Welcome Page

by Lenny Blazick

If you've found your way to this website you're either

already a fan of ABILENE or you're trying to understand

what the buzz is all about. Either way, welcome!

For those of you who are longtime fans ABILENE
extends their heartfelt appreciation for your commitment
and dedication throughout the years. It's been a long

ride from when ABILENE first took the stage so many

years ago, and you've made the trip worthwhile.

Fans of ABILENE are cut from a wide spectrum of the American experience.
They're from all walks of life. Three decades ago they were college students, factory
workers, professionals, bikers, truckers, everyday guys and girls who were still trying
to figure out where life would take them. Today, they are mothers and fathers with
families and workaday lives of their own that even they hadn't foreseen so many years
ago. And many have moved far away from their Pennsylvania roots to towns and
cities all across this great nation.

But they still remember ABILENE.

So, I suppose that to a great extent this ABILENE website exists for the fans. It's a
way for them to reconnect with the band, and to add words and pictures to their
memories. If you are among the legions of ABILENE fans, I hope that what you see
and read here brings you some measure of the enjoyment and sheer excitement that
you've experienced over the years.

And for those of you who are just getting acquainted with them, well….. my guess is
that nothing you read or see here will explain ABILENE. ABILENE has to be
experienced.

And that brings us to the music. Today's country music is, in my opinion, a far cry
from the Country Rock genre that spawned ABILENE. That's not meant to be a
critical statement. Actually, the country music being pumped out of Nashville these
days is experiencing a level of popularity unmatched even at Country Rock's zenith,
both in numbers of records sold and in its permeation of all stratum of the American
population.

But it's not the same. Give a listen to The Byrds' "Sweetheart Of The Rodeo". Or
The Flying Burrito Brothers' "Gilded Palace of Sin". Or The New Riders Of
The Purple Sage debut album (oops…. CD). How about "Stars & Strips Forever"
by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, "From The Inside" by Poco, or "Bustin' Out" by
Pure Prairie League? Those bands and the music that they produced came to
personify Country Rock music, and I don't think you'll find anything quite like them
today (and, believe me, I've tried).

The early 1970s were the seminal Country Rock incubator from which ABILENE
came to be. That's important to know, because if you're not already familiar with
them you need to understand that ABILENE isn't a country band. They're a country
rock band, and there is a difference. It separates them from the rock bands that have suddenly turned "country" because they discovered that country music sells. ABILENE fans know that the blend of country, rock, blues and Cajun music that they play today is what they've been playing since they first stepped on stage in the mid 1970s. What they do is refreshingly honest and genuine.

The media has always had a difficult time labeling ABILENE because their music
defies categorization. On any given night a listener is bound to hear a Doug Kershaw
Cajun fiddle number, a bluegrass breakdown from Jim & Jesse McReynolds, a blues-
rock shuffle ala Dicky Betts, and a blistering Charlie Daniels boogie-woogie all capped
off with an old-time gospel tune performed a capella. How do you categorize that???

Don't try. Just enjoy it.

We're all fortunate that we can continue to enjoy this band that has become one of
Pennsylvania's musical treasures. Thirty years ago ABILENE adopted an official
logo. It's a desert scene depicting a setting sun underneath which is the tag line, "For
The Good Times". That logo has accompanied the band throughout the years and it
has served them well, because an evening with ABILENE is a guaranteed good time.
Recently, however, the band decided to make a slight alteration, using the same desert
scene, but now across the arc of the setting sun the tag line states, "The Good Times
Roll On". The change is small, but significant. The rewording acknowledges and
pays tribute to the past while looking to the future. It's ABILENE's way of winking
an eye and gesturing for us to follow them down the road. And no matter where the
road leads or how long we travel it we can be sure that with ABILENE there will be lots of great music all along the way.

The good times roll on, indeed!