Having been members of the Long Island music scene for quite some time, singer Glen Godman, drummer Curt Arnel, well-known keyboardist Roast Beef Joe and bassist Ed Canova decided to combine their love and appreciation for Eric Clapton by creating the cover band Classic Clapton at the beginning of this year.
“The four of us in the band are all very experienced musicians, having played in many other bands for many years on Long Island, and we are all big fans of Eric Clapton,” said Arnel. “We actually playing some of his songs together and it kind of morphed into making it an entire band. We were all Eric Clapton fans and we jammed together, and we liked the way we sound together.”
Although Classic Clapton only came together at the beginning of the year, their first outing at the Rockin’ for Rescue benefit on March 31 was successful.
“There were 11 bands that night and we were one of them,” said Arnel. “We had a very positive audience response. That really gave us the interest to keep going.”
It was from that first outing that Classic Clapton was able to book a date to play at KJ Farrell’s in Bellmore on May 25 at 7 p.m.
“KJ Farrell’s, which is probably one of the premier places to play on the south shore of Long Island liked us too and we were given a date to play there,” said Arnel.
Those heading out to KJ Farrell’s on May 25 can expect to hear all of Eric Clapton’s best-known hits from Classic Clapton.
“We are playing the biggest, most well-known hits of Eric Clapton,” said Arnel. “Eric has a very large discography, some of which may only be appreciated by musicians or people who are totally ‘Claptonphiles.’ We’re obviously happy to have those people join us, but our main target is the general public that enjoys the hits they’ve heard and know. I don’t think anyone’s going to have more than one or two songs that they haven’t heard.”
Classic Clapton will play at KJ Farrell’s, which is located at 242 Petit Ave. in Bellmore, on May 25 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The band is also available for booking to play at parties and events, just contact Curt Arnel at curt1@optonline.com
