Sun Herald
Steven J. Smith

08/20/07

The boys and girl in the band

A local band called Snake Oil Bandits, comprised of school kids, a doctor and a physical therapist is gaining traction -- and has been booked to open for the main band, Vertigo, at Pioneer Days.

ENGLEWOOD -- The gigs have been slithering in lately for Snake Oil Bandits, a local rock band made up of the unlikely combination of four school kids, a doctor and a physical therapist.

Dr. David Gooding, 47, together with his boys Chris, 12, Sean, 14 and Kyle, 16, started playing just for fun a couple of years ago.

When they joined forces with physical therapist Liz Krupa, 49 and her 14-year-old son Stephen, they quickly realized they had a band.

"We played the Bean Depot in El Jobean," Krupa said. "Packed them in. We just booked a four-hour gig in Fishermen's Village in Punta Gorda on Aug. 25 and we're going to be opening for Vertigo, the main band on Pioneer Day."

Krupa said the band knows about 50 songs. She confessed she was primarily a classical musician before joining the group.

"We play a lot of rock," Krupa said. "Creedence Clearwater Revival, some Tom Petty, some Elvis. For two old farts and a bunch of young kids, we're actually pretty good!"

The band's name evolved from Gooding's medical background, he said.

"I wanted to tie it to medicine," Gooding said. "Back in the old days, snake oil supposedly cured everything. And I always liked the word bandit."

Krupa said the band has been raising a lot of eyebrows.

"At the first gig we had, Dave went up to the bar to get some food for the kids," Krupa said. "The bartender said sorry, we just feed the band. Dave said, the kids are the band!"

Looks of dread on the faces of the wait staff quickly turned to smiles of admiration when the band started playing, Krupa remembered.

Krupa said it has been a bit of a challenge booking gigs with a band of school-aged kids holding varied interests.

"My son races go-carts, so sometimes he's gone on the weekends," Krupa said. "Kyle Gooding is really into Boy Scouts. So there are those things we have to work around."

The future for Snake Oil Bandits is a little murky.

"Kyle will be going off to college in two years, so we can continue to do this for a while," Krupa said. "After that, it's anybody's guess."

In the meantime, the band plans to make hay -- and music -- while the sun shines.

You can e-mail Steven J. Smith at ssmith@sun-herald.com.

By STEVEN J. SMITH

Staff Writer