Sayreville band 'kissed' by fame, 30 years later
Mortimer Snerd officially recognized as first tribute to Kiss
BY JESSICA SMITH
Staff Writer

Four costumed guys in black and white makeup made their way to the stage, ready to "rock and roll all night," or at least for the next couple of hours.

It was Halloween night, 1975, just 40 days after the release of "Kiss Alive!," an album that helped to propel the band to stardom.

The four guys on stage, however, were not Kiss, but a local teen band called Mortimer Snerd - to the 500 cheering kids in the auditorium at Sayreville Junior High School, however, it didn't seem to matter.

"We were just a bunch of goofy kids paying tribute to this band," said drummer Larry Bogush, now of Cliffwood Beach.

Their band had attracted a crowd of 1,200 at St. Joseph's in Metuchen the Saturday after "Kiss Alive!" was released, when they played songs from the album. Bogush, who was the marketing and promo person in the band, proposed the Halloween show to his band mates, and what is now recognized as the first of countless Kiss tribute bands was born.

"We thought it would be perfect for junior high because junior high school kids would be into that kind of stuff," Bogush said.

Clockwise from top: Mortimer Snerd perform, circa 1975. The story of the band and the first of countless Kiss tribute shows by bands all over the world is featured on the official Kiss Web site at www.kissonline.com. The former members of Mortimer Snerd, posing in a recent picture, are (l-r) Tom Zebro, Larry Bogush, Mark Merriman and Bernie Hogya. Bogush, of Cliffwood Beach, looks over some memorabilia at his office on Washington Avenue in South Amboy.

In the 30 years since, Mortimer Snerd had become only a memory to the band members. Aside from Bogush putting together a CD that he sent to his band mates, and a reunion party one year, the band was all but forgotten.

Until just recently.

In August, Bogush used photographs and recordings he had kept over the years to put together a Web site with former lead guitarist Bernie Hogya, who still resides in Sayreville. Hogya had become acquainted with Ken Sharp, author of "Kiss: Behind the Mask, the Official Authorized Biography," in working with him at a Kiss photo shoot with Annie Leibovitz for the milk mustache campaign. Hogya co-created the campaign.

When Bogush sent Hogya the photos for the site, Hogya forwarded them to Sharp. Recognizing that Mortimer Snerd was probably the first Kiss cover band, Sharp sent the information to Paul Stanley, lead singer of Kiss.

Stanley, who is usually reluctant to put other bands on the official Web site, KISSonline.com, made an exception for Mortimer Snerd, Bogush said.

"He thought it was a great story based on its historic value. Once it was validated by Paul Stanley, the other fan sites picked it up," Bogush said.

Since the article about the band showed up on the Kiss site, it has made its way onto Web sites as far away as Italy and Russia. Mortimer Snerd's status as the first tribute band will also be acknowledged in future publications of Sharp's book.

While the members of Mortimer Snerd no longer play together as a band, Bogush said he and Hogya sat down and played together last year. He said it is ironic that, because he owns an audio visual company, he now has a warehouse full of the musical equipment they dreamed of having as kids, but they are not using it. He still plays at home by himself, although now it is guitar instead of drums.

"Although we have the desire to play, reality gets in the way, and it happens once a year instead of once a month," Bogush said.

Former lead singer and bass player Mark Merriman is the only one who continues to play music regularly, as far as Bogush knows. He is in a band and also serves as the conductor for a church group. He lives in the Leonardo section of Middletown.

Former rhythm guitarist Tom Zebro lives in Nazareth, Pa.

Bogush, whose South Amboy-based business is called LBI, lives near the beach in Cliffwood Beach with his wife, Robin, and daughter Sara, 18. His other daughter, Teresa, 22, lives in Texas.

Though Bogush said he ranked fourth as far as talent when they were in the band, he said he thought they were good musically considering their ages at the time, even beyond their gimmicks and stage effects.

While they have all moved on from Mortimer Snerd, fans might still see a tiny glimmer of hope for a reunion show.

"That wouldn't be up to me," Bogush said. "If I felt it meant something to those guys, I would go along with it."

For more information on the band's history, visit www.mortimersnerdtheband.

com.