Highway 49 Kicks Out the Jams

Rocking out on stage is a childhood dream for many, but one few see come to fruition.

However, Artie Webb, 38, of Lindenhurst, manages to keep his dream alive several times every month with his popular local three-man cover band, Highway 49.

Webb has an impressive musical resume, having met and jammed with some of the best in the business including Leslie West and Corky Laing of Mountain and Malcolm Bruce, son of legendary rocker Jack Bruce of Cream.

"I started playing guitar when I was around 12," Webb said. "After about 15, 20 years, I switched to bass. I joined a couple of bands as a bass player, and then in 2007 I met my guitar player (Tim Castoro, 27) through a Craigslist ad, and we formed the band Highway 49."

Drummer Tony Cianciotto, 42, rounds out the trio.

Webb notes that he and Castoro share vocal duties, although his guitarist tends to get a bit more time on the mic overall.

"He'll sing 20 songs, and I'll sing 10," he said. "When I'm not singing lead, I'm backing Tim up."

When it comes to rock-and-roll cover bands, one may normally picture small neighborhood bars filled with college kids, not the rolling green hills of Long Island wine country. Yet, nine times out of 10, that's where you'll find the members of Highway 49 plying their trade.

"We like playing out there because one, they pay more," he said with a laugh. "And two, we don't have to worry about having to bring people down. A lot of these local clubs and bars, they all want you to guarantee that you'll bring a certain number of people in the door before they'll pay you. [With] the wineries, I don't have to bring a single person down there; they have their own following."

Webb continued: "It's a nicer atmosphere, and the hours are great. By seven o'clock at night, I'm home watching Gunsmoke."

Of course, such a cushy gig doesn't come easy; Webb and his cohorts had to pound the pavement before one of the wineries gave them a break. But after the first one, their skills generated word of mouth, and soon Highway 49 found themselves with plenty of work — part-time, that is.

"We average between four to eight gigs a month, some local, some out east," Webb said. "During the day, we're all sanitation workers."

Despite currently only being a cover band, Webb says that Highway 49 draws from a surprisingly diverse selection of influences when it comes to their playlists.

"We do everything from R&B, blues, classic rock, dance...we originally started out as a blues band, but we really weren't getting that far with it," he said. "That's when we started adding all sorts other stuff."

He added that, "Our greatest influence is Cream. Also The Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Mountain...and when it comes to blues, you've got John Lee Hooker, B.B. King."

In fact, Webb and his band mates are currently mulling over the possibility of writing some of their own tunes in the near future.

"We were hoping to get into the South Shore Music Festival this year," he said. "But they don't book cover bands, [so] we're going to start working on some original stuff."

In the end Webb just wants Highway 49 to be known as a band that gives the people what they want.

"We're very volume controlled...that's what we're known for," he said. "When we're playing, you can actually sit down and have a conversation with somebody...until the people want us to turn it up so they can start dancing. We always please the crowd."

Next up for is Dockside Café in West Babylon on March 26. Details for that show and other upcoming dates can be found on the band’s website.