A Galesburg band that’s been making music together for 40 years is reuniting Sunday — and they’re doing it for the Orpheum.
Second Mortgage and the Sofa Kings will perform “Paid in Full,” a 40th anniversary reunion concert, at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 17 at the Historic Orpheum Theatre in Galesburg. Every dollar raised goes directly to benefit the Orpheum.
Harry Bulkeley, Bobby Dillard, and Reuel Owen joined Galesburg’s Morning News Tuesday morning to talk about the reunion, the music, and what brought them back after 13 years. Listen to the full interview below.
Back after 13 years
The last time Second Mortgage performed together was 2013. The reunion didn’t come together on its own — it took some convincing, and a lot of practice.
“The only reason you do this is to have fun,” Bulkeley said. “We got the opportunity to do this for the Orpheum. I talked to everybody in the band and they said, ‘Sure, let’s do it one more time.'”
Dillard said they quickly learned the rust wasn’t going to shake itself off. “I don’t think it’s going to be quite that easy,” he recalled telling Bulkeley. “I think maybe we ought to practice a little bit.” He was right.
Returning original members Gary Stevens and Steve Flickinger will join the rhythm section of Owen, Dan Leahy, Tom Martin, and Sheldon Mandel. Vocalists Dillard and Sandy Kuster front the band.
How the sound evolved
Second Mortgage formed in 1986, starting with the Beatles, Beach Boys, and Rolling Stones. The sound shifted dramatically when the Sofa Kings — a four-piece horn section — came aboard in the early 1990s.
Bulkeley recruited Scott Garlock from Knox College, who brought in Manny Lopez and Larry Harms for a recording session. The chemistry was immediate, and the horn section became a permanent part of the band.
“When the horns come in, it just fills in all the frequencies and it just sounds so much better,” Owen said. “It’s more fun to play.”
The horns opened the door to soul and R&B — Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, The Temptations — and the band never looked back.
The setlist
Sunday’s show draws from Chicago, The Temptations, Linda Ronstadt, Blood Sweat & Tears, the Ides of March, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and more. The concert closes with Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4.”
“That’s one you can just put on repeat and listen over and over again,” Dillard said.
Tickets and details
The concert is general admission. Tickets are a $20 minimum donation, with all proceeds going directly to benefit the Historic Orpheum Theatre. The band will also sell archival CDs at the show — $20 each or two for $10.
Purchase tickets in advance at GalesburgOrpheum.org or walk up at 1 p.m. Sunday. Call the Orpheum box office at (309) 342-2299, Tuesday–Friday, 10 a.m.–2 p.m.
