Here's some of the bands I've played with since the early 60's. There was always something going on, and there were several other
"1/2" bands wedged in between these bands as well. One thing that stayed pretty consistent from the early days; you'll notice many of the members jumped onboard from band to band - and many of those members are still playing together today.
Whether we made "good" music or not wasn't the point. It's the life-long experiences that the music brought to all our lives, and the continuing influence playing in bands has had. Most of our efforts were "On The Edge" to say the least, not much of it brought us fame & fortune, but looking back - I wouldn't trade the experience, and don't regret a moment of it (even at it's worst).
THE WRESTLESS BREED
The Wrestless Breed was a classic 60's Garage band that grew out of
The Dee-Jays - who were actually my first band. The band consisted of Pete Giordano (Bass), Al Paolillo (guitar), Greg Henshall (drums), and myself on guitar.
We played a lot of parties and school dances. We even played the World's Fair. At the time - we were a Fender band. I played a Jazzmaster, and Surf music was still a big influence on all of us. Nobody wanted to sing, but songs like "Gloria" and many of the Rolling Stone's songs finally found a mic.
THE LITTLE BROTHERS OF THE POOR
The Little Brothers Of The Poor consisted of Russ Haidenger (drums), Jeff Mcginn (guitar), Glenn Hermans (keys), and myself on bass. We made a pretty good name for ourselves playing several years of parties, dances, and just about every "teen" club in the area. Our biggest gig, was when NBC NEWS did a show on the "Garage Bands in the Suburbs", and we actually got to appear on TV. We played all the classics; Rolling Stones, Paul Revere & the Raiders, ? and the Mysterians, The Animals, etc., and we soon became the house band for THE MORGUE teen club in nearby Suffern, NY. where we opened for many national actl such as Screamin' Jay Hawkins. I was playing a Framus bass at the time.
TRIXX
Gone were the days of mid-60's innocence and Garageland raveups, as long hair, drugs, loud amps, and psychedelic mayhem became par for the course.
Trixx was: Dave Braun (drums), Frank Chiapetta (bass), Rich Rilliet (guitar), and myself on guitar again.
Bands like The Byrds, Pink Floyd, and the MC5 started to take influence on us. Everything was louder, and things like distortion, echo, and long songs started to work their way into our style. We were now playing college dances and frat parties, hall parties, and various misguided "Youth" centers. Trixx was a force to be reckoned with as the "Mod" kids turned on, tuned in, and dropped out. Boons Farm Apple Wine was part of the standard band gear.
EUBIAK
Rising from the ashes of a very short-lived (and dangerous) band called
The Pyrotechnical Mushroom, Eubiak found me back playing guitar with Jeff McGinn (guitar), Frank Chiapetta (bass), and Dale Garrison (drums). We were the loudest band around, and once again had The MC5, Cream, Cactus, and Pink Floyd as our major influences.
Our songs were long (many in the 10 minute range), and we would often go into (what seemed) total chaos onstage - feedback, relentless volume, free-form psychedelia - these were our traits. We played a number of school shows, at least one club (The Joker), and several "Hippy" festivals. Drugs were a part of our engine - but drugs were part of the times. We just happened to be among it's spokesmen.
THE MERLE ASTROLITE BAND
As the mayhem of the late 60's - early 70's started to settle, so did our music (to some extent). I found the
Rickenbacker 12-string as my favorite guitar, and
The Merle Astrolite Band was formed to incorporate Folk Rock, Psychedelics, and classic R&R as an "attempt" to a foot in the bar-band scene. Merle included; Dave Braun (drums), Bob Gallihue (bass), and myself on guitar.
We played everywhere we could - parties, weddings, and local bars. The band had several members come & go, and mad one "professional" recording.
THE BAXTERS
The
Baxters were an extension of Merle Astrolite. The lineup added Rich Rilliet on second guitar, and we started to replace much of the psychedelic strangeness of our previous efforts, with basic R&R. It was our last-ditch effort to enter the world of normal R&R.
By now we all had functoning equipment and a "tighter" approach to playing 3-minute Pop songs. We played some of the better clubs in the area, and even ended up with a long-term gig as the house band for a local bar. Times were changing, and it was hard to keep things "grounded" as New Wave, Punk, and Alternative music was starting to make R&B old fart music in the eyes of the current youth.
L7
Somewhere in the early 80's - just when New Wave was making it's mark, I joined a local bar band called L7. As required - I pulled out the skinny ties and the parachute pants to make a few bucks and play the hot "dance" numbers of the time. It was a short-lived band with lots of problems. The drummed - Rich Rogers - became the drummer for MECHANICAL BRIDE, and several other session bands to follow.
