More than 30 years ago, singer/songwriter Joseph Borelli and guitarist Jon Cline were Philadelphia kids realizing their rock ‘n’ roll dreams as members of the band Uproar. It was 1978, and they had a record deal with East Coast Music and a hit single on the Billboard top 100 called "Driftin' Away."
When Uproar faded, the two put together a band called The Patriots, an American band that did well on the Brit Pop circuit of the early ‘80s.
"It was crazy back then," Borelli recalled during a recent interview at the Chestnut Hill Gallery, which he owns. The art framing business at 8117 Germantown Ave. has long been his "day job.” The Uproar scene is all an old haze to him now, a life he left behind for marriage and children a long time ago. There are no more drugs, just a soothing glass of Chardonnay at the end of the day.
Both Borelli and Cline, who also owns a custom frame shop (in Merchantville, NJ, where he lives), were at a point in their lives when starting a new band would not seem likely. Many old-timers, if they were to start a new band, would be satisfied with the occasional acoustic gigs of Stones and Beatles “covers.” Few would start a new project of original songs.
But Borelli and Cline decided that's exactly what they would do.
“Many of the people who were playing when we came up have stopped (performing and writing music)," Cline noted.
Cline had called Borelli about putting a new project together — something they had not done in a long time. Cline knew a bass guitar player, Ian Mellaby, of Northern Liberties (owner of a publishing house), who he felt would be a good fit for the project he had in mind. So Cline and Borelli started hunting for a drummer and ended up finding Joe Dessereau, a gigging drummer (and paralegal) who just happened to live across the street from Borelli in Wyncote.
The new band started rehearsing — developing much of their material from originals Borelli had penned — and soon hooked up with Stephen Butler, who began recording the group at his Smash Palace studios. Butler, whose bands Quincy and Smash Palace had some international success in the ‘80s, was an inspiration to Borelli and Cline. Butler, a contemporary of Cline and Borelli, had put the band Smash Palace, a ‘60s-sounding power pop outfit — back together and as recently as last year toured with the band in the U.S. and the U.K.
"It was cool to see someone our age doing it and encouraging to see something that wasn't Christina Aguilera having success," Cline said.
In March the new band put out the album "56 Men" (Probability Records), which is also the name of the band. (The name comes from the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence.) The result is a rejuvenated and energized album of pop-inspired rock that fuses the interests and playing styles of Cline and Borelli.
"I'm a much more bluesy type of player," Cline said.
"I'm a rock ‘n’ roll guy," Borelli added.
The album is stuffed with pop rock that recalls everything from mid-‘60s, swinging London Garage rock to ‘70s Americana through the filter of a big ‘70s power pop outfit like Cheap Trick. Borelli's voice and delivery recall earlly '60s Brit rockers, but often reminded me most of Cheap Trick's Robin Zander.
The band's playing is a guitar-driven mix of early Who, the Stones and lots of other early Brit rockers but with a good dose of countryesque slide guitars and acoustic strumming. The band changes sounds often, at times cresting into big Who-like guitar numbers ("Shine Always") and country stomps ("Flame of Love").
Though the comparisons are to bands whose heydays were 30 and 40 years ago, Borelli, Cline and 56 Men don't sound like an antiquated museum piece. In fact, that impression is shared by lots of listeners the band has picked up through airplay on college radio stations around the country.
At the time I interviewed them, Borelli handed me a list of Rutgers University radio station's top 10 list. 56 Men was getting more play than the new single from Sonic Youth. The band is also getting significant airplay on KMSU, the radio station at Minnesota State University. It's been played on other college stations from Princeton to an Americana station in Austin, Texas.
Asked if it was more play than he expected, Borelli laughed.
"We're crazy," he said. "We expected a lot more … We're going to keep going. We kept saying, 'We're going to make five records before we die,' now I think I'd like to do 10."
In the meantime, the band is gigging as much as the band members' schedules allow. They've played Philly rock club The Fire and NYC's Parkside Lounge. They've added Cline's brother Peter as a "utility man" (and computer technician) who can play keyboards and guitar.
"It's been great," Borelli said of the band. "It's like we've never changed."
56 Men are scheduled to play at the upcoming Main Street Fair on the grounds of Chestnut Hill Hospital on Sept. 26. Before the Main Street Fair, the band is playing the Northern Liberties Music Festival at Liberty Lands Park in Northern Liberties, Saturday, Sept. 12, 8 p.m.
The band's album is available for download on iTunes, or it can be purchased through Amazon.com or at Hideaway Record Store in Chestnut Hill. For more information on the band, gig dates and record information, visit www.myspace.com/fiftysixmen, or contact Borelli at 215-248-2549.
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