Streetkar is a group of professional musicians that have been the cornerstone of great events for almost 40 years.
Whether your event is a Corporate Event, Fundraiser, Wedding, Festival or Private Party, Streetkar PROVIDES THE BEST ROCK & ROLL and motown FROM THE 50'S, 60'S, 70'S & 80'S. we specialize in keeping your guests on the dance floor all night!
Streetkar features Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, Drums, sax, trumpet and lead and harmony Vocalists in its standard line up.
we guarantee an enjoyable and memorable occasion!

to book streetkar for your event contact
lane sewell at 205.910.6899

Okay, where does it start...? Let's pick a year. How about... 1984! It was a very good book and a very good year as well because that is the year that four rejects from the 70's band Cirkus decided that there actually was LIFE after sex, drugs and Rock & Roll. Well... there was life after sex and drugs anyway. That LIFE was and is called Streetkar, and the Rock & Roll has never stopped.

Streetkar was formed by Lane Sewell, Don Melton, Ron Naramore and David Hulsey. Although among themselves they had the voices to get by, they knew they needed someone to handle the weight of the main lead vocals so Tim Dodgen was invited to join them. Tim was a good blues vocalist and a hell of a good harp player. These guys started jamming, but the jobs just weren't coming their way so David suggested that they start playing "oldies".

At that time there was really only one band on the local scene playing that style of music. With that knowledge Streetkar started working up a lot of 50's and 60's music with a little 70's thrown in for good measure. It didn't take long before the word got out and Streetkar started playing a few more gigs here and there. It was a good time for all but in 1986, Tim decided to leave the band. For a couple of years they kept it a foursome. They picked up gigs here and there playing for Customized Van Club reunions, Elk Clubs and the like. In 1988 Barry Graham joined the band as lead vocalist and Streetkar seemed to have found its voice.

With Barry's great voice in the lead spot the band really took off. The band started picking up some of the more exclusive country club gigs and corporate parties, as well as becoming a staple at some local clubs like Smokey Joe's and The Ox. Today, only Lane remains from that fateful and fortunate time. Don Melton (bass) and Ron Naramore (guitar and keyboards) left the band in 1994. In that same year Gary Neighbors took over the bass duties, while John Morris came in to fill the keyboard void and play a little guitar on the side. This presents us with the core of what Streetkar is today.

As a side note, John and Gary have a bit of pre-history with this line up as well. Back in 1976 there was a little band called Tower. John and Gary were the respective keyboard guy and bassist for that band. Not only that, but David was the drummer and Barry was the lead singer with Michael Hill working sound. More on that later. Over the course of a couple of years personnel changed and the aforementioned Don Melton became the bass player for Tower and he brought Lane into the band with him. Now you can see what is developing here... Tower morphed into what became Cirkus... which is where this story began.

Okay... Now on with that story... ! One night in 1997, Streetkar was performing at The Superior Grill when in walked none other than Michael Mershon Hill. Now first you have to realize that Mike actually has a long history with the current Streetkar lineup as well. This is the guy who worked sound and generally got things done in both Tower and Cirkus. I guess you could say he's another reject from the 70's like the rest of us. Anyway, prior to Mike showing up that night, Gary had been doing a pretty good job taking care of the sound mix. Especially when you consider that he was playing bass, singing backup vocals, walking out front to determine that things didn't sound quite right, walking back to the stage to turn a couple of knobs on the console just in time to sing a couple more harmony lines. The fact that the lead guitarist was threatening to cut his paycheck because he couldn't hear himself just added to the joy. All this changed that night because that was the night that Mike Hill rejoined the Rock 'n Roll ranks with Streetkar. Barry continued to carry the lead vocals for a few years, but in 2000 he moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi. Barry tried to continue working with the band, but the commute just was too long and eventually he had to leave the band.

At this point Streetkar knew that good singers that you could get by with were a dime a dozen, but Barry had set a pretty high standard. Enter Skip Genery. With big shoes to fill, Skip stepped right into those shoes and became an absolutely awesome addition to the band. As one of the best pure Rock 'n Roll singers in the area, Skip certainly helped carry Streetkar forward to what it has become today. During Skip's break in period, Streetkar knew they needed some help and since they also knew that Mike, yes the sound guy, had some singing experience they asked him to fill in on some lead vocals. Not only did he fill in, he went WAY beyond the call of duty. Mike's voice became an integral part of the Streetkar sound both as a lead vocalist, and as a harmony singer on almost everything else. He is also the guy who usually talks between the songs mainly because we simply can't shut him up! Must have come from his past DJ experience. That was plenty okay with the rest of the band because nobody else liked to talk anyway.

Skip was great, but after a couple of years it became clear that Skip was felt he was pretty much bigger than Streetkar, so he got married and left to start his own all-star Rock 'n Roll band in 2002. Streetkar knew that Skip was good and they were pretty sure he could handle being the main attraction. Be that as it may, Streetkar went about its own business of finding another lead singer. Enter James Clark.

It is a rare moment when a man who can sing the phonebook comes to work with a little Rock 'n Roll band in Birmingham, Alabama. Fortunately for Streetkar, that singer also lived in Birmingham, Alabama. James showed up for his first gig at Inverness Country Club and absolutely knocked everyone's socks off!. Streetkar always knew they had the instrumental parts down, but once again they had another singer who could sing absolutely anything, in absolutely any style you might want it. Finally, Streetkar was complete! Guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, soundman/vocalist and a great lead singer. What else could a band need?

Well, here is the kicker...... One day we got a call from a man who had seen us perform at the Gardendale Civic Center for a concert in 2012. He said he loved our sound and wanted to hire Streetkar to play for a private party he was having in celebration of his 50th birthday, however, he had one stipulation, he wanted a saxophone in addition to the instrumentation we already had! We told him that we'd never had a sax with the band before and really didn't know anyone who played well enough to fit in with Streetkar's style of music! "Well", he said, "I know a saxophone player who is very good and I think would fit perfectly with your band! His name is Danny Fravel and if everyone agrees to it, I want him to play with Streetkar at my party!"

Needless to say, we were all a bit skeptical about letting someone just come in with no rehearsals and play with us! After all, we had been together for quite awhile and our arrangements had undergone a lot of honing,tweaking and fine tuning over the years. If this sax player isn't as good as the man thinks he is, it could mean disaster for our sound and potentially hurt our reputation! After doing a little research, we learned that Danny Fravel had been around for awhile and was not a newcomer to the music business, to say the least. Everyone in the band discussed it, and even though we were still skeptical, we decided to give it a go.

Danny Fravel showed up for the gig, introduced himself and broke out his horn. Just listening to him warm up sounded promising, but still, we weren't sure how he would fit in with our arrangements. Well, by the time the evening was over, we were all sold! It was like Danny had always been with us. The sax added another dimension to the band that we did not know we were missing. Danny has been a permanent member of the Streetkar family ever since!

They say that everything that's old is new again, and so it is with Streetkar. After 17 glorious years of wowing audiences everywhere, James Clark decided it was time to move on. Almost at the same time, Mike Hill decides to retire from his day job AND the band! He and his bride bought an RV and hit the road whenever the mood strikes them. While we were happy for Mike, now we had no lead singer at all. What to do?

After a 20 year absence, we are very fortunate to have our original singer Barry Graham rejoin Streetkar! Everything with Barry was as if he never left, and wowed everyone from the moment he hit the stage. Around the time Barry rejoined, trumpet great Lester Harris joined Streekar, giving Streetkar a full blown horn section! Barry has always been known for his silky tone and delivery. He also has always had ironclad vocal chords, able to deliver a stellar performance even when he was sick..... until one fateful day.

Literally hours before an important engagement, Barry texted in sick. Texted because he could not even speak. Going through his mental rolodex Lane came up with the only name he could think of who could pull this off. Enter Roger Bailey, vocalist and keyboardist extraordinaire who Lane had performed with in decades past. Roger and Streetkar performed a three hour show with the audience begging for more! Roger was hired on the spot, and is now an integral member of Streetkar.

2020 started with a bang. We had lots of gigs on the books with more coming in every day then BAAAMMM......Covid. Suddenly almost every gig was canceled and people were focusing on staying healthy, not partying. Sadly, during this awful time David decided he needed for focus on other things and left the band. Fortunately for us the great Glenn Word, still another person we went to high school with and former bandmate of Lane's joined the fold. Now that Covid seems to be in the review mirror, the calendar is filling up again. We are locked and loaded and ready to rock! Give us a call.

In October 2024 the unthinkable happened, we lost our lead singer and friend of 50+ years Barry Graham to prostate cancer after a long and brave battle. We will NEVER forget his kind spirit and beautiful voice.

We are very fortunate to have long time music veteran Ken Gilmer to fill the void on lead vocals with his great voice and onstage presence!

How could Lane and David have ever known that the little band they started way back in 1984 would not only survive, but thrive beyond anyone's expectations. Like I said earlier, 1984 WAS a good book, but an even better year. To all of those who have followed Streetkar for over three decades, a great big THANK YOU, and we hope to see you soon!