Who We Are- Pariah Bio
October 2024 Update-One of Pariah’s iconic and popular original songs was “Sail” (see recordings below). After 45+ years, Pete Bury has written and recorded a “sequel” entitled “Sail Again”. Take a listen and tell us how it stacks up to the original. Enjoy!
June 2024 Update- At long last, we’ve got some vintage Pariah live performances for you, as well as a new song (“Dream Big”) from Pete Bury (with Aaron Cortez on vocals). Take a listen to some of our greatest live songs from Yes, Genesis, Styx, Linda Ronstadt and Crosby, Stills and Nash.
Production disclaimer- Most of the live songs were recorded with (at best) a $15 Sony table top cassette recorder set in the middle of the audience- hence the less than optimal sound with sometimes intrusive crowd noises. We’ve done our best to improve the sound quality, but sometimes you can only do so much with 45 year old recordings. Please enjoy them in their current state.
Pariah was a progressive, creative and popular band in the Pennsylvania/New Jersey/New York/Connecticut area from 1977-1979. They were best known for their renditions of Prog rock bands Genesis, Yes, Renaissance and Kansas as well as their original compositions.
Pariah was formed on the Bucknell University campus in Lewisburg, PA and consisted of the following members-
- Kathleen Breitenfeld- drums and percussion
- Pete Bury- bass and vocals
- Connie Currier- vocals
- John Goodman- keyboards and vocals
- Thom Jayne- guitars and vocals
The band’s genesis was a meeting, through a mutual acquaintance, of Bury and Jayne in late 1976/early 1977. The two guitarists found they had common musical interests and goals and were soon assembling a catalog of material. They dabbled in unconventional versions of Led Zeppelin and Genesis songs, and mostly sounded like an acoustic driven duo. They performed occasionally around the Bucknell campus, but knew they wanted to do more.
Things changed in the fall of 1977 when, while playing a gig for incoming Bucknell students, Currier asked if they would let her sing “Desperado” with them. That one song amounted to her audition for the band and for the next two hours, they were a trio. By the end of the night, Goodman approached them and asked if they would be interested in a Prog rock keyboardist joining the band. Within hours the folksie duet had become what would become a groundbreaking Prog rock quartet.
After one failed performance as “Phoenix”, the band changed their name, dropped their first drummer and became Pariah. Their first gig started with a 4 part a Capella opening of Yes’, “Your Move” and the Pariah movement was underway.
The band played regularly as a quartet and continued to gel and mature as a four piece. After 6 months, they began an earnest search for the right drummer and Breitenfeld joined them in the spring of 1978.
The fall of 1978 brought more changes as Jayne left to study abroad for a semester. After an extensive search, Carey Eidel was brought into the band to fill Jayne’s shoes for the next 4 months. More shows brought about increased popularity and a musical growth that even surprised the band members. In addition, new soundman John Caldwell brought in a level of sophistication, equipment and talent that fit perfectly with the band.
With Jayne back in early 1979, the band began their charge to being a top-notch Prog rock band. Gone was most of the pop/acoustic material Bury and Jayne had started out with- replaced by more esoteric, complex and longer compositions. Their songwriting, both individually and as a group, began to grow and mature as well.
The band played wherever they could find work- frat parties, coffee houses, the Lewisburg Penitentiary (yes …that’s right) where they were billed as the Pariah Jazz Band, outdoor festivals and various fund raising events. The band, their following and popularity all continued to grow.
An audition for Columbia Records executives landed them 2 days of studio time during the summer of 1979. The band recorded four songs during those sessions-
Sail, Acropolis, Telemachus and Standing All Alone.
We’re including a bonus cut of “Seat of the Earth” as well.
The band also auditioned for a Jersey Shore gig that spring and passed. Playing only a few blocks from where Springstein had played a few years prior on Long Beach Island, their unique style and stage presence wowed the local crowds throughout the summer of 1979.
2023 Update
Jayne, Bury and Currier in 2023 reunion.
3/5s of Pariah re-united during the summer of 2023 (Breitenfeld and Goodman were unable to attend) and, for the first time since 1979, returned to the studio to re-record unplugged versions of both “Sail” and “Standing All Alone”.
More projects and recording are planned for the near future.
Pariah 2.0
During 1997, Bury, Goodman and Jayne began sharing individual compositions and the three of them united for a long weekend to record 5 demos. These songs were the genesis of Pariah 2.0’s release of the “Standing At The Crossroads” CD in 1999. Jayne and Bury were joined in the studio by a number of local Chicago musicians who helped to create an updated Pariah sound.
A second CD- “Somewhere Along the Way”- was released by the band in 2000. Band members included Bury, Shannon Clancy, Jeff DeMao, Tracy Teague, Thom Dixon, Bill Terrill, Gary Dole, Craig Hufford, Eric Hufford and our kids’ choir (Lauren Bury, Maggie Bury and Jenna Clancy).
See selected Pariah 2.0 songs in the Song Collection below.
What We’ve Been Doing
Kathleen Breitenfeld (KB)
For over 30 years, Kathleen “KB” Breitenfeld played with a multitude of artists and bands, performing in the New York tri-state area. Some of the various venues included Max’s Kansas City, The Gaslight Cafe, The Bitter End, Café Wha?, CBGB’s, The Lone Star Cafe, Dan Lynch Blues Bar, The Limelight, The Knitting Factory, and Carnegie Hall.
KB worked with The Coasters a handful of times, including the Concert Series on the Pier, warming up Joan Jett. She also played with Mother Majestic, an NYC-based band that appeared on Star Search in 1987. For two years, she was one of the class accompanists at the Alvin Ailey Dance School, and she even appeared on Broadway a few times, subbing for the onstage drummer in the revival of Cabaret, starring Joel Grey. One of KB’s numerous gigs with the Kit McClure Big Band was at the 1988 National Democratic Convention in Atlanta, Georgia. KB has also played abroad in Europe, touring with Joan Osborne, The Robert Ross Band, and Flamin’ Amy & Sweet Potata.
Among the list of studio work over the years, KB recorded with BloodSugar on Weigh Records, Flamin’ Amy & Sweet Potata on Blue Frog Records, Yooj (Eug Seagriff) on DIY Records/YOOJTUNES, Rod MacDonald on Sanachie Records, and DollHouse on Brat Kat Records.
KB is now happily retired from both the music biz and graphic design.
Video clips are available for viewing on YouTube . . . just type in KB’s full name and see what pops up! Here are a few starter links:
Pete Bury has continued to perform, write, record and produce music to this day. In addition to being the driving force behind Pariah 2.0 and its 2 CDs, he has done the following-
- Released 2 collections of all original/one man band demos-
- Unfinished Business
- Brand New Way
- Championed Pariah’s presence on the Collegeband website
- Member of “Spleen”, a Columbus Ohio band where he was bassist, vocalist and guitarist
- Music leader at a rock and roll church in Chicago from 1998-2007 where he recruited top performers for the Pariah 2.0 CDs.
Select original songs are included below in the Song Collection section. Most recently he has teamed up with vocalist Aaron Cortez from The Party Foul on his musical travels.
He is currently retired from the corporate world and spends the bulk of his time on family matters for his blended family of 6 children and 7 grandchildren.
Pete Bury
Connie Currier
Connie sang in a number of local Michigan rock and blues bands over the past several decades.
John Goodman
John continues to write and record original songs to this date. Select songs are included below in the Song Collection section.
After Thom graduated from Bucknell in 1980, he sold everything, joined the Peace Corps togther with Connie, and the two of them moved to Atebubu, Ghana in 1982. He credits West Africa for the influence it has had on his musical style post-Pariah. After relocating to Michigan, where he has been a professor of agricultural economics at Michigan State University since 1989, “Thom Jayne and the Nomads” emerged in the early 2000s with a hard-to-categorize blend of African, celtic, jazz, and Latin influences. His first two releases, The Forgotten Conquest and Road Trip, both won WYCE Jammie Awards for Best Local World Beat CD of the year. Thom is currently in the acoustic world music trio, Whorled. Select songs are included below in the Song Collection section. In addition to playing and listening to music, Thom enjoys spending time with family and friends, supporting the local community, exploring, and petting dogs. You can find his bands, The Nomads (2000-2010) and Whorled (2021-current) at the following sites:
The Forgotten Conquest | Spotify
Thom Jayne
SONG COLLECTION
1) Pariah 2.0
2) Pete Bury
3) John Goodman
4) Thom Jayne
Future Updates and Other Stuff
All original material is copywritten by Pariah Music Inc.
Watch for periodic updates on additional performances and material. We’ve got some live performances and more Pariah originals in queue for future releases.
Contact us at pariahs back23@gmail.com for additional information.