By Steven Zaitz
Music lovers packed the area behind Ralph’s Famous Italian Ices on Main Street this past Friday, Aug. 11, for the latest installment of the Musical Moments in Kings Park concert series.
Coinciding with sunset, the crowd of about 700 enjoyed “Tequila Sunrise” and other past hits from California soft-rock legends, the Eagles, performed by the local six-piece tribute outfit known as the Eagle River Band.
There was barely an inch of space for one more lawn chair in and around Russ Savatt Park in Village Plaza, as band leaders Paul Graf and Kevin Byrne both ably impersonated Eagle front men Don Henley and Glenn Frey all evening long.
The band played all the hits of the 1970s and ’80s such as “Take It To The Limit,” “Life In The Fast Lane,” and “Desperado,” and formed a warm rapport with the audience as they made light-hearted, self-deprecating cracks at one another throughout the show.
The amiable Graf, who also uses the stage name Paul Henry, was the principal at Smithtown Elementary School from 1988-2012 and has great experience entertaining the masses. One of his annual thrills while serving at Smithtown Elementary was dressing up as Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat with full face paint as well as performing for the students whenever the opportunity presented itself.
“I’ve been playing and singing in front of my parents’ fireplace since I was kid,” said Graf, from Mount Sinai. “It’s an honor to be back in Kings Park and playing here again because the people here are always responsive, and they are a great audience.”
Graf was one of the first musicians ever to play at Musical Moments, which is supported by the Kings Park Civic Association. In 2008, the inaugural year of the series, he played as a duet with his friend Jeff Laino on bass guitar in front of a much smaller audience.
“I remember it was pouring raining and there were a few hardy souls in the crowd that night,” said Graf. “But we did our best.”
Fast forward 15 years and the delightful summer breeze, a crowd that was almost backed up onto the train platform and Graf and his five bandmates made for a perfect musical weekend kickoff.
Formed in 2017, Eagle River Band has seen lineup changes on occasion, but now features Jim Cairo (bass guitar and vocals), Mike Draddy (keyboards, guitars and vocals), Steve Lobmeier (drums) and Joe Savio (guitars and vocals) in addition to Graf (guitar, mandolin and harmonica) and Byrne (guitars and vocals). Savio was responsible for many of the famous guitar solos of legendary guitarist Joe Walsh.
The band played for about two hours and the crowd size and enthusiasm grew to a crescendo together with the music, as the band encored and closed with the Eagles’ most-beloved smash, “Hotel California” — and indeed for everyone at Russ Savatt Park in the center of Kings Park, it was “such a lovely place.”
The Kings Park Civic Association is a community group consisting of local residents who volunteer their time and energy to help maintain the highest standards of quality of life in Kings Park. Founded in 1970, KPCA has a long history of acting as a community advocate.
Carol Kelly is a member of the association and she spearheaded and currently organizes the Musical Moments program. Local sponsors and raffle drawings fuel the project, and the Eagle River Band was the fourth act out of five for this year’s summer program. The country band Urban Rodeo will play the finale Friday, Aug. 25, at 7:30 p.m.
