitarist Michael Bay , who offered him the opportunity to sit in as the bassist for the Wednesday night jam session at the Parkview Nite Club, a former speakeasy that is an icon of the Cleveland blues scene. Together with Parma drummer Jim Wall, the Bad Boys of Blues were the most sought-after rhythm section in town. Mike Barrick became well-known in the blues community, and often interacted with Butch Armstrong. When Armstrong got the word that Bearcat was definitely moving out to L.A. , the first person he thought of to fill the slot was Michael Barrick.    

         Drummer Billy Coakley has been part of the Armstrong Bearcat Band since the early days at the Euclid Tavern. Watching him play the drums is like a religious experience. During the group’s version of “Superstitious,” he does a five-minute drum solo that just stops everybody cold. Coakley started playing drums at age nine, inspired by Buddy Rich, and cites John Bonham and Phil Collins as two of his later influences. He studied music at Potomac State College in West Virginia and the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston , where he performed with the Jazz Band and percussion ensembles. Along the way, he participated in master classes with Billy Hart, Tommy Campbell, Louie Bellson, Skip Hadden, and his long-time early teacher, Dave Brewer. Coakley’s professional career got started in the early 80s playing in a variety of jazz, rock, and reggae bands. During his ten year stint with reggae band SATTA he released five records and toured nonstop throughout the U.S. , Europe, and Asia .  

         Coakley is a committed Christian, a member of the music ministry at his home church, and donates his free time to community service for children and the elderly. He also teaches, does solo performances and drum clinics such as “Around the World with Drums,” a performance strictly for young people interested in percussion. His philosophy: “When you are blessed to do the things that bring you joy, your hope is that the listener will also experience that same joy.” An all-round good guy with a great heart, he is a powerful driving force behind the Armstrong Bearcat sound.

                  These days Butch Armstrong sings most of the lead vocals for the band. The guy who once missed his big chance because he couldn’t sing has developed into a charismatic frontman and can wrestle notes out of a guitar that are simply not of this world. He plays straight from the heart, making his guitar wail, scream, and cry. Onstage he plays a Gibson double-neck, a Flying V, a Telecaster, a Stratocaster, Les Paul – all depending on his mood. Armstrong Bearcat does not rehearse  – they just play. No performance is ever the same and that spontaneity factor is what sets them apart from the rest.

          When asked for his feelings on Stutz’s departure from the band, Armstrong says: “If he’s happy, I’m happy. We all love and respect each other so much, I wish him the best in any thing he wants to do. That was the beauty of this band – we always allowed each other to stretch out and grow. God Bless him.”

          And what does he think the future holds for the group with new bassist, Michael Barrick? “Mike is great – I’ve known about Mike for ten years. He’s a very melodic bass player, he can play slap, he has so many different styles – he’s over the top! I’m really excited about the band’s future. It’s ‘Do or Die!’”           

-written by Cat Lilly-