It was the 1980s, and heavy metal delivered emotion with unabashed lyrics, deep rooted rhythms, and volume levels that far exceeded what the Lawrence Welk crowd enjoyed during preceding decades.
Quiet Riot. Poison. Whitesnake. Slayer. Judas Priest. Iron Maiden. Megadeth. Metallica.
And Screamer. Don’t forget those Saturday nights at the Swing Club with Screamer.
It’s a sound birthed in the 1970s that traveled mainstreamed avenues thanks to KISS and AC/DC, and once the Wheeling Civic Center opened in 1977, management welcomed the likes of Black Sabbath, Def Leppard, Aerosmith, Cinderella, Guns n’ Roses, ZZ Top, and many other to its concrete cave.
Jim Dofka, Mike Boyers, Phil Brossman, and Chet Miller were in those sold-out audiences, and their heads were full of dreams about being next great American band.
“The way the music was delivered by a lot of bands back then really resonated with all of us. It made sense, and it was awesome, and we wanted to do that,” explained Miller, Screamer’s lead singer who will lead the band into its 35th reunion tomorrow night on the top floor of Generations Restaurant & Pub in Wheeling. “So, we did, and we got fans, and it was amazing.
“That’s why we’re going to do it again,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons, anyway. Even though Screamer disbanded because life got real, we’ve stayed friends, and we’ve been talking about a reunion for a long time. Now, to be able to do it for such a great cause, just makes it sweeter.”
The doors to the top-floor area once known as the “Swing Club” along National Road will open at 7 p.m., and Rattle Bones, a band out of the Pittsburgh area, will open the show close to 8 p.m. At approximately 8:45-9 p.m., Screamer will take the stage for about 90 minutes, and all proceeds will benefit the “Street MOMs” non-profit in Wheeling.
“Rattle Bones is really, really awesome. It’s a three-piece band with seasoned musicians who play original straightforward rock. They remind me of Tom Petty and his band, really,” Miller explained. “And then we’ll get up there and who knows, we might even have some special guests we could be popping up on stage with us.
“They’re very impressive special guests, too, but that’s all I can say,” he said with a smile. “It’s a sold-out show and we can’t wait to see everyone again. It’s going to be a great night.”
The “Street MOMs” non-profit was founded in August 2019 so the volunteers could help the members of Wheeling’s homeless population, and the organization’s Facebook page has more than 4,300 followers.
“We talked last year about doing a reunion show because, well, we’re not getting any younger,” Miller said. “So, we got together and decided, hey, if we’re going to do this, it needs to be for a charity. We just want to do it for fun so we can our friends and fans back together and have a blast, but we thought we might be able to help people at the same time.
“Phil’s wife, Susan (Brossman) has the non-profit called ‘Street MOMs,’ and they do great work with the homeless,” he explained. “They really assist them with all aspects of life, and they have a lot of volunteers, so whatever we can do to help it cool with us. We just want to have fun while helping a great cause.”
BANG YOUR HEAD!!
The hair.
Rockers like Angus Young and James Hetfield and the late Ozzy Osbourne all had the metal hair.
Boyers, Brossman, Dofka, and Miller all had the hair, too. But that was the ’80s.
“Phil and Jimmy have always had the hair, and Mike has a little, too,” Miller said with a grin. “But me? I don’t even know if I could grow hair that long again, but I’m sure I’ll pretend like I do Saturday night because that’s the way it was when we were playing our music.”
OK, but what about those voices?
“We’ve been working on our voices, and it’s been a process. It’s been almost 35 years.” Miller said chuckling. “I’ve kept my chops up a little, but now it’s getting real again. Our practices have made me wonder how we did these shows four or five nights a week back in the day.
“We used to travel to where we were playing that night, set up, play, then tear down, and then travel back, and we wouldn’t get home until the middle of the night. Plus, I worked a full-time job back then, too. I have no idea how we did it, but we did it.”
Screamer released a new single last week and it’s been played often both locally by the River Network’s RAGE FM at 96.5 FM and internationally.
“The song is ‘Give It All Your Might’, and it’s actually one of our first we recorded back in 1986 or ’87, and we got together and rehashed it,” Miller said. “Then we recorded as adults and it turned out really well. It’s been released to 101 internet radio shows and I think like 152 stations, and locally, Rage 96.5 FM is playing it.
“It’s been released in the (United Kingdom), and the response we’re getting from it has been awesome. We didn’t think it would be like that,” he said. “We’ll be playing it Saturday night for sure.”
And “Give It All Your Might” will be just one of several originals they’ll dust off.
“We’re going to do majority of will be originals, you know, that we played back in the day. I mean, probably 70 to 80 percent, and then we’ll throw some covers that people always loved when we played them,” the lead singer said. “It’s going to be a blast getting back into that because we can practice the songs all day long, but without the audience out there, it’s tough to know how we’ll react.
“I mean, we’re all older, so I’m sure no one is going to try anything crazy. We may want to, but we’re all a little smarter these days,” he said with a laugh. “But I’m sure we’re going to feel it again; that adrenaline like back in the day. That was incredible and I can’t wait to feel that again.”
Those Swing Club Nights
It wasn’t until the late 1990s that Michael Duplaga III and his family returned home from Elkins, W.Va., when the “Swing Club” was renamed “Generations Restaurant & Pub” and the bulk of the business started taking place in what was once considered the “downstairs.”
That’s where once upon a time ago the illuminated dance floors welcomed disco dancers, the bar’s main entrance was along National Road, and inside were a couple of bars and a stage where the bands played.
Although Duplaga’s renovations have significantly changed and improved the upstairs floor, that same stage still stands.
“We’re exited that our reunion show is taking place in the old ‘Swing Club’ part upstairs, and they’ll a band named Punching Oswald will be playing downstairs, too,” Miller explained. “So, we’re back in the Swing Club like we used to be back in the day for our shows, and man that’s going to be awesome.
“We’re going to have a lot of fun with it, and we’re going to do our best to make sure the people who come to the show have a blast,” he said. “We loved what we did back in the ‘80s, and we’re excited to have this chance 35 years later.”
Boyers was a student at Ohio University in Athens, Brossman was fresh out of Linsly, Dofka was still in high school, and Miller was working full time when Screamer was that ultra-popular melodic heavy metal band not only performing at the “Swing Club” but also at a number of bars throughout the tri-state region.
“And we’ve all kept in contact, too, and we’ve never really put music down,” Miller said. “But when we disbanded, it was time to grow up, ya know? But Jimmy (Dofka) and I have gotten together through the years, and he’s had a band and I’ve played with them and traveled for shows, too. But getting all four of us is going to be great.
“It’s like we never missed a day, really. And we spend as much time laughing, giggling, and talking about life. Not so much music, but about life,” added Screamer’s lead singer. “It’s really been a valuable time and it’s been awesome.”
