Guitarist Charlie Ludwig moved to Ellicott City in 1977. His new neighbor Eddie Voland heard him playing and singing along with his Lynyrd Skynyrd records. Eddie asked Charlie if he would like to put a few songs together to play for an upcoming party.
Along with his new friends and newly formed group which consisted of Charlie (lead vocals), Eddie (rhythm guitar), Craig Voland (lead guitar), Steve Smith (bass), and Jeff Wall (drums), they put together several songs for the party to be performed as a fill-in during the breaks of the headlining band. At the party the crowd loved the music – making them repeat their short repertoire over and over all night.
After the party, they decided that they had something special, so they began working on putting together a playlist that consisted of predominately Skynyrd songs along with some other favorites such as Hendrix and Grand Funk.
In 1977 Eddie left the band. He was replaced with guitarist Rick Fonger. Jeff Wall also left and was replaced with drummer Lou Walsh. Dragonfly evolved into the ultimate Howard County party band performing very popular and convincing southern rock covers. They played often at the Howard Place, Ned’s Place, Hidden Valley, Marble Bar, Back of the Vac… The early years saw them performing at many private parties, field parties, the Hillbilly Mansion, Howard County Fairgrounds… and a huge 1980 Elkridge party given by Nick Ferraro and Joe Vaccarino that made headlines on the front page of the Howard County Times.
Charlie Ludwig, Lou Walsh, Craig Voland
Above: Charlie Ludwig Dave Clay. Craig Voland Rick Fonger
Critter, Charlie Lou
Bass guitarist Dennis Fonger aka ‘Critter’ sometimes accompanied the band on stage. Lighting and sound were managed by Jim Ward and John Shinham (aka ‘Check’).
Left to Right: Steve Smith, Craig Voland, Charlie Ludwig, Lou Walsh, Rick Fonger. Photo courtesy of John Shinham
Photos above: Charlie, Lou, Craig, Rick, Steve Lou, Charlie, Craig, Rick, Steve
Ticket stubs from Joe V. Collection:
(off of stage left, hi Amanda and Dave!)
The band eventually split up and members went on to form Jagged Edge.
Rick Fonger later joined the southern rock band Nuthin’ Fancy (‘82-84). The band became known as the Jesse Clay Band in the mid-’80s with guitarist Dave Clay.
After living in Florida for a few years, Ludwig returned and went on to play bass / vocals in the Sykesville based Cottonmouth Band. They released a CD in 1998 “Ready, Willin’ and Able” (TLR-001). Since then, he performed with the bands Under the Sun, Sharpmack Daddy, Ludwig-Carter Band, Bone Dri, and Roll the Dice.
