Billy Burnette joins a new band

[vivfox]

Hit Men All-Stars hit Harrah's Tahoe on Saturday

By Mel Shields
Bee Correspondent
Published: Sunday, Oct. 17, 2010 - 12:00 am
Curly Smith, formerly of the band Boston, wanted to start a new group, but not just any group.

He turned to musicians from Fleetwood Mac, Aerosmith, Journey, Dire Straits and Night Ranger. His new band, Hit Men All-Stars, will play at Harrah's Tahoe on Saturday.

"I put this band together about a year and a half ago," said Smith from his Arizona home. "I had the need to create something. I had left Boston. My son turned 8. I had not been on the road for five years. I was no longer living in Los Angeles and so got no calls for studio work."

The cast he put together is: Billy Burnette of Fleetwood Mac, Jack Sonni of Dire Straits, Jimmy Crespo of Areosmith, Steve Augeri of Journey and Gary Moon of Night Ranger and Three Dog Night.

"What the audience will get is a lot of different numbers from a lot of different bands – not like, say, three hours from Boston, which got to be very tiring," Smith said. "I wanted to get the upper echelon of rock from a great era. I worked hard to get the perfect mix."

Before Smith joined Boston, he played on numerous gold and platinum records: "Missing You" with John Waite, "I Get Weak" with Belinda Carlisle and "Heartbeat" with Don Johnson. He's recorded with Jeff Beck, Rod Stewart, Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Branford Marsalis, Ron Wood and Keith Moon. He played Live Aid with Rick Springfield, and he knows how to work an audience and a stage.

"All of these guys are in the same place I am," Smith said. "They all have families and don't want to spend a long time on the road. When I was with Boston, we would rehearse for two months and then go on tour for four months. I would just get worn out.

"Of course, we had a private plane and would stay at places like the Four Seasons and Ritz and had our own executive chef, but however it's done, I just didn't want to go out on the road again with anybody else. If you've got a family, it's really tough.

"This is perfect. We play about 50 or 60 shows a year. We have six lead singers, and we play songs from all the bands. For instance, we'll only do three Boston songs. Nobody gets worn out and everybody gets the spot. "

There are plans for the performance at Harrah's to be filmed, so audiences could wind up in a video. And Smith is sensitive to the room's dimensions and acoustics.

"I always wear earplugs myself, but I know what can be too much. I would say our volume level is kind of medium on a rock scale. It's full of great music."


HIT MEN ALL-STARS

Where: Harrah's Tahoe

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

Tickets: $37.50

Information and

reservations: (800) 786-8208 or SouthShoreRoom.com.

http://www.sacbee.com/2010/10/17/310...t-harrahs.html