There's always been music in my life. From the
time I could talk, I sang along with that big black Philco radio in the
pantry. There were times as a kid I couldn't remember what I had for lunch;
but I knew all the words to Ball of Confusion and Incense and
Peppermints. If my mom didn't have the radio on, she was playing records.
By the time I was 8, my older brother Terry was playing drums in what would
become some of Rochester's hottest bands, and would go on to be a successful
studio musician. Now in his 50's and living in central Florida, Terry still
plays out a couple of nights a week
My younger brother Glenn also pursued the drum
thing...and co-founded Uncle Sam; an Iggy Pop/Alice Cooperesque Glamour
Thrash band that after conquering the East coast and releasing their first
album, Heaven or Hollywood, ended up touring the UK only to disband
by 1990.
I would probably have ended up playing drums myself,
had I not heard the Yardbirds' Heart Full of Soul. That fuzzy, bleeding
Jeff Beck guitar riff grabbed me by the short hairs, and I wanted to play
guitar. Today, I have a pretty respectable home recording studio, a great
collection of guitars (about 2 dozen of 'em), and I play every day. I'm
still recording analog (to tape...and mastering down to a big old Grundig
two track), but am looking at turning digital in the very near future; the
possibilities are just too limitless with digital.
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| Above: Uncle Sam |
My brother Glenn, 2nd from left, played drums
for UNCLE SAM.
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Left:
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By 1971, my brother Terry was drumming for bands
ranging from The Field to Soft Water and backing up the likes of Sleepy
LaBeef , Herman's Hermits and Tanya Tucker.
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With rare exception, I make the time to play
either guitar or piano for at least an hour each day. I also
have a huge collection of Latin Percussion instruments, digital drums, acoustic
Roto Toms, harmonicas and even a great little concertina!
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What I listen to varies from day to day. I've
been influenced by so much music, from such diverse sources, that I can't
play favorites.
I have my "A" list of course; Jeff Beck,
Frank Zappa, Joe Strummer, Dr. John... but there are times that nothing
but some Les Paul, or Reverend Horton Heat will do.
I have much more respect for innovation, in musicianship,
composition and production than I do for technical virtuousity. I'm amazed
when I listen to Steve Vai, Joe Satriani or Eddie Van Halen run the fretboard
with unrivaled speed and fervor...but the emotion that Jeff Beck, B.B. King
or Carlos Santana can evoke from a single note is what really blows me away.
I'm also big percussion fan...can't get enough of it. That's what attracted
me to bands like Bow Wow Wow and Adam and the Ants in the early 80s. It
was that beat. Who can not start moving when they hear Bow Wow Wow's
remake of the Strangelove's classic I Want Candy? I challenge anyone
to stand still during The Dixie Cups Iko, Iko or the Belle Stars
remake of that same song or The Clapping Song. Finally, I really
admire production values and engineering. I think The Beach Boys Pet
Sounds and Emerson, Lake and Palmer's Brain Salad Surgery albums
opened my eyes to what could be done at the control board. Good engineering
and production can pick up any slack in terms of big sounds or a broad spectrum
of musicians; as evidenced by bands like Yello and Art Of Noise.
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On my old site, I had individual pages
for each of my "preferred" musical links. That's just too much
work. Below you'll find a list of some of my favorite music pages, videos
and songs. They all open in new windows, so you don't have to leave my site
to enjoy them. Some are important pages, musically speaking, that you may
want to bookmark yourself. Some are frivilous crap that I just happen to
like.
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Frank Zappa ...(1940-1993)
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Mark Gregory turned me on to FZ in the 10th grade.
It's a drag that most people view him as a novelty when in fact, history
will show him to be one of the 20th century's greatest composers. So
many of my other favorite musicians worked for Frank at various times. A
big influence on my guitar playing style.
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Jeff Beck
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In my opinion, Jeff Beck is probably the most
innovative guitar player living today. From his mind-blowing work with the
Yardbirds in the mid 60's through the various incarnations of his bands
(with members ranging from Rod Stewart and Ron Wood to Terry Bozzio and
Jennifer Batten) right through his solo work...Jeff Beck has continued to
raise the (tremelo) bar. Oh, and he's a car guy.
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Dr. John
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Aside from his virtuosity on piano and unparalled
understanding of what makes the New Orleans sound "world music",
you just have to dig "The Night Tripper's" style. Everything from
his choice in musicians to his apparel to his vocabulary is just cooler
than cool. His live shows are more Storyville parties than concerts. Put
gris gris on your doorstep.
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Adrian Belew / King Crimson
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Certainly King Crimson was a force to be reckoned
with before Adrian, and Adrian has been, whilst playing with Zappa, Bowie,
Peter Gabriel and of course as a solo artist nothing short of astounding;
I feel that the ensemble of Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, Bill Bruford and Belew
brought out the best in each other. I saw Adrian with Zappa, but when I
saw King Crimson at the Landmark Theater...it was magic.
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Joe Strummer & The Clash...(1952-2002)
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Like most people, my first exposure to Joe Strummer
was as a member of The Clash in late 70's. His influence on Clash projects
ranging from London Calling to Sandanista (which is one of
my suggested must own albums) was made more evident by his post Clash
solo efforts. Alone, and with his band The Mescaleros, Joe Strummer combined
world music influences with social commentary, but never got boring or stale.
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Dick Dale
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Known worldwide as "The King of The Surf
Guitar", Dick Dale sprung to the forefrontof early 60's rock with instrumental
hits like "Miserlou" and "Let's go Trippin"...but few
realized that he was also horn player, and excellent drummer to boot. When
the movie Pulp Fiction used Miserlou in it's opening, it helped to resurrect
Dale's career, but guess what? This guitar pioneer had never really gone
away. See him live before you die.
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Willy DeVille
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I really dug the band Mink Deville in the 1970's
and early 80's. Fronted by NYC native Willy DeVille, their latino-soul-funk-pop
sound never earned them any rwal commercial success...but I wore out copies
of early albums like Cabretta and Return to Magenta. Today, Willy DeVille
is still touring and knockin' em dead, primarily in Europe, and there is
a commercially available DVD of a 2002 Berlin concert that warrents checking
out.
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Steven Van Zandt
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As a part of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band,
and with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes; "Little Steven"
established himself as a mainstay in the "New Jersey Soul Rock"
genre. His own band, "Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul"
released the astounding album "Men Without Women", and today he's
best known as the host of "Underground Garage" and for his starring
role in the HBO series "The Sopranos"
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XTC
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Between 1976 and 2005, XTC, which had a few members
that revolved around Colin Moulding and Andy Patridge, had a few minor hits,
but were always critically acclaimed for their intelligent lyrics, catchy
pop hooks and political commentary. I've always been a big fan, and consider
"English Settlement" and "Black Sea"both to be "must
own" albums. Additionally, I count Andy Patridge among my favorite
song writers
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Harry Nilsson......(1941-1994)
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A gifted writer, Harry Nilsson's work was recorded
by others (Three Dog Night's "One" for example), until the multi-talented
Nilsson struck gold with 1975's "Without You". With an eight octave
vocal range, a circle of friends that was a "who's who" in popular
music, Harry released album after album of witty, insightful and musically
diverse selections until his death in 1994. Nilsson also wrote, scoredand
directed the movie "The Point". Put the lime in the coconut.
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Yello
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The Swiss duo of Boris Blank and Deiter Meier
were pioneers in multi-tracked-over-dubbed dance mixes that would become
part of the disco scene. That aside, their creativity and sense of adventurous
production technique and value earned them a spot on my list. With ingredients
as varied as Salsa, Opera, Heavy Metal and Classical, and an array of guest
musicians and sampled sounds never before attempted...they helped set a
standard for studio innovation. For me, it's all that percussion...Oh yeah.
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Art Of Noise
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Producer Trveor Horn music journalist Paul Morley,
and session musicians/studio hands Anne Dudley, J. J. Jeczalik, and Gary
Langan formed Art Of Noise in 1983, and like Yello embraced the technology
of the studio to record catchy, memorable songs loaded with...you guessed
it; percussion. Covering easily recognized music ranging from the James
Bond Theme and Dragnet to Duane Eddy's instrumental giant "Peter Gunn",
featuring Eddy himself.
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Return To Forever
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Jazz keyboardist Chick Corea founded Return To
Forever, and remains the center of it's existance, enlisting over the years
such talent as Stanley Clark, Al DiMeola, Tony Williams, Lenny White, Steve
Gadd, Earl Klugh, and Mino Lewis. When I saw them in the early 80's, the
lineup was Corea (keyboards), Clarke (bass), White (drums) and DiMeola (guitar).
Everyone should own the release "Romantic Warrior".
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