By Emilie Hagen
Niagara Gazette
NIAGARA FALLS —
Instead of surprising her husband with something silver for their 25th wedding anniversary, Sue LaBarber found something that would make his soul shine a little bit brighter: a Fender Telecaster guitar.
“It just lit my pilot,” said Lou LaBarber, a psychologist by day, getting back into his old groove this summer, performing as the lead vocalist in his freshly-assembled cover band ’Bout Time.
For a man who sold everything but his 12-string Guild guitar in the late ’60s to embark on a career in the health profession (he still operates a private psychology practice in the Falls) an anniversary gift as such soon became the catalyst to a fateful encounter between he and guitarist John Skowronek.
“I missed it so much,” said Skowronek, ’Bout Time’s lead guitarist who coincidentally ran into LaBarber at the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center 12 years ago. Both were looking to brush up on their skills — Skowronek, too, pushed music aside when his priorities shifted to his family and job at National Grid, where he was employed for 30 years.
But a long overdue jam session arranged by NACC music teacher Jason Boudreau soon proved the cliché true: You can take the musician away from the music but never the music away from the musician. The men clicked instantly and have been performing at a variety of functions together since.
“When you click with someone musically, it’s a feeling you have right off the bat,” said LaBarber. “That was evident.”
Skowronek said their most recent project, ’Bout Time, evolved almost a year ago when they brought on board New Jersey bassist Jonathan Buck. The addition of drummer Frank Geracitano in March, a widely respected and recognized percussionist in the Niagara Falls area, helped to further balance out the rhythmic equation.
“It’s tough to find the right compliment of people,” said LaBarber. “The group of guys we have together right now are clicking on all cylinders.”
On top of this, there is now “about 200 years of music between the four of them,” said Skowronek, crediting his wife Kay for the noted calculations.
’Bout Time is scheduled to perform at “Christmas in July” at Legends Sports Bar and Grill on Saturday, a benefit for the Niagara Falls Firefighters Toy Fund and at the Niagara Falls Italian Fest on July 31st (only two of them, however, are true-blooded Italians).
LaBarber said their set will include an up-tempo selection of classic-rock songs, from Crosby, Stills and Nash to Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and the Allman Brothers.
“We have quite a selection of tunes,” said LaBarber. “We put it together, it spells a good formula.”
