The Numbers Band (a.k.a. 15-60-75) are an American

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

and

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, wit ...

band formed in

Kent, Ohio Kent is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the largest city in Portage County, Ohio, Portage County. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in Northeast Ohio on the western edge of the county. The population was 28,215 at the 2020 United States ...

, United States in 1969. They are part of the

Akron Sound The Akron Sound refers to the independent music, largely new wave and punk rock, coming out of Akron, Ohio, in the late 1970s. In the late 1970s, following the international success of local band Devo, talent scouts combed the city. Soon, several ...

that sprang forth from their home state.

Career

The original personnel were Robert Kidney (guitar, lead vocals); Terry Hynde, brother of the

Pretenders Pretenders may refer to: Film * ''Pretenders'' (2018 film), an American drama film * ''The Pretenders'' (1916 film), a lost American silent film * ''The Pretenders'' (1981 film), a Dutch film Literature * ''Cemetery Girl – Book One: The P ...

Chrissie Hynde Christine Ellen Hynde (born September 7, 1951) is an American-British musician. She is a founding member of the rock band the Pretenders and is the band's lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter; she and drummer Martin Chambers are the ...

(saxophone), Hank Smith (guitar, keyboards); Greg Colbert (bass); and Tim Hutson (drums). They premiered as a live act at the local nightspot The Kove in July 1970. Later, they incorporated jazzy influences as well and they have stuck with their sound ever since. By 1972,

Gerald Casale Gerald Vincent Casale ( ) ( ''né'' Pizzute; born July 28, 1948) is an American musician. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, co-lead vocalist and bass player of the new wave band Devo, which released a top 20 hit in 1980 wi ...

, future co-founder of

Devo Devo is an American new wave band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs ( Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a No. 14 ...

(bass), and David Robinson were added to the lineup. Casale was thrown out after wearing a monkey mask onstage. Due to interior pressures, Kidney terminated the project by year's end and joined his brother Jack's band, King of Hearts. However, King of Hearts reformed as a new Numbers Band a few weeks later with a retooled lineup that consisted of the Kidney brothers, Hynde, Drake Gleason (bass) and Jay Brown (drums). After two years of playing gigs, Brown left the band and Robinson came back. Michael Stacey (guitar), was added before the cutting of their 1976 live album ''Jimmy Bell's Still in Town''. By 1977, bassist Gleason had been replaced by Chris Butler, later of

Tin Huey Tin Huey is an American experimental rock and new wave band from Akron, Ohio, United States, that formed in 1972 and disbanded in 1982. History Original lineups Initially named Rags, the band started with Mark Price (then known as Wesley the ...

and

The Waitresses The Waitresses were an American new wave band from Akron, Ohio, best known for their singles " I Know What Boys Like" and " Christmas Wrapping." The band released two albums, '' Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful?'' and '' Bruiseology'', and one EP, '' ...

. Butler would later be replaced by bassist Bart Johnson. The Numbers Band, like most of the other Ohioans, never became renowned nationally and were not signed by the

major labels "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and t ...

. In 1982, the band released its second album, ''15 60 75 The Numbers Band 2'', which was its first studio recording. The next year, its single, "Here in the Life", was released through

Pere Ubu Pere Ubu is an American rock group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. The band had a variety of long-term and recurring band members, with singer David Thomas being the only member staying throughout the band's lifetime. They released their ...

's David Thomas' label, Hearpen. Fred Tribuzzo later took over the bass playing from Johnson.

The Golden Palominos The Golden Palominos were an American musical group headed by drummer, producer, arranger, and composer Anton Fier, first formed in 1981. Aside from Fier, the Palominos membership fluctuated, with only bassist Bill Laswell and guitarist Nick ...

did their own rendition of the Kidney composition "The Animal Speaks" from ''Jimmy Bell'' in 1985. Robert Kidney toured with the Palominos the following year. The third Numbers Band album, ''Among The Wandering'', was released in 1987. Despite some local success and radio airplay of the single "High Heels Are Dangerous", they remained only locally known. Stacey left in February 1989 and was not replaced. In 1990, Robert Kidney received a

kidney transplant Kidney transplant or renal transplant is the organ transplant of a kidney into a patient with end-stage kidney disease (ESRD). Kidney transplant is typically classified as deceased-donor (formerly known as cadaveric) or living-donor transplantat ...

, necessitated by a birth defect and complicated by years of hard living. ''Blues by the Numbers'', their second live album, showed up the following year, as did the retrospective, ''15 60 75 Twenty''. A new studio effort, ''Hotwire'', was released in 1992. In 1998, Robert and Jack Kidney performed with David Thomas and his "Mirror Man" stage production at the Southbank Center in London. In 2000, the entire Numbers Band performed there. The brothers toured with the troupe in the Netherlands and Canada, and again in Los Angeles in 2003. In 2003, The Numbers Band were among the rockers profiled in the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

documentary ''

It's Everything, And Then It's Gone ''If You're Not Dead, Play'' is a 2005 PBS rock music documentary, a Western Reserve Public Media/ PBS production and the sequel of ''It's Everything, And Then It's Gone''. This was also written and directed by Phil Hoffman (American filmmaker), ...

'' about the Akron Sound. The band then consisted of the Kidney brothers, Hynde, Bill Watson (bass) and Frank Casamento (drums). They released ''Inward City'', in 2009. In 2010, Anton Fier reunited the Golden Palominos for a limited number of shows in New York City. Robert Kidney joined the performances at The Living Room and Le Poisson Rouge. In 2011, drummer Frank Casamento left the band and moved to Chicago. Clint Alguire replaced him. In 2012, Robert Kidney was awarded the Cleveland Arts Prize Lifetime Achievement Award for Music. The CAP created this vide
Cleveland Arts Prize, Robert Kidney.
In 2013, the Kidney Brothers released their first duet CD, "Coal Tattoo", on ReR Megacorp Records. That same year, the Numbers Band re-released their first LP, "Jimmy Bell's Still in Town" as a double vinyl LP from Exit Stencil Recordings with three extra tracks which were recorded in the same time period. The band traveled to New York City that December to perform songs from the album at the Bowery Electric. Longtime fan David Fricke from ''Rolling Stone'' was in attendance. Fricke wrote the liner notes for the re-release. Robert Kidney released his first solo effort in early 2016: "JackLeg", a collection of songs written by Robert with acoustic guitar, recorded at Studio G in Brooklyn (released by Exit Stencil Records). The Numbers Band celebrated their 45th anniversary at The Kent Stage in Kent, Ohio, on October 3, 2015. In 2020, they released a CD recorded live in the studio, “Endure: Outliers on Water Street”. On February 28, they celebrated their 50th Anniversary at the Kent Stage, performing to a sold-out crowd. The band was slated to mark their 55th year with another concert at The Kent Stage on March 8, 2025.

Members

Current

* Robert Kidney (founder, guitar, vocals, songwriter) * Jack Kidney (harmonica, saxophone, guitar, keyboards, percussion, vocals, songwriter) * Terry Hynde (saxophone) * Bill Watson (bass) * Clint Alguire (drums)

Former

* Chris Butler (bass) * Hank Smith (guitar, keyboards) * Steve Calabria (bass) * Greg Colbert (bass) * Tim Hutson (drums) * Michael Bubnow (guitar, bass) *

(bass) * Rod Reisman (drums) * Tim Maglione (sax) * David Robinson (drums) * Drake Gleason (bass) * Jay Brown (drums) * Michael Stacey (guitar) * Bart Johnson (bass) * Fred Tribuzzo (bass) * Frank Reynolds (bass) * Frank Casamento (drums)

Discography

* ''Jimmy Bell's Still in Town'' (live) (1976) (Hearthen) * ''15 60 75 The Numbers Band 2'' (1982) (Water Brothers) * ''Among the Wandering'' (1987) (Water Brothers) * ''15 60 75 20'' (1991) (Reedurban) * ''Blues By the Numbers'' (live) (1991) (Reedurban) * ''Hotwire'' (1992) (Reedurban) * ''Inward City'' (2009) (Hearthen) * ''Coal Tattoo'' (2013) (ReR Megacorp) * ''Jimmy Bell's Still in Town (reissue)'' (2013) (Exit Stencil Recordings) * ''Endure: Outliers on Water Street'' (2020) (15-60-75)

References

External links

Official website
*

The Numbers Band The Numbers Band (a.k.a. 15-60-75) are an American blues rock and experimental rock band formed in Kent, Ohio, United States in 1969. They are part of the Akron Sound that sprang forth from their Ohio, home state. Career The original personne ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Numbers Band American blues rock musical groups American experimental rock groups Musical groups established in 1969 Musical groups from Kent, Ohio Rock music groups from Ohio Warner Records artists