Left End - Left End - LP (Black Vinyl)

Longtime Youngstown radio personality “Fast” Freddie Woak puts it best, “Left End epitomize Youngstown Rock ’n’ Roll. They were what this town is all about. They were tough. They were gritty. They were loud. They were in your face.” The only problem with his declaration is the use of the past tense. Since their formation over fifty years ago, the band continues to reunite and their fans (old and new) continue to show up. Their story is one of constant rebirth. Even the initial formation for the band’s classic lineup of Tom Figinsky, Roy Guerrieri, Dennis Sesonsky, Jim Puhalla and Patsy Palombo came at a time when their future was uncertain. If you want all the details seek out a copy of Patsy’s 2020 book Tenacity: The Left End Story. (We’ll give you the high-speed “Cyclone Rider” version.) In the late 60’s Tom Figinsky and Patsy Palombo were playing in the Cherry Paup. They were high school kids giggin’ around town. They shared the stage with local legends the Human Beinz. The Pied Pipers, who featured an already infamous Dennis Sesonsky on lead vocals, were also one of the top bands then. Tom and Patsy (and everyone else in town) took note of Dennis’ obvious vocal talent. But he also had charisma…style… He was a performer like no one else. He wasn’t afraid to command an audience. The Pied Pipers were moving up, they had made a record (at Del Sinchak’s WAM Records on Ellenwood Ave. “Hey Joe” b/w “Hold On I’m Coming”). For the Cherry Paup though, it was time to graduate, which meant it was time to call it quits and look for “real” jobs. Meanwhile, Roy Guerrieri was playing in the Soulsations, and asked his cousin Patsy to audition on drums. Eventually through some lineup changes, Jim Puhalla and Tom Figinsky also became Soulsationers. Odie Crook was their singer then. As the band’s style changed, moving away from R&B and more toward heavy rock, the Soulsations name didn’t seem to fit. Jim suggested Left End to fit the wilder style the band was moving toward (at this point they were covering Grand Funk, Sabbath, Mountain, Jethro Tull, and closing their sets with a 15 minute version of The Who’s “Magic Bus” that included homemade pyrotechnics from Palombo). Odie was asked to join Youngstown supergroup Brainchild. He couldn’t say no. The band was the best of the best; featuring John Grazier (who would produce Blue Ash, as well as future Left End recordings), Ronnie Lee Cunningham (who would go on to join LAW as well as having a solo career), and Bill Bodine (who’s had a successful career as a composer for film and TV). With Odie leaving the newly christened Left End, it was unclear who could take his place. Dennis Sesonsky had moved from the Pipers to the heavily jazz-minded Holy Mackerel. The band worked steadily and was packed with top local talent (including saxophonist Ralph Lalama). Dennis was a fan of Left End and saw what he really wanted in them; a loud, rockin’ band that would write, play and record their own material. When he heard they were looking for a new singer, he let them know he was interested. With all the members in place it didn’t take long for everything else to come together. They recorded their first single “Sunshine Girl” b/w “Someday (I Will See)” at Peppermint Productions with Gary Rhamy engineering and John Grazier producing. Thanks to WHOT DJ Jerry Starr, it was a huge success. The single’s popularity led to Left End being asked to play at WHOT’s Spring Thing at Idora Park (an honor they would repeat for thirteen consecutive years). Boots Bell introduced the band to the crowd of 9,000. Dennis had pushed the band to be visually more progressive, with glitter, custom metallic outfits, face paint. They looked glam, but sounded hard rock. Dennis was a rising star in the galaxy of Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, Jim Morrison (and was a huge influence on a young Youngstownian by the name of Steven Bator). For folks in Youngstown, there was no one else like Left End. They did more recording at Peppermint (“Bad Talkin’ Lady” b/w “Takin’ Time”), this time with Steve Friedman, who would end up managing the band and getting them signed to Polydor. To record their LP Spoiled Rotten they headed to Cleveland Recording with Ken Hamann (because of Grand Funk, of course). The album was a huge success. Their shows were getting more packed and more wild (not to mention the guys would drive themselves to the gigs in their own limo). People were showing up as much for the music as well as to see what Dennis would do or say. Friedman would egg it all on, playing to the press the hard-ass punk antics. One Cleveland Scene headline from January ’74 touts, “Left End shows the Dolls who wears the pants in Cleveland”. Another famously dubbed them “The monster that ate Cleveland”. It was fun, but the band was tiring of the image outweighing the music. As is too common the tale, just as their popularity was ready to break through there was trouble at the label. Polydor went through huge changes and Left End’s people were all fired, leaving Left End well…left out. It was time to shop for a new label. Their live sound crew set up shop in Columbiana, OH and the band did some recording in their 4-track barn studio. “Hard Luck” came from those sessions, the title predicting what was ahead. No label and momentum was slowing. People still were coming out to the shows, but where was it going? To add insult to injury, their home-turf club, The Apartment, had burned down. Fast forward to 1979 and everyone feels like it’s time. Time to move on…get steady jobs (with Dennis settling at what would be a longtime position at the GM Lordstown plant, including becoming a leader in the Autoworkers Union). But no one could stay away long. Plans were made to record some new material back at Peppermint with Gary Rhamy and John Grazier and self-release a mini album. Ridin’ Again was a four song 10” with “Ain’t That Love”, “High Heeled Angel”, “Love Shooter” and “Ridin’ Again”. Left End fans loved it. The band was back on the radio thanks to Thomas John and Jerry Starr at WSRD and the EP was a top seller at the region’s National Record Marts and Youngstown’s local shop, Underdog Records (still kickin’). In the summer of 1980 they sold out the Youngstown Agora for their 10th anniversary show. Riding on the momentum, they headed to Cleveland to record “Cyclone Rider” with Gary Markasky of the Michael Stanley Band producing. They paired it with “End Of My Rope” (an outtake from the ’75 sessions) and planned an 11th anniversary show to support the single. This would be the last time that Left End recorded together in the studio. By 1982, Roy announced he was leaving the band. Steve Schuffert was brought in as a replacement. He brought some new energy and recharged the band, but eventually also left in 1985, leaving everyone feeling like once again it was time to call it quits. We could go on about how a few years later they reunited again (this time with Dave Lemasters instead of Guerrieri), and recorded their spectacular live album Live, Living and Breathing at The Park Inn on Glenwood Ave. in 1988. How they kept gigging for a few more years and quit again…then reunited again…until Dennis passed away in 2014. It seems like “Fast” Freddie was right. They are Youngstown’s band; like the city itself, always trying to reach for that glorious peak of the past…forever optimistic that it’s possible again and cocksure they’re still the best guys for the job. And they are not wrong. Their most recent reunion filled the Packard Music Hall in Warren, OH. Singer and frequent Left End collaborator Leanne Binder kind of says it all. “I watched them perform, I took notes on what they did and how they did it. They made me believe that a kid from Youngstown could go on and become a rockstar. And it was Left End being in front of me every Sunday night that gave me hope and inspired me to be bigger than life. I will forever be grateful for those guys and for what they’ve done for me.” Left End came up in a time where their peers were having hit records and getting signed to major labels; their idols were recording their albums in Cleveland. For them becoming rockstars was a dream, but it wasn’t impossible to think that it could happen to them. Why wouldn’t they want to keep coming back, time and time again to keep that dream alive?