Correction appended
A 40-year-old State College musical tradition has ended.
For the four regular members of the Phyrst Phamly, Saturday night sing-alongs at the Phyrst are no more.
Following a Dec. 20 altercation at the bar, 111 1/2 E. Beaver Ave., the former Phyrst Phamly Band has decided to move its Saturday shows to The Brewery, 233 E. College Ave.
The group played its first show at the new venue Saturday and will perform there at 10:30 p.m. each week, former Phamly member Jennifer Hesketh said. Because the Phamly name is still connected to the Phyrst, the group has renamed itself the Family Brew for its new gig.
The band and the bar cut ties after sparring last month over payment for a Saturday show at which three Phamly members performed in place of the usual four. According to an e-mail from Hesketh posted on a "Boycott the Phyrst" Facebook group, "As we were gathering our equipment to leave, the owner showed up at the bar, headed straight for [banjo player] Steve [McQuay] and shoved him. It then took two to three bartenders to break them apart."
The fight began after Phyrst management suggested paying the band less because not all of the band's members performed, according to the post.
Phyrst manager Mike Fullington said.
representatives from the Phyrst had no comment by press time Tuesday.
A statement released by the families of former Phyrst owner and band leader Ernie Oelbermann and Phyrst Phamly founder Terry Countermine said Saturday night "Phamly" shows are a Phyrst tradition and will continue with a new lineup. A new Phamly will resume the weekly Saturday sing-along this weekend.
"We wish this other band well," Kathy DiMuccio, Oelbermann's daughter, said. "We hope they do not take Phyrst Phamly songs with them, but there's not much we can do about that."
The statement released by the Oelbermann and Countermine families further explained their take on the situation.
"We have heard that the four band members intend to take the same songs and program, including the theme song, to a bar down the street and call themselves a different name, in an attempt to move the tradition from its 40 year home," the statement reads. "We don't believe it's theirs to take ... The Phyrst Phamly Band has a home. It's the Phyrst."
Hesketh said although Phyrst management invited the members to resume performing at the bar, none of the current regulars plan to return.
Hesketh declined to elaborate on the circumstances surrounding the band's split with the bar. She said the band is looking ahead rather than dwelling on the past.
"I love sing-along, and I want it to be a positive thing," Hesketh said. "We're going to continue at The Brewery and share with the audience the joy that we bring to the music."
Though it's unclear what exactly occurred on Dec. 20, some Saturday night Phyrst regulars were quick to support the former members of the Phamly. A Facebook group called "Boycott the Phyrst" appeared within a day of the incident. Group creator Kevin Roth, Class of 2007, said the group was a show of support for the band. At press time Tuesday, the group had 504 members.
"The Phyrst Phamly are all good friends of mine," Roth said. "There are a lot of rumors circulating, and some things went down. I'm just trying to support my friends. They're moving on to bigger and better things."
As a student at Penn State, Roth joined the Air Force ROTC, a group with a tradition of attending the sing-along.
"They all knew we were Air Force," Roth said. "The Phamly would go out of their way to say 'hi' to us, and they learned how to play the Air Force song."
The band has been in the business of making memories for more than 40 years. Founded by Countermine in 1969, the Phyrst Phamly quickly became a Saturday night tradition in State College.
Besides Saturday nights at the Phyrst, the band became a staple of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts and Thon. Penn State President Graham Spanier has even been known to sit in with the band and play the washboard.
Since its inception, the Phamly has had about 41 different members.
"It's a revolving door with the band," Hesketh said. "New people would bring new songs to the band. It was very much interactive with the crowd. They would sing along as much as we would sing. Sometimes the crowd was louder."
In keeping with the tradition of rotating band members, current Phyrst co-owner Tommy Wareham said the Phamly would be rebuilt with new members. He said talented performers from the Phyrst's weekly Monday open mic night might be asked to join the band.
Correction: An editing error led to incorrect information in this article. The Phyrst Phamly will continue to perform on Saturday nights at the Phyrst, 111 1/2 E. Beaver Ave., but will be composed of different members.
