Eric Leeds was a member of a jazz band called On The Corner in the 1970s. Does anyone know if they recorded any material, or was it just a live outfit? Googling didn't get me far. Also, I know Atlanta Bliss & Eric Leeds used to be in the same band before hooking up with P. Can anybody confirm that Atlanta Bliss was also in On The Corner? Or are we talking about another band they were members of later in their career, say, in the early eighties?

Thanks for any info!

mightycow said:

Eric Leeds was a member of a jazz band called On The Corner in the 1970s. Does anyone know if they recorded any material, or was it just a live outfit? Googling didn't get me far. Also, I know Atlanta Bliss & Eric Leeds used to be in the same band before hooking up with P. Can anybody confirm that Atlanta Bliss was also in On The Corner? Or are we talking about another band they were members of later in their career, say, in the early eighties?

Thanks for any info!

They both were members and may have first met as part of The Billy Price Band. http://www.billyprice.com/index.php Not sure about the time period but I want to say it was likely dring the early 80's.

^ Interesting info, thanks

More details from that site:

"...Settling back in Pittsburgh in the mid-70s, Price put together The Keystone Rhythm Band and toured incessantly throughout the mid-Atlantic region from 1978 until their demise in 1990. Price and KRB recorded several singles and four sparkling albums, two on Pittsburgh's Green Dolphin label, Is It Over? and They Found Me Guilty, and two on the Antenna label out of Philadelphia, Live! and Free at Last. During their 12-year run, several renowned musicians played in KRB, most notably jazz saxophonist Kenny Blake and former James Brown and Prince saxophonist Eric Leeds..."

Billy Price - East Coast ...-Eyed Soul

Soul Patrol: Thomas J. Cullen III

Copyright 1997 by Blues Revue Magazine.

Shango said:

^ Interesting info, thanks

More details from that site:

"...Settling back in Pittsburgh in the mid-70s, Price put together The Keystone Rhythm Band and toured incessantly throughout the mid-Atlantic region from 1978 until their demise in 1990. Price and KRB recorded several singles and four sparkling albums, two on Pittsburgh's Green Dolphin label, Is It Over? and They Found Me Guilty, and two on the Antenna label out of Philadelphia, Live! and Free at Last. During their 12-year run, several renowned musicians played in KRB, most notably jazz saxophonist Kenny Blake and former James Brown and Prince saxophonist Eric Leeds..."

Billy Price - East Coast ...-Eyed Soul

Soul Patrol: Thomas J. Cullen III

Copyright 1997 by Blues Revue Magazine.

I knew that Alan used to be James Brown´s tour manager but I never knew that Eric worked for James, too.

Great info! Thanks for all your help.

Eric and Matt "Atlanta Bliss" Blistan met as music students at Duquesne University. They played in ON THE CORNER, a Pittsburgh based bar band from 1976 to 1977. In 1977, ON THE CORNER morphed into another band called TAKIN' NAMES. TAKIN' NAMES a fusion/funk band became a red hot regional act, still based in Pittsburgh. They appeared on bills with FREDDIE HUBBARD and LARRY CORYELL among others. Blistan also made the move to TAKIN' NAMES. The drummer in TAKIN' NAMES, Howard "H.B." Bennett later played in a short lived edition of MADHOUSE. Neither ON THE CORNER nor TAKIN' NAMES had any commercially released recordings. In 1979, Bennett moved to New York where he joined J WALTER NEGRO & LOOSE JOINTZ - a group that added Eric's tenor sax to it's cult hit record, "Shoot The Pump". Meanwhile, Eric joined Billy Price's Keystone Rhythm Band in 1979 with whom he toured for three years. At the same time, Blistan co-led still another popular Pittsburgh bar band, the PARKER BROTHERS. Of course by 1983 Blistan and Leeds had reunited in Atlanta from where they eventually migrated to Minneapolis and the world of Purple.

ALANL said:

Eric and Matt "Atlanta Bliss" Blistan met as music students at Duquesne University. They played in ON THE CORNER, a Pittsburgh based bar band from 1976 to 1977. In 1977, ON THE CORNER morphed into another band called TAKIN' NAMES. TAKIN' NAMES a fusion/funk band became a red hot regional act, still based in Pittsburgh. They appeared on bills with FREDDIE HUBBARD and LARRY CORYELL among others. Blistan also made the move to TAKIN' NAMES. The drummer in TAKIN' NAMES, Howard "H.B." Bennett later played in a short lived edition of MADHOUSE. Neither ON THE CORNER nor TAKIN' NAMES had any commercially released recordings. In 1979, Bennett moved to New York where he joined J WALTER NEGRO & LOOSE JOINTZ - a group that added Eric's tenor sax to it's cult hit record, "Shoot The Pump". Meanwhile, Eric joined Billy Price's Keystone Rhythm Band in 1979 with whom he toured for three years. At the same time, Blistan co-led still another popular Pittsburgh bar band, the PARKER BROTHERS. Of course by 1983 Blistan and Leeds had reunited in Atlanta from where they eventually migrated to Minneapolis and the world of Purple.

That's a fantastic update, AlanL! Thanks for illustrating the history Eric and Matt share. I greatly appreciate it.

ALANL said:

Eric and Matt "Atlanta Bliss" Blistan met as music students at Duquesne University. They played in ON THE CORNER, a Pittsburgh based bar band from 1976 to 1977. In 1977, ON THE CORNER morphed into another band called TAKIN' NAMES. TAKIN' NAMES a fusion/funk band became a red hot regional act, still based in Pittsburgh. They appeared on bills with FREDDIE HUBBARD and LARRY CORYELL among others. Blistan also made the move to TAKIN' NAMES. The drummer in TAKIN' NAMES, Howard "H.B." Bennett later played in a short lived edition of MADHOUSE. Neither ON THE CORNER nor TAKIN' NAMES had any commercially released recordings. In 1979, Bennett moved to New York where he joined J WALTER NEGRO & LOOSE JOINTZ - a group that added Eric's tenor sax to it's cult hit record, "Shoot The Pump". Meanwhile, Eric joined Billy Price's Keystone Rhythm Band in 1979 with whom he toured for three years. At the same time, Blistan co-led still another popular Pittsburgh bar band, the PARKER BROTHERS. Of course by 1983 Blistan and Leeds had reunited in Atlanta from where they eventually migrated to Minneapolis and the world of Purple.

Thank you for clearing that up for us, Alan!

More info from the closest source possible. Thanks for sharing Mister Leeds!

Hey Alan,

If you're still checking this thread, I saw this concert at Glam Slam in 1993. Any idea who the backing band were for this show and were there other shows in the US or was this a one off? I don't recall recognizing anyone in the band that night. I remember Prince was there, but didn't play. Thanks.

[img:$uid]http://i616.photobucket.com/albums/tt249/dboen/Tickets/DSC00960.jpg[/img:$uid]

[Edited 2/29/12 17:15pm]

Many thanks Alan