Baby boomers re-volve to rock again

Mick Jagger was quoted as saying, "I'd rather be dead than singing 'Satisfaction' when I'm 45."

But as the baby boomer generation aged, it saw no good reason to give up its favorite music.

Jagger, who is nearing 65, is still singing "Satisfaction" to millions of fans, young and old.

The members of the newly formed dance rock band Phidget, all of whom are older than 45, probably didn't picture themselves as parents who would rock into the new millennium.

This Saturday, the band will prove that rock knows no age limitations at Cruisin' Rt. 72 in Gilberts.

Separately, the four members of the band -- Laurie Ackerman on vocal and keyboard, Lowell Todd on lead guitar, Garry Hane on drums and Chris Erbach on bass -- spent their youth in a variety of bands, locally and far-flung.

"We'd been playing since we were little kids in high school, and we'd be in garage bands," Erbach said.

"We all knew each other from different bands."

Some of the bands Phidget members graced in the '80s and early '90s were Rage, Reckless Abandon, No Escape and Features.

During that time, bars exploded with live rock music.

"I don't know if anyone remembers the bar scene in the '80s," Erbach said. "But you could go into a bar any night of the week and see a great band."

The four musicians lived the rock 'n' roll life with their respective bands, all dreaming of eventual stardom.

Then, the inevitable took place; life interfered -- in a good way. Spouses, jobs and kids took precedence and, made less time for the rock lifestyle.

"We had children, and -- oops -- we gotta go coach baseball and soccer," Erbach explained.

The band members' kids grew up to start their own bands, playing local venues, according to Erbach.

"I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," he said.

It was at those gigs that the former musicians began to discuss music. Soon the members started playing together for fun, while leaving the bulk of their time to family pursuits.

"We were goofing around, and suddenly all of our kids were graduating," Erbach said.

As the demands of parenthood have dialed down, the members, all of whom hail from the Fox River Grove and Crystal Lake area, began to get fidgety -- which led to the name of the band, playing its debut show this Saturday.

"We couldn't really decide on something, and since we're all wired up on Mountain Dew and coffee …" said Erbach. "We're all a little twitchy."

A Google search revealed the spelling would need to change, so as not to be confused with bands called Fidget, and Phidget was born.

According to Erbach, the band plays mostly cover tunes by such diverse musicians as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Neil Young, Heart and Pat Benatar.

"It's more rock and blues tunes," said Erbach, citing such influences as The Motels and Bruce Springsteen. "Mostly, it's good rock- and dance-type music -- caffeine-inspired" he said.

"It was nice of Rob (Lange, co-owner with Bob Curtis) over at Cruisin,' to give us the opportunity to come out and play. It's a good local spot," Erbach said.

"It's a nostalgia/hot-rod bar and restaurant," Cruisin' owner Rob Lange said.

"We're known for our hamburger and ribs and chicken. We grind our own hamburger meat. All of my food is homemade."

Lange thinks the band is a good fit in his 5-year-old place.

"They play '70s-through-now dance rock, and that's my theme," Lange said. "If you come here and look around, you'll see I have all kinds of oldies stuff on the walls."

"It's very casual. It's a nice, clean, fun place," Lange said.

Which may be a complete turnaround from the bar scene in the '80s

Another change is day jobs all around for the members of Phidget, according to Erbach.

"I'm an art director for a corporation in Arlington Heights," he said.

"Lowell has his own company building wireless networks, Gary manages a detail shop in Dundee and Lori is a store manager."

The biggest change of all is the lower key rock "lifestyle," Erbach commented.

"It's more fun," Erbach said. "Your friends come out and see you or the kids you coached in baseball, and they can drink beer.

"They're like, 'Let's go see old man Erbach play.' You've built a rapport with them. It's kind of neat."

If you go

What: Phidget, 70s- and 80s-inspired classic/dance rock

Where: Cruisin' Rt. 72, 11 Galligan Road, Gilberts

When: 9 p.m. Saturday

Cost: $6 cover after 9 p.m., which includes a drink chip