A challenge they enjoy: Band leader with Morris ties plays with guest, substitute musicians

MOKENA – Jeff Rutter is a frequent substitute or addition to the local band Acoustic Avenue.

Rutter, of Bolingbrook, is a guitar player with the touring band Cryan’ Shames, as well as the local band Scramble and The Nightshift Orchestra (a Chicago wedding band). He said it can be a challenge playing with different bands, but it’s a challenge he enjoys.

“I like the comfort of playing with regulars,” Rutter said, “but the stimulation of throwing caution to the wind, it’s actually a fun challenge. ... Everyone brings a little different flavor. Certain people are better at Beatles songs, certain people are better at ’80s and ’90s stuff. As a team, you play to the strengths of the members.”

Acoustic Avenue, also known as Electric Avenue when the band is “plugged,” played about 250 gigs last year, multiple times in Morris, and 340 among all three bands, said Ron Romero of Mokena, a bassist (4- and 12-string), vocalist, booking agent through Romero’s Stage Right Productions and only original member of Acoustic Avenue.

Romero also is a former long-time resident of the Morris area.

Busy schedule

Romero has a third band, The Names, that includes horn players. This translates into playing almost every day – and sometimes twice in a day.

With such a packed schedule, there are times when one or more members can’t make an engagement. So the band pulls substitutes from an unofficial musicians’ pool – people they know would fit seamlessly into their band for a night or two.

People like Rutter.

“Jeff brings a whole slew of songs that we don’t normally do with the band,” Romero said. “He’s one of those guys you can’t help but learn from, and he has this incredible sense of humor. He knows how to break into the audience and make sure everybody really has a good time. He’s just a very powerful personality.”

Other subs include touring members of Paul Revere & the Raiders and The Buckinghams. Occasionally, Joliet Junior College music teacher Chuck Morgan joins the band, Romero said, as does Skip Griparis of Bolingbrook.

Griparis, a guitarist and vocalist, has toured with Olivia Newton-John and New Colony Six, and had a role in the movie “Major League,” Romero said.

Adding variety

There are many advantages to using subs: First, not only does Romero get to play with musicians he admires, but he said the color they add to the band is unbelievable.

“It’s expansive to the sound,” Romero said. “One time, when we were practicing in my basement, we hit the first note, and it made every hair on my arms stand up.”

Even the audience loves it when they mix things up a bit, Romero said, as every musician brings a different flavor to the mix. Romero added he personally enjoys learning from the subs – new music and new music theory, as well as the challenge of playing familiar songs in unfamiliar keys.

“When you play with good musicians, you have to keep up,” Romero said.

In the same spirit of camaraderie, Romero often has been a sub or an addition to other bands, such as local bands The Chauffeurs, The Meteors and The New Invaders.

“If we need a sub, we’ll call someone up from the musicians’ pool and say, ‘Can you sub today?’” Romero said. “They say, ‘Sure – and by the way, can you work with us next week?’”

Even when all of Acoustic Avenue’s members are available for a performance, the band may hire extras for certain events. And, sometimes, other musicians who attend an Acoustic Avenue performance wind up jamming with the band and becoming subs, Romero said.

Acoustic Avenue’s other core members are Jimmy Herter, of Homer Glen, who plays guitar, saxophone and flute; and Jim Alberico, of New Lenox, who plays drums, keyboard, guitar and ukulele. Alberico is a former member of the local band Vintage Wood.

For information, visit www.acousticave.com.