The Charlie in the Box story begins in a Cleveland basement during the summer of 1990. Back then, the band was called "The Lawn Jockeys". The original lineup consisted of Steve Leicher on lead vocals, Bob Cowley on lead guitar, Chuck Cowley on drums, Tom McBride (that's me) on keyboards and Rich Early on bass. We were a modestly successful cover band, playing what I would call second tier clubs throughout Cleveland.
Then in 1992, tired of playing smoky bars and packing up equipment at three in the morning, Rich decided to leave the band. We quickly held auditions and were lucky enough to find a new bass player in the personage of one Mr. John Konopka. In addition to playing bass, John brought a strong vocal talent to the group - as well as a better PA system.
We continued on with this lineup until January of '95. That's when we were hit with the bombshell that Bob, our longtime guitarist, was leaving. Bob had fallen victim to the dreaded disease known as corporate down sizing and was taking a new job in Kansas. With a tearful/drunken good bye to Bob, we played our last show as The Lawn Jockeys on January 5th, 1995 at the club Instant Replay.
Time for a change. We had pretty much done the same thing for over four years and wanted to shake things up a bit. So, in addition to looking for a new guitarist to fill Bob's spot, we decided to add a female vocalist to our group. After a lengthy (and often frightening) series of auditions, Melissa DeSapri (later to become Melissa Williams) joined the group as our new vocalist and Chris Polak joined as our new guitarist. With this major change in personnel, we decided it was time to change our name and so Charlie in the Box was born.
For our first few months as CITB we were still playing the same old clubs as before. Even so, there was a new sense of excitement, both in the band and with our fans. This was Mel's first time as part of a live band and what she originally lacked in experience she more than made up for with enthusiasm and stage presence. Her energy was contagious and the rest of the band couldn't help but get caught up in it as well. We were performing better than ever before.
Our first big show was late in the summer of '95 at a club in the Flat's called
the Basement. For the first three years it had been around, the Basement was
strictly a DJ club. It was two stories of turntable-powered 80's retro
dance. But this summer they had leased out a huge outdoor deck and stage
and were looking to add live bands. In keeping with their 80's theme they had
booked "A Flock of Seagulls" to be their kickoff band for the season.
But they still needed an opening act. Through some good word of mouth
and a bit of persistence we managed to get the spot. To this day it is
probably the biggest crowd we have played to. On a beautiful summer night
in July we opened to a crowd of over 2000 screaming people. Not bad for
a cover band. I think the crowd actually got into us more than they did
for the Flock. I mean, besides "I Ran" they didn't have to many
hits did they? We on the other hand, had a whole bunch of hits to play since
we're a cover band.
(Ed. note, Those last comments were made with tongue firmly in cheek)
The exposure from the Basement show opened up quite a few more places to us. One of the best things to come out of it was a steady stream of dates at another big club in the Flats - Fagan's. It was a fun place to play with big stage and a usually appreciative crowd.
The next big challenge to the band came in '96 when Melissa informed us she would have to take about eight months off because she was pregnant. She said she would keep singing as long as she could, but with shows booked solid for the next six months we knew we needed a replacement singer fast. Trying to find a competent singer who is willing to learn over 50 songs for a band that she will only be with for eight months is no easy task. After a few auditions we had the good fortune to discover Joyce (Josie) Miller. Though never having sung with a live band before, she had a good voice and a likable personality. For eight months until Mel returned, Joyce did a wonderful job on stage. Even after Melissa's return Joyce sat in with the band from time to time, bailing us out of a few spots when Mel was sick. We all are very grateful.
Things pretty much continued on well for us until late '97. It was then that Steve, our male lead vocalist decided to leave the band. After seven years of playing with Charlie in the Box and the Lawn Jockeys he was just burned out. We tried everything we could to convince him to stay, but his mind was made up. Sadly, we said good bye to him on October 23rd, his last show with the band.
Once again it was audition time. Luckily it wasn't a long ordeal. Joyce, our former singer, put us in touch with a friend of hers from another band - Joe Romito. After a quick listen we knew we had our new male vocalist.
So, now that we finally had our lineup settled, we were all ready to move forward full speed ahead, right? Well, not quite. After three and a half years of incredible performances, Melissa decided it was time to leave the band. She left Cleveland to move down to Atlanta so she could spend more time with her husband who plays for the Atlanta Falcons. Sheesh, how could she let a little thing like family get in the way of a good band! All kidding aside, we were very sad to see her go but we understand that family needs to come first.
Back to the auditions we went in search of someone to undertake the daunting task of filling Mel's shoes. After a long series of try outs and a false start or two we finally found someone beautifully suited to front the band. Maria Lotenero joined the group in October of 1998 as our new female lead singer. Though never having sung with a band before, she was able to jump right in and take center stage with her strong lead vocals and beautiful harmonies.
For over four years, we continued on with this strong lineup of performers. Considering this band's history of changing members, we should have known that some sort of crisis was bound to come up sooner or later. In January of 2003, our drummer Chuck informed us that he was leaving the band. Due to a conflict in scheduling with his new job, he reluctantly retired from Charlie in the Box after over twelve and a half years of keeping the beat. With Chuck's departure on Valentine's Day 2003, it was time to turn the beat around. After seeing and sitting in with Charlie in the Box at the same summer party for many years, Bob Hutchinson decided to give it a shot. Learning 96 songs over a weekend earned Bob the spot as the new drummer. His rock steady timing and lightening fast chops helped fuel the fire and kept CITB rolling.
Even with the transition from Chuck to Bob going smoothly, it looks as though the cast of Charlie in the Box was about to change yet
again! Maria, our singer for the last four plus years decided it is time to move on to other things. We offered her everything we
could think of to try and persuade her to stay - her own dressing room, chauffeured limo, jewels, furs, heck, we even offered to get
our guitar player Chris to stop introducing her onstage as his insurance agent, but alas, her mind was made up. Maria performed her last
show with the band on Jan. 17th at McCarthy's in Lakewood to a packed house of adoring fans. She brought a great talent to the band and
we will miss her dearly.
So, just when it seemed that Charlie in the Box had finally met its end, that the daring band had reached the end of its rope.... we decided to hold more auditions for a new singer. I mean come on, you had to see that one coming. If you've read the history this far you should have realized that this band is harder to kill than Jason in a Friday the 13th flick. So, after auditioning every female singer (even a violinist/singer) in NE Ohio, we finally heard a voice we agreed on. That voice belonged to Traci Wanyerka. With her fantastic pipes and great stage presence, Traci brought a strong rock persona to the front of the band. She helped propel the band forward for the next two years. Then, in 2005, Traci needed a little break to address some health issues. Now you may be asking yourself "Is it over? Is 13 members too many?". Nope!!!! We agreed to give it one final shot.
Was there a female out there that could help CITB keep going? We posted the ad in Scene magazine and the replies came flying in. After 2 nights and listening to many singers, hope seemed lost and talk of disbanding was in the air, but there were still 3 more auditions set up for the following week. We were all glad we didnt jump the gun because that last night of auditions brought us 3 solid singers. Boy was it tough. With everybodys input out there and our minds made up, a new face appearred to front the band. Or was it a new face? Coming out to audition in 1996 she didn't get the job because she was only 19 years old. But coming back to try again 9 years later, we would like to introduce Ida DiCenso-Amos as the new female singer. Ida's crystal clear voice and spot on harmonies have made the last few years very enjoyable.
So there you have it!!! Tom, John, Chris, Joe, Bob, and finally Ida make the current lineup of Charlie In The Box. If you want
some good easy listening dinner music, you are on the wrong page. But if you are looking for a high energy dance filled evening, come
out and catch Charlie In The Box.
Also as a side note, we would like to give a special thanks to a couple of friends who have helped along the way. Jeanne Berry and
Jeannine St. Clair, though never official members of CITB, have stepped up to the mic and sang when illness has struck. And of course,
Scott Franz (Coffee Boy). Without him, who knows where we would be. Helping book gigs, setting up the PA, or scheduling auditions, nothing
is out of the question for Scott.
Just in case you had a hard time following the history of members, here's the condensed version:
1990
Steve Leicher, Bob Cowley, Chuck Cowley, Tom McBride, Rich Early form "The Lawn Jockeys"
1992
Rich Early leaves the band
John Konopka slaps the role of bassist, vocalist, and soundman
1995
Bob Cowley leaves band
Chris Polak strums in as lead guitarist
Melissa Williams joins as the first female singer
The Lawn Jockeys change name to Charlie In The Box
1996
Melissa Williams takes maternity leave
Joyce Miller fills in while Melissa is out
19 yr old Ida DiCenso auditions with no luck
1997
Steve Leicher leaves band
Joe Romito solos in as guitarist and vocalist
1998
Melissa Williams leaves band when husband Gene Williams gets traded to Atlanta Falcons
Maria Lotenero brings harmony to band as female vocalist
2003
Chuck Cowley leaves band making Tom McBride only remaining original member
Bob Hutchinson keeps the beat going on drums
Maria Lotenero departs from the band
Traci Wanyerka rocks in as female singer
2005
Traci Wanyerka leaves band
Ida DiCenso-Amos auditions again and lands the gig
And for those of you keeping score at home, yes I have been in this band for over 20 years! Well, enough history - go on and enjoy the rest of the site. And if you are in the Cleveland area come on out to one of our shows.
We guarantee you'll have a great time!
-Tom McBride, Keyboard Player & Band Historian