Silver Queen was formed in early 1973 by guitarist Greg Sinners. The Hamilton area rock band first line-up included Sinners (ex-Icon) on rhythm guitar, with Tony Amarillo (bass), Chris Zang (drums, lead vocals), and Danny O’Toole (lead guitar, backing vocals). O’Toole and Sinners are first cousins. The group name Icon was retained by Sinners from his previous band. After learning of another group named Icon they needed to choose a new name. One member liked the glam-rock sound of the name Queen, one wanted Silver as a part of the name, another suggested using both. They became known as Silver Queen.
During the first year, Amarillo was replaced by Dave Tomasi on bass, and lead singer Bernie Hauser was added. Zang, Hauser and Tomasi left the group at various times for various reasons within the year or so. At this point Sinners and O’Toole re-formed the group with Keith Larsen on drums (ex-Bakersfield), Richard ‘Mouse’ Tamulonis (lead vocals ex-Bakersfield), and Jeff Slattery (bass ex-Sundance). Slattery was later replaced by Gary Peters on bass. This line-up stayed in place for about one and a half years and established the band on the Baltimore scene. ‘Mouse’ and Peters eventually left and were replaced by Mike Blondell (bass ex-David), and Rob Finecey (lead vocals ex-Visions of Red, Expedition). This line-up remained intact for about 1½ years. There were a series of other members who were in the group, most only for very short periods of time, but the above members had the most longevity.
Behind the scenes was light man Mike Canter who was with the group from the very beginning until about 1976. Sinners described Canter as “completely dedicated, frequently working for little or no pay and did his job more often as a labor of love and belief in the band.” “Canter had his own following of friends and fans and was as popular as anyone who played in the band.”
Silver Queen played rock/Top-40 extensively throughout the Teen Center and CYO circuits including St. Anthony’s, St. Gerard’s, St. Stephen’s CYO, Shrine of the Little Flower CYO…, Glen Burnie Armory, Perry Hall Battle of the Bands, UAW Hall and Unity Hall concerts, as well as colleges such as Towson State (at the school and on their Port Welcome cruises), Salisbury State, University of Maryland, University of Delaware and others. The group played many high school and junior high dances, local clubs such as the Holland House on Route 40, and The Act III, Painter’s Mill Music Fair… Regionally they frequented Martinsburg, West Virginia clubs such as The 11th Frame and The Club Lakewood, and southern Pennsylvania where they performed for many local volunteer firehouse dances in the New Freedom and York areas.
In early 1977 Sinners left the group. About 3 months later Finecey left the group, incoming members included Tom Smith (guitar), and Fran Bryant (lead vocals ex-Speedwaye), and within the year O’Toole also left the group.
Sinners went on to form several other groups including Tail Gunner, Shock Wave, and Dominatrix. He eventually moved to the southern Delaware beach area where he formed an acoustic trio called Newspaper Taxi. Bryant also became a co-founder of Tail Gunner. O’Toole served in the Navy for 8 years, then went on to retire from the Postal Service. In ‘00s he gigged as a solo artist and performed for church functions. Larsen continued performing on the Baltimore circuit including gigs with Lucifer, Killing Floor… In 1986 he and John Coale founded the Baltimore Drum Company, a world class drum designer and manufacturer, later known as Maryland Drum, then Mid-Atlantic Drum. Mouse moved to Florida in the early 1980’s where he continued to perform until suffering a fatal heart attack in 1999 at age 50. Zang’s later groups included Midnight Express… Finecey went on to join Appaloosa. Peters later worked with Ellis Woodward…
