See The Hambones perform Aug. 22 at Island Park Library

The Hambones — a versatile band that plays anything from classic rock to traditional country — will treat the community to a night of song hits during Island Park Public Library’s outdoor concert series on Aug. 22 at 7 p.m.

The band, composed of John Kouri, 51, from Mineola, John Pizzicarola, 57, from East Rockaway, Steve Soltow, 73, from Washington, Connecticut, and Scott Milch, 56, from Middle Village, Queens, boasts a song list of more than 200 tunes and performs classic rock, country, rhythm and blues, folk and rock.

Members of the group have 140 years of combined musical experience. They were involved in different local bands and, being familiar with one another, they decided to join forces in 2011.

“I knew who they were, I knew how they played and so there was very little of getting used to,” Kouri said.

Kouri, whose sister was a national singer, said music was very prominent in his family, which made going into the business a natural progression. Soltow played trombone from the fourth grade through the end of high school and said the Beatles inspired him. Pizzicarola started playing guitar in his early 20s.

“I was a little bit of a latecomer to the game, but I caught the bug right away, and between going to concerts at a young age and just seeing how therapeutic music was, I fell in love with it,” said Kouri.

The August show will be The Hambones’ first appearance at the Island Park Library, but the group has played in several libraries across the tri-state area, including New Jersey, and Rockland, Orange and Suffolk counties. The band has performed at several library concerts throughout Nassau County and has a special appreciation for the library audience.

“It’s very nice to play for these people,” Soltow said. “They’re a very good audience. They’re very attentive. I think they’re great gigs. Libraries have become a real viable place for people to play a chord, classical music or even dance. Libraries support these kinds of things, and it makes for a great creative outlet.”

The band’s name was born from an old song by a hit musician.

“There was a song by Carl Perkins back in the late 50s called Hambones that we performed,” Kouri said. “We got together, and we played at this bar I used to bartend, and the owner said to me, ‘Hey, what do you call those Hambones?’ and it sort of caught on.”

The band’s members attribute their 12 years together to good chemistry and a shared appreciation of music.

“We’re a band of brothers,” Kouri said. “I like my band mates as much as I like the music. We all have different personalities. We might have our days when we don’t get along, but that’s very rare.”

Band members shared some of the highs and lows of the music business that they have faced and explained how the camaraderie among the group has carried them for so long.

“It is very difficult nowadays for bands,” Kouri said. “There’s a lot of competition and it is fierce. We were doing a gig up in Kingston, and I think seven people showed up, and six of them worked there. Then, the next night, we played in another theater, and we packed the place. When you have a gig like that, it could really tear at the fabric of the band, but not us because I think deep down, we really care for each other as people and that’s really the difference.”

The group’s members had seen it all in their years together and recalled having to record music together during the height of the pandemic. Once restrictions were lifted, they made a point to assist local businesses that they had worked with.

“After Covid, we sort of went out of our way to really help the restaurants and bars that hired us because a couple of them were hit pretty hard,” Pizzicarola said. “We did a few freebie gigs for them and played for tips and as a ‘hank you,’ and believe me, we know the hard times economically that they went through.”

Kouri said The Hambones will bring a bit of everything to the Island Park concert, from classic country to rock and roll. Soltow said he appreciates the level of creativity library concerts provide and is looking forward to an electric performance on Aug. 22.

“We get to play with a lot of dynamics — I think it really makes us better musicians,” Soltow said.

Kouri said that although The Hambones are under the radar, he appreciates the opportunity to perform with the group.

“We’ve been at it for 12 years now and, hopefully, we can be together for 12 more,” he said. “Libraries are appreciative, and when you make an effort, they’ll respond. We’re going to do our best to please them.”