The ’80s are coming back! Philadelphia rock legend Tommy Conwell only puts the Young Rumblers back on the road for special occasions. On Sunday, July 23rd, the original members will all reunite for a special show at the Bottle & Cork in Dewey Beach. For the love of DJ Batman, Ocean City and all of those Hammerjacks memories, we still believe in Conwell.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
play, people, band, baltimore, beach, tommy, years, conwell, gig, good, summer, ocean, songs, man, jim, mike, anymore, young, barstool, older
SPEAKERS
Tommy Conwell, Nestor Aparicio
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
wn st Towson, Baltimore and Baltimore positive or positively into the Fourth of July holiday alley break the shirt out for the Fourth of July for patriotic reasons straight out of Dundalk will be at the Heritage fair this weekend probably in the beer garden. You look for me crack the sky to get a Paul McCartney tribute. I don’t know why they went country on Saturday night but they did but this guy knows I’m all about the rock and roll. We’re gonna be out doing the Maryland crab cake tour this week. If he lived here, I take him out for crab cake but I come up see him up Philadelphia and we get a cheesesteak. We’re gonna be down to beach together in about three weeks or so. And when Tommy Conwell and the young Rumblers put the band back together, me my friends some old schoolers Anne Marie and and Jill DeVille. Amongst others, Mike Rosenfeld was our Chief Digital Officer here who was not seeing Tommy since I think Amber Jackson 91 or something like that. Were put the band back together we go down to do we Beach, we’re going to ask young and sexy it’s gonna be like the 80s all over again. Tommy Conwell joins us now from parts unknown, but it’s got to be Philadelphia because he’s Tommy calm. Well, you guys are doing a reunion show at the beach. And I’m not sure that everybody knows about it. The people that are on your Facebook page or whatever, know about it, but I get a lot of people in my life that when they see me out with you, they’re like, oh, yeah, he was pretty good. I rocked a rumble back in the day. And this is kind of a special gig. You’re you’re taking it back to the beach. When’s the last time you played the beach with the Rumblers? Tommy
Tommy Conwell 01:25
you know, the Delaware or Maryland beaches? I think we might have played one. Play the rusty router I think probably probably around 2010 years ago, probably. But that was it then and so the core we haven’t played there. It’s since the 80s or maybe early 90s. Or probably the 80s
Nestor Aparicio 01:53
flops in 30 years.
Tommy Conwell 01:56
There’s a big difference between the rusty runner and the cork so the cork is cool. And writers fine to cool too. But I bet it’ll be good. It’ll be good to be back down there. And it’s always good to be down there. I’d love to go to Ocean City sometime that would be because dude, I I Ocean City. I have I mean that was a huge part of my my growth my chuck my youth because Ocean City. I don’t know if you know this, but I used to play with a band called Rocket 88 Did you ever see rocket eight?
Nestor Aparicio 02:32
I’m glad you asked me this because I got notes for you. Dude. I don’t usually prepare for this and I don’t greenroom. Anybody, including you. Mike Beatty was a mutual friend of ours the great DJ Batman and Ocean City we lost Mike last year I pride three weeks I lost my last Mike last year.
Tommy Conwell 02:50
Great guy. He was a mid let’s talk about him for 15 That’s
Nestor Aparicio 02:54
exactly what I wanted to do. That’s exactly what I wanted to do. I didn’t know you didn’t know he passed because you’re not like going to Facebook. You know, Chris Day set this up and you got Facebook antlers, and you’re off living the private life of Tom calm. Well, we lost like last year. And I mean, there’s never been a summer 30 years where Mike and I didn’t get together. And I don’t mean at at the you know, at the bar where he’s drinking Alaska standard doing that. I mean, like he and I going down to fish tails, having a couple of drinks and just talking about life, which we did for 30 Straight summers, my wife’s before I knew my wife all that and he would always say to me about the harmonica guy and the rocket ADA thing and Tommy Conwell will come down here and kick ass. And I’m like, never saw it didn’t know it. So I don’t know anything about
Tommy Conwell 03:39
Okay, so here’s the thing. Summer of nine, teen 83 Okay, I could tell you the songs that were on the radio. It was I still have night. One time I had a dream like a nightmare about the song. Electric avenue by Edie grid. Which is one of the stupidest. It’s higher. Yeah, yeah, actually, it’s the theme song of a popular podcast on barstool right now. But, or has been for a long time. But um, but anyway, and what else? Every Breath You Take by the watch McCall by the police, and men without hats, a bunch of their stuff, but 83 Anyway, and so that was the summer that we rocket 88 I played with rocket 88 And I joined them that I guess that the fall before it
Nestor Aparicio 04:33
so that your kids are 20 years old, right when I was
Tommy Conwell 04:36
20 I was 20 when I joined them I turned 21 it playing a gig in Wilmington, Delaware. And so but anyway so that summer I honestly in June we went down for a gig a job playing Ocean City maybe it was two but whatever goes down obviously playing again. Okay. went down did the gig went great? Lined up another one? Maybe the next day or a couple of days later, okay, we’re gonna stay stay and do that. Oh, lined up another one. Stay and do that. We didn’t leave the whole summer.
Nestor Aparicio 05:15
Floors like literally like, no,
Tommy Conwell 05:17
no, no, we set no we slept on two double beds for men for men on two double beds at the Shoreham Hotel, which I believe
Nestor Aparicio 05:32
my son lived at the shore remote tele force balls.
Tommy Conwell 05:36
Yeah, what was what was the name of the of the restaurant?
Nestor Aparicio 05:40
The brass balls is below, right? No, no no. Shenanigans Shenanigans. Shenanigans is on my bed. You
Tommy Conwell 05:48
know, I think it might have had a different name back then. If I remember correctly, it had like a Murphy’s or some some Irish name. But anyway, it doesn’t matter. But the restaurant underneath, right? And so we stayed the entire summer in the Shoreham hotel. There was another band called What were they called? It was really popular band. They did a bunch of ZZ Top, just to get what they were called over got anyway. They were friends of ours. We had a lot of friends. It was it was an incredible summer. Hey.
Nestor Aparicio 06:19
Where were you Wildwood? Philly? People never went to Ocean City? Not very,
Tommy Conwell 06:24
I know very few. Now we would go to Avalon when I was a kid because my mom had a friend who had a place there who would like to stay there.
Nestor Aparicio 06:32
We’re all new to you. You’re 20 years old? Well, the first gig
Tommy Conwell 06:37
I did with which McCall? Yeah, the first gig I did with Rocky it was at the green turtle in which McCall in you know, Ocean City. And, and but anyway, but no, it was. Yeah. So Ocean City. I mean, right? Crazy. Just Maryland in general. From my experience, Maryland. In general. The girls take care of themselves. They look good. That is my that is my that is my
Nestor Aparicio 07:08
three of course they look good.
Tommy Conwell 07:10
Even Baltimore, Beaumont, all of Maryland. For some reason. The girls down there, they just they have a sweet spot. You know what I mean? I guess they have that little bit of southern but not too much. You know what I mean? And you know, there’s a sweet spot for the Maryland girls.
Nestor Aparicio 07:28
Well, I’ll tell you what, it’s peach season around here this summer and the peach cake is out. But Tommy Conwell is here. They’re getting together playing the Dewey Beach in a couple of weeks. I’m gonna promote the show. I can’t believe we’re still a couple tickets. I haven’t bought my ticket yet Rosenfeld’s got his ticket. I feel like I need to click give the 30 bucks and like get in. make this happen. I am appreciative you always come back and spend. So Anne Marie sent me a memory this morning from over to hammer jack. So Anne Marie about two years ago and the hammer Jack’s folks, they put together a movie. And they did a documentary that is just phenomenal of the history of hammer jacks and what it meant to Baltimore you mentioned the million pretty girls that had habited hammer Jacks back in the day. She said she has a picture of you up on the bar that the neck of your guitar knocked over glass all over the place, and that you sliced her arm open. I sort of remember this, but she says she has pictures. And she was trying to find them for the documentary and found them recently. Do you remember this incident? Because generally, you duck walk across bars and climb things still as a young guy 39 and holding. You’re still dropping your chores out in the middle of the floor at the yard. And I mean, this is your stick. Do you know what I mean?
Tommy Conwell 08:38
My wife? Yeah, well, I always tell my wife and I think I might be done dropping my drawers because it’s just gross. But
Nestor Aparicio 08:49
you got to drop your drawers and
Tommy Conwell 08:50
the good thing is my wife tells me I can’t stop like I just like you like I’m like I don’t think I’m gonna you know, I’m not gonna drop my doors anymore. Then she said you got to do it then you got to do it. And I disagree with that. I think there is a time when it’s just too goddamn gross. But anyway, whatever.
Nestor Aparicio 09:13
Before you go on stage and everything’s good yeah.
Tommy Conwell 09:17
I just can’t imagine. I can’t imagine what the poor people behind me looking at the back of my hairy employee fat legs. You know, going through at that moment is laughing like this guy’s immediate family but whatever. It doesn’t matter. But listen, yo, I gotta get back to I just got to get back to Ocean City for a minute because we didn’t I want to talk about Batman. And thing is about him is that summer. Oh no, I heard about like that. We got to go to see Babbitt. And so I’m like, What was the name of that place used to play you’re too young. You probably don’t know? No, we used to play there but No, there was what it was called, like the, the cease pub or something. There’s something, the Seabreeze Bob or something like that. And he played there like every Thursday or some weeknight or something. And then the line would just be around the block. You know what I mean? It would be down the street, like the people lining up waiting for hours to get in the Party with a DJ, you know what I mean?
Nestor Aparicio 10:27
Play his boat anymore. You would come down here, Jay. used to play the booze cruises out in the harbor. In Baltimore, you will come down here. And so I mean, I knew of your relationship with him. But being 20 years old, he used to always do the the bikini contest in the afternoon. And I figured that’s probably good. You could make back then, you know, because you played at night.
Tommy Conwell 10:53
Yeah, well, I don’t, I don’t remember that. But, but he, he had, like, I guess he was just a good guy. And that was back then a DJ play. Right. You know, they weren’t like to, I don’t know. Not that kind of DJ, not that kind of DJ that like, like, dead mouse. But that that kind of DJ, but it’s the DJ just played good songs. And he and he didn’t talk a lot. And he didn’t, I don’t maybe he did talk. I don’t really remember. But I just remember being amazed that the people would line up and wait for a long time to get in this little bar. And they would stand on the tables and just party with this guy. They just liked him. He was just, he just had it. You know, he just had it. He just had it. You know, and, and on top of that, he was you know, he was very supportive of rocket 88. And then my band and all the live bands. He was a lot of times DJs are like they have like a an attitude with live bands. You know what I mean? Like sometimes like they’re like,
Nestor Aparicio 11:54
I have to stop. Yeah, yeah, the competent
Tommy Conwell 11:59
person, you know, and but he was always really cool. He was always our buddy. And so I’m I’m sad to hear he passed but like goes on, you know, I mean, and he was a couple years older than me. Sure. So, and he certainly lived a good life. That’s
Nestor Aparicio 12:13
yeah, he was one of the best DJ Batman like baby, my friend Tommy Conwell joining us, the young Rumblers putting the band back. And so I have to ask you a little bit of this because I sometimes I watch like axis and I see like documentaries and behind the music. And there’s the old stories of bands breaking up and drugs and alcohol and girls and all that. And then there’s more of the newfangled of what I’ve been a part of lately, I spent the weekend up in New York, I went to see the alarms, they call it the gathering, Mike Peters, he’s a three time leukemia survivor. Now we get a little older, and the fact that you can put your band back together a couple times a year, and people come out and shake their ass and I still want you on my show, and you have this much celebrity and that much work and Letterman tapes and I opened for Bowie and like, like all of that stuff, but being alive at this point on that night and do we beach, the little thunderstorm rolls and you’re gonna have I don’t know, six 800 belaga People 1000 People, we’ve all come I’m driving as I said the pack inizio for the for the Smithereens before he passed. I drove 182 Miles This better be good. This better be you know, but you put the band back together and it feels like 1988 How much rehearsal and all of that and even the relationship of thinking you’re gonna be the biggest band in the world and you’re not you grow older and you have kids and you have marriages, divorces and parents and like all of that, that that you can still do this and that I still want to drive 140 miles or whatever it is to do it. It’s musics magic, dude. I mean it really at this point in my life. It’s it’s a gift more so than sports more so than most things food anything that when I get a good show I’m so looking forward to my night with you. What do we beach and and everybody else’s do?
Tommy Conwell 13:47
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Well, that’s, that’s really nice. And I’ll tell you what, you’re right. It is it is amazing, magical, magical. And it’s more fun. It’s more fun being the next big shot and being a big shot. You know what I mean? I guess if you for me, you know, I mean, because I don’t have to work very hard anymore. Just have a resume, you know what I mean? So, like, there’s no pressure, you know, if you if you’re kind of old and a little shitty, you know? Well, it’s to be expected a little bit. And we know that that were we really there’s not much rehearsal, I will tell you that right now. But we just know we’ve been playing these songs all our adult lives. So you know, like, it’s sort of like Happy Birthday. You don’t really have to practice it. You know what I mean? And we usually do a really long soundcheck and once a while we’re we’ll get together and practice and like learn a new song or a new cover or something but
Nestor Aparicio 14:46
is it more fun? When you get out to do when you’re a little bit on a tight rope? Maybe it makes it a little more live?
Tommy Conwell 14:52
I guess Yeah, Dad, I don’t. Yeah, well, my whole life is on a tight rope. So you know And, yeah, but, you know, but it is great man. And the fact that people come out, just just shocks me, it just blows my mind that people, the people that come out, you know, it’s just like, I just appreciate it so much. Just, it’s just, it’s just a blessing. It’s a gift, you know. And so and, and the other thing is credit to Chris de man, our guitar player, like, he’s, he’s become like the kind of like the manager, and not kind of like the man Butcher. And he, he, he puts Casio, like, if there’s not to me, we will play once a year. You know, I mean, once a year, that’s plenty. People who want to see us will see us, you know, and it’ll be a love fest, and that’ll be it. And he said, well, then we’re only going to play like, I mean, more times, we’re gonna play that if we do that, you know, I mean, we’re gonna play like, 10 more times, you know what I mean? But before it was started dying off, you know, I mean, I mean, I don’t know, you just never know, you know. And he had a good point, you know, and so he he’s kind of like the driving force. Like, we need to get you
Nestor Aparicio 16:11
to Baltimore. You talk about Ocean City. I mean, it’s Ballmer, baby. We gotta get we gotta get you down to the heritage fair something. And put seriously I mean, like, girls are still pretty, you know?
Tommy Conwell 16:23
Well, I’m not really into him anymore. I’ve been married so long. And I’m so old that I have become invisible to the pretty which is probably a good thing.
Nestor Aparicio 16:36
Trouble at this point, right.
Tommy Conwell 16:38
It’s a good thing. It makes life a lot easier a lot easier.
Nestor Aparicio 16:43
I was shocked that you were playing doing I mean, just honestly, like I’m like, because I sort of know you enough to know like enough’s enough. And your once a year admission to me isn’t some big admission, but I think the fans would say, you know, couple three times a year would be okay for I came up to see you with that aborted hokey fest. You guys are on the stage, a black cloud comes you play three songs. Boom, it’s all over with it. Give me training all the notes. You know.
Tommy Conwell 17:08
That’s showbiz. But yeah, but uh, you know, not but it’s fun, man. Like, like I said, that’s if I have my, if I did it my way, which I don’t. So it’s fine. It’s my way is a bad idea is what I was trying to say.
Nestor Aparicio 17:26
The Godfather, they suck you back in? Is that what you’re telling me? Yeah,
Tommy Conwell 17:29
exactly. Yeah. Well, you can’t say now, you know, it’s, he can’t say no, it’s just totally fun. And, and we’re really like, brothers, you know, like, like, we don’t we don’t call each other and say how you do and that often, but, um, but but we always enjoy each other’s company. And, and, you know, it’s a very brotherly thing. It really is. There’s only one, you know, you only have one family and I only have there’s only one. Young Roberts. You know, like, we’ve never, you know, we’ve tried to replace people, but they came back. You went
Nestor Aparicio 18:05
to Baltimore, Billy camp was a little part of your gig for a little while.
Tommy Conwell 18:09
And you know what, there was some Jim, Jim or the drummer. He was hurt. Like when he when I let him go, like, I changed guys. I don’t know. For whatever reason, you know, you think you don’t realize what you have. And I didn’t realize, I don’t know, I was just trying stuff. You know, you try stuff in life, you know. And so I let I like when I let Jim go, like he was first. He was really, he was angry. I remember the first time I called him to do a gig. I think he said, Yeah, I think was a phone call. It sounds like something you’d send an email or whatever. But it was a struggle. I said, he said, there’s not enough money in the world for me to get back on the stage with you. That’s what he said. And that was a long time ago, and I don’t remember what it was about. But anyway, Slippy pulse live got bass player. He grew up with Jim. So he’s always been he’s the the Jim whisperer. You know what I mean? And, you know, he just slowly got him on board, you know? And Jim and I are just, like, we’re just brothers. You know, like, Jim has forgive, because I, I did things like, you know, fire people, you know, and I also was a jerk million times, I’m sure you know what I mean? Like, I think, you know, I think I was, I was I thought I was being totally fine, but you look back and you realize, you know what, I should have had people’s backs more, I should have been more of a leader really. I was really more of like a, just one of the guys. I was like Donovan McNabb or Carson Wentz. You know what I mean on the Eagles, you know, like, the guy, the guy for sure the guy but not the leader. You know what I mean? Not the guy who looked out for everybody
Nestor Aparicio 19:58
answer hard, though. I mean, I guess that’s the thing of 50. But I will tell you, I’ll even show you I have the old Pacifica belt buckles, I collect them and see all the bands on the wall. And think of the people that are alive dead kicked out what’s happened in 50 years since the late 70s. It’s been 40 years now for your band, and thinking about how many things could go wrong, I read all these books of dirty laundry or not so much for things that happened. And then I think about rush, they never got on the stage without each other, and then the drummer dies, right? Like it is. It’s amazing to be able to have a summer night where you put the band together. I saw the cure the other night. I mean, just seeing, seeing it again, all these years later that it’s I think it’s easy to forget the hard times. But as a fan, it’s hard to forget every bus you were on everything that went wrong, when your equipment was stolen when you got sick in the play anyway, fans don’t really appreciate that. But I think as we get older, I appreciate that you’re all alive and well. Gathering so I can spend 30 bucks and come shake my ass and have a good time.
Tommy Conwell 20:53
Yeah, it is. It is a gift. It really is. And we have the the original five guys and and we and I one thing I always say to them is only we can do this, like there’s no other, there’s no one else who can do what we do. You know? You know, whatever it is, whatever it is. It’s what we do, and nobody else can do it. And people came to see it, you know, so it’s just special man. It’s a special and it’s going to be a drag when the first one of us goes, whatever that is
Nestor Aparicio 21:30
100 years from now.
Tommy Conwell 21:33
I’m 61 I’m 61 I mean, I think Rob’s the oldest I think Rob might be 63 but or Jim Jim might be the oldest I think I think Jim’s yields but anyway. You know, many may we may we go on for many more years, but you know, it’s just you cherish it. You know what I mean? You get supposed to get smarter as you get older. I mean and that’s my goal, you know, so I’m trying to cherish everything and everybody today.
Nestor Aparicio 22:00
Last thing for you Tom? Tommy calm Well here they are playing I haven’t given the date. It’s Sunday July 23 It’s like I don’t want people to come I will be there Sunday July 23 I’ll be at the bottle and cork and by the way he gave the rusty router a shout at really good sausage gravy there make sure you get that on the breakfast the morning after a Monday morning so I had the CDs dude I just and green screen may allow me to hold them up and some weird things here. And my buddy Mike Rosenfeld is a big fan of yours or thought he was a big fan of yours, but was unaware of the EP of walking on the water and I think I got this at one of your shows 1015 years somewhere along the line. You repressed this as a CD and I bought it so he’s got you know, he’s got the commercial releases and he he’s really looking for he’s got his tickets or do we beach all his buddies, they’re all going down to see the show and all that and I told him that little kings right and hi oh, silver, and I said look, somebody booted me down I don’t even know who the hell did somebody booted me you’re a bottom line live shows these are freaking great, right? So I bought this on my iPod or you can have it on. So I said to him, Look, stop by I’ll give you this stuff. And he said to me, this is my chief digital officer. He’s a little bit of a nerd web connection. He said I don’t have anything to stick this thing into to make pretty girls come to life and here I come and and do you still believe in me? Which is my ever quick? Are you going to play Do you still believe in me? Do you still hate it? I mean, are you gonna play it? I don’t hate it. Did I ever hate it? stretches without playing? I think it’s a little sappy. It’s meet your love songs
Tommy Conwell 23:33
I’m over that I’m over that tough guy bullshit now. No, yeah, we play that we will probably play it we usually do. Let’s put it that way.
Nestor Aparicio 23:42
Well, I’m trying the old stuff that they don’t have and the technology won’t even allow me to give this to him to stick because he’s got nowhere to stick it anymore. I should get
Tommy Conwell 23:53
that I should put that on Spotify. If I if I I’m sure I could do do that.
Nestor Aparicio 23:59
I bet you’d be shocked how many downloads you get if you do that. All right. I got my straight out of Dundalk shirt it’s rock’n’roll weekend at the Heritage fair I’m doing the Maryland crab cake tour. I fade Lee’s delicious crab cakes they don’t have those in Philly to get pretty good cheese steaks or pork up there. Tommy Caldwell is coming out of Philly with the boys put the young rumbles back together again, they’re gonna be on stage do we beach Sunday, Sunday Sunday July 23 Grab the tickets before they disappear. I love you man and I love when you put the band back together and when you do and you you you know things are tough and like all that I’m still gonna be the guy there on the barstool when you’re singing songs All right, so please keep doing what you’re doing I need you guys dying anymore after Tom Petty we got to keep everybody alive All right, so we’re gonna be alive with rock just like the 80s again all right we’re gonna get a Hell yeah,
Tommy Conwell 24:49
yeah. Oh hell yeah. I’m now see you down there
Nestor Aparicio 24:53
telecom well at the bottom of cork on the 23rd stop and buy. He always says I got five minutes for you. Then we start talking about that. Amanda things get out of hand I’m Nestor we are wn sta a 5070 Towson Baltimore we never stopped talking rock and roll in Baltimore positive stay with us
