CHARLOTTE, N.C. (TNA) – You may not be able to teach old bands new licks, but in the case of The Invictas, maybe that’s a good thing.

The Invictas are a group of fifty- and sixty-something musicians who cut their teeth playing frat parties and bars back in the 1960s and reunited two years ago in order to plow the same turf once again.

Some musicians might be disappointed not getting over that hump, but lead singer Herb Gross says it was "The Hump" that got them that far.

The Invictas' Herb Gross humps a fan.

For the record, "The Hump" is the title of a song they recorded in 1963 to go along with a dance of the same name that basically required folks to put their hands behind their head while thrusting their pelvises at their partners.

The song was a regional hit in Miami and the band’s home town, Rochester, New York, but was banned in places like Boston because, amazingly, some people felt the dance and the tune were sexually suggestive.

"During one gig in Newark, New Jersey, the police told us we couldn’t play ‘The Hump,’" Gross recounted. "So we told the crowd and they were ready to riot."

Although the Invictas were a popular touring band between 1963 and 1966, the members – who met while attending the Rochester Institute of Technology – split up once the flower children era was in full bloom in order to go on to day jobs.

"I went to college for seven years and got two degrees and I knew I couldn’t continue. We all had other careers to follow," Gross said.

Two founding members went into printing and Gross himself has owned an advertising agency for 30 years. But fate intervened, however, and inspired the three founding members to reform the band.

"Once you’re in a band that has a certain amount of success, it’s always with you," Gross said.

The decision to reform the band came in 2004 when Gross visited drummer Dave Hickey in Rochester and they went to a blues bar to see a band.

One of the musicians recognized them and invited them on the stage.

Although Gross hadn’t played guitar in 20 years, he did remember the lyrics to "The Hump," and when he heard the crowd’s reaction to the dirty ditty, he decided it was time to put his rock back in a hard place.

Hickey and Gross managed to convince fellow original Invicta Jim Kohler to play bass and asked an old Invictas fan named Dave Profeta to play lead guitar. In addition, Hickey’s brother, Bruce, plays rhythm guitar.

Since then, the group has started playing six to eight gigs each month, mostly in upstate New York, That requires Gross to fly from his home in Charlotte, North Carolina, to ride to the shows with the other Invictas in a refurbished Cadillac hearse.

Although all the members of the Invictas are old enough for AARP cards, saucy songs like "The Hump," "Finger Lickin’ Good," and "Skip ‘N’ Go Naked" are attracting a sizeable amount of fans that are the same ages as their grandkids.

Gross admits, "Back in the ‘60s, some women threw panties at me. Now, they’ll be rubbing up against me during ‘The Hump.’ I’m not married and I could take advantage of the situation, but the age difference isn’t appropriate."

The new incarnation of the Invictas has not only attracted drunk young party girls, but many of their old fraternity fans, who hire the band for corporate gigs.

"I don’t see any beer bongs," Gross said. "But I have seen guys who are VPs for Xerox getting down. They don’t get as loaded as they used to, but the booze is still flowing."

In addition, the band is now getting a chance to play with national acts like the Beach Boys and the Shirelles and is proud that their wild stage shows have made them a hard act for headliners to follow.

The Invictas’ latest CD, "Skip ‘N’ Go Naked Tour," can be purchased at www.theinvictas.com, but the band is just a stepping stone for Gross’ other project.

He is currently working on a memoir, "Rock Till You Drop," that he hopes will inspire other senior citizens to get their asses moving and follow their passion rather that standing pat.

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