RAHWAY, NJ — When Sabbra Cadabra began in 1993, tribute bands were a new thing.
“I only knew of a Led Zep tribute band,” said Jeff Mott, Sabbra Cadabra’s bassist. “If there were other bands doing it in the area, we weren’t aware of it.”
The founding members recognized a void in the music world since Black Sabbath’s original lineup disbanded in the late 1970s. So, they decided to step into the void and recreate the sights and sounds of the band that has since inspired so many others. Sabbra Cadabra honors the original music of Black Sabbath by covering the material with inspired accuracy and devout respect.
The band, which features members who emulate the original lineup’s look and sound, has been endorsed by Black Sabbath’s original manager, Jim Simpson, and plays material from the band’s first eight albums, avoiding any music recorded after 1978, although they have started to play a some Ozzy solo songs, such as “Mr. Crowley,” “Crazy Train,” “Bark at the Moon,” “No More Tears” and “Mama, I’m Coming Home.” Fans can also expect to hear such Sabbath classics as “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath,” “N.I.B.,” “War Pigs” and “Paranoid.”
In addition to Mott, members include guitarist Dan Toto, lead vocalist Joe Donnelly and drummer John Hummel. Everyone in the current line-up is an original member, except for Hummel. “Over the years, we’ve used four drummers,” said Mott. “John is the most recent.”
In the 1990s, Sabbra Cadabra were booked every Friday and Saturday night – and almost every Thursday night. “Back then, there were a lot more music venues,” said Mott. “We played the Tri-state area – a lot of shows in Philadelphia. The scene is not what it was. Black Sabbath fans and Ozzy fans, it’s a hardcore following. Regardless of current bands, a lot of these people grew up listening to that stuff and loved it. No one else was doing it. We were it then. You wanted to see a whole night of nothing but Black Sabbath, we were it.”
Back in the 1990s, home computers were fairly new and you didn’t have videos on YouTube to access to learn songs. But Mott and Toto studied really hard, together and separately. They got ahold of old videotapes of Black Sabbath. “We would watch those shows live and mimic their mannerisms,” said Mott. “Dan and I really tried to play as close to note to note as we could. We were trying to be as accurate as possible. We’re gonna do this right. We really put the work in.”
Nowadays, there are tribute bands for everything, including Black Sabbath, but back then, Mott remembers there was no competition. “We were treading into new, fresh territory,” he said.
Through all the years, Sabbra Cadabra built a dedicated following. Mott said, “We’ve seen certain people, loyally, over and over. We have friends for decades. We were playing year-round, not just like a summer tour.”
However, Sabbra Cadabra’s shows are numbered. They’re not playing too much these days and the singer is talking about retiring, according to Mott.
For the Union County Performing Arts Center show, Mott says the band will do the same thing they’ve always done. “Just bring it to the stage,” he said. “Play the stuff as true to what it was. Bring all that energy Black Sabbath did way back in the day. Carry that torch.”
Sabbra Cadabbra is performing at UCPAC on Friday, Nov. 14, at 8 p.m.
To purchase tickets, visit: https://ucpac.org/event/sabbra-cadabra-with-death-metallic/.
Photos Courtesy of Sue Vroom and Liz Mott.
