Rochester Music Hall of Fame returns, the hard way 

[
      {
        "name": "500x250 Ad",
        "insertPoint": "5",
        "component": "15667920",
        "parentWrapperClass": "",
        "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
      }
    ]

For a few years now, I’ve been quietly arguing a place in the Rochester Music Hall of Fame for Chuck Cuminale and The Colorblind James Experience. The Chesterfield Kings, among the leaders of the garage-band revival. The spoken-word provocateur Lydia Lunch. Metallica, which recorded its first album, “Kill ’em All,” in Rochester.

How about a Rochester band that was once a regular at The Bug Jar, Lethargy? Two of its members, Brann Dailor and Bill Kelliher, went on to become half of the Grammy-winning heavy metal band Mastodon.

How about mere moments, like U2 getting thrown out of Red Creek? The police shutting down a Rolling Stones concert after a few songs? David Bowie and Iggy Pop getting busted for possession of pot after a 1974 show at the War Memorial?

Elvis Costello getting thrown out of Scorgie’s bar, for crissakes?

Until all of that is overlooked, among the honorees for its 10th class of inductees this year is another Costello — Fred Costello, the Rochester Red Wings organist, whose 47 years with the team is the longest run of any sports organist in the country’s history.

During the 7 p.m. Sunday, April 30, celebration and concert at the Eastman Theatre, the Rochester Music Hall of Fame is also honoring Tony Award-winning Garth Fagan, whose modern dance is inseparable from music. Reggae band The Majestics, celebrating 50 years. Sebastian Marino, a producer, songwriter and lead guitarist with the heavy-metal bands Anvil and Overkill. Brother Wease, the longtime morning radio personality (and already an inductee of the National Radio Hall of Fame).

And there’s the R&B singer Tweet, who grew up in Rochester as Charlene Keys and worked with the likes of Missy Elliott and Timbaland at the old Dajhelon Studios on East Avenue before any of them had made a name for themselves. They all soon broke big — Tweet had an R&B hit in 2002 with “Oops (Oh My),” as well as providing backing vocals on recordings for Elliott, Madonna and Whitney Houston.

A late inductee to the list is Will Hollis, a graduate of McQuaid Jesuit High School. Now living in Los Angeles, he’s been the music director and keyboardist for The Eagles as well as music director and arranger for national tours by Shania Twain and Gwen Stefani and the road versions of “America’s Got Talent,” and “Dancing with the Stars.”

One of the interesting aspects of the list of Hall of Fame inductees, after 10 years, is its wide scope. A list not obvious for anything, but obvious for everything. There are unquestionably big names: jazzy scat singer Cab Calloway, classic rocker Lou Gramm, shock rocker Wendy O. Williams and smooth jazz star Chuck Mangione. One step behind them in national recognition: Gap Mangione, violinist David Hochstein, composer Samuel Adler and behind-the-scenes Grammy-winning knob twirlers such as Mick Guzauski. Then there’s purely local heroes: Deejay Dave Kane, rock band Duke Jupiter, bluesman Joe Beard and Penny Arcade creator Greg Sullivan.

The list, now 54 strong, includes charter members who have not yet been available to be officially inducted, like opera star Renée Fleming. And we can look forward to musicians who are still filling out already impressive résumés, such as the indie rock band Joywave and soul singer Danielle Ponder.

The big show, which has nearly sold out Eastman for most of the recent ceremonies, is back after being silenced for two years by COVID. The music includes a performance by a band assembled just for the Rochester Hall of Fame ceremony, The Brothers of Metal — Joe Comeau of Overkill and Helmet, Tony Truglio of Leige Lord and Helmet, Rob Mount of Leige Lord, Ramrod and the Lou Gramm band, and Frank Marino of Leige Lord — brought together for a celebration of Frank Marino’s brother, Sebastian.

Fagan’s induction will be accompanied by Rochester saxophonist Jimmie Highsmith, trombonist Wycliffe Gordon and Sean McLeod, an Auburn-based musician who is working with Gordon on new arrangements for a suite of songs McLeod composed almost three decades ago, “A Soundtrack for Harriet Tubman.”

The bluesy rock singer Joan Osborne will accompany the induction of Brother Wease.

Costello is an intriguing pick. You could argue he’s played for more people than  anyone else on this year’s list of inductees. His work with the Red Wings began at Silver Stadium off Norton Street, then on to Frontier Field on State Street, or Innovative Field, as we call it now. (Or are learning to call it now, I forget sometimes.) Costello was also the Rochester Amerks organist for years. And oh, he’s a sly one, known for sneaking in unconventional ballpark fare between innings such as riffs from Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

Costello’s book about his life behind the organ, “Fred Costello: A Lifetime of Nightlife and Ballparks,” is most intriguing for the nightlife part. In the 1960s, he was playing Vegas nightclubs and pitching songs to Tony Bennett. Back then, he was playing the clubs here in Rochester as well.

Sure, there was mob action in both towns. Costello admits he had a taste of it. And mingling with the mob did catch up to Costello. When Val’s Lounge – it’s now The Sheffield on Monroe Avenue – decided it wanted to become a rock club, rather than a jazz lounge, Costello insisted he had a contract to play the venue. And that was true. But all it got him was a car tire slashed, anonymous threats to blow up the car and a beating that resulted in a broken nose.

Fred Costello, Rochester Music Hall of Fame inductee. He earned it the hard way.

Jeff Spevak is the Senior Arts Writer at CITY Magazine and WXXI. He can be reached at [email protected].