Sly Fox and the Hustlers

By Don Wilcock
The Record

“You know how they say marijuana is a gateway drug? I think ‘S.U.N.Y. Girl’ is our gateway song.” Sly Fox chuckles knowingly. He is living up to his moniker with this funky blues number recorded by his band The Hustlers. The catchy song mentions every SUNY location from New Paltz to Buffalo, categorizing Sly’s female student ideal as “the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”

This local hit is getting airplay on WEQX and WEXT with its — well — Sly Fox come-on: “Well you tasted sweet like honey, had a belly button ring/And the subtle scent of rose upon your skin/So if you’re listening to the radio and you hear this song/Look me up at slyfoxandthe hustlerss.com.” Its success also earned Sly Fox and The Hustlers the number two slot at Saturday’s Troy River Street Festival local stage right behind headliner the Joe Mele Blues Band.

Sly is not surprised by his song’s success. “I can’t lie. It even came into play in the writing of it that it felt like this could be a regional hit just ’cause I’m mentioning (all the S.U.N.Y) cities.” The idea to localize a song was one of many given by Jeanne French in a list to Sly and his childhood friend and musical co-conspirator Sean Rowe when they were 16 living on Christie St. near Prospect Park.

French, at the time fronting one of the hottest bands in the market, Blue Jeanne Blue, wrote out the list that Sly still has. She told the youngster, “This is what you want to do if you want to do this for a living.” The advice included everything from what has to be in the biography to coaxing reviewers like Don Wilcock into writing about him.

The hottest song on The Hustlers’ debut EP The Low-Life is “Rough Patch of Road,” perhaps an autobiographical tale that explains Sly’s six years outside of music, with tales of “drugs and cops and judges you know” and lessons learned: “Secret of a long life is knowing when it’s time to go.”

A veteran of several groups with Sean Rowe who is easily the most talented regional singer/songwriter to try for the national brass ring in the last five years, Sly and Sean started out in Savage Youth, a band they formed when Sly was 13. That led to Dionysus in 1992 and Clockwork Orange in 1996, a group that has the distinction of playing CBGB’s, the internationally famous New York punk club that was home to the Ramones.

It was the CBGB’s connection that brought Sly back in the game in 2005. He happened to see a photo of Dylan Storm playing the club with his band Graystar. Dylan at 13 was the youngest guitarist to ever play CBGB’s. His band also enjoyed the dubious distinction of having been immortalized as cartoon characters in the animated TV show “Jimmy Neutron.” When Sly commented to Dylan that he’d also played the venerated club and hadn’t picked up a guitar in six years, Dylan gave him one of his own guitars.

The moment changed Sly’s life. “It was like seeing somebody that you cared about that you hadn’t seen in a long time.” Flash forward to 2011, and you find Dylan Storm is the newest member of Sly Fox and The Hustlers. Dylan is now 24, Sly and most of the other members are in their mid-30s, including backing vocalist Donna Tritico who is also a belly dancer who plays the finger cymbals. Her husband Mark is the drummer. Andy O’Brien plays keys, and Carl Blackwood is on percussion. The secret weapon in the group is sax player Tommy “Boots” Decelle of Merlin’s Minstrels, the iconic local group of the’80s.

For all the would-be rock star names, the novelty song hit “S.U.N.Y Girl,” and scatological obsessions of their image and songs, Sly Fox and The Hustlers is as hot creatively as they are as a novelty.

Sly’s first concert experience was Motley Crue at the RPI Fieldhouse in 1987, but that led to his exploration back to those who influenced that heavy metal band including Aerosmith, the Stones, Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson.

While the music on The Low Life EP is sometimes dense and definitely heavy metal-influenced, there is a lot going on in these seven-piece arrangements. Sly is quick to point out he lets everyone in the band solo, and the total effect is one that overcomes the clichés of testosterone-laden rock overdose to produce some sounds that percolate at a high heat and do justice to a band that covers three generations and pays homage to almost 70 years of rock and blues history.

The River Street Festival is Saturday from 11 .am. to 6 p.m. Free. Sly Fox and the Hustlers perform on the local stage at 3 p.m.

We would like to welcome an old friend and our new Bassist -Dylan Storm! Dylan is no stranger to the Albany music scene having fronted a few great local bands and best known as the singer/guitarist/songwriter of local pop-punk favorites Graystar. He brings alot of energy and great all-round musical skills to the table - a MAJOR addition indeed! We are thrilled to have him along for the ride with Sly Fox and the Hustlers!!!