THE BLACK RICHARDS/THE BEN COTE BAND – THE CELLAR

By Kat Gullage

The Black Richards and The Ben Cotes Band play the Cellar on Treadwell.

To kick off my 2024 concert season, I ventured to The Cellar on Treadwell in Hamden CT. I’d heard of this venue but didn’t realize it was located in the parking lot of The Space Ballroom. Picture a large industrial complex that is bustling with business activity during the day, but abandoned at night – transformed into a literal low budget horror movie set. Envision a brick building awkwardly placed in the middle of the parking lot for no good reason. You have arrived.

Everyone had parked facing the patio area which was deserted on this frigid night with below zero wind chill temps. FYI – The entrance is on the opposite side of the building. Walked downstairs to the literal cellar. The cover charge was a very reasonable $13.00 ($10 if ya got em in advance). Paid the man, entered the room, and stepped back in time, to the days of my youth when local bands would jam in people’s garages.

Dark room, capacity approximately 85, adequately sized stage, small area in front for dancin & prancin, plenty of tables & chairs & a bar lining the back wall. An alcove in the back showcased local artist’s works and a ceiling support beam is covered in setlists. My kinda place.

The temperature rose fast once The Ben Cote (pronounced Cody) Band took the stage. I was not prepared for the level of talent that was exhibited. They served up a stacked twenty song setlist that included seven originals. The covers were fun classics, unexpected for kids barely out of college (if that). Sammy Hagar’s “One Way To Rock” kicked it off, followed by two originals. “Into The Sun”, off 2016’s Tight Jeans and Sunglasses and “Nine Seven Six” from 2020’s What the Doctor Ordered. GNR’s “Mr. Brownstone” and “Your Eyes”, a cut from 2018’s Get Your Licks In, were served up before lead guitarist and vocalist Ben Cote addressed the fans.

Photos by Steven Hebert

“We’re from Boston. We’re near New Haven, any Van Halen fans in the house? We’ll get to that later.” “Let’s make some noise Connecticut!” Nice rendition of Grand Funk Railroad’s “American Band” led to a really fucking fun version of Ted Nugent’s “Stranglehold”. Ben loves it when the audience engages. I danced for five seconds and he shouted out “Yeah! I see ya out there!”

Another cut from Get Your Licks In, “Criminally Insane” ushered in the highlight of the set, a flawless interpretation of Van Halen’s “Eruption/You Really Got Me”. Ben definitely has fun on stage and oozes potential. Originals “Miss Understood” off of 2023’s Use It or Lose It and another from What The Doctor Ordered, “Hot Mess Express” preceded a mashup of Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire” into a drum solo into Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”. The drum solo was the stand out, “Fire” and “Beat It” needed a little more work.

Next up was a fun surprise with the “Lethal Weapon Theme” followed by their hit single and title track “Get Your Licks In” which sounds great live. Ben introduced the band: Rob Moore on rhythm guitar (@shredguitarob on socials), Dave Mansfield on bass and drummer Adam Corlito. The set wrapped with a collection of covers: Ozzy’s “Crazy Train”, Poison’s “Talk Dirty To Me” (was a real crowd pleaser), Cream’s “White Room”, Van Halen’s “Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love”, Poison’s “Fallen Angel” and Neil Young’s “Rockin’ In The Free World”.

This band is the real deal, a group of Berklee College of Music students, grads, and current faculty. Ben has already garnered endorsements and relationships with the likes of Ernie Ball, Jim Dunlop, Iconic Guitars and Kramer/Gibson Guitars, has a strong on-line following, and was preparing to attend the NAMM show. Check em out!

The Black Richards were the reason I attended this show, after their frontman asked multiple times to be reviewed by AMP. “Ya know, cuz we’re awesome.{” I prepped by listening to the tunes they have available on Spotify. I’d describe their sound as rough around the edges. I wasn’t sure if their lyrics were meant to be a parody or serious. For example, “Tonight. I wanna fuck somebody. I don’t wanna love nobody. Just wanna get it on” from their song “1986”. I was pleasantly surprised when they opened with a cover of Billy Idol’s “White Wedding”, adding a Black Richards spin on it by changing the lyrics to “Black Wedding”.

Photos by Steven Hebert

The band’s frontman, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Billy K, aka Black Richard, is a showman swathed in rock and roll fashion and exuding very fun energy. Lead guitarist Rodd Ware shares vocals on “Jenny” and the harmony betters the sound, they should do that more often. Rodd and Black Rich move in unison during “Sam” and the singer announces “Solo!” before Rodd treats us to a decent one.

The crowd claps and Black Richard yells “That’s right fuckers!”. Then he gives out his phone number and asks people to send him texts he’ll reveal later. “Jenny”, one of their tunes available on Spotify and YouTube, is obviously well rehearsed by the band and sounds good live. Black Richard proclaims he “doesn’t know what’s next because his setlist fell”. That doesn’t deter the band from delivering “Bobbi Jo”, “She’s So Great” and “Michael Douglas” (inspired by the 1993 film “Falling Down”).

The crooner announced ALL of the solos which got old. Prior to performing “1986”, the highlight of the set, the songster asks fans to yell out a number. Seven is chosen and we’re told that’s how many times they’ll wrap up the song, an amusing way to interact with the crowd. Black Richard gives The Ben Cote Band a shout out “It’s an honor to share the stage with them! They’re a hard act to follow.” The band served up another unexpected curveball when they played the theme song to “The Jeffersons”.

Ebony Rich retrieves the texts he asked for previously and we all get a laugh. The singer asks “Whose in the mood for a love song?”. Crickets. “Two people? OK.” He dedicates “Comeback Kiss” to his lady love, Kate. “Anybody on meth?” One guy in the audience goes off. “OK, that one guy.” “This song is about bettering yourself.” Enter “The Shot” which included a solo that the vocalist did not announce. Finally! I was about to lodge a complaint.

Black Richard the showman asks the audience “Who loves God? Anyone got a gigantic joint? Anyone a pothead? Derelict? Who here is mentally ill like me?” For this, he gets a sizable response. “Stuff The Lord Made” is up next. The set wraps up with a solid rendering of “Anything”, “CRAWL” and “Devil Built My Les Paul”.

The Black Richards are Billy “Black Richard” Kutchinski (lead vocals/rhythm guitar), Rodd Ware (lead guitar), Rob Marsicano (Bass) and Chris Cacciato (Drums). The Black Richards have an unpolished, brusque sound, but call em if you’re looking for a good time. Their Facebook page bio sums them up, “From the wreckage of other fallen bands….. fuck “cancel culture”… we are REPURPOSE CULTURE. Suck it.”

Thank you rockin’ readers & keep on supporting live music!

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