Dawn Sweet
Born with a name that sounds so cool some may think it’s a stage name, Worcester rock singer Dawn Sweet has been a fixture on her Central to Western Massachusetts music scene for about 16 years now. She’s known as one of the three lead vocalists in Heavy Horses, a popular cover band featuring some the area’s finest players.
Heavy Horses began as the house band for what was known as the Green Street Music Series, an occasional five hour show at Worcester’s Lucky Dog Music Hall. The house band would be joined by various area singers for various songs highlighting a certain artist or artists.
“The bands and set lists were originally put together by Greg Munro, who started the series,” Sweet said. “We just kept them going after that because we loved it.” An added treat from being in Heavy Horses is getting to work with top notch players like singer Tom Hurley, singer Craig Rawding, bassist Ron Mominee, drummer Ed Barnett, guitarist John Donovan, guitarist Roger Lavallee, and keyboardist Mike Warren.
“It’s pretty awesome,” Sweet exclaimed. “I love every one of them. It’s like a big dysfunctional family, mostly functional, lots of laughs and hugs with an occasional drumstick thrown at you, if you mess up, or if Ed feels like it. We could go months between shows, and we do, then jump on stage without skipping a beat.”
Catch them while you can. With eight members all being in other bands, shows are few and far between. On Friday, November 6, you’ll find Heavy Horses at JJ’s Sports Bar and Grille in Northboro, MA.
“It’s always a great time there and no cover charge,” Sweet noted. “We’ll be playing two long sets of ‘70s FM radio classics, from about 9:20 to 12:40, give or take a few.”
Sweet began singing in professional bands back in 1999, starting out with Pet Rock, a dance party band, which lasted for 10 years. Their first show was at the Tatnuck Post on Mill Street in Worcester.
“I think Pet Rock appeared on the same marquee as a puppet show or something. The puppet show may have been first,” Sweet said. “From there, we blossomed to clubs, casinos, and private parties. Anyway, before that, I did some singing in an acoustic duo. We called ourselves ‘Block of Cheese.’ Sweet described her duo as “not so professional.”
Pet Rock came together as a lot of bands do. “I was with the keyboard player. She knew a bass player. We auditioned drummers and guitarists. My brother later joined as the other singer,” Sweet recounted.
Pet rock was all about getting people on their feet and playing the material like it sounded on the record albums.
“We were a tight, six member cover band playing dance hits of the ‘70s & ‘80s. Madonna, Michael Jackson, The Go-Go’s, Donna Summer, A Taste of Honey, you name it,” Sweet said. “The band was together from 1999 to2009, with four of the six members being there for the duration, including myself. ‘Good Times.’” Sweet noted the irony of her exclaim: “See what I did there? That’s a Chic tune that we also did.”
Dawn Sweet with Heavy Horses
Sweet still has fond memories about Pet Rock. “I absolutely loved singing with my brother, Paul Starvaski, who was the other front person in the band. I miss singing with him,” she said.
Aside from the popularly known Heavy Horses and Pet Rock, Sweet cut her teeth singing with Cathy’s Clown, a nine piece that covered doo-wop, surf, and girl groups from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. She also sang with New England Soul Review, mastering the Motown and Stax sound from the 1960s and 1970s.
“Both consisting of many of the members of Heavy Horses and Pet Rock with added horns,” Sweet said.
Six years ago, Sweet was the featured singer for the Elton John set of that year’s Green Street Music Series. Each Green Street event was known for its grueling preparation and rehearsals.
“As with all the Green Street Music Series shows, the set list and a strict rehearsal schedule was put together by Greg Munro, who started the GSMS,” Sweet said.
“We usually had about 3 months to learn 40 plus songs for the one-time shows,” she continued. “This show in particular covered a set of Elton John, of which I was the featured singer, a set of David Bowie and a set of Queen, of which I did backing vocals. The featured singers would attend all of the rehearsals and sing all of the songs in their respective set(s). Guest singers would usually attend one, maybe two rehearsals. The day of the show, we would do a 4 or so hour dress rehearsal at the Lucky Dog, go home, eat, shower, get ready, and then return for the four plus hour show. It was a lot of work, but there was a lot of reward, always a blast.”
Sweet’s motivation to continue her music career mystifies even her. When asked what inspires her to keep so much of her focus on music, she answered from her heart.
“Hmm, that is a good question,” she said. “I just love singing. It’s a great release. It’s an awesome art to have people come together with their unique talents to make one awesome sound that makes others happy. It’s also a great excuse to get together with people you love, whom you rarely get to see.”
The next step in Sweet’s career centers around original music. She recently joined originals band, Peak Fifteen, whose debut CD will soon be released.
“I did not have the pleasure of recording on the album, but I look forward to covering it in the live shows and recording on the next one,” Sweet said. “We have been tackling some new tunes and plan to record, hopefully, in the near future. I’m very excited for this, as I have only ever been in cover bands, which I also enjoy.”
Hopefully, Sweet will find as much success in the world of original music. Judging by her local popularity, she might just be around for another 16 years, or longer.
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