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Better late than never

The 8 Balls may have played Cedars Lounge more than any other band in the 1980s.

The downtown Youngstown bar was the leading venue in the Mahoning Valley for acts that played original music, but except for a single released in the mid-’80s, The 8 Balls — Timber Gilliland, guitar, keyboard and vocals; Dave Taraszewski, guitar and vocals; Bob Cerny, bass and vocals; and Sandy Naples, drums and vocals — never got around to recording any of those originals.

“Back in the ’80s, we were having too much fun doing what we were doing — going to college and chasing girls,” said Tim Gilliland, who played guitar and keyboards and sang. “We weren’t making a lot of money and back then, it cost a lot of money to make a record.”

After Taraszewski died in 2014, Dave Lisko joined The 8 Balls for its occasional reunion gig. The 8 Balls were playing at Cedars the first time Lisko went there as a senior in high school in 1982.

“I remember I wore a tie,” Lisko said. “I had no idea what the hell I was doing. They had great energy. It was so cool to a 17-year-old kid. I’d been introduced to the (Rolling) Stones and Led Zeppelin by my older brothers, but I was discovering the (Sex) Pistols, the Dead Boys and New York Dolls on my own. Here was this version of those punk bands I love in Youngstown. I remember thinking what a rock star Timmy was. He had all these scarves on, like Mick Jagger.”

Lisko, who is a member of The Infidels and played with Naples in The Smarties, is the one who suggested making a record, and The 8 Balls recorded at Ampreon Recorder, owned by his Infidels bandmate Pete Drivere.

“That Was Then … This is Wow!” features 11 songs that were the core of the 8 Balls’ set. They decided not to redo “When the Spirit Moves Me,” which was on that original single, because it was so unique to Taraszewski, Gilliland said.

The band felt Taraszewski’s presence in the studio.

“His name would come up and we’d tell stories,” Gilliland said. “We know he was looking down on us with his scrutiny. He was the best musician in the band, he had the best ear. If you were screwing up, he would let you know with just a look. You didn’t want to get the Dave look.”

Lisko said the goal was to stay true to the 8 Balls’ garage-band, punk rock roots without it sounding like sloppy, drunken rock.

“We didn’t want to make a slick record, but we wanted to make a tight record,” Lisko said.

Gilliland said the second track, “Can’t Keep Still,” is a good example of the band’s sound.

“It captures what we do,” he said. “Everyone has some vocals on it. It’s a little bit of punk, a little bit of surf, a little bit of Indian-style psychedelia.”

As for the album as a whole, Gilliland said, “We were able to capture 35 years later that lightning in a bottle. It sounds like it did when we were in our 20s.”

The CD will be available at Record Connection in McKinley Heights, and the band will celebrate its release on Saturday at the current incarnation of Cedars on Steel Street (a vinyl version is due later this year). Headliners seldom take the stage before midnight at Cedars, but Lisko said they decided to do something a little different. The band will play two sets on Saturday, an early set starting at 9 p.m. and a traditional late night performance. Both sets will include the new album in its entirety, but the band also will play five cover songs, and each set will include different covers.

“For the over-50 set like we are, they can come to early set,” Lisko said. “For the regular Cedars crowd 35 and younger, they can come later and check out the band.”

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