HOWARD Rego, one of Bermuda's living musical legends, is on a mission to bring quality live entertainment back to the island. Tonight and tomorrow, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., the world-class drummer will be leading his show band the Booze Brothers at the Bermuda Society of Arts Gallery (BSoA).

The Booze Brothers is an eight-piece soul band that takes its name, look and music from the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers starring Dan Aykroyd and the late John Belushi. The film itself was a spin-off from a series of popular Saturday Night Live sketches that allowed Belushi and Aykroyd to introduce classic R&B songs to a new generation backed by such outstanding R&B talents as Steve (The Colonel) Cropper ¿ lead and rhythm guitarist for Booker T & the MG's - and Willie (Too Big) Hall ¿ who played drums and percussion for the Bar-Kays, Isaac Hayes' band.

The movie centres around brothers, Jake (Belushi) and Elwood (Aykroyd) Blues, who embark on what they believe is a mission from God to save the Catholic orphanage where they were raised by putting their old band back together and holding a gala benefit. The film features a plethora of hit R&B songs the Booze Brothers include in their repetoire such as Everybody Needs Somebody to Love, Gimme Some Lovin and Let The Good Times Roll by Louis Jordan. In keeping with the movie's "raising money for a good cause" theme, the Booze Brothers shows are raising money to benefit BSoA.

Howard Rego spoke with Mid-Ocean News this week about the upcoming shows and his successful career as drummer both here and abroad.

"The inspiration to do the Booze Brothers is the music itself," said Mr. Rego. "The type of music is so funky; it's so rhythmic and layered in so many different parts that it makes it a natural choice for musicians to play.

"It's something real musicians can sink their teeth into and have fun with. The Booze Brothers is just a play on words from the movie The Blues Brothers and is not intended to offend anyone."

Other members of the Booze Brothers show band are veteran Bermudian performers Tamahl Gorham, Max Maybury, Graham Maule, Ronnie Lopes, Stan Gilbert, Tony Bari and "Doc" Simons.

Mr. Rego said he has been interested in music ever since he was a young boy. His father, who played the saxophone, was perhaps the greatest influence on the future drumming star.

"My father was very much in love with music himself," Mr. Rego said. "He played in some of the old fashioned orchestra in the old days, a 10-to-15 piece swing band playing music from the '40s.

"My father took me to rehearsals and I got to see the group practice. So I got into music because it was always around."

Mr. Rego remembers how he first became interested in drums and percussion.

"I was eight years old," he said. "One day my father was playing the saxophone and he said 'Son, start beating on that case of mine.'

"He was talking about his saxophone case which had the greatest sound. I started banging away on the saxophone case and he started playing military marches. I started to play in time with him and that's when something clicked."

At age nine Mr. Rego received his first pair of drumsticks and within a year he was studying and playing drums and performing in the Mount Saint Agnes (MSA) school band. Mr. Rego proved to be such a prodigy the school asked him to form a military drum corps that would perform for seniors at the school.

"I was in grade four and I would be taken upstairs to play for the 11th and 12th grade Glee Club," said Mr. Rego. "I figured I was on to something here and that's how it all started."

In 1963, at age 13, Mr. Rego was playing in bands with a full set of drums. He remembers that year fondly: "I was mesmerised by anything musical. I learned as much as I could. I was a huge Elvis fan and then The Beatles came on the scene. They came on the scene and the music just took off."

Shortly after that Mr. Rego would join the band known as "The Beatles of Bermuda", The Savages.

"I was 13 and I had a part-time job making venetian blinds," said Mr. Rego. "One day Bobby Zuill, the bass player for The Savages, and Roddy Marshall, one of the brains behind the group, and Paul Muggleton, the guitarist, show up at my job and say they are looking for a new drummer for their band. I'm 13 years old and went to audition with them and they were over the moon by my playing and I became the new drummer for The Savages. At first we played smaller jobs like church halls and then it snowballed into major work."

Mr. Rego said as a kid growing up in Bermuda there was nothing better than being a teen rock star. "We got hired to play six nights a week at an old nightclub off Front Street on Burnaby Street called Guinea Discotheque. We played from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. and gained a lot of experience from that and we really honed our skills."

His family's reaction to him becoming an in-demand musician at such a young age is something Mr. Rego describes as "pure joy and pure pride and pure backing of me. As a musician himself my father was overjoyed at seeing his son making a living playing music."

Mr. Rego said The Savages remained a top local act throughout the early-to-mid 1960s and they played continuously all over the island, enabling him to hone his skills to a near-professional level.

And in 1963 he first met fellow Bermudian musician Andy Newmark, who would later go on to become one of the most successful drummers in the music industry, playing with a Who's Who list of top talent including Sly & The Family Stone, John Lennon, David Bowie and Roxy Music. Mr. Rego said this life- and career-changing encounter proved to be one of the most important nights in his life.

"One night we were playing a gig at an old club the Bermudiana Beach Club on South Shore," said Mr. Rego. "We were taking a break from setting up and were sitting around outside and all of a sudden this skinny little kid comes over to me and says, 'Look, I'd like to come in. Can I come in with you and pretend I'm in the band?' I got a nice vibe and said, 'Alright man, help me bring these drums in and some of the equipment and we'll just tell them you're with the band.'

"I wasn't sure of his name yet, but he helped us and after we set up The Savages were outside having a smoke break. All of a sudden I hear this pretty impressive drumming going on."

Mr. Rego didn't know who was playing his drums but aimed to find out quickly. "I said, 'Who the heck is playing my drums?' I gun inside and it's the skinny little kid. That kid was Andy Newmark at 13 playing great and we would go on from there to become great friends. I say the most important day in my career and in my life was that day in 1963 in the parking lot of the Bermudiana Beach Club meeting Andy Newmark."

The success of The Savages grew to the point their name became synonymous with entertainment in Bermuda. Eventually local producer Eddie DeMello approached them to make a record - the album they cut sold thousands of copies to both Bermudians and visiting American teenagers during College Weeks and spawned a song that sit atop the Bermuda charts for six weeks.

Eventually The Savages grew so big that their management decided it was time for them to play in the United States.

They played in influential clubs of the time such as Steve Paul's Scene in New York City. During that engagement in particular - which also featured Jimi Hendrix and The Doors on the same bill - The Savages would play to packed and enthusiastic houses.

In 1968 The Savages broke up and Mr. Rego moved to New York City to play in a band called The Gold Rush. He played with the group for two years and then decided to attend Boston's Berklee School of Music. "I decided it was time to do some studying so I went to Berklee School of Music for two years," he said. "While I was there I lived in Andy Newmark's old apartment which was right next door to Berklee. I met some amazing musicians who are still friends of mine today.

"I joined a band called Chemistry and these guys were world class musicians. Highly competent studied musicians and I got in there 'cause I'm funky and could play because I'd been playing professionally for years. I wasn't on their level yet, but joining up with them helped me learn and I was introduced to Jazz, Sambas, Latin, Bebop and all kinds of exotic stuff.

"When I hit Berklee I was mesmerised by all the other textures of music. I had to go with it and I put my rock and roll days behind me and went with the jazz cats."

While playing with Chemistry Mr. Rego appeared at such prestigious venues as the Boston Symphony Hall. Before performing at that historic venue, Mr. Rego was down in the basement looking around when he came across a piano tuner. That piano tuner turned out to be his old drum teacher from MSA.

"He was thrilled to know that a former student of his was playing at Boston Symphony Hall," said Mr. Rego. "The odds of him being there tuning pianos three stories down in Boston Symphony Hall at the same time I was there are astronomical."

After two years Mr. Rego moved to New York City where his star rose. He played on Broadway for the musical The Rocky Horror Show, an opportunity that was arranged by his friend Andy Newmark.

In his early-to-mid 20s Mr. Rego performed with a progressive rock outfit called Stardrive, which recorded for the Elektra and Columbia labels. He also toured with legendary musicians Peter Frampton and Sly & the Family Stone. Playing to stadium crowds of up to 40, 000 was a thrill for Mr. Rego whose star now shone brightly.

Speaking about his experience with Peter Frampton Mr. Rego said: "Peter's drummer got really sick and Andy Newmark got the call but he was to busy to do it and he recommended me.

"I went and auditioned with Peter and they said 'You'll do just fine.' There were jets and limos to every venue and I was having a great time touring all over the US. I had the luxury and pleasure with playing on a big stage with the average audience size of around 20,000. A few months later after the tour ended with Peter Frampton, Andy Newmark called and asked if I'd be interested in taking over for him on drums with Sly. I said 'Set it up, partner' and the rest is history."

Mr. Rego now lives in Bermuda full time and in recent years has produced MusicQuest, a series of musical shows at The Bermuda Musical & Dramatic Society.

Mr. Rego has some sage advice for young Bermudians out there looking to get into the music industry.

"I'm not saying I made it big, it's just the life and times and journey of a kid from Paget, Bermuda," he said. "I think it's an inspirational story for kids to hear and they can walk away from it saying 'That really happened to somebody from here?' and that kind of stuff. It's a great story for kids coming up to hear about the passion and drive of a kid.

"I believe if you want to make a real go of it then I believe in going to Berklee.

"I believe in getting out of Bermuda and going to Berklee and staying loyal to your craft. Get in a band and work nightly to hone your skills as a player. Kill a venue and you kill a band. You need the venues and clubs and you need experience in order to grow. There's no greater teacher than experience."

Mr. Rego is thrilled to be putting on the upcoming Booze Brothers show and said the buzz surrounding the event is fantastic.

"The response to the upcoming Booze Brothers show has been amazing," he said. "Generally Bermudians are inclined to buy tickets at the last minute but here we are two and a half weeks before showtime and we're sold out for the Friday night show and Saturday is selling quickly.

"We are over the moon about this whole thing."