 |
 |
| (Updated 08.27.2007) |
|
 |
| The Freelance Vandals started life as a rock band in 1976. The original five members (Billy Cairns on drums, brothers Ray and Jack Finch on lead guitar and keyboards, lead singer J.P. Gelinas on rhythm and slide guitar, Garry Pritchett on bass) began performing their energetic and original brand of rock & roll while attending the University of Dayton in Ohio and drinking too much beer. The band settled in the Long Island area of New York in 1977 where they quickly attracted a large and rabid following. In 1978, the band were signed to RCA records where they recorded their first album that, due to contractual problems, remains unreleased to this day. 1979 saw the release of The Dogpak, a set of two singles, released on their own label, Dog Records. |
| A Brief History... |
 |
| The early eighties brought about several personnel changes (Mike Adams: bass, Chuck Ciany: vocals/guitar & saxophone, Tommy Yamasaki: saxaphone, Al Speed: keyboards) as The Freelance Vandals kept drawing crowds on the club circuit. During this period, the band was featured as the opening act for such artists as John Hiatt, Dr. John, Beaver Brown and NRBQ. |
 |
| In 1984, the band released a live album, Yer Money Or Yer Ears on Gunga Din Records. After a series of farewell concerts, The Freelance Vandals retired from the stage in 1985 as many of the band members got married and started families. In 1996, the Vandals staged a successful comeback and released a series of cassettes called The Bootleg Years that highlighted many of their live shows from previous years. 1997 saw the release of Songs That Never Made Us Famous, a compact disc collection of studio demos that covered the years 1975 to 1980. Several live concerts anthologies were released over the past five years. At present, the band can be found performing several select gigs at local Long Island gigs each year. |
 |
 |
| (Updated 08.28.07) |
|
 |
 |
|