In the spring of 2001, a couple friends were talking, over ice cream, about how fun it would be to combine talents into a new band. The singer (Renee) had always performed in wedding and disco bands, while the guitarist (Al), drummer (Scott), and keyboardist (Mark), had come from the days of hair metal / rock garage bands. Everyone had been friends since high school, but had never all come together musically before. Having been out of the music scene for several years, the 4 decided to get together and practice just for fun.
The 4 friends originally started practicing in the basement of the singer's (Renee) mother's house. After hearing the band jamming out (from upstairs), the singers sister (Rachel) expressed interest in coming down and singing backup. From there the 5 members knew they had something special on their hands.
In the summer of 2001, the band decided to pursue a bass player to take things to the next level. That's when they packed up the equipment and moved into Mark's basement. At the time, the latest trend was focused a lot around 70's style. That 70's Show was in the height of its popularity and 70's fashion was all the rage. Having grown up playing mostly 80's music, the band thought it would be a great idea to bring back the songs of the 80's since no one seemed to be doing it at the time.
After several months of not being able to find a bass player, the band finally got its first break, opening for The Fluffy Turkeys at Cherry Street Station in Wallingford. It was the day after Thanksgiving (11/23/01). Still without a name, armed with only 12 songs and no bass player, the band performed for a small group of family and friends that night. This was the start of a journey that no one would have ever thought would last for over 10 years.
In desperate need of a bass player, Scott walked into Joe's Music, in Wallingford, to see about putting up a flyer. That's where he met Steve, who was a bass player and who was looking for a band to jam with. The band also learned that Steve grew up the street from Mark and Scott's parents house and he used to come down and listen to their band play inside the garage when they were in high school.
 With the final piece of the puzzle in place, the band needed to decide on a name for themselves. Several ideas had been thrown around: "Mark's Basement" (because of where the band practiced) and "1.21 Jiggawatts" (after the Back to The Future Movies that were so popular in the 80's).
After realizing that most of the fans (that were starting to show interest in the band) were friends from high school, and since the band had gone through high school during the 80's, they decided on naming themselves after some sort of aspect from high school. "Cafeteria B" became the only logical choice.
For those who are unfamiliar with Mark T. Sheehan High school, here is the explanation as to why the band decided on "Cafeteria B" as its name:
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I'd like to say that we picked it up from an old song lyric or that it was derived from a nightmarish dream of one of the band members. But it isn't. It's much more simple than that.
You see, all of the band members attended the same high school (Mark T. Sheehan High in Wallingford, CT). Now if you've ever been there, you'll know there are two cafeterias: Cafeteria A and (you guessed it) Cafeteria B. |
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A freshman makes the mistake
of eating in the wrong cafeteria |
Cafeteria A was the bigger of the two cafes and was where most of the students ate, but Cafeteria B was a little bit different.
Cafeteria B (or Cafe B) was small and widely known for its "No Freshmen" rule.
It was also the coolest of the two Cafes. All of the "cool" people hung out in Cafeteria B. |
We thought it would be fun to bring a little piece of our high school into the band, since it was such a big part of the 80's for all of us.
Cafeteria B will always be:
The Cool Place To "B". |
The Real Reason why Cafeteria B was so COOL! |
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Armed with a new name, the band got another big break and secured a night at Courtside Cafe, in Wallingford, on February 23, 2002. Billed as an "80's Night", the band drew a record crowd and blew the roof off the place.
After realizing just how big this 80's Music Revival was turning out to be, the band embraced everything 80's and designed their website with plenty of neon colors and fun 80's themes.
Here are some of the fun "name tags" of each band member:
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Finally having an cool new identity, the band started securing gigs and bringing back the 80's with their unique sound.
 On October 28, 2002 Cafeteria B hit one of their first big time gigs with a "Cruise Night benefit for Cancer" at il Monticello's restaurant in Meriden. The band even made the local paper with an interview from the Record Journal.
You can read the entire article here
(article will appear in a new window)
On the band's first anniversary, they celebrated with a big birthday bash at the old Q-River Bar and Grill in Wallingford on November 30th, 2002. The band celebrated with 80's themed candy, prizes, plenty of 80's style clothing, music, trivia, and even a birthday cake.
Click here to see the original Flash animated Birthday Bash that was featured on the website in 2002.
Note, this is just a representation of the animation. None of the links are functional.
After having secured a name for themselves in the cover band arena, Cafeteria B performed once a month to record crowds through the years, as well as playing several private parties. In March of 2003, Cafeteria B went into the studio to record its first ever demo CD.
Have a listen to some song clips off the 2003 Demo CD:
You can also check out the 'Behind the Scenes' video of the recording of the 2003 demo. Check out the Video Page to see the clip. And for the first time, here is a quick clip of more 'Behind the Scenes' footage: Al discusses with Renee why she doesn't want her face on camera
 Cafeteria B also went through a more goofier period on their website and cartoonized each of the members for several themed logo animations.
Here are the various incarnations of the logo animation:
Note, this is just a representation of the animation.
None of the links are functional.
Sadly, on September 4th, 2003, Cafeteria B lost one of its most dearest fans. Cafeteria B took some time off and even decided to come up with an entirely different look. The band still continued to be an 80's Cover band, but went with a more modern / sleek look to its design.
The band debuted its latest incarnation of the Cafeteria B logo in late 2003. A look that the band maintained for many years.
Fans were greeted to an all new CafeteriaB.com website with a brand new logo animation.
Check out the 2003 Cafe B Logo Animation here.
 On September 4th, 2004, the band remembered the one year passing of its dearest friend (Karen). The website was taken down for that day and replaced with a single memorial page. It was dedicated to one of the bands greatest fans.
Please click here to watch the tribute to Karen M. Clark Gontarz
At the end of 2004, Cafeteria B finally decided it was time to take a break from gigging. With band members starting to have babies, the demand for practice and performance time was becoming difficult. On October 23rd, 2004, the band played, what it assumed, was its final gig. Unsure of what the future would bring, the band hyped its last gig for several months and drew a huge crowd at Ultimate Billiards for its "final performance".
Watch the countdown animation to the final gig...
But 2004 wasn't all somber and sadness... The band's favorite team, the Red Sox, won their first World Series in over 80 years. In honor of this historical moment, the intro animation was revamped to honor one of the bands most favorite sports moments in history...
(Sorry Yankee's fans, you may want to skip to 2005)
In the summer of 2005 through the fall of 2006, Cafeteria B secretly came back to the gig scene. With band members having several family obligations to manage, the band wasn't quite sure just how many gigs it could manage or for how long it could keep it up. Without a website to announce dates, the band played only a handful of gigs over the course of that year.
At the end of 2006, the band finally called it quits by secretly slipping back out of the spotlight.
After a couple years of inactivity, the band grew quite restless. In January of 2009. a brief meeting was held to discuss the possibility of coming back. It was decided that Cafeteria B would live on and the band was eager to get back on stage.
Starting in February of 2009, the band decided it was once again time for a "new look". This also meant the possibility of a new name. With the loss of the old CafeteriaB.com website, this gave the band the opportunity to go with something new and different. After realizing that Cafeteria B was always the heart and soul of what the band was all about, they decided to maintain their old identify, but just update the name by shortening it to 'Cafe B', which was what most people referred to the band anyway.
From the Cafe B Photo Shoot: March 12th, 2009
After launching a brand new website and jumping on the popularity of Facebook, the band quickly started creating a huge buzz amongst former classmates with whom they all had been reconnected with. The band knew it would need several months before it was polished enough to gig out, so they used the viral nature of the internet to keep up the excitement.
Check out the animated announcement about the band's return, as well as giving the fans an idea of what the new logo design would be all about.
Securing rehearsal space was proving to be quite a challenge. Luckily the band was hooked up with a talented sound engineer, Jeff Mays, over at Unimaginable Studios. Jeff has been a tremendous asset to our band with his expertise and patience.
Cafe B at Unimaginable Studios
Thanks to Jeff, the band produced yet another 4 song Demo CD.
Have a listen to some song clips off the 2009 Demo CD:
After nailing down a complete set list and solidifying their first gig of the 2009 season, the band released its final announcement about its comeback.
Check out the final animated announcement about the band's return
Cafe B performs for a record crowd, May 30th, 2009.
The band's first gig after a 2 year break.
The flyer, announcing Steve's last gig:
December 11th, 2010.
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Unfortunately some things do come to an end and in 2010, Cafe B said goodbye to 2 of its members. Rachel left in October of 2010 and Steve left in December of 2010. Their absence left a big hole in the band that they weren't exactly sure how to fill.
Rachel performs at Celebrate Wallingford
on October 10th, 2010. Her very last gig with Cafe B. |
When you have such powerful and amazing vocal talents as Renee does, you don't always need two singers. Renee has been performing solo (with some help from keyboardist Mark) and doing a great job on her own.
Luckily the band was already good friends with Steve's friend Pat (who also worked at Joe's Music in Wallingford) and he was familiar with the band for many years. Adding Pat into the bass position seemed like a natural fit and Pat's eagerness and quick learning ability made him the perfect and only choice for the position.
The band has been performing all year long with its slightly altered appearance, but the heart and soul of Cafe B has remained. The band is finishing up the rest of the 2011 year and anxiously awaits the start of 2012.
In December, the Record Journal printed a news article to commemorate the bands 10 Years.
You can read the entire article here (article will appear in a new window)
What does the future hold for Cafe B? They plan on taking the winter off to learn several new / fun songs and come back just as strong as ever in the following year. Stay tuned for more music and exciting venues as Cafe B takes things to that next level.
Who knows. They might end up someplace very familiar someday...
...even if it's only on a brick in Wallingford's center...
So here's to another 10 years of great music, great friends / family, and the best fans any band could ever hope for.
See you all soon!
-Cafe B: Al, Mark, Pat, Renee, and Scott |
