A History of Rock and Roll on Long Island
Off-Hour Rockers
Off-Hour Rockers never made the big-time, although Jackie Martling, their guitarist, songwriter, and now part of Howard Stern's crew, tried hard...real hard.
As this story goes, Off-Hour Rockers were just a hard-working local bar band. Jackie hooked up with a promoter from New Mexico. He offered the group a tour of New Mexico's best clubs. They were to drive to New Mexico, play one club and then move on to the next town. The money was good, not great, but it was an opportunity to expand their audience, their name and their chops.
So they pooled their money and headed west. On arriving in New Mexico, they played the first gig that night. To put it politely, they were not well received. In fact, the promoter reneged on his offer. Off-Hour Rockers were stuck in New Mexico with no money and no gigs.
The band scrounged for gigs and bought food with food stamps. Times were hard. Jackie, ever his best promoter, began to send postcards to his fan-base on Long Island. For month after month, the postcards arrived, each proclaiming the success Off-Hour Rockers was enjoying. Okay, so he elaborated a little. But what was the harm? Whom on Long Island knew the truth?
Finally, deep into autumn, the band raised enough money to return home. First, Jackie contacted Jimmy Thurston, owner of RumRunner's of Oyster Bay, asking for a special homecoming gig. Jimmy agreed to a Saturday night in November. Jackie went into high gear notifying his fans of "The Triumphant Return Of Off-Hour Rockers."
Of course, you know the end to this story. On that Saturday night, RumRunner's sold out. The crowd spilled into the street. They loved the band. So did RumRunner's and Off-Hour Rockers was offered the weekly Saturday night headline spot.
Off-Hour Rockers played RumRunner's for nearly eight months. Jackie's tune, "The Marijuana Song" became an anthem. And, between sets, Jackie worked on his stand-up routine.
Click here for Jackie Martling's 
jokeland.com
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