Chazy Westport System
As the Sixties came to a close, many local “garage” bands—influenced by Chicago, Blood, Sweat & Tears and other similar groups—evolved by adding a horn section. The Apple Corps were no exception. Like the band’s membership, the Apple Corps’ opportunity to play at large venues, and at greater distances, grew as they added horns and changed names to The Chazy Westport System. Lead Singer Dick Cronin provides the details.
An Interview With Dick Cronin
60sgaragebands.com (60s): How did you first get interested in music?
Dick Cronin (DC): From the time I was about seven I knew I could sing and wanted to entertain. At 10 I bought a guitar for about $12.00 and started to teach myself. By age 13 I put together a band and was playing parties, schools and teen hops.
60s: Was The Chazy Westport System your first band?
DC: My first band was called The Eldorados and then The Replys. My lead guitar player was playing in two different bands at the time and we decided to combine the best of both. We name the band The Apple Corps and even though some of the members were underage for playing in clubs we were able to do the club circuit. Within a year we added horns to the group and started to change our style.
60s: Where and when was The Chazy Westport System formed?
DC: In the end of 1968 we changed the name of the band to Chazy Westport System (taken from a telephone company name). It was a group effort in putting it together and we lasted into 1972. We all lived in the Albany, New York area and most of us grew up together.
The band consisted of Dick Cronin, lead vocals; Jim Rocco, drums and vocals; Jim Hyde, bass and vocals; Pat Rocco, lead guitar and vocals; Al Quaglieri, organ; Joe Lattanzio, trumpet; Tom Jeronski, trumpet and trombone; and Vinnie Franconere, trumpet.
60s: Which members of Chazy Westport System were also in The Apple Corps? Were there any members of The Apple Corps that didn't stay when the group evolved into Chazy Westport System?
DC: The members of The Apple Corp were Jim Hyde, Pat Rocco, Vinnie Franconere, Jim Rocco (who was actually playing organ at the time even though his main instrument was drums) and me. Joe Rocco was the drummer and he was with me since 1963. He left the band shortly before the transition to Chazy. I believe he got married soon after.
60s: How would you describe the band's sound? What bands influenced you?
DC: Because of the horns Blood, Sweat & Tears, Chicago and The Brooklyn Bridge influenced us. Because of the band’s transition from The Apple Corps to Chazy Westport System we still played songs by many other non-horn groups.
60s: Where did the band typically play?
DC: Our club circuit ranged from the Albany, Schenectady, Troy area to Saratoga and Lake George, New York. We played three to five nights a week including Sunday afternoons. We rarely had a week off. We no longer did parties or weddings at this point (once becoming Chazy Westport System).
In the earlier bands we played some teen clubs. We started out playing the Happy Day Nursery. They used it on the weekends for teen dances and there were always two bands that alternated. In the mid-‘60's we played more psychedelic teen clubs like the Hide Out and the Tangerine Tree. Our first Apple Corp gig in a nightclub was at the Frat House in Colonie, New York. A few of the members were still under 18 for a little while when we played there. I remember we played 13 straight weekends there. We also played The College Inn in Saratoga under both band names. While with Chazy, our two main clubs were The Office and The College Inn both in Saratoga. We also played at Mothers in Lake George, New York, Allen's in Scotia, New York and in Thompson's Lake Hotel in the Helderbergs, New York. There were others too.
Chazy only played clubs but in the very early groups we played some battle of the bands. We usually came in first or second. I don't remember the names of the other groups but some were pretty good.
60s: What other local groups of the era do you especially recall?
DC: There were a lot of good bands playing in our area and circuit. One of them was The Knickerbockers (of ‘Lies’ fame). The Sundowners were a group we really liked. The Magnificent Seven and The Kids These Days were very good groups as well. Our friends and group we sort of followed in our circuit was Circus.
60s: How far was the band's "touring" territory?
DC: As far as I remember our touring covered about 200 miles; of course, most of us had other jobs a well.
60s: Did The Chazy Westport System have a manager?
DC: We didn't have a manager but we used an agency for booking at times. The clubs were mostly involved in promoting our band. They took out the ads and radio spots.
60s: How popular locally did The Chazy Westport System become?
DC: We were extremely popular in our area and the audience seemed to always have a good time. We sometimes let the audience participate in songs. We would always do requests even if we (had played) the song already.
60s: Where did The Chazy Westport System record? What do you remember about the recording session(s)?
DC: During our transition from The Apple Corps to Chazy we recorded two songs in Schenectady, New York at a place called Nate Schwartz Recording Studio. I believe The Sundowners may have recorded a few things there as well. What I remember most about the session was having to do a number of takes. It never works in one.
60s: What were the names of the songs you recorded?
DC: The songs that we recorded included one original that we were playing out for some time, 'I Don't Want Any Pie'. I wrote it and it was originally seven minutes long. When we recorded we had to cut it to around three minutes because of what could fit on a record. Unfortunately the lyric lost some of its translation because of the cutting. The flip side was 'Chapel In The Fields' which was originally done by The Knickerbockers. Unfortunately we never got around to having it produced and records pressed. I think I might have the only record demo but I also have the original tape copy that we got at the studio. I have these songs transferred to digital file and CD.
60s: Did The Chazy Westport System write many original songs? Who was the band's primary songwriter?
DC: Other than one of the recording we did, Chazy didn't do originals. We did some originals in some of the earlier bands. I was the only member who wrote songs. Between 1964 thru 1982 I wrote close to 300 songs.
60s: Do any (other) '60's Chazy Westport System recordings exist? Are there any vintage live recordings, or unreleased tracks?
DC: In 2004 I salvaged a poor quality live recording from a club call the Office and transferred it to digital files. I put together a four-page booklet with a bio, pictures and ads along with the CD and sent it to all of the members of the band that I could locate. They loved it.
60s: Did the band make any local TV appearances?
DC: I don't recall doing local TV but I have over 100 pictures and a lot of ads from the local newspapers.
60s: What year and why did the band break up?
DC: Our last gig was in 1972. It was extremely hard to keep an eight-piece band together. I think we just got burned out.
60s: Did you join or form any bands after The Chazy Westport System?
DC: Some of the guys put together a new group called Cathedral but I opted not to do that band. I jammed a little and was concentrated mostly on writing. Then in 1978, Pat Rocco, Jim Rocco and I put down our instruments and decided to be frontmen in a singing group. We added a lovely lady, Debbie Pape, as the fourth vocalists. We had four musicians to play our music and the drummer was Joe Rocco, who had played in some of the earlier groups. This band was very popular and played around the Northeast. The band was called The Rocco Bros. In 2005 I put together an anthology CD from various live shows we played.
60s: How do you best summarize your experiences with The Chazy Westport System?
DC: I really look back to Chazy Westport with great memories. It was a crazy time in the late ‘60s. We had a lot of fun and survived. Each local and regional band that played in the ‘60s was part of that history. We had our opportunity to help people have a good time and from that the bands and the audiences have great memories.
One of the members from The Apple Corps and one of the musicians from The Rocco Bros. are deceased now.
In 2005 I started to record again. I've recorded seven CDs so far - some songs that I use to sing with these bands and others that I never got a chance to sing, along with some new stuff as well. I've given out hundreds of these CDs to family, friends, co-workers and strangers. Who knows? Maybe this will be the start of a reunion of my old band.
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