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It's Dakota All Grown Up
The 1980s band is back, with a new compact disc in Europe. ‘The Last
Standing Man’ is named for Jerry G. Hludzik, who was there for the first
go-around and came back after an invitation from a fan in Sweden.
by Jim Dino
Time turns the page
to yet another chapter
History loves
company.
And now it’s time to finish unfinished business
With pen in hand rewrite the legacy
Believe in the
power of your conviction
Believe in the power of love
Look to your soul, it’s up to you to make the plan
‘Cause you are the last standing man.
Jerry G. Hludzik first tasted fame when he
became a member of The Buoys right after the Northeastern
Pennsylvania band had two national hits in the early 1970s.
The
Japan Jeddo native had more tastes over the last 20 years, first with
The Jerry-Kelly Band, and later with Dakota.
But
they were just tastes.
The
band’s music never got off the ground nationally, and in 1986,
Dakota broke up.
But
Jerry never gave up the dream.
And,
now, after more than a decade, there is a new compact disc released in
Europe and Japan by Hludzik, Dakota’s “last standing man.”
“I
feel it’s one of the best, if not the best, lyrically that Dakota
has done,” Hludzik said. “It’s Dakota all grown up.”
The
chance for Dakota to record again came over the Internet,
from Sweden.
In
late 1995, Magnus Soderkivist contacted Hludzik when he saw the musician
had a Web site.
“This guy from Sweden who had an independent record label contacted me,”
Hludzik said. “He said he was a big vinyl collector, and he asked if there
were any lost tracks. He said we were one of his favorite bands. He said
he and his friends used to wear out our records at their college parties.”
Two
of those friends, Kahlil Turk and Barrie Kirtley, were starting their own
record label, Escape, in England. So, Soderkivist told them of Hludzik.
That
contact led to Escape releasing Dakota’s Mr. Lucky,
the lost tracks which were songs the band had recorded after it’s last
album, Runaway.
Mr. Lucky went over so well in England that Turk and Kirtley asked
Dakota if they could do a new CD, and The Last Standing Man
was born.
Hludzik said the new CD has songs written by him, guitarist Jon Lorance
and keyboard player Rick Manwiller. They are songs about life and the
band, not love songs.
“I’m
like the king on a chess board, guarding the queen. I kept the feeling of
the band,” he said. “I never gave up on it. I never put that away. This
was a chance to take something protected, near and dear.”
Hludzik always felt Dakota’s music was good.
“As
musicians, we did our job,” he said. “For one reason or another, the
albums didn’t get promotion, so we didn’t get to be a big, household word.
It’s not the fault of the music. That’s why I never gave up. It’s a big
part of my life.”
The
new CD also gave Hludzik the opportunity to play in a band with Manwiller
again. Manwiller had played keyboard toward the end of Dakota,
but hadn’t played with Hludzik in about 10 years, despite then living
three miles apart near Scranton.
Lorance is a former member of Synch, another local band that
had a hit with, Where Are You Now? a few years ago. He too, is a
former Dakota member with whom Hludzik has maintained a
relationship in recent years. Jerry, his son Eli, Jon, and Hazelton native
and keyboardist Augie Umbriac now play locally in a band called
Little Big.
Jon
and Rick are both phenomenal players,” Hludzik said.
“I
haven’t even let Jon loose yet. He is a great studio player and plays
within the project. He doesn’t play to stand out, but whatever is needed.
Likewise for Rick.”
Since Dakota broke up, Hludzik has made a living with
various musical projects like the band, Secret City, and he
and Lorance play in duos together. Hludzik also wrote and produced local
jingles, for Johnson Institute of Technology and the former children’s TV
show, Hatchy Milachy, and wrote some songs for the Oak Ridge
Boys.
In
fact, the Oak Ridge Boys experience got Hludzik close to Dee
Allen, son of Oak Ridge Boy Duane Allen, who co-wrote
Somebody’s Hero. Manwiller and Lorance co-wrote most of the other
songs on the CD with Hludzik.
But
perhaps the best opportunity it has given Hludzik is the chance to play
together with Eli, who is the drummer on the CD.
Despite his love for music, Hludzik didn’t force it on his son. But Eli –
who looks strikingly like his father – picked up the same passion for
music.
“I
never pushed him into music,” Jerry said. “He investigated it, and I was
there to nurture him. He chose the drums, and what he’s done is all a
credit to him. He practiced, practiced, practiced. That’s what it takes to
become a real good player.”
And,
despite his natural bias toward his son, Hludzik said Eli had become a
good drummer – good enough to win a scholarship to the University of
Cincinnati’s Conservatory of Music, majoring in jazz studies as a
percussionist.
“He
scored above 2,000 other students there,” Hludzik said. “He was their No.
1 pick. He’s on the dean’s list.
“Having Eli play with Dakota is not me throwing a bone to
someone who lives in my house. He deserves to play on the record. He is
light years away from where I was at his age. He is mature beyond his
years. Young players tend to overplay. But he didn’t have to be told. He
knows what to play and when to play it. But, he’s been playing with guys
20 years older than him.
“As
a father, this is a thrill of a lifetime. To have one’s son in the same
profession, working side by side – it sometimes takes my breath away.” |
