Februarys to reunite in concert at Cedars

The popular local group
hasn’t played together
since 2000.

TRACEY D’ASTOLFO

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

YOUNGSTOWN — Joe Berquist remembers the Youngstown music scene in the late ’80s as being better than Cleveland’s.

Cedars Lounge was the epicenter, with groups such as Boogie Man Smash, the Infidels and the Smarties playing to packed houses every weekend.

Berquist and his band, the Februarys, were an integral part of that indie rock scene.

The group has long since disbanded, with the members going their separate ways. But on Saturday, the four Febs will return to Cedars to play a reunion show.

Figure Ground, another hot group of that era, is also on the bill.

“Josh Kessler [of Figure Ground] called us to ask if we would play. We used to play together a lot so we decided to do it for old time’s sake,” said Berquist.

Berquist, bass player for the Februarys, said the Febs haven’t played together since 2000.

He said they are looking forward to the reunion show and reliving the glory days of the late ’80s and early ’90s.

“I have great memories of that time,” he said. “Youngstown had a better alternative rock scene at that time than Cleveland. The Cedars was a central place, a community. It was a great local music scene. There would be 400 people there and you would know all 400 of them.”

Playing the favorites

Berquist said fans can expect the group to play their most popular songs, along with a few covers. Both The Februarys and Figure Ground will have remastered albums available on CD at the show.

The Februarys released three albums, including “Stupid, Stupid Questions,” “Tohelenback” and “The February’s Unfinished Works.” Some of their most popular songs were “Does Your Father Know,” “Ash,” “Spin,” “The 3rd Time’s a Charm,” “Never Tell” and a mosh-worthy cover of Bow Wow Wow’s “I Want Candy.”

Berquist works as a business director for Quaker Chemical in Cleveland and plays guitar for Cleveland-based group the Painted. The Febs’ guitarist, Brent Young, lives in Chicago, working as sales director for Interpark; while Febs singer Scott Hevener works as a baker in Missoula, Mont. Drummer Alan Brooks, the only member who remained in the Youngstown area, works at a local TV station. Brooks also played drums for Youngstown group November Loop.

The four-man band will all meet at Berquist’s house in Cleveland tonight for an intense practice session.

“We’re getting together for a three-day-long “rock ’n’ roll camp,” said Berquist.

Berquist said the band members have been working on new material together, sending each other recordings, and are considering releasing a new single, although it may take some time.

“It’s not easy working together long-distance,” he admitted.

He said they are also toying with the idea of future shows.

“We used to do shows on Thanksgiving and Christmas, and it was pretty insane, the crowds were huge. We’re kicking around the possibility of doing shows on the holidays again. We’ll see how this goes.”