A homecoming for Pittsfield Slim
by Seth Rogovoy

(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Nov. 26, 1999) -- When Dick Salwitz formed a blues band with Worcester Polytechnic classmates Danny Klein and Jerome Geils, he decided to follow blues tradition and call himself by a nickname based on his home town. Thus, in the tradition of Tampa Red, Memphis Slim and Mississippi Mary, Salwitz became Pittsfield Slim.

Needless to say, the name didn't stick.

Salwitz went back and got an upgrade, and for the last 35 years or so he has boasted one of the more colorful and suggestive nicknames in contemporary popular music.

But when blues singer/harmonica player Magic Dick takes the stage tonight in the ballroom at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Pittsfield - along with guitarist "Jay" Geils and their band, Bluestime -- it will truly be a long-overdue homecoming for Pittsfield Slim, who has never performed in his hometown.

In a recent phone conversation from his home in Boston, the Pittsfield High graduate reminisced about growing up in Pittsfield in the 1950s and early-'60s.

"I haven't been back to the area in a long time," said Salwitz, who for about a decade in the 1970s and early-'80s shared in the considerable commercial success of the J. Geils Band, the pop-rock group that evolved out of the blues trio Salwitz formed with Klein and the guitarist who gave his name to the group, which was eventually fronted by singer Peter Wolf.

"I drove through Pittsfield about six or eight years ago to see what it looked like," said Salwitz, whose father, Mac Salwitz, worked on North Street in a toy store called Lord's. "It was very interesting to drive around to various places I used to hang out around when I was a kid to play, and to see how it's changed.

"It's changed a lot. The biggest change I remember were a lot of what used to be open back yards, there are now fences up everywhere separating one neighbor from another. And a lot of trees and shrubs that used to be scrubby little things have grown tremendously."

Salwitz attended Pittsfield public schools in the era of Elvis Presley, but the future blues-rock musician doesn't recall being particularly interested in pop music back then.

"I had interest in becoming a scientist or an engineer," said Salwitz. "I remember that Pittsfield High had a program in advanced studies for people who were interested in technical matters. They were offering pre-college, what would have been freshman-year physics and math, in a program I believe was supported by General Electric."

There were no garage-rock bands in Salwitz's Pittsfield past. He started learning trumpet in third grade, and was in the school band for a brief period, but he was never a particularly good student musician.

Salwitz's greatest early musical experiences were exploring the jazz record collection of an uncle who lived in Holyoke, where the Salwitz family would go almost every weekend to visit. "He had a fantastic jazz collection and the family would get together but I'd just go to his room and for hours spin these records," he said.

Salwitz's other memories of his Pittsfield boyhood include sneaking into the Capitol Theatre, which was adjacent to his father's toy store. There was a door between the two, and Salwitz could gain entry to the movie theater from the store. He remembers screening "The War of the Worlds" numerous times.

Eventually, Mac Salwitz bought Lord's and moved it to the Pittsfield-Lenox Road, where it became a gift shop called Wilson's.

This past year has been one of revisiting the past for Salwitz. This summer, the J. Geils Band reunited in its original lineup for a concert tour for the first time since 1983. "Right now we have no specific long-term plans other than playing a New Year's Eve show in Detroit," said Salwitz about a possible revival of the group known for such hits as "Centerfold," "Must of Got Lost," and "Freeze-Frame."

"This was done on the basis of let's do this tour and let's see how we all get along, let's see how it works out. It went very well. It was nice."

In the meantime, Salwitz and guitarist Geils continue to pursue their first love, which is traditional, Chicago-style electric blues, with their band Bluestime. The group, a quintet, has issued two recordings on Rounder.

New York blues artist Popa Chubby is scheduled to warm up the crowd for Bluestime.

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[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on Nov. 26, 1999. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1999. All rights reserved.]