Blotto (band)


Blotto was a rock band from Albany, New York, known for mixing music and humor. They formed in 1978 out of the Star Spangled Washboard Band, a "post-hippie" comedy jugband. Blotto's music combined new wave and soul/R&B, but with comedic themes. It began as a pick-up band in Saratoga Springs at a club then known as 17 Maple Ave., with three Washboard Band alumni, plus a drummer and a bassist. They were joined by Blanche Blotto, who contributed vocals and keyboards and inspired the band's drumhead lady logo. They began to amass a following and played in the New York City area at clubs such as The Ritz, SNAFU, Eighty-Eight, and My Father's Place. DJ Vin Scelsa of WNEW-FM picked up on their initial recording of "I Wanna Be A Lifeguard," which soon became the theme song of the Jones Beach Lifeguards. Their songs were played on the Dr. Demento Show, and they appeared on television's Uncle Floyd Show. They toured frequently and were popular primarily in the northeastern United States, especially among college students.
After releasing two EPs on their own Blotto Records label, they produced an early music video for "I Wanna Be A Lifeguard" with video production students at SUNY Albany. The video was played on MTV's very first day on the air in 1981, and continued in frequent rotation. This exposure helped the band produce their album Combo Akimbo, which was released with assistance from Peter Pan Records, as well as a "Video 45" on VHS from Sony with three videos of Blotto songs that also received wide exposure from airplay on MTV, including "Metalhead," with Buck Dharma from Blue Öyster Cult on lead guitar. Blotto worked with producer Bob Clearmountain on one song on the album. North Lake Sound Chief Engineer, Chris Cassone, produced and engineered the rest of Combo Akimbo. Cassone was also working with Don Roeser at the time and suggested he hear the homage Blotto had recorded, "Metalhead." Because of a one-time mistaken erasure of a guitar track, he was dubbed "Eberhard Blotto."
The group disbanded in 1984, with the players pursuing more profitable interests. Drummer Lee Harvey Blotto graduated from Albany Law School, became an attorney specializing in intellectual property law, and continued to play with the band as "F. Lee Harvey Blotto". Bassist "Cheese Blotto" died suddenly in October 1999 of cardiomyopathy brought on by a liver condition.
All of Blotto's studio recordings were reissued on a 1994 compact disc compilation, Collected Works. In 1999, the band released Then More Than Ever, a CD comprising previously unreleased live concert recordings, excerpts from a 1982 appearance on the "BBC College Concert" radio series, and tracks recorded for the never-completed follow-up album to "Combo Akimbo."
The band in its current incarnation is still active, and has reunited for occasional concerts in the Albany area, including an appearance at the 2008 4th of July celebration at Empire State Plaza, and several shows in 2011 at local festivals. On August 6, 2015, the band opened for Blue Öyster Cult at an "Alive at Five" concert in Albany.
Founding member and lead vocalist Sarge Blotto died on April 10th, 2019.
In March 2020, Blotto was inducted into the Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Hall of Fame.

Members

Group members went by pseudonyms on their recordings and in performance.
The members of the original lineup were:
In addition to their inclusion on the CD Collected Works, Blotto's cover version of Lou Christie's "Lightning Strikes" appears on the compilation LP Hudson Rock, and "Metalhead" appears on the compilation LP Metal For Breakfast.