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A Spiritual Journey

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< The Recording Stu
Friday, November 21, 2003
The First Record  >
Saturday, November 22, 2003
November 2003
The Brick Wall
Banned From The Air
Playing The Clubs
Almost On The Road with Toto
Another Sold Out Show
An Avalanche of Confidence
Finishing the Record
The Recording Sessions
The New Studio
Selecting The Songs for the New Record
The Material
An Avalanche of Momentum
Avalanche Sells out the Club
WCCC 106.9 FM and Avalanche
Thoughts After the Show
Avalanche Hits the Stage....Finally!
A New Day Dawns
The Final Rehearsal
Making the Choice
Patti Again
Annie and American Talent International
Taking Care of the Final Details
Trying to Keep A Perspective
The House on McCall Road
Avalanche Hits the Airwaves
The First Record is Released
The Seeds of Doom...A Side Project...The Shaboo All-Stars
The Recording Studio
The Essential Need for Momentum
Keeping the Band Happy
The Band's "Other Women"
The Politics with the Women
Our Crew
Keeping Things "Under Wraps"
Writing and Rehearsing
Avalanche is Born
Barry Easton Gets the Job..
The Responsibility of Leadership
The Relationship between Bass and Drums
Mark comes aboard
Mark Easton
Charles Calmese
Making It Happen
The Journey of Friendship
An Unconventional Plan
Finding my Musical Identity
Back on Course
Very close...but no cigar...
The Audition
A "Shot" at the "Big Time"
Annie... Sex and Drugs and Rock n'Roll
The Move to Boston...
Recuperating...
A Near Death Experience...
Finding my way back...
Clueless
A Friend Through Thick and Thin
Kilo's Sacrifice
« November 2003 Archive
Saturday, November 22, 2003
3:02:00 AM EST
Feeling Frustrated
Hearing My own music

The Seeds of Doom...A Side Project...The Shaboo All-Stars


It was almost Christmas, 1978..,and my twin brother, who had screwed up the earlier band project...approached me and told me he wanted to play the club on New Years Eve that year, which was only ten days away...as an opening act for James Cotton. His idea was that we would do one set only, and he claimed his motive was purely that he missed performing. He asked me to be a part of the group for that gig...and that he had a drummer and a sax player already lined up. He wanted me to play keyboards, and he asked if I could get Charles to play bass and Mark to play guitar, and the final member of the group would be my older brother, Mark, who was also a very capable lead singer...and since the three of us hadn't been in a band together since that first very successful band we had all participated in while I was still in high school...I thought it would be fun...and nostalgic. I also thought it would be a good way for the three of us in Avalanche to get in a little "playing time" in front of an audience, which was already close to being a 1600 person sell-out. We would be doing traditional R&B, and it was only a set...so I told him I thought we'd be able to do it. He also said if it went over well, then we might be able to get some other gigs from it, too. The days went by quickly. We didn't even meet to practice until the night of the show, four hours before we were to hit the stage, to be exact. The first hour was just a big debate and an argument, and we still didn't have one song down yet. I stood up, exasperrated, and said either I be allowed to assume the role of Musical Director right then and there...or I was out of there..because it was only three hours before showtime, and I wasn't going to embarrass myself. Everyone agreed, and 2 hours later, with 60 mins. to spare...we had a set finished. We went onstage that night... and we went over like gangbusters, and The Shaboo All Stars...featuring the name of the club, rather than any particular musician or musicians... was born. We played about six gigs with that personnel before my twin brother decided he didn't need me or my guys anymore, or my brother Mark, either...and we were replaced by other musicians my twin brother had met through being one of the club's owners. To this day, he refuses to acknowledge that those initial gigs ever happened...I've never fully understood his motive for doing that, but I believe he wanted to take all the credit for creating that band. That felt really petty...and today, that band still exists and is quite successful, and my role in creating it and working in for years, and contributing greatly to its growth and development...still goes unacknowledged...but there was a much greater consequence for me to deal with as a result of my efforts in the creation of that group...because that band of his...eventually became a disaster for mine...

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