When Bernie Huot received his first six-string acoustic guitar while a high school freshman, it sparked a hobby he’s kept alive for more than 30 years.
Now a Middletown resident and father, Huot spends at least one night each week playing his bass guitar with a few of his local buddies.
Huot on bass, Bob Voshell and Steve Zudnak on guitar and Chris Erby on drums make up Sunstorm, a band named after Huot’s very first band from high school.
“Everybody sings, which is always nice,” Huot said. “It’s not for the money, we’re too old for that. The big thing for us is it’s fun. It’s loose, and it’s a good time.”
Erby said he was playing with a band called Takin’ Turns when he first played with Huot at the Middletown Historical Society’s Olde Tyme Peach Festival in 2007.
“Everything fell right in place. Everyone was having a great time,” Erby said. “It’s a great bunch of guys who are really talented artists.”
The newly-formed band plays classic rock and blues, and they’ll take the stage together for the first time this Friday, July 11, from 6 to 10 p.m. on the outside deck of the Firehouse Dockside Restaurant by the Summit North Marina.
Huot said with his first band, he played all over Springfield, Ill. He later played with fellow military musicians while he was in the U.S. Navy.
“We had to go to sea and the band had to break up,” he said. “I sold everything and went back and finished my education. What got me back into playing was my wife. She bought me a guitar for Father’s Day.
“She said, ‘You’ve been out of it long enough, maybe it’s time to get back into it,’ ” Huot said, “and I did, with both feet.”
He said he started playing in a band called Fore Day Creep with Bob Voshell. Huot left the band in 2006 to form Sunstorm with a different line up. Voshell later joined him, and recently Erby and Zudnak were invited to form the newest version of Sunstorm.
Huot said they’re practicing as much as they can to build their song list. A few of his favorites they might play this Friday include “The Breakup Song,” Mustang Sally, “Honkey Tonk Woman” and songs by ZZ Top, Deep Purple and Eric Clapton.
“We do a nice little version of ‘Sweet Jane,’ ” He said. “We do all the old standards people can dance to. We want to learn new stuff, so that’s what we’re doing. We don’t want to make it an every weekend type of deal, but we do want to practice every week.”
“Every time we practice, we’re doing our own show,” Erby said. “We really focus on our music in the time we have.”
Huot said having all the members live nearby is convenient, and they want to play more shows around the Middletown-Odessa-Townsend area.
“The guys in the band are very personable. The band’s good and the music will be good,” he said. “We’ll have a great time and the audience will, too.”
The Firehouse Dockside Restaurant is located at 3006 Summit Harbour Place, off Del. 71 in Bear. For more information, go to www.firehousebbqcompany.com/about.html or call (302)-836-1180.
After Sunstorm plays this Friday, they’ll play in Middletown at Bruster’s Ice Cream on Sunday, July 20, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Middletown, Del. —
