The History of the Professors
1998 - 2000
Reprinted without permission from the Rocklopedia Britannicus, page 613

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February 1998, in the move that shocked the music world, Tomasz Imielinski leaves the band to pursue solo projects. In an exclusive interview given to the New Jersey Star Ledger, Imielinski announces that he is composing an album of "heavy-metal cyber-anthems" (see Kevin Coughlin, April 6, 1998, Rutgers is teaching Web Sites How to Talk. New Jersey Star Ledger, Tech Section, p. 21, 24). His 21-year old son, Marcin, is quoted as saying "It's not bad, Dad, but you've got to scream more." There is also some incidental material in the article referring to Imielinski's work as a computer scientist.

Despite the worst ice-storm of the 1997-1998 winter season on March 21, 1998, the new Professors line-up of Kubey, Radford, Lehr, Barrows, and Romanenko unveiled The Full Monty Set at the 2nd Annual Conference of the New Jersey Communication Association held at Montclair State University. The courageous crowd of 10-15 people who braved the awful weather conditions were treated to the premiere performances of Psychedelic Killer (Romanenko), Dreading the Dawning (Barrows/Radford), Untenured Blues (Radford/Radford), Ghost of Love (Barrows/Wallinger), and Treachery (Radford/Radford). The set was followed by an awesome jam session with Thom Gencarelli's band, BLUE RACE

May 9, 1998, the Professors play what Bob Kubey called "the most enjoyable gig in the history of the Professors" in the basement of John Barrows' home in Little Silver, New Jersey. About 7-8 delighted fans enjoyed the most uninhibited set ever performed by the Professors, with a boisterously informal performance by Bob Kubey as Master of Ceremonies. The set was performed without lead vocalist Jennifer Lehr. Singing duties were shared by Barrows, Radford, and the debut performance of Marie Radford, singing on Untenured Blues, which she also helped to write. The Little Silver gig also saw the inaugural performance of the Professors' new PA system and the debut of Eight Minutes (Barrows and Wallinger) which features some phenomenal slide guitar work by Barrows.
 
 

Fall 1998 saw the most extensive tour yet in the history of the Professors. On October 3, the Professors performed as a quartet (Barrows, Radford, Romanenko, and Kubey) at an outdoor halloween party in Jackson Mills, New Jersey, hosted by Kevin Patten, a good friend of Radford's brother-in-law, Gerard Stafford-Smith. Patten and Stafford-Smith are members of the legendary band THE GRATEFUL SHEDHEADS, who played a set of Grateful Dead, Radiohead, and Alanis Morissette; well, at least until the rain started coming down.
 

Todd Hunt

November 14th, the Professors appeared at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in New Brunswick, New Jersey, as the top of the bill of the 10th anniversary celebration of the Masters Program in Communication and Information Science at Rutgers University (of which Bob Kubey is the Director). The Profs stunned a crowd of Rutgers administrators, faculty, and friends with a short set of I'm From New Jersey (John Gorka), Five Long Years (Eddie Boyd), and Dreading the Dawning (Barrows/Radford). Kubey rounded out the set by having all the former program directors, Todd Hunt, Linda Lederman, and Harty Mokros, up on stage and joining in on an inspired performance of the Spirit of the Age/MCIS Rap.

The Fall 1998 tour was completed with a triumphant return to Kenny's Castaways, New York City, on November 22. Never have the Professors played so rehearsed and tight a set, and Jennifer Lehr gave the finest performance of her Professors' career.

November 1998: In yet another announcement to shock the music world, Jennifer Lehr announced that she would leave the Professors in order to finish her Ph. D. dissertation. This after her finest performance.

In a development that stunned musical observers, the Professors quartet rebounded from the loss of their lead vocalist with an outstanding two-hour performance in a New York City jazz/blues club, the Cornelia Street Cafe, on February 7, 1999. As a result of a frenzy of creative activity, the Professors debuted a host of new and original songs: an instrumental version of Nicky Land (Romanenko), Chill Out (John Lee Hooker/Carlos Santana; arr. by Kubey), Sunday Night at Kenny's (Barrows), New York City Sidewalk Blues (Barrows), and Silvio Blues (Romanenko/Radford/Barrows/Kubey/Waisbord). The audience was also treated to performances by two unexpected guest vocalists. Ruthy Unger gave an unforgettable rendition of Gershwin's Summertime and Sonja Souther gave a wonderful improvisation of the Relocation Blues to the tune of Five Long Years.

March 28, 1999; Sonja Souther officially joins the Professors as lead vocalist. She entrances a packed house at Napolitano's Restaurant in New Brunswick, New Jersey, with a phenomenal vocal debut as the Professors perform an unprecedented 2 hour set of 23 numbers. Premiere of Nicky Land (Souther/Romanenko) with new Souther lyrics. The premiere of Barrows' and Radford's latest song Run Away With Me was hailed by all as an instant classic.

April 8, 1999: At the invitation of Brent Ruben, the Professors play a 10 song set with two genuine encores(!) for the Mid-Atlantic Consortium (MAC) and the Leadership for Institutional Change (LINC) at their regional conference held at the Palmer Inn, Princeton, New Jersey.

April 10, 1999, saw a classic night of Professors music in the Student Union Pub at Rider University as the closing festivities of the 3rd Annual Conference of the New Jersey Communication Association. Chad Dell of Monmouth University joined the band on guitar to perform rocking versions of One Way Out and In the Midnight Hour and some soulful lead guitar work on Did You Ever Love a Woman. Thom Gencarelli of Montclair State University, and lead singer with BLUE RACE, made the crowd weep with his rendition of B. B. King's Did You Ever Love a Woman. Jonathan Millen of Rider University, and the organizer of the day's conference, took over from Bob Kubey on the skins to provide superlative percussion on In the Midnight Hour, Respect, and Did You Ever Love a Woman.

May 15, 1999: After guesting with the Professors at Rider University, Chad Dell (ex-THE FAST EDDIE BAND, SCOTT FREE, NIGHT MUSIC, THE MEDIA WEASELS) becomes an official member of the band and makes his debut performance at Kubeystock 1999, live from Bob Kubey's backyard in Highland Park, New Jersey. The concert is visited by the Highland Park police during the climactic moments of Brainstorm, but no arrests were made.

May 22, 1999: With new member Chad Dell absent due to his getting married to Eleanor Novek, the five-piece Professors unleashed their third 2-hour plus, 20 song plus set to an enthusiastic crowd at the May Bash at the home of Mark and Ann Smith in Wyckoff, New Jersey. Playing outside on a beautiful sunny, 80 degree Spring afternoon, the Professors thrilled the audience with the diversity of their music, ranging from the exquisite vocal stylings of Sonja Souther on Summertime and Stormy Monday, to the raunchy blues harmonica of John Barrows, the mood-filled exploration of Nick Romanenko's hypothalamus in Nicky Land, and the Professors' tribute to British rockers Hawkwind in Brainstorm, Spirit of the Age, and the recently added Psi Power. The May Bash also saw the premiere of Barrows' and Radford's tribute to Tomasz Imielinski: Hyatt Elevator or Gdansk for the Memory. 

June 4, 1999: The Professors wrap up their momentous Spring Tour with another outdoor gig at the University Relations Picnic at Rutgers University.

August 21. 1999: As opening act for HAYACINTH GLAZE (formerly THE GRATEFUL SHEDHEADS), The Professors stun a party crowd at Yaegerfest 99 with a two set combination punch.

December 2, 1999: The Professors play to a packed house at Doll's Place, New Brunswick, NJ, in a gig sponsored by the MCIS Student Forum of Rutgers University. Set up in front of the kitchen doors, the Profs continued to play flawlessly as the bar staff gingerly waited glasses around the band in order to reach the kitchen! This gig saw the debut of John Barrows playing keyboards and the premiere of Chad Dell's first original song performed with the band, She Loves Me (Not). The Professors also premiered: (Nobody Likes) Happy Songs (John Barrows/Gary Radford), Cold Snap (John Barrows/Gary Radford), and Peer Review (John Barrows).

Kathy Muldowney

February 19, 2000: The Professors play before 100 people in Lenfell Hall in the Mansion of Fairleigh Dickinson University as part of the celebrations for the 40th birthday of the Chairperson of the Social Sciences Department, Dr. Peter Woolley. Dr. Jonathan Millen, Rider University, sat in on drums for the second set. This gig saw the premier of Christie, Are You Out There?, a new Barrows/Radford classic performed in vintage Springsteen style by Chad Dell. The Professors' number one fan, Kathy Muldowney, had this to say about the show: "The Professors amazed the crowd once again at their latest gig held at the FDU Mansion on Feb. 19th. With a mix of originals, standards, and some great segues between tunes, The Professors made lots of changes to their lineup and offered much more of a show this time around. Taking a trip with The Professors, from Bar-Band to practically a Popular Culture Operetta, this performance was a real joyride."

April 6, 2000: John Barrows and Gary Radford from The Professors reunite with former vocal star Jennifer Lehr to perform an acoustic set in the Student Center Pub at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Jennifer performed a string of old Profs favorites such as "I'm From New Jersey," Foucault Funk, "Waiting for the Big One," and, of course, "You Oughta Know" (the uncensored version). Barrows and Radford premiered another new song, Crisis of Confidence, which Jennifer sang on sight. Radford also performed a song from his Sosostris days, Cadenza, based on the poem by Ted Hughes. The poem was recited by English Professor Geoff Weinman and the vocals were performed impeccably by Jennifer Lehr. The stripped down sound of Radford on acoustic guitar, Barrows on harp, and Lehr on vocals, was a major departure from the normal Professors sound of driving, electric blues-rock. The audience was very enthusiastic about the performance and demanded two encores. Clearly, a new musical form for The Professors had been discovered.

April 8, 2000: The Professors wrap up the 1999-2000 academic year with a performance at the Rutgers University Inn.

September 1, 2000: In a move that shocked Professors' fans around the world, singer/songwriter, guiarist, keyboardist, and harmonica player par excellence John Barrows announces that he is leaving The Professors to pursue acoustic projects in his brand new Little Silver studio. In his farewell note to the band, Barrows writes: "I am deeply grateful for the chance to join and contribute to the group over the past three years...it has been a richly rewarding experience, and I am lucky to have made five great friends along the way. I hope that I'll continue to have the opportunity to play with you each from time to time. I would love to be able to include your contributions to some of the more experimental and more acoustic stuff that I'm working on, and I'd love to continue collaborating on new material. So long...but not good-bye, I hope. And thanks, everyone."