Belclare Road

In 2007 Luke Dennis met Greg Fehrenkrug at a family party. At first, Luke didn't know what to make of the slightly younger California kid who used words like "sweet" and "dude" unironically. However, their friendship was solidified when the pair decided that it was within their best interests (and the best interest of every other partygoer, which included parents and some grandparents) for them to split a bottle of Blueberry Stoli vodka despite the copious amounts of beer present. Neither had much recollection of their own activities after the bottle was finished, but other guests admitted that they were entertaining. It was also noted that Greg's goodbye hug given to Luke's girlfriend lasted a little longer than they (or she) would have expected. Shortly afterwards Luke became a regular staple at Greg's party house, and began honing his skills in the fine art of beerpong. At one particular party, having both been beaten on the beerpong table, Luke and Greg played an impromptu jam session that seemed to go over well. Luke & Greg decided to make a habit out of downing some beers and playing some tunes for the next few months.

Eventually, Greg persuaded Luke to meet a friend of his who played the bass. Unknowingly to anyone present, BelClare Rd had been born. The first few meetings with bassist Matt Heid were split between playing tunes and shooting Heid's replica M-16 pellet rifle at a dart board, but eventually it was realized that the sound was good. After a few months of practice, the trio thought that they were ready to start gigging. After a small show, a friend suggested that a drummer may round out the sound. Not knowing any drummer's personally, Luke posted an ad on craigslist, and was immediately inundated with a slew of drummers, most of whom were in their 50s.

Eventually, the gorup received a promising response to the craigslist posting from a local drummer who indicated he had been playing for over a decade and even gave lessons. Wary of meeting someone they had met on craigslist, Luke, Greg and Matt approached Scott's house with understandable trepidation. Unsure if they were about to be killed and robbed, they knocked on the door. Heid was surprised to discover that he knew the drummer through a mutual friend and was fairly certain that he wasn't the type to murder people he lured in off of craigslist. Heid also told Luke and Greg that he had heard Scott play before, and that Scott was extremely good. An hour's worth of practicing later, it was confirmed that the drummer was very good, maybe even intimidatingly good. After accepting the offer to join up, Scott Gregory became the fourth member of the band.

Scott recognized early that a lead guitar player would be an essential addition to the roster, and the band went through a couple local guitar players, most notably Chris Montgomery who played the band's first two shows. During this time, Scott jammed with a lead guitar player that really impressed him, and asked him to come to a practice to see if he was a good fit. Luke, Heid and Greg arrived at the practice to find a long haired guy with a Zak Wylde t-shirt set up to play. As the metal kid began to shred, looks were exchanged around the room and it became non-verbally clear that if this guy was to want the job, he was in. He accepted, and Matt Huett became the final member of Belclare Road.

The band had a gig booked for one month after Huett joined the group, and while the original four member were confident that they were ready, they wanted to be sure that Huett was ready. It was a tall order, the set list included guitar solos by some of the best guitarists of all time, including Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, Eric Clapton and Warren Haynes. In the one month between Huett's arrival and the gig, Huett managed to learn all of the guitar parts perfectly, and the show was a huge success. After that, the band begun to play local shows regularly, eventually travelling to other parts of central IL and building a strong following that ranged from college kids to an older crowd that loved to hear classic tunes from their era.

The band named themselves Belclare Road after the street that they practiced on, and practiced hard to develop an eclectic and extensive song list. Today they are constantly working to freshen their set list by learning more and more songs, broadening their range that much further.