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See what others are saying aboutScott Hall One Man Band... | |||||||
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Reviews...
He's a one-man bandBY JONNA MILLER The Daily Courier, Ticket Magazine July 29, 1998 The term "one man band band" conjures up an image of some old guy in a bad tuxedo, playing the cymbals with his knees and crooning along with some pre-recorded music. Well, strike that image from your mind and get a load of Scott Hall, aka "Scooter Dude."
Hall, a resident of Champion and an assistant systems analyst for Seven Springs Resort, spends his weekends entertaining the crowds with his repertoire of upwards of 300 songs. Those 300 songs, he plays by himself, complete with guitar, three-piece drum set and a harmonica. Oh yeah, he sings, too. And don't expect to hear a cassette tape in the background adding the harmonies, it's all "Scooter Dude." He plays the bass drum with his right foot, the high hat with his left, holds a drum stick between his ring and middle fingers and a guitar pick with his index finger and thumb. The harmonica/kazoo hangs from around his neck. It's truly a sight and sound to behold. According to his manager, Teri Hirko, who also doubles as his girlfriend, he has been performing his solo act since 1993. His first tune as a one-man band was "Baby, Please don't Go," an old blues song. Hall has little formal training and doesn't read music. He plays all of his songs by ear. "It's amazing he keeps all of the music and words in his head," Hirko said. She added he works very hard to emulate the singer's work he is covering. In other words, he sounds like the record. People have come up to him after a show and rave about how much he sounds like the original artist, be it Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Muddy Waters or Tom Petty. He specializes in classic rock, beach music and songs from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. "Musicians draw part of their energy from the audience. If the crowd is really into it and singing and dancing, you can really have a great time performing," Hall said. The decision to make the move to a solo act was born from years of playing in bands. "He had been involved with other bands and there were always problems," Hirko said. She said other band members would show up late, or not at all, for practice. They would forget their equipment and miss performances. "He decided if he did it all himself, then he wouldn't have to share the money and would eliminate all of the problems," Hirko said. "The nice thing about being a one-man band is that there are a lot less arguments. I play what I want, when I want, practice when I want and don't have to share the money," Hall added. Speaking of money, Hirko said she doesn't understand why anyone would pay $300 and up for a DJ, when Hall's fee is much less. "He's very reasonable," she added. Hall's act keeps the two pretty busy every weekend as they travel around for performances in area bars. "I'd like to get more gigs as an opening act for other bands. If only takes me a few minutes to set up and tear down and my equipment doesn't take up much space. I'm only one guy so my rates are more affordable than a full band," Hall said. "I've never missed a performance in a year and a half. I'm very proud of that," Hirko added. She sends out over 100 postcards every two weeks to keep those on the mailing list apprised of Hall's schedule. "We are starting to get some regulars and making friends," Hirko said. UPDATE: Scott no longer lives or works at Seven Springs and Teri Hirko is not his Manager.
Here's what others have to say...
Digby at
 "Awesome..........."
-Radisson Hotel, Monroeville,PA
"Close your eyes and you will swear it's a full 4 piece band......."
-Stoney Richards - 100.7 FM THE POINT, Pittsburgh, PA
"I'm mexmerized...how does he do it all at one time?"
-Double C Saloon, Ruffsdale, PA
"Never seen anything like it........"
-My Other Brother's Pub, Mammoth, PA
"The splitting of his voice into three-part harmony is downright spooky!"
-Michael Murphy, RCA recording artist
"He's amazing! If you weren't looking at him, you'd swear you were listening to the CD........"
-The Boardwalk Bar at Point View Inn, Deep Creek, MD
"Scott packed the place every night..."
-Roos' Pub, Hidden Valley, PA
"Dancin in the streets..."
-Schooner's Warf, Key West, Florida
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Self-taught musician plays on in one-man-band By Matt McHugh THE DAILY COURIER
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome The Scott Hall Band. On guitar is Scott Hall. On drums is ... Scott Hall. Playing harmonica is... Scott Hall. Tambourine? Cymbals? Hall, of course. Surely not the kazoo, too. Au contraire . Hall does it all. He's a one-man band.
As he's fingering the guitar with his left hand, he holds the pick between the thumb and index finger of his right hand and strums while he also has the drumstick placed in between his right middle and ring fingers, keeping the beat. He beats the bass drum pedal with his right foot, the cymbal pedal with his left and either sings or plays the harmonic or kazoo which are attached to the device around his neck. He uses no prerecorded music. And most people have trouble patting their head and rubbing their stomach at the same time.
He's not the stereotypical one-man band that serves as much for comic relief as for musical entertainment. "Everyone thinks I'm going to have an accordion and cymbals taped to my knees," he said. Hall began playing the guitar when he received one on his fifth Christmas. He hasn't stopped since. Well, he does break for his day job, which is assistant systems manager at Seven Springs. In fact, on several occasions he's been paged on the way to gigs because the phone system had broken down. Once he was on stage at Seven Springs performing when he told the crowd he'd be back in a few minutes. He had been paged and had to go elsewhere on the premises to correct a problem. His real love, however, is music, and his favorite instrument is the guitar. His 1965 Fender Mustang is his pride and joy according to his girlfriend, Teri Hirko. Hall, who lives in Melcroft, says he is self-taught. The few lessons he had, he says, were mainly to read music. The Beatles, Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix have all inspired Hall, and he said he started playing the harmonica around 18 years ago because he liked Bob Dylan. Now 36, Hall has been a professional band unto himself for the past 10 years, though he started toying with the idea about five years before that. The harmonica was his second instrument and the drums his third, about two years after the harmonica. He didn't have dreams of a one-man band future at the time, he says. "I just got the idea to try it," he said. He's never played the drums without his guitar, however. The first few years he just knew how to play a few songs with the drums, all of which had the same beat, he says. As he got better, he'd test out his material at open-mic nights. "You keep working on that until you have enough songs to play all night," Hall said. Performing at the Mill Run Firemen's Fair, he had on cut-off jean shorts, a light-blue shirt emblazoned with a surfboard sitting atop a car, white socks and blue tennis shoes. Topping off his beachcomber look is a face shrouded in red. His striking orange hair makes its way down his face by way of a thick mustache and beard. He tries to emulate, in the words of Hirko, the artist whose song he's performing. His Neil Young is especially accurate. Hirko says that there have been times when Hall was singing that people thought there was really a recording of Neil Young playing. At the Mill Run Fair he did play approximately 45-minute sets with breaks only to change his instrument arsenal. Hall says his practice time can range from zero one day to 12 hours the next. He and Hirko guessed he probably averages two to four hours a day. The one-man band format does have drawbacks, though. "You can't sing harmony," Hall said. Also, "If you make a mistake it's a lot more obvious." He currently plays an average of between one to three days per week. Among his future goals, he lists possibly recording a CD of his own songs or playing for a living. |
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