CLIPPINGS - INTERVIEWS

An Interview With the Interviewer by Mojo
(from the Euclid Observer, January 2003)

Radio talk show host Denny Carleton interviews musicians in the Cleveland area. Over the last year, he's provided this paper with top notch features on Alan Greene and Ernie Krivda. But Denny Carleton is a solid entertainer and musician in his own right. So I thought it would be a good idea to interview the interviewer. We met at John Christie's and while he ate (and I drank), he talked to me not so much about his activities, but about his perspective on life, Cleveland's music, and the local area.

A familiar face in the East 185 neighborhood (he lives there), people probably know him best from his show on 1330 WELW AM, where each week since 1999, he's been featuring someone or ones impacting northeast Ohio's music scene. Most people think of the station as only polkas, but there's a good 'oldies' format -- '50s/'60s -- that plays from 4am to 4pm as well, and lots in between.

"Why radio?" I asked him. "I was frustrated with the music scene," he told me. "Same sound bytes, same bands over and over. So when I ran into Ray Somich [of WELW] at the [185th] Festival, I pitched the idea of a different kind of radio show, one that would tap into the music world that most people never see or hear. And Ray said okay."

The mission statement of WELW is to give a voice to people who never had one. And that's exactly what Denny's been doing for the last three years. "I'm not trying to be a Dick Clark or Wolfman Jack," Denny said. "I bring in people that are interesting and that I believe will be interesting to my audience. The show is really my life, who I know, and my perspective."

Denny Carleton is a musician with a solid reputation in this area. He began performing for audiences in the 1960's when he was part of "The Choir" and the "Lost Souls". His music blends original material with an eclectic blend of classic folk, rock and acoustic influences. He has been teaching guitar at the Willoughby Fine Arts since the early 1980's. He is a prolific songwriter in the folk, rock and gospel field whose music has been played on 300 college and public radio stations in the U.S. and Canada. And he has composed music for four plays.

The show really is an offshoot of Denny's music. A little bit underground, a little off the beaten track. "I was in Great Lakes Mall this one day," he said, "and met a string quartet (three violins and a cello). They'd been playing together for a few years and they were all thirteen years.old. I invited them on to my show.

"To me, mainstream is okay. But the more obscure, the better. I've interviewed over 200 people and they tell me things about their lives and their music that they normally wouldn't talk about. In a sense, the show has gone beyond me. By that I mean, it really has given a voice to people who never had one."

It's probably Denny's style of interview. Like most radio hosts, he tries to find the human interest side and entertain his audience, but in Carleton's mind, the show is bigger than that. He uses it to educate and to raise awareness of the arts as well. A while back, Denny ran into a gentleman at the Willoughby Art Gallery who himself brings in musicians from around the world. The gentleman told Denny in a heavily accented English, "Cleveland is a great intellectual center. I bring great musicians in and they play 'Home Concerts'." The musician the gentleman was bringing in at that particular time was Csaba Cirolly from Hungary (pianist). Denny's reaction? "I've got to get this guy (Cirolly) on my show." And he did.

Radio is tough to measure, but somehow WELW must know it has a good product in Carleton's show. When it won the contract to air the Lake County Captains' games, a lot of shows had to be cut. But the station kept Denny's.

Last summer Denny got involved in yet another venture. Together with a couple of friends, they staged a Christian Coffee House at the Mentor Arabica. One hundred and twenty people showed up. That led to a "Gospel Sunday" at the Lake County fair in August. And in September when Arabica re-opened (it had closed), the new managers called on Denny and his co-host Linda to ask if they'd like to start it up again. They agreed and now every Friday night, about seventy people regularly gather for an "open mike", straight out of the '70s, coffee house. Denny said. "It's a Christian format, but not in a traditional sense. All kinds of people and musicians show up and perform. It's very mysterious."

In addition to his own music, the radio show and the coffee house, Carleton has one other passion - East 185 and the surrounding neighborhood. "This is a great neighborhood," he said. "It's honest. It's gritty. It's eclectic. But while the neighborhood is doing well, the street is struggling. East 185th the business district does not reflect the vibrancy of the neighborhood. But it could. It could be like downtown Willoughby, which is booming." When I asked why he thought that was, Denny gave me his perspective. "It's more cohesive between the local businesses and their politicians. They're working together toward a common goal. Both sides are committed to the same vision for the area."

Like everything else in his life, Denny has jumped in to help the street's resurgence in the best way he knows - music. During the Sidewalk Sales he volunteered to play at Rick's Music Emporium, and was joined by other minstrels right there in the store and out on the street.

Over the years, in everything he's done and is doing, Denny Carleton has brought himself into the mix. And that means that he's brought people into the mix - their voice, their talent, their perspective. WELW is a perfect home for this talented musician, because like the station, Denny sees himself as a vehicle whereby people that never had a voice, have one. ___
For more information on Carleton's personal appearance, visit his website at http://www.dennycarleton.com

[List]

Denny Carleton's Local Connection (Text Reprint, Dec 10-16 2001)
by Deanna R. Adams

From Folk and rock, to blues and gospel, local singer songwriter, educator and radio personality Denny Carleton does it all and has stuck by his Cleveland roots.

Few people can make a living in the Arts, be it as a visual artist, a writer or a musician. Most need to keep a "day job" to supplement an income that, as one musician put it, hasn't changed much since the Kennedy Administration.

Denny Carleton has been lucky. He's managed to grow from a teenage kid playing his guitars at local venues, to a grown man whose 30- plus career has included various aspects of the music business. The Cleveland native continues to perform both on the local circuit, and on his WELW 1330 radio program,[Note: Denny is no longer at WELW] Denny Carleton's Cleveland Music Connection, which airs Monday from 7-8 pm. He's also a songwriter, and a guitar teacher, who teaches the rudiments of the instrument to others who aspire to get where he has been.

"I started teaching in the early '80's because I was good at it and I needed a job," says Carleton, who teaches weekly at the Willoughby Fine Arts, and the Music emporium on East 185th. "I feel fortunate I've been able to do this for a living, I really enjoy sharing what I know.

Music has been his muse since 1965 when he and four other Catholic boys from Cleveland's St Joseph High School formed The Lost Souls. The group played local teen dances and clubs and became notable after performing at the Cleveland Municipal Stadium on the heels of the Beatle's 1966 concert. Soon, the Lost Souls was one of Cleveland's most popular rock bands, and sixteen year old Carleton was a local teen idol. Through the next two decades, he went through the typical revolving door of bands, including The Choir, Moses, Milk, Inner City and the Pagans, a unique band from the early Cleveland punk era.

He continued in bands through the '80's, but his focus changed.

"I was in a band called the Surprise Band, which later changed to the Window" he says, But we were no longer thinking about "making it big". We were doing it to make money and have fun with it".

During this time Carleton found a way to distribute his music, both new and old, by starting his own record label, Green Light Records and Tapes, in 1984. That's when he released a cassette tape of Lost Souls music, which was favorably reviewed by notable San Francisco writer Ritchie Unterberger of Option Magazine. He steered away from playing in bands in the 90's when he and his x wife Theresa became a singing duet.

"We'd perform at coffeehouses and small clubs throughout Ohio and Michigan," Carleton recalls. "We did that for about ten years and I enjoyed that time, but I was also becoming increasingly frustrated at how the current music scene was being presented by the media, or rather, not presented. Because what I was reading about how small the scene was etc. didn't coincide with what I knew or experienced."

So in 1998 he decided to do something about it.

"I knew Ray Somich, one of the owners of WELW, from my church and I mentioned to him that I'd like to do something to promote local music and bring more awareness to the present scene, which I think is quite diverse and thriving. He told me if I could get some sponsors to back me, the station was open to something like that."

That was all the encouragement he needed. Within months, Carleton gathered a list of sponsors, sought out prospective guests, and his show debuted in February 1999. In addition to all his varied job descriptions, Carleton was now a radio personality. "My first guest was Tom Pravensalle, lead guitarist for the local band, The Mersey Beats," he recalls. "I'd have a wide range of guests week to week to show the diversity in the music scene. And right from the start I got a lot of good responses to it."

"Back then I was pre taping the show, but I discovered that doing it live brings more immediacy to the program and I think it's more interesting."

Though he had no prior experience in radio, he soon caught on to the job of interviewing. His hundreds of guests over the past three years have spanned the musical gamut. They include legendary rock band members from the Raspberries, Damnation of Adam Blessing, and Eli Radish, songwriter comedian Charlie Wiener, blues legend Mr. Stress, country singer Cletus Black, songwriter/producer and fellow teacher at the Willoughby Fine Arts, Larry Smith, reggae rocker Carlos Jones, songwriter/guitarist Jim Bidelman, pianist/jingle writer Jim Brickman and WELW co-worker and radio veteran (WIXY WMJI) Chris Quinn. And that's just to name a few.

Carleton also keeps in touch, both personally and professionally, with friends from his glory days, such as Jim Anderson of the Choir and Al Globekar from the 70's band Milk. "Right now were starting work on a CD for Denny," says Globekar, who has a home studio in Mentor and will play guitar as well as produce the recording. "I liken Denny to a Ray Davies-type of songwriter-that same kind of style. He's a real good songwriter and musician. I always joke with him, though because he always got a lot going on in his head that he sometimes needs guidance. Yet the guy can remember every single song he ever played, I swear. He's amazing. So when we get together to record, I as a producer, can guide the direction, and together we develop the song. I always enjoy working with him."

The long time musician plays out approximately 150 times a year, at churches, nursing homes, Borders Bookstores, and various coffeehouses, such as The Wickliffe Arabica. Since his recent divorce, he often plays solo, though whenever he gets a chance he'll hook up with some friends like Jim Anderson, and until his sudden death in September of 2001, veteran guitarist Greg Nelson.

"I feel so bad about that" he says, "Greg and I hit it off right away and we played together so well. We planned to do a lot more together, and then he was gone. I had a hard time with that one."

He may mourn lost friends, but he doesn't mourn his past. Carleton admits he's proud of the bands he's been associated with through the years, proud of making music, proud of teaching. But he has clear visions for the future.

"I've always been a project person he says. I'm looking forward to doing more recordings. I've also been working on a play about my ancestor, Will Carleton, the Poet Laureate of Michigan, which will be performed at the Willoughby Fine Arts."

And he says as long as WELW will have him, he'll continue to bring awareness to the local music scene via his weekly radio show. Those too far from the small station's signal in Willoughby, can log into their website at www.WELW.com <"http://www.WELW.com"> to hear his live show, or turn into Broadband cable network channel 28. Carleton's work, both past and present, is profiled in his website www.dennycarleton.com <"http://www.dennycarleton.com">, where his Cd's are also available.

In an era where many want to pigeonhole, a group or individual, Carleton says that's hard to do with him. "I think I've always been a bit confusing to people," he says. "I mean here I am a Christian, yet was in a punk band called the Pagans. But I've always found different areas of music interesting. And I don't mind the nostalgic thing. I think it's great that people remember I was in this band or that one. I just don't want to dwell on it. I want to grow and do different thing. And now with everything I've already done I have an opportunity to do it right."

(Deanna R. Adams is author of the "Rock n' Roll", "The Cleveland Connecton" from the Kent State University Press and Tonight Magazine.)

[List]

From the Cleveland Free Times

[List]

Lake County News Herald from December 4, 2000
Click image to enlarge

[List]

Interview by John Gorman of Lance Records, About the Lost Souls 60's Band (appeared April 2001)

Q)What was your musical experience prior to joining the Lost Souls?

"When Larry Tomczack and I (the drummer for the Lost Souls) saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, we decided to start a band. So we asked our friends if they wanted to join and we all took lessons up a Sodjas music a local store. Nine months later, after two of the friends had dropped out, we started the Lost Souls and I have been doing music ever since."

Q) Who formed the Lost Souls? What year was this? Please list original member's names and instruments.

"If I remember clearly it was Larry Tomczack and myself. .The original lineup was Larry Tomczack - drums, Chuck Mckinley - bass, Rich Schoenaur - sax and flute, Denny Carleton - rhythm guitar and Ed Gazoski - lead guitar. Ed played lead for about three months and then Denny Marek joined us as lead guitar. Denny had been playing since he was about eight years old and helped the band grow very quickly. We all attended the same high school, (St. Joseph High School) in the same grade, and Denny knew us and could see that we were going to be good and wanted to be in the band. Ed played for about another year and then left the band with Denny being the only lead player."

Q) It's well documented in Cleveland music history that early, pre-British Invasion bands were comprised of either "Greasers" or "Mods". In 5000 (just kidding) words or less, could you elaborate on this? How significant was the division between the two band types (any feuding, or snobbery)? Could each group's sound be generalized? Did the Lost Souls consider themselves "Mods"? Or didn't it matter?

"It has become apparent to me that when I try to describe greasers to some of my younger friends that they think this species of human beings do not exist anymore. They always ask me when they read about greasers what they were like. I try to tell them, but they don't get it and I have realized that greasers are extinct.

Greasers were not like Fonzy on happy days although they did dress like that. They put grease in their hair and pushed it back like James Dean. They usually were prejudiced but liked soul music a lot. They enjoyed fighting, and shining their shoes with shoe polish. At St. Joes they played some kind of game called rock-paper, scissors. Paper covers rock, scissors is smashed by rock...I never did get it. One on one, most of these guys were OK - but get them in a group and these dudes were scary. Mods on the other hand had long hair, peace, love etc.. When long hair first came out, it seemed to mean something like you were into peace.

So there was a big cultural and sociological change happening - 60’s long hair etc. And the greasers were out to stop it. There was a total division. I mean Mods and long hair people and the world and things we take for granted now did not exist before the 60’s. I think the greasers had the older view of the world saw the long hair counterculture as a dangerous and bad thing.

What was unique about the Lost Souls is we were able to cross over a little. I was a mod big time all the way. Mod was stamped on my forehead when I was born. If you wanted a textbook study I was it. I like the music the clothes the attitude evrything. The other guys in the band, Rich, Chuck and Larry were nice guys and had long hair, but were able to relate to all the styles of people. Denny Marek was a unique person and a good musician. So basically I didn’t get beat up as much by the greasers because of the other guys contacts and friends. The attitude towards me was, hey you may be a blankety blank blank no good long hair, but your friends with Chuck and Rich and Larry and any one tries to beat on you we will protect you.

Most of the time that was the attitude, although one time I was sucker punched by a guy at Bobs Big Boy..I found out recently that fellow is in prison."

Q) Cleveland's garage band scene in the '60's was almost unrivaled in terms of the number of great bands. Aside from the Lost Souls, which bands were your favorite, or which bands did you consider the best of the best? Which bands were your "rival" bands?

"When I was a teenager and all during the 60s there were man rival bands but most of it was friendly and brought out the best in all of us. The Mods who became the Choir were a great band. Ironically, I have a radio program about * Cleveland Music 6:30 EST Friday nights on WELW (7PM Sat), and some of those greaser bands that I have reissued Cds of were great, especially Bocky and the Visions. I always like Wally Bryson. Double Neck guitar doing Byrds - he was great. This was a very good time in Cleveland musical history.. You had a young Joe Walsh playing with the James Gang, Eric Carmen with the Cyrus Erie, The Damnation of Adam Blessing.. I may be biased but bands were just better. I have thought a lot about this and I think one of the keys to creating that environment, with bands and musicians like Phil Keaggy, Eli Radish etc., was that almost every band did originals and covers. The covers made you mainstream and the originals kept it real and important. Now, bands seem to be either a cover band or an all original band."

Q) The Lost Souls became one of Cleveland's best known bands, and played a gig at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. What year was this? What were the circumstances leading to the gig? How did a band without any singles releases get added to such a major concert event? How popular was the band locally?

"The band was unique because we were able to be popular in some places where other bands couldn't go. The Lost Souls could play for and average High School dance for a mod thing and also a greaser types of functions. We had a horn so we could do Motown. I do not remember how we got the stadium gig 1967, but I know we played three times a week for about three years and held attendance records at may clubs. We finished fourth in the Teen Fair voting in 1967 out of all the bands that competed.. Deanna Adams told me that as she was writing her book about the history of the Cleveland music scene, many people she interviewed said that she had to have a special section on the Lost Souls as one of the major Cleveland bands of the 60’s. I think that’s true."

Q) In a 1967 Cleveland-area Battle of the Bands, the Lost Souls finished fourth. Do you recall which bands finished ahead of you? How many bands entered? Any specific recollections of the event?

"The band that beat us out was called the Penny Arcade. They had their amplifiers made to look like Sergeant Peppers and did all Beatles songs.I don't remember who else competed. There were hundreds of bands that competed. The next year, we entered again thinking we might win and we changed our name to Miniver Cheevy for only that gig. We were disqualified because we entered twice. Im not sure how all that happened and I was bummmed out."

Q) Did the Lost Souls make any local TV appearances? If so, on which shows? Does any 8mm or 166mm footage exist of the band?

"Lost Souls, I believe, was on TV once but it wasn’t The Upbeat Show. I don't remember the name of the show. One time I saw at my brother house some footage that he took of us at the Teen Fair. I'll ask him if he can find it."

Q) Though the Lost Souls never released any singles, at least 10 songs have survived. Where were these recorded? What year(s)?

"These songs were recorded mostly in 1966 and 1967. 'My Love I Won't Admit' and 'Look At Me" and "Walkin' Out On Me' was recorded at an audio recording. 'Things That Are Important' and 'Josephine' were recorded on an Teac 2trac recorder."

Q) The band recorded many original compositions. Did the band share equally inn the song writing area, or was there a primary songwriter within the group? Which bands-- national or local--were considered influences?

"I believe I was the primary songwriter, although Denny and Chuck also wrote, and wrote the more unusual Lost Souls songs. I was influenced by everything British and melodic, while Denny Marek loved the Ventures and Chuck loved big vocalists. But I don't know if you can hear those influences.. Their music sounds Asian to me, and I have no idea where that comes from. You should listen to their music and you tell me what influenced it."

Q) The Choir reportedly performed one of your original compositions, entitled "Whatcha Gonna' Do?" How did this come about? "

I went to Cuyahoga Community College with Dann Klawon and Jim Bonfanti from the Choir and every one in Cleveland seemed to like "The Small Faces". My song' 'Whatcha Gonna' Do' was influenced by the Faces and I shared the song with Dann (which has become a time honored ritual), and he liked it and asked if the Choir would do it and I said yes."

Q) Were there any circumstances at the time that prevented the band from releasing a single?

"Our manager, I think just didn't know how to get the band on the next level. Our families were all blue collar in a blue collar town with a blue collar manager didn’t know how to do it, and we didn't believe in ourselves quite enough. The lost souls somehow lacked a little confidence…Looking back it was regrettable but I think somehow we lacked a savvy."

Q) Do any live recordings exist of the band?

"Yes, Denny Marek recorded many and I'll send you a couple cuts. They are very unique. I may include them on future releases."

Q) Did the Lost Souls ever develop a signature song, such as the Choir's "It's Cold Outside", or the Outsiders' "Time Won't Let Me"?

"Obviously, none of the Lost Souls' songs had the national impact as the two listed above, but were any of the band's songs identified locally with the band? I think my first song 'I Want You' was known as a Lost Soul song and, probably more than other song, 'My Love I Wont Admit' could be known as a Souls song; but not on the level as if we had been on a 45."

Q) The Lost Souls started as a somewhat typical "British Invasion" garage band, but shortly added a saxophone, a flute, and a mandolin. Whose decision was it to add these non-typical instruments? What direction was the band heading in at the time? How many years after the band's formation was this change?

"The band always had a sax and flute, but played sparingly on Paul Revere and the Raiders covers and Motown songs. After being together for a while. we tried to do our own music..I know that's whatI wanted to do. You have to remember this was the 60’s and very heady times..Frank Zappa was new as well as Seargeant Pepper etc.. There was lot of experimintation going on, in all forms of music and life. We were part of that scene not pretending or wishing to be all. So we were part of that period and we experimented with different instruments. We were also going to college and Vietnam was going on.. so as I said very heady times. The band changed direction after two and a half years and started doing originals."

Q) What was the reaction by Lost Souls' fan base to the band's new sound? Did you note any popularity change--either more or less--due to the change in sounds?

"By the time we started sounding different, we were out of high school and were playing farther and farther form our home base. So basically, most people didn’t care for the new sound. They couldn't dance to it and it was not familiar enough."

Q) After the Lost Souls, you were approached to join the Choir. Was the Lost Souls still an active band at the time you left? Did the band continue on without you? What spelled "the end" for the Lost Souls?

"The Lost Souls getting ready to go into their second year of college, did not seem to be interested in practicing or playing as much as they used to be. I am a serious person (for better or for worse) and I often stayed home and practiced while the other guys went out for fun..the band basically broke up because every one went on with their lives. The Lost Souls could have been a lot more, but we didn't know that and no one was really serious about keeping it together. When I was asked to join the Choir was basically the same time the Lost Souls ended ..I joined the Choir right after the Lost Souls dissolved."

*Note: Denny is no longer at WELW

Lance Record's Magazine featuring 60's and garage bands link.

[List]

(Unknown Source)
Click on image to enlarge

[List]