Avon, 1972-9
Molkie Cole was a high energy rock band that had a loyal following during their primary seven year existence. The band was made up of guys from the Avon area. Tim Cole (drums) and Paul Pope (lead guitar, vocals) were the founding members. The band included Pat Cole (bass), Phil James (guitar), and Bob Steinmetz (keyboards).
Molkie Cole were real road warriors. They played the usual 1970s circuit of Cleveland clubs, but they spent a good amount of time in places like Buffalo, NY and Erie, PA as well as the I-90 corridor west to Chicago. They worked hard and invested a lot in their stage show, which included some of the members in theatrical makeup.
In 1974 the band recorded a demo LP at Owl studios in Columbus. The demo includes 4 original songs. Only a handful (50 is the claim) were pressed, and only a couple known to exist (a studio owner's reference copy is owned by the editor). The sound is progressive melodic hard rock. The band used the demo to get a recording contract with Janus records in New York.
In 1977 the bands' only commercially released LP came out on Janus. The LP cover depicted the band escaping a burning barn, an event which really happened - the band's barn practice space did burn down, although they were not there at the time. The LP has a more commercial sound than the demo. There are some tight, catchy songs on the LP, but the label was heavily invested in promoting Al Stewart, who had a massive out of nowhere hit with "Year Of The Cat". The Molkie Cole LP was not pushed by the label enough. The songs on the LP such as "Steel Grapes" and "Sugar Boogie" were and remained big crowd favorites.
Unable to get further ahead, the group disbanded in 1979. After spending time in Los Angeles, Paul Pope formed a self named band and has continued to perform in the Cleveland area and in places were Molkie Cole had a following. He has released a few LPs/Cds of new music over the years. Molkie Cole has had periodic reunion shows.