Harv Hutchins has been performing for over forty years. He got his first taste of musical success in the Rochester, New York teen band The Esquires, who performed all over the area and competed successfully in the wildly popular Sertoma Club Battle of the Bands. Hutchins today is part of the popular local duo 2 Steps Back, and also performs regularly for disabled vets and senior communities proving, as he so aptly put it, that the bridge of music truly has no boundaries.
|
An Interview With Harv Hutchins
60sgaragebands.com (60s): How did you get first interested in music?
Harvey Hutchins (HH): Music first interested me when I started listening to the radio when I was seven years old. I had one of those rocket radios; you ground it to the wallscrew. I remember The Kalin Twins...singing the song, ‘When.’ Then I heard the song, ‘I ran all the way home ...just to say I’m sorry.’ Then there was ‘In The Still Of The Night.’ It was so great and there were so many more. It’s when Elvis hit the TV; he was my inspiration and Rick Nelson became my idol. All I wanted to do then is learn to sing and learn to play guitar; to make music and to impress the girls—all that stuff! I was hooked!
60s: Where and when was The Esquires formed?
HH: The Esquires was formed in early 1962. Vern Downey and I formed the band. The members were: Vern Downey, lead guitar player; Harv Hutchins, rhythm guitar and lead vocals; Gary Secondino, bass; Dewey James Hunneycutt or Jim Loftus, backup vocals; and Marty Stull, drummer.
60s: How would you describe the band’s sound?
HH: The Esquires developed the sound of that era to perform all cover music at the time, from The Beatles to The Rolling Stones. We also did The Kinks and a lot of soul music and we had a great version of ‘Needles & Pins’ and ‘Bring It On Home To Me.’ I was on lead vocal; that was a signature song. Marty was really in the pocket, or rock groove, and did a great version of the song ‘Wipe Out. He was known for his rendition of the drumming song ‘Caravan,’ on which he did an awesome solo. He was ahead of his time for a kid 15 years old. He was great! He was approached to go to New York City but he wasn’t interested.
We had a very tight sound at the time for danceable rock, and we played ‘Twist & Shout,’ ‘Louie Louie’ and all (the songs) from The Beatles to The Rolling Stones. We had a great dance sound and we dressed the part! Each member added to the blend that gave us the ‘60's sound.
60s: What was the Rochester rock & roll scene like at the time?
HH: The Rochester rock scene had very solid talent and we had some known groups that went fairly big for the time. It was very competitive with some really talented people from this city. Rochester had Wilmer Alexander Jr. & The Dukes and The Invictas. Both had songs nationally. We got to front for both those acts at certain times, or did fill-ins, so we were glad that we contributed and were accepted. We were all playing the bar scene as 15-years old, which was a big deal then. The bars had a lot of you teen bands performing and we played quite a few. We also performed at the University of Rochester frat dances...a lot of them...
60s: Where did The Esquires typically play?
HH: We performed for the local teen dances, which we called the teen canteens, and at the YMCA and school dances consistently.
60s: How far was the band’s touring territory?
HH: We toured the surrounding area of Rochester in a 50-mile radius. We got to perform live on the radio—the first of its kind in the area at a place called Danceland on WHACK Radio located in Newark, NY, approximately 40 miles from Rochester. We had about 1,200 kids that showed up for that event. Ron de France was the disc jockey emcee at that time. There were many venues at the time like varsity clubs, roller skating rinks and bowling alleys and we even played in a dealership showroom. I still have the article for that. We drew almost 2,000 kids and had the police block off the street. It was a remarkable event!
|
60s: Did The Esquires ever compete in any battle of the bands?
HH: There was a major competition for the battle of the bands, called the Sertoma Club of Rochester, which 500 bands from all over the area tried out. The number was then reduced to 20. This went on for three years. The first year we made the cut and the ninth position. The second year we didn’t make it due to a rule that shat stated went over time limits. The third year we placed third and found out that there was some fixing going on and we should have won. Even the crowd stated we got kicked to the curb for that show and should have won. They stated we went over the time limit on our version of ‘Needles & Pins’ so we got placed right to third. We managed to have a greater following after that. There were over 5,000 kids attending that show. I have the articles. The band that won was The Solitaires but they weren’t that popular after the show. The Legends 5 came in second but they didn’t fare as well either after the competition. The first prize was an Epic Records recording contract and blazers. The third place was 50 dollars, which we all split and signed the bill.
60s: Did The Esquires have a manager?
HH: We did not have a manager other then Vern. He did mostly all the booking at the time and we started a very vast following base that really enjoyed and supported the band. We did however get approached by one of the area’s top act’s manager that wanted to book us but we declined.
60s: What other local groups do you especially remember?
HH: The Noblemen, who won the first Sertoma Club band contest. Others include, as I mentioned, Wilmar & The Dukes and The Invictas. The Invictas were very popular with their hit song ‘The Hump,’ which got banned here for awhile but sold big in Florida and in east coast areas. Then there was The Root Of All Evil, John Carpenter and The Fabulous Furys, The Heard, The Oxford Watch Band, The Showstoppers, The Jesters, Brass Buttons, The Quirks, The Marquees, Gunther's Bus, The Groop Ltd., The Capris (which later became The Root Of All Evil), The Sting Rays (which became The Heard), The Galant Men , and The Angry Young Men. These are just a few of the popular bands that were in the area at different times during those years.
60s: What were the circumstances leading to the band’s opportunity to record?
HH: There was the Fine Recording Studio—Vince Jan's Fine Recording—which had a lot of locals recording. We got invited to record after the Sertoma Club as a venue to promote the band. We all were doing it. We had our rock version of ‘You Are My Sunshine,’ Fats Domino’s ‘Walking To New Orleans,’ our popular rendition of ‘Bring It On Home To Me.’ There was a band recording their song ‘Be Mine’ by Johnny and The Catalinas; we did their cover of that song and it was well received. We did a version of the song ‘Church Key.’ Gary the bass player did the lyric addition. It was a fun-type song. It was fun recording at the time and a new experience. Quality wasn’t the greatest but it was so cool for us to hear us—and it was a record!
Vern mentioned we had more then one record from Vince Jan's Fine Recording Studio. After some deep thought, I do remember now that it's true. We did get a master tape from the first one and Vince may have kept one from the other. We did the very first one early, maybe 1963/1964; then we did another after the Sertoma Club in 1965, but there definitely was two records made. No one in the band has that second recording.
60s: Did the band write any original songs?
HH: We didn’t really have an original song but fooled around with improvising our version of covers. We (had versions of) one song by Adam Faith, ‘It’s Alright,’ and ‘Needles & Pins,’ which led us to almost winning the contest and as all agreed we should have won it.
|
 |
| The Magical Toy Shop at the Maple Leaf, 1970 |
|
|
60s: Have any of the Esquires’ songs survived?
HH: We do have some old recording of The Esquires. The original band broke up in 1967. Vern changed from lead guitar to Hammond organ. I went from rhythm guitar to occasional guitar and lead front singer. Jim Hunneycutt went to playing guitar and lead and backup vocals as well. Both Jim's had an excellent high voice so we had some real nice three-part harmony. We all could sing lead in the band. Vern and Gary were limited on vocals so it was mostly Jim and Jim and me carrying the vocals, which we would really concentrate on covers of The Grass Roots, Guess Who, Chamber Brothers, Sam & Dave and so on. We did a version of an old remake of the song ‘Little Black Egg,’ which was a cool, easy rock tune with a nice hook where Jim the drummer did the vocal. We have that on the tape. We were going to record that for a promo record that never happened. Jim was a very solid drummer and vocalist; he was a takeoff of Dino Danelli of The Rascals....
Then in 1970 we formed the band Magical Toy Shop, which was the original Esquires except for the drummer (Note: Jim Alaimo drummed for The Magical Toy Shop). We have some original tape of that group on reel-to-reel. The Magical Toy Shop did covers of The Guess Who, Sam & Dave and top groups of the late ‘60s and ‘70s. We had more of a soul sound then. We broke a record at a club called the Maple Leaf in 1970. We played there 36 weeks and broke the club record. We have a live recording there from that era.
|
 |
| The Magical Toy Shop |
|
|
60s: Did The Esquires make any TV appearances? Has any home movie footage survived?
HH: We don’t have any original footage of The Esquires although there were movies taken at the band contest at the time. It’s very rare to find the (footage). We do have a 40-year reunion VHS tape of the original band doing a few song s at the VFW in Palmyra, New York.
We didn’t anticipate the reunion or even set it up. I had been doing this Veterans thing since 1999 and there were calls made of getting the old neighborhood back together. One call let to another with no guarantees of who was going to be there, and not necessarily the band— just old friends— attending. The drummer, Marty, was saying it was very unlikely he would be able to come as he was coming from a very long distance, from another trip he was on, so when he showed, very late, it was a real surprise. Gary from Boston came but stated he most likely would be coming and with his original ‘62 Fender bass. Then Jim from Oklahoma got a train ticket last minute because his mother down there had been sick. He decided to come at the last minute—all of this was really a surprise—and not really planned. We never really thought that it would ever happen again—with all of us—but I’m glad it did!
|
60s: What about now? Do any of The Esquires still perform?
HH: We all had enjoyed playing in various acts after The Esquires, except the drummer who gave it up entirely. Gary lives in Boston and still plays with a popular band called The Torpedos. Vern is not as active but we still do together about twice a year as a group called After Midnight to raise money for the vets. Dewey James Hunneycutt lives in Oklahoma. He drove a truck for years and toured the country doing acoustic guitar as a soloist. He’s got a great Bob Seger style. He’s not doing so much now, just occasionally. I have him on video from the 2005 Esquires reunion doing a warm-up solo song.
I have been performing since then in various groups and had a successful duo in the ‘80s, The Music Brothers. We did country rock with oldies added. We were together for almost 18 years doing the local set. I now perform with an act called 2 Steps Back, bringing back the oldies and performing the senior community circuit. We have added an Elvis Tribute Show, which has been very popular and we have been on TV shows, the news, WHAM 13, and YouTube . This has been my most rewarding achievement since The Esquires. The base was built and the music stayed the same for all to enjoy. Nothing can compare with the pleasure of seeing old friends that have returned and all the new friends I have met thanks to The Esquires.
I now raise funds for the disabled vets and support the senior communities. My motto is “Keep a song in your heart and a smile on your face and you’ll always be in the right place.” I have been recording personal CDs since 1990 and recently with 2 Steps Back, the Elvis tribute and the 2 Steps Back classics.
I reside in Webster, New York with my wife Mary, who participates in my act. She adds so much to the Elvis show as Priscilla and Marilyn. I perform quite regularly now with the acts. I have added a country legends act as well…all thanks to The Esquires! The bridge of music has no boundaries.
|
 |
| 2 Steps Back |
|
|
 |
| Harv 'Elvis' Hutchins |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
