HOOTERS "Amore"

I can totally hear the collective sigh of the 15 people who read this blog so far. It's ok, I know, it's the Hooters. Welcome to the first installment of Local Heroes. I'll have many sub-themes on Little Elpees, because I'm third grade gay. Visitors here are already familiar with Great Compilations and there will certainly be Songs To Make Sweet Love To Your Woman By, but Local Heroes, I know I'll have more fun posting than you will listening. Tough shit, suck it up.

Long before there were busty women serving up wings in orange jumpsuits, there was a Philadelphia new wave outfit called Hooters. You may be saying to yourself if you are still reading, "but Little Elpees, the Hooters were like, a big popular MTV band!". You'd be right, but in 1983, they were a little indie band that only people in the 215, 609, and 201 area codes knew about. My local station on the Jersey shore, WHTG, played the shit out of them. That station was good like that back then, they played bands called Private Sector, Screaming For Emily, and Spiral Jetty, all local heroes, all as big as New Order to me in high school.

Back to Hooters. You likely know they named themselves after the melodica they featured on their songs. Let's be glad they didn't incorporate a cumbus. The songwriting team of Eric Bazilian and Rob Hyman (unfortunate last name) also wrote songs like Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time (underrated) and Joan Osborne's One Of Us (craptastic). My sophomore year of high school, I saw the Hooters play the Chestnut Cabaret with Tommy Conwell & Young Rumblers (see post about Rave-Ups and "modern rock"). They had already signed to a major and were in their third or so inning of fame, but at 15, I was probably impressed. In fact, my band, Intrigue (I can't make this shit up), promptly "rehearsed" and performed "Day By Day" at a high school dance. I got so much action that night.

Amore was self-released on Antenna Records in '83, I won it the next summer at Union Jacks on the boardwalk in Seaside Heights. As far as I know it was never re-issued on disc. Some of the songs were re-recorded for Nervous Night, their big platinum offering. Here are two songs not included and ones that stuck in my head despite the lunkheaded lyrics and tinny guitars. I apologize for the pottymouth today. I invite you all to comment on your local heroes and perhaps if you send me an mp3, we can create a download mix based on region. See ya, senorita.

AMORE
CONCUBINE