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1989 – 1990… I have always been a huge fan of ‘The Manhattan Transfer’ – their music and incredible 4 part harmonies consistently blow me away.

In the late 80’s some friends and fellow musicians and I (all professional music educators and performers but one) put together a band where the repertoire was about 70% ‘Manhattan Transfer’ as well as ‘Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks’, ‘Asleep At the Wheel’, ‘Swing’ and our own renditions of various big band tunes called ‘Swing Fever‘…

In the picture at right, seated in front from left to right:

Marilyn Beuhler – keyboards, bells and vocals – freshly relocated from NYC where she was a member of the Manhattan Light Opera Company and studied with world renowned Richard Fredericks; and a stint with ‘Juice & the Jive Tones’; and from way back when she would sit it with the Dixie Daddies… she also played the calliope on the steamboat Minne-Ha-Ha for a number of years; and way way back to when we first met… I was 15 and she played piano at my first ever audition (drumming with the melodrama and ice skate revue at Gaslight Village in Lake George – I didn’t get the gig by the way)

Val Lord – keyboards, violin, clarinet and vocals – a music educator at Ballston Spa High School in Ballston Spa, NY and highly sought after theatrical musical director and accompanist

Standing in the back from left to right:

Dr. Anthony Holland – keyboards, woodwinds and vocals – head of the Skidmore College Music Department in Saratoga Springs, NY

Gus Russo – guitar and vocals (band leader) – now nationally recognized authority on the Kennedy assassination – prior to ‘Swing Fever’ he had been a member of a similar band called ‘Swing Shift’. I joined him in a second incarnation called ‘Juice & the Jive Tones’ (Gus = Juice). I had met Gus while recording radio jingles and some of his originals back in the late ’70’s

…of course myself on drums and vocals (and looking a little like Harry Truman)…

and Mike Dimin – bass guitar – now a prominent bass clinician, author and performer www.michaeldimin.com

Brush with greatness… I actually had the great good fortune to meet and talk to the members of ‘The Manhattan Transfer’ on a number of occasions when they performed in the area. Tim Hauser, one of the male leads, is originally from nearby Wynantskill, NY.

‘Swing Fever’ rehearsed for a solid year before playing our first gig – 8 months of nothing but vocal rehearsals, then 3 months of instrumental practice followed by a full month with everything. The vocals were key and Val, Marilyn and Tony could all sight sing and could put together 3 or 4 new songs every night!! Gus on the other hand had to learn his harmonies the old fashioned way – BY EAR and could only learn one of these complex parts every 3 or 4 weeks!!!

We played our first gig – a benefit put together by Bud (of Bud’s of course) with 3 opening acts before our much heralded debut… rehearsed for another month then set out on a busy June, July and August performance schedule. Unfortunately about mid July Gus started developing vocal / throat problems – forcing the band to rearrange the vocals on the fly or in the parking lot right before gigs would begin. Consequently the band disbanded at the end of August after barely 3 months of performing and with that I decided it was time to take a break from live playing.

Here are a few audio clips from the group’s last night…—

Birdland

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Danny’s All-Star Joint

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It Ain’t the Meat It’s the Motion

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The Star Spangled Banner (trust me – it’s NOT what you think… well not really…)

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1989 – 1994… I had been on the instructional staff with the Vagabonds Sr. Drum & Bugle Corps up until the corps disbanded in the mid ’80’s and now the Capital Brass Sr. Drum & Bugle Corps out of Albany was making strides and looking for help. I decided to focus on drum corps for a while – not playing during the summer would allow me to travel to competitions with them which would hopefully help the corps’ scores improve… I stayed with the corps until they folded in early 1994 after a successful 1993 season and their only DCA World Championships Finals appearance… Swing by my A Different Drum page for more on my love affair with drum & bugle corps…

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The group worked non-stop for 6 years – having all the work they could have wanted – usually booked at least a year and a half in advance but at the end of 1999, due to an unusual set of circumstances, the group decided to call it quits and everyone moved on.

          Click the links below to hear just how much sound 3 guys can put out… with a little M.I.D.I. help!!

Hot, Hot, Hot
This Buster Poindexter tune was always a crowd favorite…

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Linus & Lucy
This became one of the most requested numbers we played – probably because not many groups even attempt it…
Matt never even broke a sweat…

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My Favorite Things
The group’s own interpretation of the jazz standard…

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Crossfire
Fans of Stevie Ray Vaughn will enjoy this…

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Bohemian Rhapsody / Lovin’ Touchin’ Squeezin’
This was one of my arrangements by way of ‘Dream Theatre’ and Mark Caruso’s incredible voice…
We were proud to be one of a handful of bands to pull this one off in any way, shape or form…

I was probably at a playing peak – both physically and mentally – while with the ‘Upstarts’ and made some excellent contacts during that time – filling in with some well known headlining acts at some large venues – they were experiences I will never forget!!

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In the middle of The Upstarts run (1996) I took my first ‘real’ full time job handling mail at Travelers Insurance in Glens Falls, NY. In between mail duties, I would be out on the floor assisting other employees with basic computer questions and It wasn’t long before they discovered my computer aptitude and my people skills and I eventually was asked to work on spreadsheet and database conversions and such – strictly on a volunteer basis… I wouldn’t be paid any extra or see my job description change. The company had 5 or 6 network technicians in house but no end user support!! If an employee called with say a MS Word question they were told, “We don’t handle software. We don’t know anything about software. Don’t call us about software!!” It’s easy to see why I became so popular there – I wasn’t rude and I could actually help. I was really enjoying the work I was doing – including the mail room but I had a funny feeling and it wasn’t long before they jammed that big red umbrella in my butt and tried to open it!! Let me try to explain…

Business was booming at the GF Office – we even received a visit from the Governor!! And the mail room was getting busy – processing over 10,000 pieces of just outgoing mail daily – so I approached the department heads that I was ‘volunteering’ to do computer projects for and told them that when I finished my current assignments I would like to pull back because the mail room was becoming very busy and it wasn’t fair to the other techs for me to be out. They said they understood and that it was fine. Shortly thereafter my immediate Supervisor and her immediate Supervisor called me in and told me that they had heard that I wasn’t going to do any more computer projects. I told them the same thing I had told the department heads to which they replied,  “You can’t choose what job you’re going do… We’d ALL like to pick our jobs…” I told them that, as I understood it, I was employed as a mail tech and that was my job and I was allowed to volunteer for computer work when the mail room wasn’t busy. They repeated their ‘picking my job’ speech and ended the meeting. A few days later I was called into a meeting with the head of Human Resources and another Supervisor (here comes the umbrella)… they accused me of calling a Supervisor an expletive on the floor the day before!! I denied it (because it never happened) and they left the room to conference for about two minutes. When they returned they told me that it was my word against that of a Supervisor so they’d have to let me go. And with that, for the first and only time in my entire life, I was fired from a job. I found out later that I had been nominated for a number of company awards for the computer work I was doing – some of them including cash awards over $1000 – but the two Supervisors immediately over me turned me down for them saying I didn’t deserve them. There were some other ‘suspects’ as well… one of the other mail tech’s Aunt was the VP of the GF operation… at any rate, it was July of 1998, I WAS OUT.

At the time, it was my dream job and I stayed with the company until they closed the doors due some serious health issues Juergen was battling but not before I got a last laugh or two over Travelers Insurance… One day. several months before CI closed, I received several calls from various friends that remained at Travelers telling me that the most incredible thing just happened… A ton of state and county law enforcement vehicles sort of stormed the place accompanied by a few black limos… They all came in, HANDCUFFED the President and VP (that other tech’s Aunt), led them out of the building and changed all the locks on the spot!!! I’m ashamed to say that I found this all a little gratifying but it got better… A month or so later CI was still going strong and interviewing additional techs for the shop… I was working in the expanded system build area of the lower level when Juergen brought an interviewee on a tour… it was the mail tech’s Aunt from Travelers – the former VP – and she was going to work for me!! I promise you I would have treated her better than Travelers treated me but I never saw her again.

The Wall – 1999 Continued… Musically, I was a little disappointed after the demise of ‘the Upstarts’ (December 1999) so once again I decided I would take some musical time off to regroup – even considering musical retirement after almost 25 years in the business since I had a solid day gig…

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I have to shift to a personal note again…

During the previous several months, my on again / off again girlfriend of 11 years (Julie) and I talked about getting back together when she informed me that she was pregnant and the biological father had made a baby then made tracks… so now I had a decision to make… I didn’t feel that I was financially ready for marriage and a family so I had been biding my time…

In the meantime, Julie had been suffering with Endometriosis for a long time but doctors were trying to avoid a total hysterectomy and she desperately wanted to have a child so, ready or not, here she comes and in 2000 she gave birth to a daughter – Selena Rose…

Julie had ended up in the hospital the night before and that morning they decided to induce labor… I was heading back to Computer Image from lunch and stopped by to see how she was doing… As she lay in bed, she looked at me… took my hand… … … AND HER WATER BROKE!! Thank you – you’ve been great!! I’m outta here!! I’m here ’til Thursday – try the veal!

She was 6 weeks premature and it was a while before they both were released but I knew when I took them back to Julie’s apartment and in the weeks that followed that the little ‘Peanut’ as I would come to call her (and still do) had me wrapped around her finger… In 2004 we would be married and in 2007 I would formally adopt Selena and we’ve been together ever since.  🙂

Musically, I was spending summers at Ridin’ Hy Ranch with ‘Red River Randy & His Saddle Sores’ and filling in with ‘Aged In the Hills’, ‘Area Code 518’ (a classic country show band), ‘Standing Room Only’ (top 40 wedding / corporate party band) and ‘Lois & the Kryptonites’ (a contemporary top 40 band whose drummer Vic had fallen of a ladder and broke his elbow).

In August of 2002 – 4 months after Computer Image closed its doors – I landed a job with the Warren Saratoga Washington Hamilton Essex Counties Board of Cooperative Educational Services (WSWHE BOCES) as a computer repair technician in the Tech Services department. I was hired on an emergency temporary appointment (Civil Service position) because they had lost a tech to a school district and another was out indefinitely with a broken arm… it was mid-summer and they were very behind in the work load. I had everything caught up in two weeks so they started throwing printer repairs at me. I hadn’t done any before but hey, I was game. It was going very well but for whatever reason (quoting comedian Ron White) they hated my guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuts. As a form of ‘punishment’ (or just so they wouldn’t have to be around me) they started sending me on road calls out to the various facilities they supported because most of them (much like Traveler’s techs) hated dealing with the end users. When they were training me initially they told me straight out that I would hate their clients – “they’re so needy”. Job security, people, job security!! This will come as no surprise to people who know me but the end users loved me!! And I thoroughly enjoyed meeting and helping them solve their issues!! I found myself being dispatched more and more by BOCES Technology Coordinator Marco Zumbolo who wasn’t part of Tech Services which lead to a dramatic turn of events…

One day Marco calls me into his office and asks if I’d be interested in leaving Tech Services and taking on a Micro Computer Specialist position that they were going to create especially for me. Of course I jumped at that opportunity… BOCES extended my emergency temporary appointment and we started piloting the new program which was a huge success. Now here’s the kicker… in order to get a permanent appointment for my new position I had to take the Civil Service exam for my old Tech Services position AND have one of the top three scores. I told you TS hated my guuuuuuuuuuuuuuts and as proof I offer this… the head of the department had EVERYONE in the department (including herself – even though they were all permanent already) take that exam in the hopes of keeping me out of the top three!! I’m proud to say I beat all of them but one (and it wasn’t the manager).

There was plenty of other nonsense at BOCES but that situation would eventually change so let’s get back to the music side…

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Then, I think it was later that same year, they had to replace that talented and hugely popular lead singer (John Karl – www.johnkarl.net) when he was offered a corporate sponsored mini-tour out of Nashville. They replaced him with a string of female vocalists… then they replaced their drummer in 2002. In August of 2003 I got wind that they were replacing the drummer again and decided to check it out and in September 2003 I started drumming with ‘Railway’!!

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The band consisted of , John Novakovic – bass, guitar and vocals, ‘Dutch’ Dearstyne – guitars and vocals, Debbie Barber – vocals, Dennis Cusano – keyboards and vocals, ‘Josh’ Welch – guitar, bass and vocals and myself on drums and vocals.

Here are some songs off this cast of Railway’s demo – my first recording attempt with my then new Tascam 8 track digital recorder…

All Night Long
(the band’s signature song – we closed every show with it)

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China Grove

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On A Mission
(this little known number became the band’s theme… “On a head on collision with a real good time!!”)

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SPECIAL BONUS TRACK!!

‘Railway’ was invited to record a Christmas song on a fundraising CD produced by Froggy 107.
It could have been a cover tune but the band decided to record this destined-to-be-a-classic original:

What’s Daddy Doin’ With the Reindeer In the Barn by ‘Dutch’ Dearstyne and ‘Josh’ Welch

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I played with them through a couple guitarists and female vocalists – it was high energy and fun… drumming was often a welcomed ‘aerobic’ workout but by August of 2005 I had grown tired of the whole situation… Debbie and I were at each other’s throats constantly (mostly because she didn’t try to blend vocally and what she called ‘harmony’ was her doubling someone’s lead at the top of her raspy lungs)… then there was the seemingly constant rebuilding and auditions and decided the time had come for me to move on. Josh and John stayed with ‘Railway’ – even calling me the day after I gave my notice to see if I’d stay if they got rid of Debbie but I just wanted to be done with it. Debbie and Dennis soon left to form ‘Prolonged Exposure’ and Dutch would follow later.

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Here’s a link to a slideshow I put together back then that concludes with the song I sang to Julie at our reception (there’s a reason I don’t sing any leads so don’t expect Elvis or Garth or Englebert, etc…)…

August 14, 2004

2005… I don’t know why I waited this long but I decided that this would be the year I finally took action against all the things that were making me miserable…

In August of 2005 I parted ways with Railway. As I said earlier, the lead singer and I were constantly at each other’s throats as they say and I decided, for the good of the band, to sacrifice myself – rationalizing that it would be easier for them to find another drummer than another female vocalist (since we had auditioned so many).

Then in October I went ‘over the wall’ at BOCES!! As I said earlier, there were plenty of things making me insane there…  another department would take my calls from the Help Desk software after I’d diagnosed something that I couldn’t repair because I wasn’t allowed to carry parts because that was deemed ‘working out of title’, go to the call, tell the client that I didn’t know what I was talking about, usually replace a hard drive and spend all day reloading the computer (whereas I had all the system images on a drive in my back pack and could reload a room full of computers in about 30 minutes), then they’d leave but not before losing all the customer’s data (when they threw away a perfectly good hard drive), charge some outrageous amount without ever fixing the actual problem (because they didn’t replace the part I had indicated). I’m grateful to Marco for rescuing me from Tech Services… He later left as well to become Assistant Superintendent at Broadalbin – Perth.

A short time later I ran into someone who has become one of my best friends – Bill Hillebrandt. He was pretty much the face of all network projects when we were together at Computer Image though I rarely saw him as he was on the road every day. He had left there well before it closed to accept a position at WSWHE BOCES. Then back in 2004 he left BOCES to become the Network Analyst for the Greenwich Central School District. I was ‘in house’ this particular day – catching up on all the paperwork they had me file… Bill ‘happened’ to be attending a meeting in my building and we ‘happened’ to run into each other and he mentioned that he was losing his #2 guy in Greenwich who was taking the Tech Coordinator position in Fort Ann Schools… WHERE DO I APPLY?!? This was my escape route out of BOCES… I had an application and resume to Greenwich that night, interviewed shortly thereafter and started the first week of November. I have honestly never been happier in a job than I am as the Micro Computer Specialist, Network Manager, Webmaster, Facilities Comptroller, Model School Liaison and more for the Greenwich Schools!! I can’t wait to get in every morning and hate to leave on many days (and some days I don’t)…

I found out after the fact that my running into Bill that day at BOCES wasn’t exactly an accident… he was sort of prowling the halls hoping to run into me though he couldn’t just outright track me down and offer me a position. Of course, as luck would have it, as we were talking, who should walk by but the BOCES Assistant Superintendent… I remember her looking at us and saying, “Ooooh – this is never good.”  Life is funny… and karma’s a WITCH in this case… As a district, Greenwich subscribes to BOCES Services which means that each summer the Tech Services crew that was so anxious to see me leave now comes to town and works for me.

Remember earlier I mentioned recording in 2005 and 2007 with my high school friend and Frisbee trainer Gary Moon?? The graphics below link to his website and to those two CDs available on CD Baby.

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2006… Following ‘the summer of me’ in 2005 I was determined to enjoy the summer of 2006… more family time, more golf, biking, tennis, etc… Instead, I managed to golf twice and spent the rest of the time (mid-June to mid-September) fighting a battle for a mortgage!! If anyone reading this is considering going through Wells Fargo RUN SCREAMING THE OTHER WAY!!! They approved me almost immediately then yanked me around for weeks and weeks – only moving on anything when the seller’s attorney pushed for information or action… Then they eventually called (one of the few times they actually contacted me) to say they “couldn’t find a mortgage product that would work for me” – primarily, I’ve come to believe, because they and their attorney are pretty much clueless!!! Several sources have said that my small home loan was too little to merit any real effort and I’ve heard nothing good about them from anyone else I’ve related the whole story to so avoid Wells Fargo at all costs!!

Enter Michael Bates and GMAC Mortgage in Latham, NY… I’ve had a couple car loans through GMAC and when I started looking for another potential lender I stumbled on GMAC Mortgage. Mr. Bates and company could not have been more helpful, pleasant and encouraging!! They knew just what needed to be done, what questions to ask, what information to get and where to get it!! They got the deal done and my family and I into our new home!!!

I grabbed some fill-in gigs while dealing with the mortgage  – sure that the ‘next big thing’ would come along soon enough and I’d be committed to a project full time again!! It would also be 6th and last summer with ‘Red River Randy & His Saddle Sores’ at Rydin Hi Ranch Resort on Sherman Lake in Warrensburg, NY…  It’s been a blast and some of the players that have filled in were amazing. And we’ve played everything from country to rock to figure dances to surf music. They introduce me each night as the ‘last of the great circus drummers’!! But the road is a nightmare and the management is convinced that customers would be just as happy with the jukebox as live entertainment and won’t budge on the band money (same as it’s been since the ’70’s) so I’m content to let this chapter come to a close.

I’ve toyed with the idea of putting my own thing together… played with some name and logo ideas…

And my personal favorite…

Johnny Diaper and the Party Poopers

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2007… I’ve enjoyed some time away from full time playing, grabbed some fill-in gigs, settled into married life, closed on a house, locked into a great day gig with a great friend and co-worker at an excellent school district, etc… things are pretty well in place in my personal life so now I’m anxious to start gigging again!!

Each year Greenwich CSD has a dinner and Pops Concert fund raiser and this year they have several small ensembles performing – so many that it proved difficult for the student drummers to cover them all so I’ve been asked to jump in with a few groups… it was a blast and the kids were great!!

By May of ’07 we were getting tighter and landed some high profile gigs like the block party before the Lynard Skynard / Hank Williams, Jr. concert, opening for the likes of Luke Bryan, Chris Cagle and John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band and playing the after concert party for Alan Jackson and Brooks & Dunn!! We won several ‘Best of’ awards for consecutive years…

Early 2008 things were really coming together – shows were tighter and developing a good flow…

We headed to Tony Perrino’s studio to cut a new demo which included a few originals and here are the results…

After Tonight (original)

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All My Friends Say

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Awful Beautiful Life

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Country As They Come (original)

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Going Through Hell

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Latest Single (original)

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Thunder Rolls

We had a great, enthusiastic following, were cutting a new CD and to top it off were asked to open the 2008 CountryFest in front of about 35,000 people!! The very next day we played in Fort Johnson… in the rain… for about 35 people… that’ll bring you back down to earth!!

WGNA CountryFest 2008…   Video 1     Video 2

Here we are after opening for Luke Bryan!!

And Selena still loves coming on stage with me between sets…

And we loved it when we got the opportunity to play the Vapor Lounge at Saratoga Gaming and Raceway…

Hillbilly Shoes          Latest Single

Dave Ahl singing to my Mom…

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My good friend and co-worked Bill made the show…

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…as did my wife Julie…

—I’m always humbled and a little embarrassed when someone asks ME for an autograph…

It was a trip but I had a funny feeling…

Rick and Dave landed with ‘Skeeter Creek’ and a new ‘Back40 Band’ was out there too!! As for me, I had a brief bout of Drummer – Interuptus while my body and I came to grips with Type II Diabetes and some Neuropathy in both feet…

 

Fall / Winter 2009… I did some auditions to see how it felt to play again… met some great players – nice people but the music wasn’t quite what I was after… Some groups were pretty good and had some serious potential but were grossly disorganized and some folded before they really got started… and I really didn’t feel quite right yet…

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March – April 2010… It’s good to be playing again!! Back40 has a job or two each month and is morphing again… Dutch (previously with Railway) is gone and a keyboard player may be on the horizon… playing a few jobs with just the 5 of us but we’ll manage.

A couple days after agreeing to fill in with ‘Back40’ I got a call from ‘Renee Lussier & Branchwater‘… I explained that I had just committed to another group but would keep my ears open for them. A week later they called again… I looked at their schedule and Back40’s and the two weaved together nicely so I offered to fill in until they found someone and will actually try to do BOTH bands until they find full time drummers. I only know 5 or 6 of the 60+ songs on their list so there will be a lot of ‘cramming’ AGAIN (I don’t listen to female fronted contemporary country much either). Renee is 18 and has had a band since she was 14… She can belt out ‘Sugarland’ then turn around and do the sweetest rendition of a Patsy Cline or Loretta Lynn tune. She’s is extremely talented and a veteran onstage – mature beyond her years – fronting the band better than a lot of people I’ve seen 2 or 3 times her age!!

Here are a few video clips…

Baby Girl          Good Friend and A Glass of Wine          I’m Yours          After This

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July 2010… ‘Back40’ is trying to go with just 5 members and has a handful of jobs this summer… I’m hoping to be able to debut my new project by the end of the year… And I’ve almost got Branchwater’s repertoire down…

August 2010… I’m feeling great!! Nailed some shows – I really felt like I was getting my groove back which I guess was confirmed by some of my bandmates telling me during and after a ‘Branchwater’ show that I was ‘a freakin’ machine’!! And between ‘Back40’ and ‘Branchwater’ I have a full slate of gigs… oddly though, no weekends in August – all mid-week… summer concerts, Vapor, etc. But wait… here come a couple fill-in gigs with ‘Aged In the Hills’ on a Friday and Saturday…

September 2010… time to focus on making ‘The House Bands’ project really take flight or for me to bag it and look for an established group that’s a great fit…

October 2010… my high school band director has returned to the area and taken over as director of the Lake George Community Band and emailed to ask if I’d be interested in jumping in with his percussion section as they were doing an all movie themed concert and need some extra hands… had a great time after not having read or written any music in over 10 years!! In addition, a couple of former members of the Avant Garde Jr. Drum & Bugle Corps have contacted me about playing in an alumni drumline… can’t wait to see how this goes!!

December 2010… I’m continuing my quest for my ‘House Bands’ vision but there’s an obvious lack of dedicated talent… no one wants to put the time into making it good – just get it out there and start making money… such short-sightedness makes me crazy…

In the meantime, Aged In the Hills has invited me to play New Years Eve at Saratoga First Night… in the lobby of the Saratoga branch of the Post Office!! I can’t wait to hear the acoustics… 🙂

Turned out not to be so bad – especially once people jammed the place… Had a great time… easy load, no mics, simple gig and sounded great!!

Here are some highlights…

Aged in the Hills at Saratoga First Night 12-31-2010 

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Happy New Year!!!

February 2011… The bands of last summer’s double fill-in are moving forward… ‘Back40’ has their full time drummer, ‘Branchwater’ is closer to having a full time drummer though I’m still practicing with them to help get the new guitar and keys people settled in while they audition drummers… My project is still in the works but I want people who are on the same page and ready for the long haul as they say… I honestly would have no problem pulling them plug on it if I don’t feel the direction is everything I’ve intended… For that matter, upon reflecting on my playing ‘career’ if you will I have nothing left to prove (other than maybe to the groups that failed to even give me an audition – apparently because I don’ look like I fell out of the cast of ‘The Sopranos’)… In the meantime, I’m continuing as the ‘irregular regular’ with the Lake George Community Band and holding down the #2 bass in the Avant Garde Alumni Drumline – a junior corps style 12 member marching ensemble playing things we wouldn’t have dreamed of 20-30 years ago!!

May 2011… ‘Branchwater’ has found a full time drummer… Lake George Community Band is gearing up for a pair of Armed Forces concerts and trying to give their marching band unit a much needed jump start… and the Avant Garde Alumni Drumline is getting tighter by the day!! We can’t wait to make our debut!!

June 2011… The Avant Garde Alumni Drumline (AGAD) made it’s debut in the original corps’ hometown of Saratoga Springs at the annual Flag Day Parade!! It was exciting for all of us to be marching again – especially in Avant Garde colors – but the real thrill came before we ever stepped off when Jeff Perkins – the original corps director – paid us a visit while we were warming up!! Below is the line with Jeff – front and center – donning his corps jacket from the 80’s and one of our new hats that we couldn’t wait to give him!!—

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Here’s Jeff as we made our way down Broadway in Saratoga…

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August 2011… ‘Branchwater’s’ drummer is moving back to Texas (best of luck Mike Mirosole!) so I’m jumping back in…

Also having a blast with the Lake George Community Band’s summer concerts…

Here’s a clip of one of my favorites from the indoor concert season that Mr. Durkee pulled out for the Shepard Park concerts (of course I’m on bass drum but having a blast – especially with the end)…

American Barndance

And the story of how we came to play this arrangement of ‘The Gael’ (from ‘Last of the Mohicans’) is also interesting… As I understand it, Mr.s Durkee reached out to the composer, Dougie Maclean, and told him what he was attempting with the combined bands at an outdoor concert on the anniversary of the battle and within site of Fort William Henry. Mr. Maclean was so thrilled with the idea that he sent Mr. Durkee the charts free of charge!! This all added to the magic of the evening… I only wish someone had gotten better video and audio because visitors to Lake Geroge were treated to a once in a lifetime performance on this evening.

Here are some cell phone clips from

‘Last of the Mohicans’

and

Highland Cathedral

Here’s a tangent you’ll love… during a thunderstorm there was apparently a violent downdraft in our area which did a lot of damage all around us and knocked part of a tree down that came through the roof of our house!! And Hurricane Irene is expected to hit in a week… PERFECT!!

We found a roofer that came right over, removed the tree and limbs from the roof and fastened a tarp over everything but we ended up with an adjuster who was a real winner…

Two of the few bright spots in this whole ordeal were A-1 TreeWorks and All Pro Restoration. Martin from A-1 stopped over that evening and while he was there I got quotes for removing some of the other trees on the property – some of which I would have called ‘danger trees’ given their proximity to the house which they were leaning right at. He wasn’t like the other companies I had talked to who looked at each tree and said,”…that’s a thousand…that’s a thousand, etc.”… he looked at each one and calculated the work involved to bring it down, move it, chip it and everything and was more than fair. But the clincher was what was left of the one that had come down on the house… it was sort of dangling up there still and he offered to stop with his crew first thing the next morning when they were on their way to another job, top it and make it as safe as possible given the impending hurricane for around $400!! The job was his!!

Here’s Selena surveying the damage…

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This branch came through our bedroom ceiling… I knew it was there and still banged my head on it 3 or 4 times

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This is the back of my house where the bulk of the damage was BEFORE A-1 TreeWorks came in and cleaned up…

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…and this is after they finished… you’d never know anything happened!!

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September 2011… Ended up having to borrow money from a good friend for $4000 worth of emergency tree clean-up for which my insurance company will pay $100 towards anything ON THE GROUND ONLY… Glad I had A-1 TreeWorks top off the rest of that first tree BEFORE Irene after seeing what was left of our back yard after the hurricane… probably saved our house!! And I couldn’t be more thrilled with the job they did and the price for which they di it!!

These pictures are after Irene hit…

Don’t know how this one missed our sheds…

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This WAS my daughter’s trampoline…

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I had sent the girls to my Mom’s apartment the other side of town when things started getting hairy here… I was trying to corral our cat (who was still a basket case from the tree a week ago) before heading over myself when I heard a loud crack… I took a couple steps towards the door but know I wasn’t going to make it if it hit so I just stood there and waited…

Thankfully, it went sideways… I tackled the cat, jumped in the van and we all camped out at Mom’s until morning.

Oddly enough we actually had power the next morning… nothing more actually hit the house though we did have another round of heavy water damage…

I’m still dealing with an adjuster who’s a complete idiot… no contact in almost a month!! He did warn us though… when he finally called back almost a full week after his initial visit he said, “You know – I’m going to be awfully busy after that hurricane hit.” We know moron – that’s why we were trying to get you to move on our claim the week prior… dumbass!!!

When it was all said and done we ended up with a new roof on the house… the adjuster yanked the roofer around the same as us and he ended up not sealing around vents on the roof which we didn’t learn until the next rain came through and there were several leaks. We brought in the Honey-Do Man on short notice and he was able to correctly diagnose the problem and patch it up before the contractors came to rebuild the inside of the house.

So I had no fun – did nothing but work all summer… Played a few gigs, parades with alumni drumline and the LGCB summer concerts which I enjoyed but nothing ‘recreational’…
Banged my knee into the corner of a desk mid-July and haven’t been right since… can’t sleep and generally feel like crap!!
Then to top it off I was walking 18 blocks back to my van after the Uncle Sam Parade while wearing my drum, tripped on a sidewalk heave and landed right on top of the drum!! I have a puncture wound below my collarbone where the bolt from the carrier jabbed me, banged up the same knee and an elbow and the cross bar of the carrier caught me under the chin and knocked my jaw in to the back of my head… Ended up with bruised ribs and a minor concussion… fun stuff!!

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October 2011… The LG Community Band and the Alumni Drumline continue to mature and grow… I pulled the plug on my ‘House Bands’ project… great in theory but trying to get that many like minded and talented players together proved impossible in this area so now I’m gearing up for the biggest audition yet towards the end of the month!! Let’s see if I can get Funkaphized!! But wait – the very next day after I accept an audition with one talented group another calls… I’m in heaven but it’s a dilemma…

The adjuster finally got paperwork to me for the repairs (the roofer I had was nice enough to go ahead and put a new roof on without waiting)… I’m thankful to get anything after FEMA people visited me and insisted that I put paperwork in for their assistance saying that I was definitely entitled to help then they eventually sent me a letter saying ‘congratulations you are entitled to $0’… figures. My golf clubs and bag were stored in the closet that took the brunt of the damage from the tree and water twice… the adjuster put in $10 for golf clubs… thanks!!

I wrote earlier about my excellent experience with A-1 TreeWorks  but the other bright spot was All Pro Restoration… their staff really knows their stuff and had us dried out in no time which was especially important since the adjuster determined that there wasn’t enough water damage to merit removing the carpets and all… thanks again!! But All Pro’s sub-contractors were also top-notch in everything they did for us we are very appreciative to them all!!

The closet in the master bedroom took the brunt of the water damage which unfortunately (in addition to my golf clubs and bag) contained most of my wife’s clothes – in particular, her WEDDING DRESS!! Most of the clothes were already showing signs of mildew but some we thought might be salvageable and All Pro turns to Warrensburg Dry Cleaning and Laundry for this phase of the operation. We bagged everything up including the wedding dress which was in a garment bag… when they picked everything up they said they weren’t sure they could do much with it but they’d try. A couple weeks later they brought our clothes back AND not only had they recovered her wedding dress, they had preserved and boxed it FOR NO CHARGE!! We still tear up when we talk about it… though, and this may be a guy thing, I kept telling her it wasn’t a big deal since we were already married… unless she was planning on using it again… 🙂  Boy – did THAT get a look…

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November 2011… I decided to end my fill-in with ‘Branchwater’ in order to dedicate the time necessary for full time playing with one of two local super groups… The preliminary emails with ‘Funk Evolution’ – a 9 piece classic rock / funk band – were very exciting but when they told me there were 23 drummers already lined up I started to have my doubts… AND, while I was waiting to learn when that audition might be scheduled, I got a call from a smokin’ country / rock band – ‘Skeeter Creek’… At this point I’ve learned to trust my gut which was telling me that the funk band was going to blow me off (band image trumps playing yet again as it had with other groups in the area in the past and I know I don’t have ‘the look’ or even ‘A look’) so I withdrew my name from contention with them and starting New Year’s Eve I will become the new drummer with ‘Skeeter Creek’!!! You can’t imagine how excited I am!! The group is sounding fantastic and it will be fun to take the stage once again with Dave and Rick from my first stint with ‘The Back40 Band’ and my new ‘Skeeter Creek’ family – Joe, Juan and Dom… and Renee Lussier from ‘Branchwater’ has now joined them!!

The Avant Garde Alumni Drumline took part in the annual Holiday Parade in South Glens Falls and continues to improve – playing things usually reserved for younger lines to pull off…

Here’s a video clip from the TV Broadcast… Look TV 8 Holiday Parade

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December 2011… I just performed the most amazing ‘Hometown Christmas’ concert with The Lake George Community Band. Unfortunately, due to the time commitment and potential for scheduling conflicts, I’ve had to make this my last performance with them – primarily because I don’t want to risk leaving them hanging should a major last minute ‘Skeeter Creek’ gig come up (SK does around 80+ shows a year).

The percussion section…

Here I am modeling our festive head gear worn during the percussion feature I wrote (yes it looks like a big bow but they’re really antlers)…

My Mom Elaine, daughter Selena, me and my wife Julie…

The Lake George Community Band Holiday Concert at the Wood Theater…

Now I just need to finish learning the Skeeter Creek repertoire…

Selena’s loving that I have my practice kit setup as evidenced in this video of Selena practicing ‘Boots On’…

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Click here to see what happens as I head towards my 40th year as a professional drummer…