Cleveland's Lords of the Highway To Play 30th Anniversary Show at Yorktown Lanes on April 1

The local rockabilly band Lords of the Highway got its start in the early '90s when a local drummer placed an ad in Scene. He wanted to play some roots rock, and singer-guitarist Dennis Bell responded to the ad.

"In the Scene, there used to be a whole section about looking for bandmate,” says Bell via phone. “This guy contacted me, and he had played briefly with the Cowslingers. Then, after a few gigs with him, he didn’t want to do it. I had just started played guitar and was looking for a lead player because I wanted to play rhythm and maybe sing a few songs. I wanted to keep going.”

Bell would eventually find the right players, and the band, which had mostly played covers, would start writing original material.

The group issued its debut on cassette in 1994.

"We sent it off to the press and got about 600 copies made," says Bell. "I have maybe four copies still laying around. I haven't listened to it in a long time."

For the band's 25th anniversary show that took place in 2017 at the Beachland Ballroom, previous band members like Sugar and the Hissem brothers played a few tracks with Bell. They’ll do the same on Saturday, April 1, when the group plays a special 30th anniversary concert at the Yorktown Lanes in Parma Heights.

“The Beachland show was well-received and a lot of fun,” says Bell. “For this show at Yorktown Lanes, [former band members] Sugar and Mike [Chipchak] will come up and play five or six songs. The Hissem brothers will come up and do some songs. We play the Yorktown Lanes about three times a year, and it’s always fun.”

Bell adds that the group is at work on a vinyl full-length that will come out later this year. The band is currently in the mixing stages.

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