The Monterays were a rock band from

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

, United States. The group was active from 1962 to 1969 and 1978 to 2019.

History

Formed in 1962, The Monterays were well established on the Syracuse scene in the 1960s, and after a decade layoff in the 1970s, continued to play over 100 dates a year. The band was formed in East Syracuse, New York, by

Jack Abert Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

(bass guitar/Hawaiian guitar),

John Wisnewski John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

(guitar/vocals), Larry Landry (rhythm guitar) and Jack Holton, who was soon replaced by

Tommy Forrest Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 f ...

(drums/lead vocals). Early inspirations were The Beach Boys, surf music and the theatrics of East Syracuse's first rock and roll band, The Sabres, featuring the talented lead guitarist

Ron Lauback Ron Lauback is a guitarist/bassist/songwriter from Syracuse, New York. Ron is currently performing with Dan Elliott and The Monterays and celebrated his fiftieth year in the music business in 2008. Beginnings (1942-1958) Ron was born on Septemb ...

. The Monterays developed a loyal following with Syracuse teenagers, so much so that they found themselves at Riposo Studios in the fall of 1964 to wax their first single, the

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meets Beach Boys original "Bye Bye", and the Larry Santos penned "Sheryl-ane". ("Sheryl-ane" was also recorded by Utica, New York, act

The Madisons ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

for

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in 1965) After this single came and went, The Monterays signed a management deal with "Dandy" Dan Leonard, a popular disc jockey for WNDR (1965). He was able to arrange another recording sessions for the band, this time in New York City, which resulted in the Larry Santos penned "I'll Be Around" on the A side, with the Madisons on side B. The single was released on the Twin Hit label, and went on to sell 500 copies in Upstate New York. At this point Landry and Forrest departed (both joined the military) and were replaced by Dan Elliott (née Rubado) (lead vocals) and

Dave Moziak Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

(rhythm guitar) (ex-

The Dimensions Jimmy Powell (13 October 1942 – 13 May 2016) was a British soul and rhythm and blues singer who recorded and performed throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, and is best remembered as the lead singer of Jimmy Powell and the 5 Dimensions, ...

) and drummer

Dave Usiatynski Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

(

took up the lead vocal duties for another popular

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band

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also featuring guitarist

). This is the version of The Monterays that created the most buzz around New York State. Things seemed to be looking up, Dan Leonard booked them into various clubs and live functions (scoring a major coup by getting the band an opening slot on the Beach Boys concert at the

Syracuse War Memorial Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' * Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York ** East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Mi ...

in July 1966. The third single "Very Last Day"/"You Belong To My Heart" (Sahara Rec. #118) was released in late 1966 and sold about as well the last one. The Monterays scored another coup by wooing away keyboardist George Day from

just in time to record their fourth single "If Wishes Were Horses"/"Conquistador". The single was recorded again at Riposo Studios, produced by Dan Leonard and the A side featured Thomas Bacon on French Horn. Released on the tiny Buff Records label, "If Wishes Were Horses" (Buff # 323681) took off regionally, and The Monterays soon found themselves on A&M Records's radar. A&M ultimately passed, preferring to sign the band Procol Harum instead ("Conquistador" was written by Procol Harum members Brooker/ Reid but recorded by The Monterays first). Without the promotional support of a major label, "If Wishes were Horses" peaked at ##88 on the '' Cashbox'' charts in October 1968. By this time, The Monterays (Elliott/Abert/Moziak/Wisnewski/Usiatynski/Day) were now a seven piece, with Tommy Forrest returning on vocals. Unfortunately, family and outside interests began to tear the band apart, and The Monterays split in 1969. Dan Elliott resurfaced with the rock band Wilksbury Brigade, before joining The

Glenn Miller Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Arm ...

Orchestra in 1973. A year later, he joined The Belmonts (of

Dion and the Belmonts Dion and the Belmonts were an American vocal trio prominent throughout the 1950s. All of its members were from the Bronx, New York City. In 1957, Dion DiMucci joined the vocal group the Belmonts. The established trio of Angelo D'Aleo, Carlo M ...

fame). George Day opened Dayson Studios, recording many top Upstate New York musicians from 1970 to 1987. George Day also became involved with Ron Wray who curated the Syracuse area artists rock and roll album series in the 1970s and '80s. Tommy Forrest remained active as well, fronting local act The Seven into the early 70s. In 1978, The "Wishes"-era Monterays reformed for a one off show at The Beginning club in Syracuse NY to over two thousand people. But after Dan Elliott left California after finishing work on H.B. Halicki's film ''

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'', he reformed The Monterays permanently. Then called Dan Elliott and the Monterays, they became a mainstay on the

scene, and recorded a single for the Belmonts-owned AIR Records label ("Stay Awhile"/"Ruby Baby" 1983), and winning a SAMMY (Syracuse Area Music Awards) lifetime achievement award in 1996. The group has undergone some major changes in recent years, with the departures of Jack Abert in 2002 (Jack stayed on as executive producer and live sound mixer), George Day in 2004, and Dave Moziak in 2005.

joined the band in 2002 first as a replacement for Jack Abert, then switching to lead guitar in 2005 with the departure of Dave Moziak. His son

Ronnie Dark Ronnie may refer to: *Ronnie (name), a unisex pet name and given name *Ronnie (Four Seasons song), "Ronnie" (Four Seasons song), a song by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe *"Ronnie," a song from the Metallica album ''Load (album), Load'' *Ronnie Brunswijk ...

was added on drums in 2003. Other members in the 2000s included Rob Medugno on keyboards (2005–2007),

Brian Carr Brian Carr (born 20 June 1969, in Glasgow) is a Scottish amateur featherweight and professional super bantam/ feather/ super featherweight boxer of the 1990s and 2000s. Boxing career Amateur career As an amateur he won the 1990 Amateur ...

(bass/vocals 2005-2011), and Wayne Muller (keyboards 2007–present). Founding member

died on August 16, 2009, in Florida. Longtime bassist Brian Carr departed in October 2011. The band has reshuffled their line-up again with

taking over bass guitar duties. Ron's first replacement on drums, Teddy O Ted Boileau left in August 2012. 2012 marked The Monterays' 50th year in the music business. Dan Elliott died on June 23, 2019.

Various Monterays lineups

* (1962–1965)

(bass/Hawaiian guitar/vocals),

(guitar/vocals), Larry Landry (rhythm guitar), Jack Holton (drums) rep-

(drums/vocals-1962-1965) * (1965–1969; 1978 reunion) Jack Abert, John Wisnewski, Dan Elliot (vocals),

(guitar/vocals),

(drums), George Day (keyboards/vocals-1967-1969), Tommy Forrest (vocals-1968-1969) * (1982–1984) Jack Abert, John Wisnewski, Dan Elliot, Dave Moziak, George Day, Bob Passafume (lead guitar), Joe Pangaro (drums) * (1985-early 90s) Jack Abert, John Wisnewski, Dan Elliot, Dave Moziak, George Day (who leave and rejoin the band several times over the next two decades), Bob Passafume, Dave Miller (drums) * (early 90s-1999) Jack Abert, John Wisnewski, Dan Elliot, Dave Moziak, George Day, Bob Passafume, Rich Luzzy (drums) * (2000–2001) Jack Abert, John Wisnewski, Dan Elliot, Dave Moziak, George Day, Bob Passafume,

(drums/vocals) * (2002–2005) Dan Elliot, Dave Moziak, George Day (left band in summer 2004-replaced by Terri Wilson),

(bass-replaced Jack Abert, who moved to backline-retired in 2006), Tommy Forrest (who departed in 2003-briefly replaced by Rance Walters, followed by

-2003) * (2007–2011) Dan Elliot, Ron Lauback, Ronnie Dark,

(bass/vocals), Wayne Muller (keyboards, live sound director) * (January 2012-August 2012) Dan Elliott, Ron Lauback, Ronnie Dark, Wayne Muller, Teddy O (Ted Boileau) * (September 2012 – June 2019), Dan Elliott, Ron Lauback, Ronnie Dark, Wayne Muller, Dave Miller

References

External links

*
Thomas Bacon's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monterays, The Musical groups established in 1962 Musical groups from Syracuse, New York Rock music groups from New York (state) DeWitt, New York 1962 establishments in New York (state)