Moonlighting On Guitar
 Morgan McGivern
In the keyboardist’s basement in Springs, the Blue Collar Band — with John Hanford on guitar — rehearsed last week for its premiere gig.
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(12/6/2007) When the band opened up with a ZZ Top cover at its 7 p.m. starting time, the crowd at the Montauket bar and restaurant on Saturday night was thin. By the second set, the place had filled and the Blue Collar Band was cooking; the urge to move, irresistible.
By the third set, the Montauket’s patrons were getting down and wondering aloud, “Whoa! — who are these guys?”
They are John Havlicek, songwriter and keyboard player, John Hanford, guitarist, luthier, and private and Internet guitar guru, Jim Brewer, bass, and Gerald Giliberti, drums. John Havlicek’s son, Mark, one of Mr. Hanford’s students, took guitar lead on a number of songs.
All the members live in East Hampton. The band formed only a few months ago, but the reputation gained on Saturday night will surely precede it to the Crossroads Coffee House (in the Presbyterian Church across from Ashawagh Hall in Springs) and then on Friday, Dec. 14, and then on Dec. 21 at the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett.
Mr. Hanford is no stranger to the Talkhouse. He was part of One World, the house band for a time, and his instrument repair shop was once situated upstairs. The location was handy for last-minute repairs.
And he can find his way around the guitar. Because of his talent and relationship with the Talkhouse, he has played with a number of big names, including Buddy Miles, Eric Burden, and the late Ray Buchanan.
Mr. Hanford’s Web sites, Hanfordmusic.com and Easthamptonmusic.com, offer guitar lessons, and a number of his courses can be found on YouTube. His basic chords lesson received 53,000 visits last year. These days he also has the job of repairing all the stringed instruments for the East Hampton School District.
The guitarist said the Blue Collar Band came about when he was giving guitar lessons to John Havlicek’s sons, Matt and John. “Matt kept saying, ‘My dad’s a keyboard player.’ I said, ‘Okay,’ but then I heard his CD.” The compact disc in question, “Blue Collar,” is a studio production. In fact, Mr. Havlicek and two other musicians traded tracks back and forth through the Internet to complete it. The result prompted Mr. Hanford to suggest “doing it live.”
Mr. Havlicek has played in bands around Long Island for years, and he had a recording studio in Smithtown when he lived UpIsland. “When we moved out here, both my sons started playing music. John Hanford was their teacher,” he said. “The main reason I wanted to play in a band again was for the chance to play with one, or both, of my sons. When I look over and see my son, as a dad, I get teary, busting up with pride.”
Mr. Havlicek has played in bands around Long Island for years, and he had a recording studio in Smithtown when he lived UpIsland. “When we moved out here, both my sons started playing music. John Hanford was their teacher,” he said. “The main reason I wanted to play in a band again was for the chance to play with one, or both, of my sons. When I look over and see my son, as a dad, I get teary, busting up with pride.”
The bass player, Jimmy Brewer, has a day job at Riverhead Building Supply, and Jerry Giliberti, when not drumming, is a designer and photographer.
The band’s extensive play list on Saturday night included excellent cover versions of popular songs by Santana, ZZ Top, the Rascals, Bad Company, and down into the Herbie Hancock kind of groove, as well as a number of originals, including “The D.C. Drive,” “Da Funk,” and “Way Gone,” written by Mr. Havlicek.
The band mixes it up, but seemed to thrive in the realms of funk and boogie (and yes, we heard those jazz chords) with exceptional solo work by both Mr. Havlicek and Mr. Hanford, while the Brewer-Giliberti rhythm section did the driving. Mark Havlicek added spice with a few tasty guitar leads. Those who like to dance might give Blue Collar a try.
“We had a blast,” Mr. Hanford said after the Montauket gig.