Pittsburgh's Mr. R&B

The one time I met Billy Price, I thought I'd impress him by bringing along a CD of an album on which he sang in the early '70s: Roy Buchanan's "That's What I Am Here For."

Billy took a withering glance at it. "That's a lousy album," was his comment.


Well, I like it, but I wasn't going to argue with him. After all, he's been one of the most popular Pittsburgh performers for three decades.

And seeing Billy perform these days is a heck of a lot different than what he was doing with the late Mr. Buchanan in the day. That was in kind of a blues-rock motif, punctuated by Roy's feedback-laden, virtuoso guitar, good listening for college kids sitting around their apartment (the first time I heard it), but ...

Today's Billy Price Band is a rhythm-and-blues shot of energy, with Bill delivering the suitably gritty vocals of a seasoned veteran. And he has a crack supporting cast that epitomizes the polished, professional R&B revue.

Billy joined the top-flight crew of musicians who gathered recently to help fellow performer Tony Janflone Jr., the Washington guitarist who is recovering from injuries so he can return to the stage (and play more benefits on behalf of others, and he's done countless times in the past).

With my video camera perched atop a video game machine at the Rhythm House in South Fayette Township, I captured the Billy Price Band in performance. Here are some tunes from that show, all from the band's 2006 album, "East End Avenue":

• "Keep It to Yourself" (Price, Tiven, Tiven)
• "Soul Sailin'" (Mike Sweeney)
• "If You Cook Like You Walk" (Jimmy Britton)

Here's another one: Bobby Lexing's "Bump and Grind." For whatever reason, my recorder cut off the end. Plus, from my vantage point, guitarist Steve Delach was standing behind a speaker, so I couldn't catch the visuals of him playing his hot licks.

And yes, catching the band live beats sitting around listening to "That's What I Am Here For." (Sorry, Roy, wherever you are.)

A night for Tony

Washington, Pa., musician Tony Janflone Jr. has been playing professionally since he was a teenager, and he's played countless benefit shows over the past three decades.

Last fall, Tony and his wife were involved in an accident, and the medical costs continue to rise as they recover.


Knowing all that Tony has done on behalf of others, fellow musician Curtis Swift, the sax player in Tony's band, organized a benefit to help defray the costs. Signing on were such well-known Pittsburgh-area musicians as Donnie Iris, Billy Price, B.E. Taylor, Robert James of the Clarks and Rick Witkowski, whom you might remember from his work with the '70s band Crack the Sky. And of course, Tony Janflone Sr., the dean of Western Pennsylvania guitarists.

I had the pleasure of filming the proceedings at the Rhythm House in South Fayette Township on Thursday, March 13. Owner Darryl Price and others working at the venue were very friendly and helpful, suggesting that my best vantage point would be from atop a poker machine near the soundboard! I patched one audio channel from the soundboard, used an ambient mike for the other, and came up with a pretty good mix for the parts of the show I've played back so far.

Tony Jr. told me beforehand he wouldn't be playing at the benefit, but the guys called him up to the stage, where he played a smoking "Green Onions."

Since it was Tony's night, I started editing three-plus hours worth of video there. Unfortunately, he was behind a speaker from my vantage point for the first three or so minutes, so I made do with a series of stills until he finally stepped to center stage.

Click here to watch the result.