Our Musical Memories: the rocking sound of Itchy Brother, an interview with James Harrison and Greg Martin

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Note: This series of articles is designed to remember and celebrate all the wonderful bands that have played in the Southern Kentucky region and become a part of its musical history and legacy. We are beginning our series with the band Itchy Brother as remembered by local musicians James Harrison and Greg Martin.

Where did you get the name Itchy Brother?

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James: A cartoon! Actually Fred Young came up with it. Itchy Brother Rat from King Leonardo and friends.

Greg: After a series of band names, Richard, Fred, Anthony and I settled on Itchy Brother in 1973. The Itchy Brother name came from the 60’s Saturday morning cartoon show, King Leonardo & Friends. Itchy Brother was King Leonardo’s incompetent evil brother. Itchy Brother, and partner in crime Biggie Rat, were always trying overthrow the King and wreck havoc on Bongo Congo. 

How and when did the band begin?  How long did Itchy Brother perform?

James:  Greg Martin was the first guitarist for them….he left to join a band the local drummer (Bill Judd) had started in Louisville. Richard Young asked me to play around ’73. I left in ’75-’76. They continued on till the early ’80’s as Itchy Brother and Throughbred, then on to the Headhunters. Anthony Kenny went from bass to lead…. (A helluva guitarist) The rest is history.

Greg: Richard, Fred, and Anthony started playing together as The Truce in 1968. They were first cousins, and since their parents were musical, it was only natural for them to get together and play. Of course The Beatles and the British invasion turned our heads in the early 60’s, whetted our appetites to play in a band.

I met Richard in the Fall of 1968 through my cousin Larry Sullivan. I was freshman, Richard was in the 8th Grade. Initially Richard and I met at the Edmonton grade school cafeteria kitchen and jammed, then played “Sunshine of Your Love”, “Hey Jude” & “Born To Be Wild” at a 4th Talent Contest in the Fall of 1968. We hit off so well, shortly after, Richard, Anthony and I started jamming and playing out as the Truce. We did our first gig together at the 1968 Toys For Tots show in Glasgow, KY. We went through several names, The Truce, Aftermath, Mandrake Velvet, Mainliner, then settled on Itchy Brother in 1973. In 1971 we appeared on Young Country, a weekly television show out of Nashville on Ch. 4 produced by Bob Cox. We also recorded a single in 1973, “Rock N’ Roller” & “Shotgun Effie.” Off and on, Itchy Brother went from 1968-1989.

Who were the members and who played what instrument?

James: At that time, Anthony Kenny on bass, Fred Young on drums, Richard Young, guitars, and me on lead and slide guitar.

Greg: Except for a brief period with Steve Perkins on bass guitar in 1968, I always played with Richard, Fred and Anthony. There were many lineups of Itchy Brother after I left in 1973, I can’t even remember all the members.

What kind of music did you play?  Can you name a few songs?

James: Great question! Well. we liked to take old, obscure blues tunes and play ’em “our way” through old tube amps….Marshalls, Fenders, whatever we had. I can remember the first song we ever worked up! “High Heel Sneakers”, some old Johnny Winter (Richard had the voice for that) some Kiss, Montrose, Deep Purple, etc. covers.

Greg: When I joined in 1968, we were playing everything from The Beatles, Steppenwolf, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Crow,  and Led Zeppelin to old rock n’ roll & blues. Even as kids, we took to blues like ducks to water. There’s a very cool tune from 1978 called “Paradise” that we recorded at the Practice House on a stereo cassette recorder (with two mics hanging from the ceiling). When I hear it today, I’m amazed at the intensity and depth we played blues.

Did you write your own material?

James: Oh yeah! Richard Young is the lyric machine, the “wordsmith”. Give him anything to write about and he can do it. Anthony was good too….Fred and I musta missed that train.

Greg: Yes, early on we started jamming and writing our own stuff. by the late 70’s, 75% of the Itchy Brother repertoire was original. Even when we did someone else’s song, we’d put our own stamp on it. Richard and Anthony are very talented writers. Fred and I contributed musically, but they were the main writers. in retrospect, Itchy Brother was a true collaboration, and it worked.

What sorts of gigs did Itchy Brother typically play?  Clubs?  H.S. Dances?  Festivals?

James: About all of them….in some of the counties, they’d have a basketball homecoming….we’d try to get those too. Most time, we would rent out the gym in the National Guard Armory…..and have what they call “concerts” 2 bucks apiece to get in or 5 bucks a couple (what a bargain!).

Greg: Early on, we played high school dances, Fall festivals, school functions, talent shows, birthday parties, any place someone would let us play! In the 70’s we played clubs, concerts, the normal thing.

Can you tell us about one particularly interesting gig?

James: No……I can’t remember

Greg: Besides the “Young Country” television show, the show that I’ll always remember is the 1968 Toys For Tots Show in Glasgow, that was very special. It was our first gig together, hosting the show was Us Inc, our local musical heroes. The following is fan excerpt from a blog I wrote back in December: Toys For Tots and Psychedelic dreams……

In 1968 I played my first gig with Anthony Kenney, Richard and Fred Young as The Truce (a predecessor to Itchy Brother). We played the annual Toys For Tots show hosted by local heroes, Us Inc. The Glasgow National Guard Armory that night could just as well been the Fillmore East in San Francisco or Madison Square garden in NYC, it’s a gig none of us will ever forget. That night watching Us Inc., The Cherry Pops, Jim & Mary Buchanan, The New Tymes and others was influential in the path we would all take later in life. It was a night filled with the sound of Fuzztones, psychedelic lights, and the smell of incense.  Details are a little hazy now, but there is a feeling that has never subsided deep within us. Ah, those psychedelic dreams…..

Another funny gig was at the Summer Shade Gym in Summershade, KY. around 1970. We were told to stop playing because we were playing too loud and disrupting visitors at the Funeral Home, just over the hill.

Did you go on tour?

James: Nah…when I was in the band, we were home town boys…..now they did tour after a while

Greg: In the 70’s Itchy Brother played dates in Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Georgia, and Alabama, mostly clubs on the rock n’ roll circuit.

Did you ever make a record?

James: Before I came along, they had did a single…. 45rpm “Shotgun Effie” and “Rockin Roller”

Greg: Yes, in 1973 we cut a 45 single, “Rockin’ Roller”  & “Shotgun Effie.”

What happened to the band?

James: youth, responsibility, creative differences, money……sos

Greg: After I graduated in 1972, my father moved my family to Louisville. I had every intention of staying with Richard, Fred & Anthony, but logistics prevented it. After the single was released in 1973, my job at Fawcett Printing Company put a stop to me playing music for a brief period. James Harrison took my place, then I returned in 1977. The band continued on till around 1989, never really broke up, circumstances, fate and responsibilities just put it on hold.

What do you think folks remember about Itchy Brother?

James: just that we were…..still are home town boys

Greg: Those were wonderful times, it’s when I found my musical voice and calling in life.