Corky Laing & Kofi Baker to Perform at Bay Street Theater, 2/27

Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center for the Arts is pleased to announce The Ultimate Classic Rock Experience, a concert on Friday, February 26 at 8 pm. Tickets are $25 and available online at www.baystreet.orgor by calling the Bay Street Theater Box Office at 631-725-9500, open Tuesday through Saturday 11 am to 5 pm.

Revisit the glory days of the 60s and 70s rock and get firsthand accounts from TWO influential musicians; Corky Laing of Mountain (Mississippi Queen and Silver Paper) and Kofi Baker, son of the legendary drumming icon Ginger Baker. Sample hits from both Mountain and Cream then seize the opportunity to join in on a Q&A with two incredible drummers.

While Corky Laing is best known as the powerhouse rock drummer, he also created the group Mountain with Felix Pappalardi and Leslie West. His career has lasted well past the super group where he made his name. In 1961, Laing landed a gig with the famous soul doo wop vocal group the Ink Spots, but moved into rock & roll with the band Energy, produced by a young Felix Pappalardi. Laing left Energy in 1969, replacing drummer N.D. Smart and joining electric bass guitarist Pappalardi and guitarist Leslie West in Mountain, who along with Cream and Blue Cheer, became one of the seminal power trios in modern heavy psychedelic rock music. Mountain released three albums in two years on the independent Windfall label and produced the mega-hitMississippi Queen, written by Corky. But Pappalardi went on hiatus while Laing and West formed West, Bruce & Laing with former Cream bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, producing two studio albums and a live release for the Polydor label. Mountain re-formed in 1974, issued two more albums, and broke up again. In late 1975, Laing played congas for several tracks on Bo Diddley's all-star album The 20th Anniversary of Rock N' Roll. Mountain again reassembled in 1985 and Laing has a working relationship with them. In 2003, Laing and West produced Nantucket Sleighride & Other Mountain On-The-Road Stories, a historical overview of their time with Mountain and tales of touring. 2007 kept Laing busy, recording Stick It, an audio version of his memoirs with Cory Bruyea. Mountain also turned out a Bob Dylan cover album Masters of War. West continued with a solo career throughout, while Laing has collaborated with John Lennon, Bobby Keyes, Ten Years After, David Rea, Mylon LeFevre, Meat Loaf, Frank Marino, and Mahogany Rush, Cork, Eric Schenkman (ex-Spin Doctors) and bassist Noel Redding, formerly of the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

As the son of legendary drumming icon Ginger Baker, Kofi Baker has a name that's synonymous with drumming excellence. Kofi lives up to his name; with his outstanding skills, drive, and dedication he continues the great Baker legacy. Kofi's first live performance was with his father on the UK television show The Old Grey Whistle Test - at just six years of age he proved he had inherited more than just his father's name. In the early 80's, Kofi and his father played drum duets throughout Europe, amazing audiences with complex African polyrhythms. Later, Kofi toured with John Ethridge (Soft Machine), and gigged in London with Steve Waller (Manfred Mann), and with Randy California (Spirit). He also toured Europe with Steve Marriot's Humble Pie. During the 1990's Kofi toured with Jack Bruce in Budapest; signed with Scotty Brothers Records when he recorded the album Lost City; recorded Abstract Logic with Jonas Hellborg and Shawn Lane; and toured extensively - including more drum duets with Ginger Baker. More recently Kofi has completed The Extreme Guitar Tour with Uli Jon Roth -Former Scorpions lead guitarist, Vinny Appice - DIO, Black Sabbath, Rick Derringer, John Lennon, and Vinnie Moore - Lead guitarist with UFO.

Tickets available online at www.baystreet.org, or by calling the Bay Street Theater Box Office at 631-725-9500. The Box Office is open Tuesday through Saturday 11 am to 5 pm. The Ultimate Classic Rock Experience is sponsored by Dan's Papers and WEHM 92.9/96.9.