Photo: Lee Orlando (Sean Chambers & Pat DeSalvo & Garnet Grimm)

The place: Chicago, City of Big Shoulders.  The venue: Reggie’s Bananas Shack.  The bands: Fun Parent and Sean Chambers and the Savoy Brown Rhythm Section.

The occasion: a celebration of the music of Kim Simmonds and the release of his autobiography, “Street Corner Talking” plus a special book signing by Debbie Lyons Simmonds.

What an amazingly fun night! 

My wife and I got there about an hour before show time (for the signing) to find the place already jumping and about half-full.  After purchasing my copy of the book I used the length of the line waiting their turn to have it signed to allow myself the time to work up the nerve to go up to have mine signed.

When the crowd had dispersed, I went up, introduced myself and was greeted as an old friend.  Debbie Lyons was a warm and gracious person who immediately put me at ease.  We chatted, I told her what Kim Simmonds music meant to me and how happy I was with how well the book was doing.  She personalized each book she signed, causing her daughter, Eve, (working the merchandise table) to joke that she didn’t need to write another book each time she signed!

I wished her continued success with the book and allowed those who were waiting behind me their turn.

By show-time, the venue was nearly full and the excitement was mounting.

First up, was Fun Parent and aptly named band of local musicians who have played similar events before (in different configurations – always wonderful) anchored by Rob Herman on bass and Chris Avgerin on drums.  Chris Herman (Rob’s brother) on lead guitar and lead singer / guitarist Ricky Liontones rounding out the band.

Their set consisted of deep cuts from classic sixties and seventies rock bands with highlights being Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Tell Me All the Things You Do’ (a personal favorite), Blodwyn Pig’s ‘Walk on the Water’, The Yardbirds’s ‘Under, Over, Sideways, Down’ (a nice showcase for Chris Herman), The Beatles’s ‘Hey Bulldog’ (dog barks provided by Rob Herman), after a few songs, the band were joined by singer / guitarist Mike Redmond (leader of Petty Union) who took a moment to thank the person who had put together this event, Robert Schaffner, who unfortunately couldn’t be there due to illness, and then lead the band in a rousing cover of ‘So You Want to be a Rock and Roll Star’. 

The three-guitar line-up really drove home the “classic rock” sound. 

The band all seemed to be having a great time and the audience certainly shared that feeling, cheering as they recognized the familiar opening chords of each treasured tune.

During the intermission, M.C. Michael Freeman spoke briefly about why we were all there and asked both Debbie Lyons Simmonds and Eve Simmonds to come up and say a few words about Kim Simmonds and they in turn brought up Savoy Brown / Foghat drummer Roger Earl who shared some fond memories and funny stories.

Freeman once again asked the audience to acknowledge Robert Schaffner and wish him speedy recovery; hopefully he was able to hear the cheer that went up from the crowd, (it was certainly loud enough).

 Next up were Blues guitarist Sean Chambers and the Savoy Brown Rhythm Section (Pat DeSalvo on bass and Garnet Grimm, drums – they had joined Kim Simmonds in 2010 and were eventually the longest running rhythm section of Savoy Brown).

The very definition of a “power trio”, Chambers and the rhythm section took command of the venue with a powerful opening instrumental that riveted the audience and established their claim on the audience’s attention.

Like a streamlined locomotive, Chambers and the boys rolled out one powerful number after another (covers and originals) pulling thrilled listeners in their wake, eliciting foot stomps and wolf whistles as they built up to pounding climaxes before plunging into the next number.

Highlights of the show included faithful (but not duplicative) covers of Kim Simmonds classics such as ‘Street Corner Talking’ (a particularly fine showcase for Chambers’s guitar chops) and ‘Louisiana Blues’ (both of which can be found on the 2025 release, “Live from Daryl’s House Club”.

Another highlight was Chamber’s original ‘In the Winter Time’ a stunning slow blues showing off a different side of his talents (dating back to his 2009 CD “Ten Til Midnight”).

At the end of the set, Chambers realized that the audience wasn’t going to let him quit the stage yet, and though it was amazing that he and the band had anything more to give, they pulled out another cover, this time Alvin Lee’s ‘Choo Choo Mama’ and although the audience would have been all too happy for the show to go on all night, time restraints made that impossible and the audience reluctantly let them say goodnight, thrilled to have experienced a show the likes of which haven’t been heard since the days of the Fillmore West and East and the Grande Ballroom in Detroit.