Blotto was an American rock band from

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

known for mixing music and humor. They formed in 1978 from the Star Spangled Washboard Band, a comedy

jug band A jug band is a band employing a jug player and a mix of conventional and homemade instruments. These homemade instruments are ordinary objects adapted to or modified for making sound, like the washtub bass, washboard, spoons, bones, stovepipe, ...

whom ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' described as "reminiscent of collision between the

Earl Scruggs Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-fin ...

Review and the

Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...

." Blotto's music combined new wave and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

/ R&B however it had comedic themes. It began as a pick-up band in

Saratoga Springs Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...

at a club then known as 17 Maple Ave. (later The Metro), with three Washboard Band alumni (who took the stage names Bowtie Blotto, Sergeant Blotto, and Broadway Blotto), plus a drummer and a bassist (Lee Harvey Blotto, and Cheese Blotto). They were joined by Blanche Blotto, who contributed vocals and keyboards and inspired the band's drumhead lady logo. They began to amass a following and played in the New York City area at clubs such as The Ritz, SNAFU, Eighty-Eight, and

My Father's Place My Father's Place was a music venue in Roslyn, New York. It first opened in 1971, and according to ''The New York Times'', "created a scene that would influence music for decades to come." In the nearly sixteen years the club was open before it ...

. DJ

Vin Scelsa Vincent Anthony Scelsa (born December 12, 1947, in Bayonne, New Jersey) is an American broadcaster who was at "the forefront of the FM radio revolution" as the host of several freeform radio programs, the best-known titled ''Idiot's Delight''. H ...

WNEW-FM WNEW-FM (102.7 FM, ''NEW 102.7'') is a hot adult contemporary formatted radio station, licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are located at the Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Manha ...

picked up on their initial recording of "I Wanna Be A Lifeguard," which soon became the theme song of the Jones Beach Lifeguards. Their songs were played on the ''

Dr. Demento Barret Eugene Hansen (born April 2, 1941), known professionally as Dr. Demento, is an American radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograp ...

Show'', and they appeared on television's ''

Uncle Floyd Show Floyd Vivino (born October 19, 1951), also known as Uncle Floyd, is an American television, film, and stage performer primarily known for his comedy/variety TV show ''The Uncle Floyd Show'' (1974–1998). Early life Vivino was born in Paterson ...

''. They toured frequently and were popular primarily in the northeastern United States, especially among college students. After releasing two

EPs EPS, EPs or Eps may refer to: Commerce and finance * Earnings per share * Electronic Payment Services, in Hong Kong, Macau, and Shenzhen, China * Express Payment System, in the Philippines Education * Edmonton Public Schools, in Edmonton, Al ...

on their own Blotto Records label, they produced an early music video for "I Wanna Be A Lifeguard" with video production students at

SUNY Albany The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is one ...

. The video was played on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's very first day on the air in 1981 and continued in frequent rotation. This exposure helped the band produce their album ''Combo Akimbo'', which was released with assistance from

Peter Pan Records Peter Pan Records is an American record label specializing in children's music. The label was introduced to the public in March 1948. The label was owned by the Synthetic Plastics Company of Newark, New Jersey until the 1970s. The label became ...

, as well as a " Video 45" on VHS from

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

with three videos of Blotto songs that also received wide exposure from airplay on

, including "Metalhead," with Donald "

Buck Dharma Donald Roeser (born November 12, 1947), known by his stage name Buck Dharma, is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is the sole constant member of hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult since the group's formation in 1967. He wrote and ...

" Roeser from

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American Rock music, rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla ( ...

on lead guitar. Blotto worked with producer

Bob Clearmountain Bob Clearmountain (born January 15, 1953) is an American recording engineer, mixer and record producer. He has worked with many major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Toto, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, with whom he has a very ...

on one song on the album. North Lake Sound Chief Engineer, Chris Cassone, produced and engineered the rest of ''Combo Akimbo''. Cassone was also working with Roeser at the time and suggested he hear the song with an homage Blotto had recorded, "Metalhead." Because of a one-time mistaken erasure of a guitar track, he was dubbed "

Eberhard Eberhard is an old Germanic name meaning the strength or courage of a wild boar. People First name *Eberhard of Friuli (815–866), Duke and key figure in the Carolingian Empire *Eberhard of Béthune (died 1212), Flemish grammarian *Eberhard I, Du ...

Blotto." The group disbanded in 1984 with the players pursuing more profitable interests. Drummer Lee Harvey Blotto (Paul Rapp) graduated from

Albany Law School Albany Law School is a private law school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1851 and is the oldest independent law school in the nation. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and has an affiliation agreement with University at A ...

, became an attorney specializing in intellectual property law, and continued to play with the band as "F. Lee Harvey Blotto" (a pun on the names of famous lawyer

F. Lee Bailey Francis Lee Bailey Jr. (June 10, 1933 – June 3, 2021) was an American criminal defense attorney. Bailey's name first came to nationwide attention for his involvement in the second murder trial of Sam Sheppard, a surgeon accused of murdering ...

and JFK assassin

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at the age of 12 fo ...

). Bassist "Cheese Blotto" (Keith Stephenson) died suddenly in October 1999 of cardiomyopathy brought on by a liver condition. All of Blotto's studio recordings (with one exception, the song "Bud ... Is After Us") were reissued on a 1994

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

, ''Collected Works.'' In 1999, the band released ''Then More Than Ever,'' a CD comprising previously unreleased live concert recordings, excerpts from a 1982 appearance on the "BBC College Concert" radio series, and tracks recorded for the never-completed follow-up album to ''Combo Akimbo.'' The band reunited for occasional concerts in the Albany area, including an appearance at the 2008

4th of July Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music) In music a fourth is an interval spanning four staff po ...

celebration at

Empire State Plaza The Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza (known commonly as the Empire State Plaza, and also as the South Mall) is a complex of several state government buildings in downtown Albany, New York. The complex was built between 1965 a ...

, and several shows in 2011 at local festivals. On August 6, 2015, the band opened for Blue Öyster Cult at an "Alive at Five" concert in Albany. Founding member and lead vocalist Sergeant Blotto (real name Greg Haymes) died on April 10, 2019. In March 2020, Blotto was inducted into the Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Hall of Fame.

Members

Group members went by pseudonyms on their recordings and in performance. The members of the original lineup were: *Paul Jossman, aka "Bowtie Blotto" (guitar, vocals). Born 1948 in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. *Bill Polchinski, aka "Broadway Blotto" (guitar, vocals). Born 1950 in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. *Keith Stephenson, aka "Cheese Blotto" (bass guitar) 1956–1999. Born in

Ballston Spa Ballston Spa is a village and the county seat of Saratoga County, New York, United States, located southwest of Saratoga Springs. The population of the village, named after Rev. Eliphalet Ball, a Congregationalist clergyman and an early settler, wa ...

, New York. *Greg Haymes, aka "Sergeant Blotto" ("Sarge") (vocals, percussion; Director, Blotto Graphic Arts Dept.) 1948-2019. Born in Kenmore, New York. *Paul Rapp, aka "Lee Harvey Blotto" (drums). Born June 13, 1955 in

Batavia, New York Batavia is a city in and the county seat of Genesee County, New York, United States. It is near the center of the county, surrounded by the Town of Batavia, which is a separate municipality. Batavia's population as of the 2020 census was 15,6 ...

. *Helena Binder, aka Blanche Blotto (keyboards, vocals; 1978-1980). Born 1955 in

Schenectady Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

, New York.

Other members

*Johnny Blotten (drums; 1978–1979) *Scott Blott (sax; 1978) *Chevrolet Blotto (vocals and keyboards; 1980–1981) *Ink Blotto (roadie; 1980–1982) aka Jay Bloomrosen *Phil Auteliblotto (guitar; 1990-1991) *Juan Pablo Blotto (1990–1995) *Riff Chord Blotto (lead guitar; 1979-1980) *Staccato Blotto (Rob Sabino - keyboards 1980)

Discography

* ''Hello! My Name is Blotto. What's Yours?'' (EP, Blotto Records) (1980) * ''Across and Down'' (EP, Blotto Records) (1981) * ''When the Second Feature Starts'' (Single, Blotto Records) (1981) * ''Metalhead'' (Sony Video 45, VHS) (1982) * ''Combo Akimbo'' (LP, Blotto Records) (1983) * ''Blotto'' (Canadian compilation) (LP, Attic Records) (1984) * ''I Wanna Be A Lifeguard'' (PVC Records) (1988) * ''Collected Works''* (CD, One Way Records) (1992) * ''Then More Than Ever'' (CD, One Way Records) (1999) (previously unreleased tracks) * ''Blotto - Play Something Good!'' The Definitive Video History (2005) In addition to their inclusion on the CD ''Collected Works'', Blotto's cover version of

Lou Christie Luigi Alfredo Giovanni Sacco (born February 19, 1943), known professionally as Lou Christie, is an American pop and soft rock singer-songwriter known for several hits in the 1960s, including his 1966 US chart-topper "Lightnin' Strikes" and 1969 ...

's "Lightning Strikes" appears on the compilation LP ''Hudson Rock'', and "Metalhead" appears on the compilation LP ''Metal For Breakfast''.

References

External links

Official siteMySpace Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blotto (Band) Rock music groups from New York (state) Musical groups from Albany, New York Musical groups established in 1979 American comedy musical groups