This has been a very tough week. I woke up from an afternoon nap to a missed call from Dad. Dad never calls...anyone. All his calls start with Mom. If Dad is calling you, it's something serious. Usually, it's about a band coming to town. When he texted me to call him as soon as I could, I started getting worried. Before I could call him, he was calling me again. Now, I KNEW something was wrong. Something was REALLY wrong. Then he said the words I dreaded hearing: Al Kleinschmidt passed away. My heart broke the moment he broke the news. That night, my family and I were going to see the play, The Million Dollar Quartet. As I watched Jerry Lee Lewis play his piano, all I could think of was “Rev. Al” Kleinschmidt.
At 17, I was close-minded about music, sticking to Guns N' Roses and early Aerosmith—not a very broad musical horizon for a drummer. My uncle, Roy Fisher, had played bass in bands since before I was born and teamed up with his drummer, Jeff Pancoast, in 1977. They rarely played apart and still perform together.
Not My photo but THEE best Christmas card I ever got
Rick Allan & The Upsetters mid-1990’s
(L-R) Jeff Pancoast, Roy Fisher, Rick Allen, Rick Strictler (as Santa), Rick Toy (in door) “Rev” Al Kleinschmidt (sitting and spitting)
(click to enlarge)
Since I was too young for bars at 17, I started "working" for Rick Allen and The Upsetters as a roadie. I didn't care about pay—I spent every weekend with Philly's greatest band. They played covers, but opted for deeper cuts, like "Caravan" for Van Morrison, "To Love Somebody" for The Bee Gees, "Live With Me" and "Dandelion" for the Stones. Watching Jeff play inspired me to broaden my musical tastes.
This band was more than a band; they were like uncles. After leaving The Upsetters, Roy, Jeff, Rick Toy, and "Rev. Al" Kleinschmidt formed The Road Dogs. Al earned his nickname for making his keyboard playing a heavenly experience. Rick Toy, a guitar legend, played Hendrix behind his back, head, and with his teeth—"PLAY WITH YOUR TEETH MAN, WHAT THE F**K!!" He'd cover "A Day In The Life" instrumentally, giving chills. Together, they were the tightest band I ever saw.
Always wanting to be involved in music, I put together a bootleg cassette of The Upsetters music. I would practice to it, listen to it all the time, and wanted to write some liner notes for it. I wanted to learn the story of the band. One night, after a gig, Uncle Roy and I sat in his basement on Larder Street, where I interviewed him, recording the conversation so I could play it back later and create a transcript. I actually listened to that tape more than I'd like to admit. I was interested in how a great band was put together.
The one story I remember him telling me is about the time they were playing a gig and Al was celebrating his birthday. When they asked him how old he was, he told them he was 30. They all laughed, thinking he was joking around. As it turned out, he was not joking; it really was his 30th birthday. They were surprised that he was so young, yet knew of artists like Professor Longhair, and understood the unique Boogie Woogie style of playing that you can only find in Johnnie Johnson on Chuck Berry records. You may not always notice Al's brilliance when you see them live, but when you listen back to some of those live performances, Al's playing really filled out the sound and tied it all together.
(click to enlarge)
There were some shows that we did that I will never forget. We did shows that were in bars packed full of people and then there were the shows at The Speak Easy in Upper Darby that were paid rehearsals. Those may have been my favorite because the band played things that never made it into the regular set list. Rick Allen would start the second set then hand the stage to the band and let them take over to show just how good they were. It was as if Rick Allen was proudly showing off his band. Rick Toy would do songs I had never heard of before like “Beck's Bolero”, “Switchboard Susan”, and “Waterloo Sunset”. I have since found the originals, and they can’t compare to what he did with them. I was always so excited to watch Rick go into his solos that I’d call out for his songs. I would be sitting in the Speak Easy with only a handful of friends that came out and scream at the top of my lungs “CROSSROADS”. The late, great Biker Billy Serviolo and I would stand at end of the bar watching him play. At certain moments, we’d look at each other. One or both of us would hold our hand inches from our forearm signaling that Rick Toy was playing so great that it would make the hair on your arm stand up.
Rick Allen & The Upsetters were hired to play a wedding one time and it was an odd room, sound wise. The band were in the middle of a set. Between songs, it was announced that they were cutting the cake in another room. As the band launched into “White Room”, the room cleared out. I was talking to Rick Toy after the set about that and he turned to me and said “it was like a fart in an elevator”.
(click to enlarge)
On stage at Katmandu in Philadelphia Late 1990’s
playing “Manic Depression” behind his back
Then there was the time we played at Katmandu in Philadelphia. It was the hottest day of the year. The stage was built to look like it was in a volcano. There was no ventilation and all the heat was trapped into the stage. Rick kept telling me how he thought he was going to melt. On the other end of the spectrum, we once played a Toys-For-Tots benefit... in December... on an outdoor stage... in the middle of a parking lot... in South Philly. Rick said it was so cold, he thought his fingers would freeze off. Then when the motor cycles all started up, he said the fumes hit him at once and he thought he’d pass out. I remember us recounting these stories and he told them in the animated way that only he could with that giant smile on his face. Whether the stage was big or small, Rick Toy never failed to bring his best. I don’t think he ever viewed it as a gig or a job. He was just there and this is just what he DID. You put a guitar in his hand and just WATCH the magic happen.
After discovering this deep-cut classic rock music with the band, I would go and find the originals so that I could learn to play the songs as too. It wasn’t long until I was honored to take the stage myself and play “Crossroads” with them. It always amazed me what that man could do with a guitar. Watching him play “Manic Depression” was the ultimate in showmanship as he would channel his inner Jimmi Hendrix by playing behind his head, then he would play behind his back and to top it all off, he would play with his teeth.
“PLAY WITH YOUR TEETH MAN!! WHAT THE F**K!!”
As a wise man once said:
For me personally, this is what launched him into the Legendary status he earned from anyone who saw him play. In 1999, he became a founding member of The Road Dogs along with “Rev.” Al Kleinschmidt, Jeff Pancoast and Roy Fisher. Rick’s abilities only increased as they released their first and only album, “Songs About Love And Exhaustion”. His brilliance showed on cuts such as “Easy Circle”, “Whole Lotta Stuff” and “Kinnakeet Shores”. His shining moment on that album was the song he co-wrote with Roy, “Non-Stop Life”, a mashup of lyrics that reflect how chaotic life can get. A massively popular part of The Road Dogs shows would always be the unique version of “A Day In The Life” where he used his guitar to sing the lyrics. That is when you could see the transformation before your eyes where Rick went to that place that only he knew about. In that moment, there was no one else around, and he would express himself as openly as he ever could. Nothing shows just how amazing he was quite like this.
When Hollywood Dan and I began hanging out seeing other bands around the area, Rick Toy was the guitarist to measure all others by. One would say about a guitarist “he’s ok, but he’s no Rick Toy” to which the other would reply “yeah well who is?”. It was just a known fact that no one could ever come close to the genius that was Rick Toy.
(click to enlarge)
(click to enlarge)
With Hollywood Dan after a show at Nick’s Roast Beef
