Sun 7/27 @ 8:30PM
Once upon a time, like back in 1980, the Generators were considered Cleveland’s band “most likely to.”
They were the most buzzed-about band at a time when a wave of original bands was starting to pull attention from the dance cover bands that dominated the scene in the mid-late ’70s. Everyone seemed to love the band’s bright, pulsating harmony-heavy pop sound. They were the darlings of WMMS-FM in its “Pride of Cleveland” era when it was actively pushing for some breakout Cleveland bands. The station’s promotion director Dan Garfinkel resigned to start a management company with the Generators as his first project. For two to three years, they were the band everyone talked about.
Alas, a couple of 7”s (one on WMMS’s Buzzard label) and a track on WMMS’s Pride of Cleveland compilation comprised its entire catalo. The expected record deal never materialized and the band fell apart by the end of 1982, perhaps weighed down by too many high expectations.
The band’s singer/guitarist (and main songwriter) Mark Addison went on to play with Hungry Young Men and A Nation of One before leaving Cleveland. He now runs a recording studio in Austin. Bassist Glenn Tozser aka “Stutz Bearcar” played with the Armstrong-Bearcat Band for years. And you can still find vocalist Eva Dilcue and guitarist “Neon Don” Buchanan playing around town.
But many local music fans fondly remember the era when the Generators blazed brightly in a promising field of young bands. Those fans will definitely want to be there when the Generators reunion concert happens at the Beachland Ballroom. And maybe they’ll want to bring along some younger friends who missed that fertile era of Cleveland rock and roll. David Loy & the Ramrods open.
Admission is $12 in advance, $15 day of show.
facebook.com/TheGenerators1980s
Cleveland, OH 44110