By:Susan Lin
Even with a back-up of four hefty looking men, who together would probably overshadow the average woman, Toby Papageorge, singer and guitarist of Toby and the Boys Blues Band, pulls off her position as front person of the band.
Set up with a white feather tucked in a black hat, her signature accouterments when performing, Papageorge belts out tunes such as "Love Me With a Feeling," written by Clarence Carter.
"If you're going to love me, love me with a thrill. Otherwise, I know your brother will," are the verses that start off Papageorge's version of the Carter song, and very well characterize the rest of it.
Papageorge said, "Every time I sing those verses, it's like all the women in the place start screaming or calling out. ... It's kind of an X-rated song, an in-your-face very tough female song."
Although she seems a natural as the head of Toby and the Boys, Papageorge said the main reason she started the band was to be able to sing and perform. "A lot of people are like 'Oh, I have to lead a band.' But that was never the way it was. This was the only way I would get to play," she said.
Papageorge, which is her husband's abbreviated Greek last name, put together Toby and the Boys after she was fired in 1993 as the lead singer of The Subterranean Homesick Blues Band, which is now defunct.
After her abrupt dismissal, Papageorge went to jams, met other Blues players and networked "like you would in business." In a year, she was able to gather enough committed players to form Toby and the Boys.
Although her name is prominently featured in the band's name, Papageorge said the only reason she put it there was to ensure she will always perform in the band. "It's very typical in music for people to change bands, so this way I felt I would have to be in the band," she said.
Besides Papageorge, who lives in Westhampton, Toby and the Boys consists of lead and slide guitarist Doug Varady of Farmingdale, bass player Greg "Clutch" Reilly of Lindenhurst, keyboardist Joe Samuels and drummer Keith Hurrell of Rockville Centre.
Hurrell, 46, who has been playing with Toby and the Boys for the past year, said he joined the band because, "I liked the personalities of all the people in the group, and [Papageorge] hires really good side people to back her up."
A freelance drummer, Hurrell also plays with the Kane Daily Blues Band, the Last Chance Blues Band, and a couple of other R&B or Blues bands on the Island. "Most of them, you just show up and play. Blues is improvisational but structured," said Hurrell.
Otherwise, Hurrell works as an acoustic piano tuner and technician out of his own company, Precision Piano Service in Rockville Centre.
Hurrell will play drums Friday for Toby and the Boys at the Catfish Cafe in Lynbrook. On stage, "I try to keep a forward movement. It's all about playing very attentive to what's going on musically around you," Hurrell said.
At a Glance
Toby & the Boys Blues Band
8:30 p.m., Fri., Sept. 7
The Catfish Cafe
172 Merrick Rd., Lynbrook
(516) 599-0137
$10 food/drink minimum
reservations appreciated
