For beneath the jangly pop sheen, an unusual Star, among others), Artful Dodger were that and more. Lineage whose roots can be traced to such '70's bands as Blue Ash, Raspberries, Badfinger, and Big Labeled today as torchbearers of the musical genre that came to be known as power pop (a

It took only one listen for David Krebs to offer the group a management deal. As it turned out, Cox couldn't have landed on Leber & Krebs' doorstep at a better time. (whose stable of hard rock giants included Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, AC/DC and The New York Dolls). After cold-calling a number of management companies, Cox lucked up on Leber & Krebs Throw in a potent songwriting team in Paliselli and Herrewig, and all of the boxes were ticked.īuoyed by an intense belief in the music - and each other - Artful Dodger spent their nights tearing up the local club circuit, attracting a rabid following in the process.įrom there, things began to move swiftly for the band.īy 1974, with a clutch of newly-recorded demos in hand, Gary Cox set off for New York City and the And underpinning it all was the relentless, driving rhythm section of Steve Cooper and Steve Brigida, whose hand-in-glove interplay called to mind a Stateside Moon and Entwistle. Reinforced by Gary Cox's propulsive rhythm guitar, Gary Herrewig's chiming, quicksilver Not that the other members of the band were any less commanding when it came to putting the With his rock-star-ready looks and Steve Mariott by-way-of Rod Stewart vocals, Paliselli had - in the parlance of the day - what it took. To begin with, there was no question Artful Dodger had a dynamic front man in Billy Paliselli. The Paliselli family home, it was obvious they were onto something. And with that, the classic lineup - Paliselli on vocals, Herrewig on lead guitar, Cox on rhythm guitar, Cooper on bass, and Brigida on drums - was born.Įven in the early, dues-paying stages of the band's career, holding rehearsals in the basement of On the suggestion of Herrewig's girlfriend, they abandoned the name Brat and The year was 1972, and cousins Steve Cooper and Billy Paliselli were busy gigging in a FairfaxĬombo known as Badge, while Steve Brigida, Gary Cox and Gary Herrewig were marking time in another local outfit, Homestead.Įventually, these five would manage to hook up and become - for a time, anyway - Brat.Īs sometimes happens, Brat discovered they were co-opting a name which was already taken byĪnother band. Originally, the band that would become Artful Dodger were five Fairfax, VA locals who got their start, like so many hopefuls, playing on the regional band scene. Together on three further occasions before the The-Greatest-Band-That-Almost-Made-It called it a day. In truth, following that evening's show, the members of Artful Dodger would only manage to play I can't imagine playing with anybody else.' He's serious, of course, and his words catch the others off-guard.īut if there was a time to say these things, perhaps this was it. , the band's lead singer and resident cut-up, takes a sudden left turn, telling Szubski, 'These are myīrothers these are my closest friends. York's legendary Record Plant studios, The Rolling Stones and a case of mistaken identity, Billy Paliselli That is, when she can get their attention.Īfter a particularly riotous story involving an Artful Dodger recording session in Studio B at New He's our mouthpiece') manages - more or less - to interview the band members. In-jokes and One-For-All, All-For-One camaraderie ('We'd like to defer this question to Steve Cooper. Reunited for the first time in a decade, and clearly excited to be playing together again, Artful Dodger sit down with VidMag correspondent Agatha Szubski who, amid the band's customary hijinks, There's a lovely moment during a 1991 interview with Fairfax, VA power pop legends Artfulĭodger, backstage at Cleveland, Ohio's Agora Ballroom. Robert Christgau, The Village Voice, October 1976 Lot a bands around CBGB's will spend their lives wishing they could have gotten it 'Conceivably these kids could turn into teen heroes everybody can be proud of. Perfect Sound Forever: Artful Dodger, the band's historyįorever : The Ballad of Artful Dodger Story by Ed Turner Guide by Peter Lindblad

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