Rocking Corporate Day Jobs

Off stage, Cincinnati’s Boo Radley can be seen masquerading as IT executives, attorneys, psychologists and marketing consultants.  When the members of the band are not behind desks at Cincinnati Insurance or Fifth Third Bank, they’re likely to be practicing in a garage or on stage covering classic and alternative rock hits around the city.

LEAD Magazine: When did the band first get together?

Boo Radley: In the fall of 2006, a few of us were in a golf league together and wanted to get together weekly once Cincinnati’s cold weather ended our golf season. We all had varying degrees of experience playing instruments and thought we’d give it a try.

Our first few sessions were a bit rough and we thought we were going nowhere. But each of us had a desire to improve and hoped that we could one day play a few songs, so we all kept at it to improve our own skills.

The first gig we played was in July 2007. We went on to win a battle of the bands contest that secured us shows for the Bud Light Concert series in Blue Ash and Newport on the Levee.

LM: What are your favorite bands to cover?

BR: That’s a tough question because we all have different favorites, which is why our song list is so diverse. We didn’t want to exclusively play any specific genre, but rather play music that our crowds want to hear.

We cover songs from the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin to Green Day and the Foo Fighters.  Anything that hooks us with its melody, tempo and vocals. Our favorite songs are the ones that create energy in the venue and get people dancing or singing along.

LM: What has been one of your more memorable gigs?

BR: Probably our Halloween show at the Reef at Manhattan Harbour in Dayton, Kentucky. There is something about folks in costume that get the energy level buzzing.

At any of our gigs, we hope that the regular Joes and Janes of Boo Radley can inspire others to dust off that old Strat they played in high school, grab a few friends and learn the universal language of music together.  We really find it a great investment of time outside of our day jobs.

Hear Boo Radley at LEAD Magazine’s ComSpark Conference on October 26 during the Craft Brew Party. 

Boo Radley is Gregg Gentile, Mark Hamilton, Stacy Jordan, John Kellington, Chris Mulvaney and Jason Rogers. For more information, visit www.booradley.net.