Finding a niche in the South Florida cover band scene was not easy, but Frank Vestry, 62, lead vocalist of the Smokin Renegade classic rock tribute band, found a niche covering the music of rock bands Boston and Styx, both popular in the late 1970s–80s.
The band takes their name from the Boston song “Smokin’ ” on its 1976 debut album, the B-side to its first single, “More Than a Feeling,” and the 1979 Styx hit song “Renegade” from its “Pieces of Eight” album.
“When the band gathered together for the first practice, it was in a word—amazing,” Vestry writes on the band’s website. “Once the first run-through of the songs was complete, we knew we had something special.”
Vestry says, “Everything gelled together.”
He put the two song names together and “it seemed to work.” He notes that the band have been playing together in South Florida since 2018.
The band—which spotlights Boston’s “More than a Feeling” and Styx’s “Come Sail Away”—is known for their searing guitar licks, vintage synthesizers, pounding rhythms, and vocal harmonies, led by Vestry.
In addition to Vestry, the band comprises Dean Summers, lead guitarist and vocals; Ken Urquhart, keyboards, vocals, and musical director; Rob Darmanin, drums, percussion, and vocals; and Howi Hughes, bass guitar and vocals (who changed his name from Patrick to Howi because the real Howard Hughes wasn’t using it, he says).
The musicians have toured with national acts and played in some of the biggest tribute bands.
Vestry, a Long Island native, came to his vocal abilities naturally, as both parents were musical. His mother, Marie Elena, was a singer before marrying his father, Frank Vestry, a professional tenor. His dad played at renowned nightclubs in New York City, including the Copacabana and the Latin Quarter, and filled in for Tony Bennett.
A shy kid, Vestry started a garage band at age 15, and by 18 he decided that singing was what he wanted to pursue as a career. His band, Devias, played iconic venues in and around New York City and Long Island—including the Cat Club, the Limelight, the China Club, L’Amour, the Stage Door, Industry Steel, and My Father’s Place. Its members later went on to play with Alice Cooper, Dokken, and Ted Nugent.
Among his top musical Influences, he counts vocalist Brad Delp from Boston (“love his voice”), Stevie Wonder, Elton John, and the Beatles.
Driven by the love of music, the desire to be the best he can be, and the joy of seeing people loving the music is what gets Vestry up and going in the morning.
Now married and the father of two daughters, Vestry says he’s thrilled to be making music all these years later. “It’s amazing to be doing something I love and earning a living doing it,” he reflects. “It’s a blessing.”
Highlights of his career including writing original songs in the melodic rock genre and releasing an album with Rob Marcello, a Swedish guitar player, which garnered 100,000 views on YouTube, as well as playing with Bon Jovi, Van Halen, and White Snake, among others, at the National Association of Music Merchants trade show in California in 1998.
Urquhart, 53, a Florida native who now lives in Delray Beach, met Vestry when the two played together in a bar band called the Evil Monkeys.
Learning keyboards from his father as a child on an electric Lowrey organ, Urquhart sang in the church choir, where he learned to harmonize. He found his early musical influences in Billy Joel and Elton John and later with British keyboardists Howard Jones, Rick Wakeman, and Keith Emerson.
He jumped at the chance to join Vestry in the Smokin Renegade band and says, “It’s an incredible honor to play on stage in front of so many enthusiastic people.”
Urquhart jokes, “This is as close to rock-stardom as we get.”
When the band formed, they released a recording of their first live stage show on Facebook to determine fan reaction and were gratified that band promoters reached out and contacted them immediately.
They have performed as far away as Kansas and Georgia, but these days they prefer to stay within driving distance. In July, they returned to the Daytona Bandshell for the city’s Star-Spangled Summer Concert Series where they performed for a crowd of 3,000. Other highlights include playing the Plantation Seafood and Music Festival, Rock the Park in Abacoa, the Riley Center in Ocala to a sold-out audience, and the House of Blues in Orlando.
Although the band takes their music seriously, Urquhart says they don’t take themselves too seriously. He says they are all motivated to go on stage and indulge in a musical conversation.
“We’re genuinely having fun,” he says. “We’re all on the same page. What sets us apart is the focus and detail to the sound.”
Because the original Boston doesn’t tour anymore, Urquhart says, audiences are excited to hear their music live. “Music is memory,” he notes. “It’s so touching when people tell us the moments they remember when they first heard this music.”
This fall, the band plans to add the music of Foreigner, now on its farewell tour, to their repertoire.
Still on an upward trajectory, Vestry and Urquhart say the band has no plans to slow down, although Urquhart does admit to a fantasy of going out on tour. “Just once,” he says. “It’s on my bucket list.”
Whether or not that happens is yet to be determined, but doing what they love is the immediate priority.
“It’s special to participate in this magic,” Urquhart says. “We can’t ask for more.”
Smokin Renegade will perform live at Sharkey’s Bar & Grill, 10365 Royal Palm Blvd., Coral Springs, on Saturday, Aug. 24. For more information, go to sharkeysfl.com or call (954) 341-9990. Visit: SmokinRenegade.com.