Above: Club Phred members with Stone Balloon owner Bill Stevenson (front, 3rd from right) at the legendary nightclub’s locals closing party (2005).
By Kevin Noonan
Photos courtesy of Club Phred
Like many teenagers who started garage bands in the 1960s, Fred Dawson had dreams of fame and fortune, not to mention the chance to meet girls. The fame and fortune part didn’t work out, and the girls didn’t exactly swarm, but Dawson did grab hold of the one thing that matters the most — the music.
Dawson is the leader of the local band Club Phred, which has been around since 2002, although its various members have been around a lot longer than that. Most of the seven-piece band are in their 70s, including the 76-year-old Dawson, and their eldest statesman, saxophonist Vince Vincguerra, 87.
But this is no geriatric act.
“We’re a bunch of old-timers, no question about that,” Dawson says. “But when we get up on that stage, it’s like we discovered the fountain of youth and we’re ready to rock and roll. We feel like teenagers again and that’s because we still love what we do — maybe even more than we used to.
“Getting old isn’t always fun, but it does give you some perspective,” adds Dawson, who is a financial advisor when he’s not on stage. “You appreciate things more and that’s especially true with our music. And I honestly think we sound as good, or better, than we ever have. That’s the beauty of music — it makes time stand still.”
Dawson, who started playing music at 16 while a student at Christiana High, is one of five original members of Club Phred, along with Vincguerra, Brian Daring (bass guitar), Kathy Layfield (keyboards) and Mark Fisk (vocals). Newcomers and, relatively speaking, youngsters Brian Scott (guitar) and Paul Cuttic (drums) round out the group.
Both Dawson and Fisk give the two younger players, especially Scott and his guitar, credit for reenergizing the band a few years ago when things started to get stale.
“They lit a fire under us,” Dawson says. “And it’s still burning.”
Fab Four Fanatics
Like many teenagers who started garage bands in the 1960s, members of Club Phred say their desire to become rock stars was sparked by the landmark appearance by The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show — so much so that Fisk remembers the exact date of that historic event: February 12, 1964.
Fred Dawson at the 2024 Rehoboth Jazz Festival with “Blue Lou” Marini, a founder of The Blues Brothers horn section.
“That was a life-transforming moment for me, just like it was for so many of us back then,” says Fisk, who is a lawyer when he’s not making music. “It was an epiphany for me and, really, my generation, and that’s why we’re still at it now.”
Like Dawson, Fisk dreamt of becoming a rock star, a dream that had its beginnings when he played in garage bands in his hometown of Newark — with the University of Delaware nearby, there were plenty of places for a young group to play in the 1960s and 1970s.
“We played frat parties when I was in the eighth grade and there was just a real vibrant music scene in Newark back then,” he says. “There were a lot of bands and a lot of venues to play in, and we had lots of gigs. But eventually I realized that this was probably as far as I was going to go, that I was never going to be on The Ed Sullivan Show like The Beatles, so I decided to stick with education and become a lawyer.
“But the love for music and the desire to play music never left me. So, even though the dream of stardom was gone, the passion for the music was still there.”
Eventually, that led to Fisk connecting with Dawson and the other members of Club Phred for informal jam sessions in Dawson’s basement-turned-night club. They realized they had something special in the way they harmonized with their instruments and their voices.
Club Phred saxophonist Vince Vincguearra.
“We had all been around the block and we were at that stage in life when our egos weren’t as important as the music we were making together,” Dawson says. “You could tell from the beginning that there was a real enthusiasm about how we sounded and how we fit together, and it just developed from there. And here we are, more than 20 years later, still doing it.”
Charlie Ross is the owner and operator of The Reef Seafood & Steak restaurant on Carpenter Station Road in Wilmington, where Club Phred plays regularly. And Ross says there are a few simple reasons he keeps hiring the band.
“They’re talented and they’re energetic and the people here love them,” Ross says. “Above all, they’re professional. Those guys have been doing this for a long time now, and they obviously know what they’re doing up there. They have a huge repertoire of songs from the ‘60s and ‘70s, so you never know exactly what to expect from them. And I think the people love that about them.
“They’re definitely one of our favorites here.”
Playing With the Stars
Even though the members of Club Phred never made it to the major leagues, they’ve rubbed elbows with some big-time rock stars, including Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad (with hits like “I’m your Captain (Closer to Home)”, “Some Kind of Wonderful” and “We’re an American Band”) and Felix Cavaliere of the Rascals (“Good Lovin’,” “Groovin’” and “People Got to Be Free”).
Club Phred has raised more than $5 million for charity.
“Over the years, I’ve become friends with those guys, and I’ve played with Mark Farner in Delaware 33 times, and with Felix Cavaliere three or four times,” Dawson says. “Those guys are great musicians, but even better people, and it’s been a privilege to play with them and hang out with them.”
Dawson was especially close with legendary saxophone player Boots Randolph, who recorded with stars such as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and Chet Atkins and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
But most people probably recognize Randolph’s music from his 1963 hit recording “Yakety Sax”, which is also the theme music for the BBC’s Benny Hill Show that was popular in the 1960s and 1970s. And if you don’t know that show, or that theme music, check it out on Google — the odds are you’ll recognize it immediately.
Dawson was so close with Randolph that he was with him in his hospital room in Nashville when Randolph died in 2007. Randolph even gave Dawson some of his iconic saxophones before he passed.
The Present and the Future
There’s another side to Club Phred — the philanthropic side. Since its inception, Club Phred has raised more than $5 million for 40-plus charities.
“It ended up that we had a bunch of musicians in the group who really love their community,” Dawson says. “So, we started playing gigs for charity and we’ve never stopped. We really enjoy giving back, and invariably good things come back to us. It’s always fun to play music and it’s even more rewarding when you’re helping a good cause.”
As for the future, the veteran members of Club Phred know that nobody outlasts Father Time, not even The Beatles, and they can’t do this forever.
“I make no predictions, but for now we’re still going strong,” Dawson says. “I mean, our sax player is 87 and he plays like he’s 13 years old — he smokes that horn like crazy. So, I think we all appreciate that we’re still doing this, because even though we’re old, the music keeps us young.”
— For more information on Club Phred, including live dates and song lists, visit ClubPhred.com
