History of the Band

The Name

   In 1996, Tom had made a list of around a hundred different names for a band ,(most of them "Tom Knight and...")before finally deciding on "Tom Knight & the Blue Moon."

Tom chose "Blue Moon"  for several different reasons.  

• There is a play on words with "Knight" (Night) and "Moon."  

• The song "Blue Moon" by Rodgers and Hart is an example of a song that can be performed either as a Jazz standard, or a Rock 'n' Roll song. To Tom , the song represents the band's ability to play in both styles.  (They sing a nice version of it, by the way.)

• A "blue moon" is the second full moon occuring in a month, which has significance to those who watch the skies. By using that name for the band, it's a way of saying that we are unique and rare.

• The "Blue" in "Blue Moon" could refer to the fact that a lot of the band's songs are based in the blues.

• There are nice associations in Tom's mind with the imagery of a blue moon, and dancing under the moon. It represents a romantic evening with the one you love.

How it started...

  As a swing dancer, and a singer, Tom had been thinking for a while about the possibility of getting a swing band together. Singing for kids was great, but he wanted to sing in other styles too. He heard other local bands and thought, "I could do that." What he didn't know was how much work it would take to get a band together and keep them together.

  In December of 1995, Tom completed his first recording that wasn't for a children's audience, "Crazy Little Dream," which had 2 or 3 swing songs on it. Tom did not have a band at that time, but assembled diverse musicians specifically for the one-time recording project. When he did an album release party (December '95), he sang a few songs with Ithaca's popular swing band, The Hotfoot Club.

   In April, 1996, Tom was performing his usual mix of folk, swing, and kids' music in a coffeehouse setting as a solo artist, when Jim Lawrence approached him after the set to ask if he needed a bass player. After some consideration, Tom met with Jim for a rehearsal, to see if it would work.

  At the rehearsal, Tom was surprised to find that Jim had practiced most of the songs on his "Crazy Little Dream" CD, xeroxing the lyrics, and highlighting in yellow the lyrics that he could sing harmony on. Jim already knew his parts almost perfectly, after just one rehearsal! They began rehearsing with the goal of performing in coffeehouses.

   Jim worked with a drummer named Fred Johnson in a band called Backtalk. Jim thought a drummer would would really improve some of the material. Besides drumming, Fred was also an accomplished singer, able to do leads and harmonies. The three of them debuted this new group at the Ithaca Festival June 2nd, 1996.

   Since Tom was a rhythm player and couldn't play  guitar solos, the three traded scat vocal solos, and did three part harmonies. At this point, the material was primarily drawn from "Crazy Little Dream," in styles of folk, swing, and folk-pop, with a few swing songs thrown in.

  Later that Summer,  August 1996, Bob Keefe was added on electric guitar. His ability to play swing , Rock 'n' Roll, and blues, as well as his extensive knowledge of music theory made him a great addition to the band.

  The name of the group at this time was "Tom Knight and the Blue Moon Trio." They performed at Ithaca's ABC Café. It turned out they were a little too loud for the little room. Swing and rock 'n' roll were added, with less of the folk styles. The goal was to play for swing dancers.

(l-r) Jim Lawrence, Tom Knight,
Fred with a goofy expression, and Bob Keefe

  In October 1996, Tom got a call from Richard Newman of the Rochester Swing Dance Network. They had monthly dances on Friday nights. Richard said, "You know that swing band you were trying to get together? Is it together?" Richard had got a cancellation only 4 days before a gig. Tom rushed to call the other three members of the band, and it turned out that they were all available. So on October 11th, 1996, Tom Knight and the Blue Moon Trio had their first swing dance gig.

  There was not enough time to have a full band rehearsal before the gig, so Tom rehearsed with Fred and Jim, and then rehearsed with Bob separately.

  At the gig, they were forced to repeat a few songs from the first set at the end of the night, but it turned out that they did have enough material to play for 3 hours.

   Afterward, Richard said, "You guys are great. But you could really use a sax player." Tom agreed, and shortly thereafter asked Brian Earle to join the band. Brian was primarily a clarinet player who also played alto sax.

  April 26th, 1997, Tom Knight and The Blue Moon Trio (with special guest Brian Earle) played a Ithaca swing dance which they sponsored themselves. The attendance was a bit low, but those  who were there had a great time. Their reputation was growing. Around this time, the name was shortened to "Tom Knight & the Blue Moon." The "Trio" part was too confusing, and dint' make sense any more.

The line-up was:

• Tom Knight - vocals and acoustic guitar

• Jim Lawrence - bass and vocals

• Fred Johnson - drums and vocals

• Bob Keefe - electric guitar

• Brian Earle - clarinet and alto saxophone

  Brian played once more with the band, at the Ithaca festival, June 1st, 1997. He decided to leave the band since he was too busy with his other bands to put much rehearsal time into the Blue Moon. Fred had already suggested Brian's replacement, Peter Forlano of the Ithaca Ageless Jazz Band. Peter played tenor and alto saxophone. Peter knew all the old swing tunes, and could also wail on the Rock 'n' Roll tunes. Peter was also a very strong soloist in any style. It was a great match.

Peter, Jim, Tom,  Fred, and Bob

  Somewhere around this time, Jim bought an upright bass. Previously, he had only played electric bass. The upright was more difficult to play, but gave a more authentic sound (and look) to the band.

  On Sept. 16th, 1997, the band went to the Electric Wilburland studio to record a demo tape. The songs were "Jump Back" (a Knight original), "All Shook Up," "Honeysuckle Rose," "Mustang Sally" (with Fred on vocals), "Cheek to Cheek," "You Were Meant for Me" (another original),  "Roll Over Beethoven" (with Jim on lead), and "Blue Moon."

  On June 28th, 1998, Tom and Jim played at an anniverary party in the little town of South Otselic, NY. Gary Hartz came up after the set and volunteered to play trumpet with us if we needed one. Tom liked the idea.

  At the end of July, 1998, Bob decided to leave the band, because of his busy performing and teaching schedule. Bob would be hard to replace. Different ideas were thrown around. Tom wanted to add Gary Hartz as a trumpet player, and go on without a lead guitar. Jim and Fred were in favor of adding a keyboard player. Tom asked Gary to join the band, and began calling around to find a guitar player. Robbert Van Renesse filled in for a gig. Clint Swank played a couple gigs. The band was now six pieces.

• Tom Knight - vocals and acoustic guitar

• Jim Lawrence - bass and vocals

• Fred Johnson - drums and vocals

• Peter Forlano -alto and tenor saxophone

• Gary Hartz - trumpet

• ?- electric guitar

  Then Jim heard that Mike Vitucci was looking for a band, having retired from Bernie Milton's Soul Patrol after nearly 20 years. All reports indicated he would be a fantastic addition to the band. He did join the band, and the current line-up is:

• Tom Knight - vocals and acoustic guitar

• Jim Lawrence - bass and vocals

• Fred Johnson - drums and vocals

• Peter Forlano -alto and tenor saxophone

• Gary Hartz - trumpet

• Mike Vitucci- electric guitar

Jim, Peter, Fred, Tom, Gary, and Mike

  In March of '99, Tom heard that the legendary swing dancer, Frankie Manning, was having a birthday party in New York City. Members of the Ithaca  Swing Dance Network (ISDN) were talking about giving him a present. Tom had the idea of writing a song for Frankie, and recording it with the band, and giving it to Frankie for his birthday.  Doing a lot of research, Tom wrote the song, "Frankie Steps Out."

  The plan was to record the song. But Tom thought that the band may as well record a few more songs while they wre in the studio.  It takes so long to set up the mics and get the recording levels right, why not use the time to make a little demo CD, updating the demo from '97.

   On May 26th, 1999, the band went into Masterview Soundcrafts Studio, in Freeville NY to record 6 songs. "Frankie Steps Out," "Honeysuckle Rose," "Come Go With Me," "Jump Jive an' Wail,"  and two originals:"You Were Meant for Me," and "Coffee Do Your Stuff."  The result was Just a Taste.

   It was just a demo, recorded live (with a few little mistakes), but the band was pretty happy with it. Particularly nice were the recordings of "Honeysuckle Rose" and "You Were Meant for Me."

For a list of upcoming gigs go to the calendar.