County Lines: From thin blue line to the blues
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By day, George Kyle is a campus cop. By night, he's Brother Jeep, a harmonica playing rock, rhythm and blues artist.
But don't let the good cop or down-and-dirty blues singer persona fool you. Underneath, he is a soft-spoken man, an image that does not fit neatly into the square peg of law enforcement nor into the round hole of blues crooner.
But either way, walking the beat at California University of Pennsylvania or crooning on a local nightclub stage, he delivers.
The Belle Vernon native is his most authentic self, however, when performing with sound man and backup vocalist Terry Mochnaly, and percussionist Sandra Bennett. They make up Brother Jeep, Cold Heat and New Edition, Ms. Bennett being the newbie in the group.
"It's a nice diversion from my job as far as police work. We meet a lot of people," said Mr. Kyle, who most recently played the Large Hotel on Route 51 in Jefferson Hills.
He finds similarities in police work and music in that he is helping, whether assisting a crime victim or offering an enjoyable evening to fans.
On the club circuit, mostly in the Mon Valley, the three perform rock, rhythm and blues. Although he started out playing strictly blues, Brother Jeep has "graduated" to the broad-based format, thereby reaching a more diverse audience.
Audience members, ranging in age from the late 20s to the 70s, come to hear music from the 1950s to 1980s. Mr. Kyle encourages audience participation, and, on occasion, has had people dress up as the Village People to perform their signature song "YMCA."
At 52, Mr. Kyle has enjoyed and performed music most of his life. He got his start at 13 when junior high friends asked him to join an impromptu group. They were to give a live performance at WESA, a Charleroi radio station that now features the Froggy country format. Mr. Kyle sang lead vocals at the live performance, a promotion for a local car dealership.
On the way to the station, the group agreed on a name: the Buccaneers.
He got into blues in a big way while in college in 1971 at then California State Teachers College after hearing a friend, "Magic" Mick Kerekes, blow a few notes on the harmonica. Mr. Kerekes taught him to "bend the reed" for a more bluesy "wah, wah, wah" sound.
Later, a big sale at the college bookstore prompted Mr. Kyle to buy just about every blues album he could find.
"I started playing the blues all the time, and I would listen to some of the different harmonica licks that the various blues artists did from Sonny Boy Williamson to Muddy Waters.
"I just felt that the blues came from the inner self, like it was an expression of how one felt at that time in their life. You know some of the hardships that people might have encountered. It always fascinated me," Mr. Kyle said.
After college, he sang in glee clubs and choirs and got into booking bands. About 15 years ago, he started performing.
"One thing led to another and I ended up forming my own [group]," he said.
The current group, together for several years, plays about 50 times a year. Its bookings include nightclubs, bars, yacht clubs, Seven Springs, Mr. Kyle's alma mater, the past two Fourth of July celebrations and just about wherever else they can play. He also is in the process of making a DVD to send to cruise lines in hopes of getting a booking aboard a ship.
Michele McCoy, Cal U spokeswoman, said she booked the group after learning there was home-grown talent at the university.
"I saw him perform at one of the local lounges, and he has a following and I became one of his groupies," she said, laughing. "I thought that he would be great for the audience. He has a repertoire that appeals to lot of different age groups."
When people see him perform, they get involved by getting on stage, she said. It's a fun experience. He will return for this year's Fourth of July event.
She was surprised at the size of his Cal U following and conceded his involvement in law enforcement and music was an unusual combination.
Mr. Kyle believes co-workers who come to hear him play enjoy the music.
Of his fellow group members, Brother Jeep called Mr. Mochnaly, 45, the flamboyant jokester and Ms. Bennett, 43, of Belle Vernon, a passionate percussionist who plays the bongos, congas and tambourine. Ms. Bennett, who hails from Bells, Texas, started out playing the snare drum and enjoys it when audience members break into a conga line.
The threesome developed enough of a following that, when Ms. Bennett, a baker and server at Eat'n Park, is out and about, strangers occasionally come up and ask, "Aren't you with Brother Jeep?"
Mr. Mochnaly of Webster, Westmoreland County, adopted the Cold Heat nickname when he and Mr. Kyle were watching an infomercial one day about a soldering gun that stays cold on the outside but remains hot enough to solder. He admits to stoking audience enthusiasm and knows he is reaching folks when he sees them take to the dance floor.
"I enjoy being around the crowd and the stage. I try to get them all going. This is my first experience [singing in a group]. I love it. When the crowd enjoys the music, I enjoy it," said Mr. Mochnaly, who, in his day job, delivers plumbing supplies for Carpenter Paterson in Donora.
He joined Mr. Kyle after seeing him play and learning the former sound man was quitting. Mr. Mochnaly enjoys the beat in blues music, a genre not readily available unless one subscribes to satellite radio, he said.
Basically self-taught, Mr. Kyle, who owns about 50 harmonicas, said he was influenced by the late James King, a Mon Valley blues singer, harmonica player and member of the Usual Suspects who encouraged him to "practice, practice, practice and to go into as many venues as you can because they're all different."
"He was very much of an inspiration to me."
Seeds of inspiration sown years ago continue to blossom in his performances today.
"Where words fail, music speaks," Mr. Kyle recalled someone saying. "I believe that music hits people from all different backgrounds. Ever since I can remember, I've had a passion for music."
For more information about the group, visit the Web site, www.brotherjeep.com.
First Published March 26, 2006 12:00 am
