In downtown Wadsworth, the cover band Custard Pie performed for “Wads-toberfest” at Blue Tip Park for First Friday.

The musicians in the band include Michael Francis, David Hudson, Rick Frank, Peter Felice, Ricky Vargo and Rick Frank, who lives in Erie, Pa., yet makes it to every show.

Their band name came from Michael Francis’s infatuation with the Civil War. In the 90s, when he was forming a band, he thought that General Custard would be a cool name, but concluded that it would sound too much like a Southern Rock band. So, instead, took the name from the song “Custard Pie” by Led Zeppelin.

The band tends to play well-known songs to get the crowd excited, but they also have their own personal favorites.

“Well, tonight our favorite song was ‘Woman from Tokyo’ by Deep Purple,” Francis said. “But there’s a song called ‘Kashmir’ by Led Zeppelin that always goes on very well. The crowd just has that eruption. But I think anywhere in any crowd, you can always play ‘Honky Tonk Women’ by the Rolling Stones, and I never get tired of it.” 

Sophomore Evan Johnston was there to see them play. Johnston said he knew about five or six songs that Custard Pie played and that they played them well.

“The song that got me excited was ‘Witchy Woman’ by the Eagles because it was the first one they played that I recognized,” Johnston said.

Johnston would like to go to another show because he enjoys the genre of music they perform.

The band hasn’t performed in Wadsworth in about fifteen years. Francis said that the last time he performed in Wadsworth was at a club called Dance Theatrical, so neither he nor the band knew what to expect when they performed on Oct. 3. They ended up loving the atmosphere, saying that everyone was so happy and upbeat.

They perform up to thirty-six gigs a year, limiting themselves to about three shows per month.

For next month’s First Friday on Nov. 7, the theme is “Turkey Time.”