LONG-AWAITED REUNION
Die-hards wanna be with Raspberries

By John Soeder

The Raspberries were back in season Friday night—finally!—at the House of Blues in downtown Cleveland. A reunion concert by these hometown rock 'n' roll heroes drew 1,200 fans from across North America, as well as one die-hard devotee who came all the way from England. Tickets sold out in a scant 15 minutes. The reunion itself, however, was a long time coming.

When lead singer Eric Carmen, guitarist Wally Bryson, bass player Dave Smalley and drummer Jim Bonfanti last performed together on The Mike Douglas Show in 1973, Richard Nixon was in the White House, the Watergate scandal was in the news, and The Way We Were was playing at the movies.

The band's House of Blues gig fell exactly 31 years to the day since Bonfanti and Smalley parted ways with the group because of artistic differences. A bitter aftertaste left ex-bandmates at odds for decades after the Raspberries had gone sour.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world," said Julia Heard, who flew in from London with her husband, Steve, for the show. They spent a total of about $5,700 for concert tickets, air fare and lodging.

This wasn't her first trip to Cleveland. Heard, 43, came here in 2000 to see Carmen perform at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. She first saw Carmen on the British television show "Top of the Pops" in the mid-1970s.

"I've been hooked on his music ever since," Heard said. "The Raspberries are brilliant, too."

Shortly after 9 p.m., the wait was over. The Raspberries roared back to life with their 1972 hit "I Wanna Be with You."

"We always knew it would feel so right," Carmen sang. Judging from the deafening applause, the feeling was mutual on the part of the baby-boomer audience. "Starting Over," "Let's Pretend" and "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)" exemplified the group's "power pop" sound. The music was stacked with catchy melodies, Beatlesque harmonies and hard-hitting grooves.

Smalley and Bryson sang lead on several songs, with the former shining on the country-tinged "Should I Wait" and the latter in fine form for "Come Around and See Me." Jennifer Lee, Paul Sidoti and Billy Sullivan provided backing vocals and additional accompaniment on guitars, keyboards and percussion.

"It feels great to be a working unit again," Bryson said, smoking a cigarette backstage minutes before showtime.

Carmen, Bryson and Bonfanti still live in Northeast Ohio. Smalley resides in Tempe, Ariz. They're 55, to a man.

Formed in 1970, the Raspberries were one of the most popular bands ever to break out of Cleveland. The group recorded four albums for Capitol Records and had four Top 40 singles, including the 1972 Top 5 smash "Go All the Way."

"If you asked me earlier this year about the likelihood of a Raspberries reunion, I would have said it was as likely as the Titanic returning to sea," said Ken Sharp, author of Overnight Sensation: The Story of the Raspberries and co-author (with Bernie Hogya) of the new biography Eric Carmen: Marathon Man.

"The breakup of the original band was anything but pretty," said Sharp, who came from Encino, Calif., for the reunion gig. After Bonfanti and Smalley left, the group carried on briefly with a new lineup, only to call it quits in 1975. Since then, Carmen has enjoyed a successful solo career.

The other band members have day jobs now. Smalley is a respiratory therapist, Bonfanti is an automobile broker, and Bryson is a job coach who works with mentally retarded adults.

Before the show, fans who have kept the band's flame alive on the Internet met for dinner and drinks at the House of Blues. They wore raspberry-colored ribbons to identify one another. Darlene Brandt of Cranbury, N.J., had caught the Raspberries in concert at least a half-dozen times during their heyday.

"I've been praying for this since 1975," said Brandt, 57. Her apartment used to have a Raspberries shrine, découpaged with photos of the band. Others went to great lengths to witness the Raspberries perform. Jennifer Corkery of Yuba City, Calif., postponed a vacation in Aspen, Colo., to come to Cleveland for the reunion.

"It's rock 'n' roll history," said Corkery, 38. "I need to be here. I need to hear it. I need to see it."

Canadian fan Marvin Matthews of Calgary, Alberta, flew in Thursday for the show.

"Don't even ask—just go," he said his wife told him. She stayed home with their two young children. Some people can't believe I would leave my family on Thanksgiving for this," said Matthews, 45. "But Canadian Thanksgiving is in October."

There is talk of keeping the band's comeback rolling next year with a full-blown tour. House of Blues already has booked the Raspberries for an encore performance Friday, Dec. 31. Tickets for the New Year's Eve concert go on sale Saturday, Dec. 4.

So is British superfan Heard planning a return trip to Cleveland to ring in 2005 with the Raspberries?

"I haven't ruled it out," she said.

Cleveland Plain Dealer / November 27, 2004