Long Gone Trio doesn't need drums to get people on the dance floor.
"A lot of people are weirded out when they see we don't have a drummer," said Pat Bova, singer and guitarist for the local rockabilly band. "And then they come see us play and say, 'You don't need a drummer.' But a lot of people come and dance, so I think we do all right."
The trio includes Tom Sanderson on lead guitar and Pat Kowalski on upright bass.ˇThey've been playing '50s-oriented music for the past three years every Thursday night at Atomic Cantina.
"I told Tom we'd do it 'til we were 60," Bova said. "Playing once a week helps keep the wheels greased."
In the spirit of traditional rockabilly, the trio strips its stage equipment and songwriting down to the bare essentials to express a simple and old-time feel.
"I like that sound - it's real honest," Bova said. "It's real simple, but there's enough stuff going on to make it interesting."
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The Long Gone Trio has many original tunes, mostly spawned by Bova, but the band collaborates for the final product.
"They're just ... songs about stuff I see, people I know," he said. "A lot of the songs are about vice, but most good songs are."ˇ
Bova said he draws upon 20 years of traveling, playing music and seeing the ups and downs of peoples' lives when writing songs.ˇ
"Joking aside, any kind of experience helps me write songs," he said.
Bova said it'snot easy playing a 60-year-old music style while keeping the sound original, fresh and creative.
"It's hard because there's a formula to it," he said. "You don't want it all to sound the same, but you don't want to stray too far from it. I just write all the time - little stories and songs. I constantly have a notebook with me and think about it every day.ˇIt takes a lot of years of practice to get good at what you do."ˇ
Kowalski said he tries to stay in the rockabilly mind-set as much as possible.
"There's a different style of playing with the older style of music, and I think we all stay immersed in that," Kowalski said.ˇ"I'm not sure how to explain that, but we just stay immersed in it."
Coming up with a band name can be tedious. "Long Gone Trio" was a name they didn't all hate, and "long gone" is a phrase that was popular in the '40s and '50s.ˇ
"We just wanted something kind of simple with the word 'trio' in there," Bova said.ˇ
Long Gone Trio is planning a new release later this year.ˇThey feel they have a pretty good following.ˇ
"We've been around for a long time," Bova said.ˇ"Come see us, and see if you like it.ˇAnd Pat would like to see your underwear."
