- March 25, 2026
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For Arcadia teenager Chuck Black, it was the opposite of nails on the blackboard.
Black listened as one of his local buddies recreated Eddie Van Halen's famous "pick scrape," a guitar technique in which the edge of the plectrum, or pick, is dragged along the guitar strings to create a metallic, scratching sound.
"It was like when Spiderman got bit by the spider," said Black, who is now 59 and living in Summerfield of Lakewood Ranch. "That was it. I was on fire."
The following year, 15-year-old Chuck Black was holding a Skylark electric guitar which his dad, Jarrett Black, bought out of the JCPenney Catalog.
It has been a long road since that day, but Black finally is putting his guitar to good use. As a member of the Silver Thunder band, Black will be entertaining at the April 3 Music on Main.
"It sounds trite, but this really is a dream come true for me," Black said about appearing at Music on Main.
He said locals would recognized him as the silver-haired guy with the two boxer dogs that appear at many local events, including his favorite, Music on Main.
A look back reveals why the odds were against Black ever accomplishing his dream.
After his father bought him that first guitar, Black was on a musical roll all through high school, or as much of a roll that you can be on playing a guitar at home, or "in the woods" with a friend.
"I became obsessed with guitars," Black said. "My friend showed me a couple of easy songs, and, of course, "Smoke on the Water."
He was self taught from there, practicing in his bedroom and using a four-track recorder, which allowed him to record four simultaneous audio tracks on a single tape.
He would take a Tupperware bowl, turn it over, and then slide a microphone underneath it. He would then pound the bowl to produce his drum sound. He felt he could sing pretty well, so he started making parody songs,
Black became a solid guitarist, but one who never played in public.
He realized that while he wanted to be the next Eddie Van Halen, he wasn't that good. After graduating from DeSoto High School, where he never played in band or took a music class, he knew it was time to make money.
So he worked at the Desoto Annex maximum security prison in Arcadia for a few years before deciding to move to Sarasota in 1994 to begin working on the production line at Dana Corporation.
While he gave up any dreams of being a rock star, his love of music didn't let him down.
"In the late 1990s, I discovered e-commerce," he said. "I founded my business, 99 Volts."
Over the years, 99 Volts became an e-commerce monster, as Black sold apparel and novelty items on eBay and eventually Amazon. His very first sale online was a shirt that was covered with guitars, including Eddie Van Halen's guitar.
He began selling licensed products from other manufacturers, including West Coast Choppers, which eventually cancelled the agreement with him because he was selling more of their apparel than they were.
In 2003, Black and his wife, Dani (now his ex), moved from Sarasota to Summerfield in Lakewood Ranch.
They began going to the early Music on Main concerts when only 50 to 100 people would attend. He watched, however, as the crowd built over the years, and turned into thousands.
He told his wife that one day he would play Music on Main, even though he never had played in public.
At the age of 45, he joined a songwriters group, where he met local artist Dean Johanesen.
"Dean has an incredible voice and he is an incredible songwriter," Black said. "He told me that if I wanted to be successful (in public), to just keep doing it. It was so true."
In his 50s, Black finally played for the first time in public, going to a coffee shop, Lov A-Da Coffee, on Cortez Road in Bradenton. It was an "open mic" night.
"I was afraid and nervous," he said. "I didn't know if they would start booing. But I survived."
In 2025, he answered a Facebook ad seeking a guitar player who could sing. That band eventually became Silver Thunder.
He soon discovered that members of the Silver Thunder band were just like him, and either never played in a band, or hadn't in more than 30 years.
"Part of it was that we just wanted to have fun," said Mark Rodin, who is the band's lead singer and booking agent. "We wanted to have the same personalities, and Chuck was like us in being easygoing. But our goal was to go big or go home."
Rodin said it was obvious from the first day of rehearsal that Black could play the lead guitar if needed, or even sing lead, which were bonuses.
Silver Thunder made its debut performance a year ago at the Medley Club in Wimauma.
Since then, the band has played about 30 gigs, which have included four stops at Woody's River Roo in Ellenton.
"I have felt like a rock star," Black said. "It has been amazing."
Rodin said one fan told him he was "expecting to hear a bar band, but ended up attending a rock concert."
With more success, all the band members wrote out a bucket list of places they wanted to play. Black's was Music on Main.
Rodin went to the Music on Main website, and then sent links back to the band's performances.
"We have worked hard and put a lot into it," Rodin said. "And we know that Music on Main is a great showcase."
Morgan Bettes Angell, who books the Music on Main entertainment, said Silver Thunder stood out on video "as a well-rounded band that was high energy and able to play covers that people love."
"I always ask myself, 'Is the quality there?' Yes, there is."
That quality band will include Black, who said he won't be playing "Smoke on the Water" because it is passé.
But don't be surprised if sometime during the show, all those people on Lakewood Main Street will be treated to a pick scrape that would make Eddie Van Halen proud.
