Still Rumbling in Nashville

Q&A with Paul Slivka
by Roger Hillis

While Tommy Conwell’s guitar playing was the star attraction during his years leading the Young Rumblers, the band’s secret weapon may have been its killer rhythm section.  Despite Conwell briefly utilizing other members in early and later incarnations of the group, it is bassist Paul Slivka and drummer Jim Hannum who will be always be remembered as its true, beating pulse. 

Known as “Slivvy and Jimmer” to their fellow bandmates, the two had performed together since their teens in Newark, Delaware.  While Slivka had an imposing stage presence with a spikey punk hairdo that made him a ringer for Sid Vicious, his friendly smile was an indication of what lay beneath the denim-clad exterior.  Slivka was perhaps the most approachable of the Rumblers and would often add fans to the guest list if they arrived at a show early enough.   However, his look did all of the talking during one memorable incident in which the Rumblers’ van pulled up to a red light and a young child in another vehicle caught a glimpse of Slivka and started bawling like a baby.  

On the eve of the band’s 20th anniversary, youngrumblers.com caught up with Slivka in his adopted hometown of Nashville, TN, where he performs with his wife, singer-songwriter Cole Slivka. He is also busy as a session musician, and has been known to showcase with as many as three different acts in one shot during his annual trips to the South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, TX.  He said he’d endured a truly smokin’ gig in Nashville the previous night.

Q: What happened?

A: My amp caught on fire! I turned around and there was smoke and flames. It was a radio broadcast from a club, and I guess the club was having electrical problems. I had to finish out the set playing through the monitor system.

Q: Are you guys going to do any shows this year for the 20th anniversary?

A: I would love to. I’m not sure if anything’s definitely happening, but I’m into it. It’s just a matter of getting everyone together. We had fun getting together a few years ago on New Year’s Eve for the Millennium. Then we played the Stone Balloon (in Newark, Delaware) for their 30th anniversary. Rob (Miller) lives in California and couldn’t make that one so we had another keyboard player sit in. We did one rehearsal, but it was just a quick run-through where we played everything once. It turned out to be a good show, but we kinda missed Rob. Then we all got together and played in Florida last summer.  

Q: Florida? Where did you play?

A: The Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando. I’m not sure how that came about; Tommy takes care of that stuff. 

Q: What would be your ideal location for the next show?

A: Probably the Bottle & Cork in Dewey Beach (Delaware). We gotta get a gig down there! We always did great at the beach in the summertime. My brother Jeff lives in Rehoboth Beach, he builds houses.

Q: Do you stay in touch with the other Rumblers?

A: I still stay in touch with Jim a lot, more than anyone else in the band. He still plays; he has a couple of kids, though, so he’s kind of busy with that right now. I spoke to Chris (Day) a couple of weeks ago, he’s in New York.

Q: Looking back at the Rumblers days, what would you say were the high points?

A: We had a lot of highs. You don’t really realize the high points while they’re happening because you’re so busy. We opened for Bowie a couple of times in Philly. We went on tour with the band Chicago for a month or two, back around ’89, I think. 

Q: And the lows?

A: The only lows were in the early days. I guess Jim and I joined the band in about ’84, and we walked right into a very busy schedule. (Booking agent) Jim Johnson would have us playing 30 gigs in one month; sometimes we’d play two shows in one day. In the beginning, there were some lows, playing gigs where nobody showed up; cramped in a van breathing oil fumes.

Q: When that incarnation of the band eventually came to an end that must have been a low point. But Tommy had been kind of stressed out ever since the record company tried to make him into a “pop star,” hadn’t he?

A: Yeah, and I don’t think that’s something he ever really wanted anyway. We had a great run. When you look at it realistically, you’re kind of destined to fail in this business. There were about eight years where we did really, really well. Not many bands get as far as we did.  Overall, I don’t know if the “lows” were really bad enough to be called “lows.” I have no regrets.

Q: What were some of your other favorite clubs to play back in the day?

A: The Stone Pony in Asbury Park was always fun. The Metro in Harrisburg; the Chameleon in Lancaster; Hammerjacks in Baltimore.

Q: How are things going in Nashville?

A: Nashville is great. There’s a lot of good music going on here. There are really good studios and engineers and musicians and everything. The session work has slowed down for everybody because of the economy and because of the state of the music business. There are a lot of people scrambling for work. 

Q: How did you meet your wife, and what is it like working with her?

A: We met at the Bluebird Cafe down here about 10 years ago when I was playing a gig. We’ve been married almost five years now. It’s great working with my wife. She has a lot of great songs, and she’s a great musician. We play as an acoustic duo, and sometimes we have a full band. We’ve done one record, and we’re getting ready to do an album on spec. We have someone that’s going to shop that one around in California. I also play with a guy named Tim Carroll, and I’ve played with Matthew Ryan. I do a lot of one-offs. 

Q: No relation to Jim Carroll, the poet?

A: No, Tim Carroll is better. They’re both from New York City, though.    

Q: Which is your favorite Rumblers record: “Walkin’ on the Water,” “Rumble,” or “Guitar Trouble”?

A: I’d say “Walkin’ on the Water.”  

Q: You guys caught some grief from the local fans for re-recording some of those songs on “Rumble,” didn’t you? Just like the Hooters had when they re-recorded stuff from their independent record?

A: Yeah. I don’t know if those songs really needed to be re-recorded in the first place. When I listen back to some of those recordings now, they sound dated. But unless you’re really ahead of your time, that’s natural.

Q: You kind of had a Sid Vicious look going at a time when bands like Cinderella and Britney Fox were piling on the makeup. How did your look come about?

A: I don’t know, it just kind of evolved. When you look back at all the ’80s stuff, it was very glam; a lot of musicians looked like girls. I didn’t think that was a very good idea. 

Q: You guys did a lot of television appearances. What is that like, compared to playing onstage?

A: TV is a little bit weird. It’s a little bit difficult, because you’re only playing one song and you don’t really get a chance to warm up.

Q: Any chance you and your wife will come back north to do some shows?

A: We’ve been meaning to do that. We bought a vacation house in Chincoteague, Va., a couple years ago, and we’d like to book some shows around our trips there.

Photos Credits:  John Hagan, Rob Gibson