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Bone Yard Dogs To Perform Good Solid Rock

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By Cheryl  Bentley | The Suncoast News

Published: October 8, 2008

The new kid on the block is catching up to the old timers.

Bone Yard Dogs will perform at the Cotee River October Bike Fest in New Port Richey on Saturday. That Oct. 11 performance will come two weeks after the band took to the amphitheatre stage in Sims Park for Founders Day, an annual event sponsored by Greater New Port Richey Main Street.

The Founders Day performance went over well, said Bone Yard's founder Louie Fillie. "We had nothing but compliments."

The four-member band is a reincarnation of Orange Street Band, a group started by Fillie in 2003. Fillie's late wife, Teresa Fillie, was drummer for Orange Street. Even during her illness, she insisted her husband go to practice with the band, Louie says.

In the midst of his grief after Teresa's death, Fillie ended Orange Street, but he always remembered her advice.

"She told me before she died, 'Don't give up your music,' " he said.

Last year, he decided it was time to heed Teresa's words and start another group. Three members of the old Orange Street, including Fillie, are in Bone Yard Dogs.

The group took its name from the large number of bones that Fillie's dogs, Abby and Guido, have in his yard.

Abby and Guido evidently not only approve of the name but also dig the band's classic rock sound. "When we practiced here, they use to lay right in front of the amplifier," Fillie recalled. Fillie plays lead guitar and has played that instrument since he was 12. He did studio work as a guitarist in New York and had his own 12-piece band there. He also formed an all-female band in which his first wife was lead vocalist.

Drummer Steve DeMatos played drums as a teenager, but dropped out of music when he joined the Air Force. Orange Street gave him an opportunity to end his 20-year musical hiatus. Orange Street was also the first band experience for rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist Greg Rabelo. Rabelo also writes music and lyrics.

The band's newbie is bass guitarist Ramon Neri. He has played the guitar since he was 12 and switched to bass 10 years ago. According to Fillie, Bone Yard Dogs specializes in "classic rock with a little twist. We try not to copy a song exactly. We make it our own song.

"We are a good, solid rock band," he added.

The lowdown

Bone Yard Dogs will appear from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 11, at the Sims Park Amphitheatre in New Port Richey, as part of the Cotee River Bike Festival. Festival entertainment will run Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 11 and Oct. 12, on two stages in the Sims Park area. For a complete schedule of entertainment and more information about the event, visit coteeriverbikefest.com.

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