| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| lucy in the sky |
Posted - May 22 2005 : 09:22:24 AM
...anyone remember the pool dances (67-?) |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Bean |
Posted - November 01 2005 : 02:08:18 AM
I think my first shows all were in 69,
Blind Faith at the Garden... The Kinks & Spirit at the Filmore, StepponWolf & Spooky Tooth and the very first was Tommy James and the Shondells and Rhinocerous, Arthur Lee & Love, Savoy Brown,, and then it all gets fuzzy? |
| richm |
Posted - November 01 2005 : 12:33:35 AM
That's a lot of concerts, Bean. Who did you see first? |
| Bean |
Posted - October 31 2005 : 10:40:54 AM
YIKES !
I have seen the kinks alone close to 300 times, the Ramones about 40 times, Bob Dylan about 30 times, Patti Smith around 20 times, The Black Crowes around 10 times, the Smithereens around 20 times, solo Ray and Dave Davies shows around 75 times , Pearl Jam around 10 times, then add all the random shows, bands and artists that I have seen either once or a few times I'm guessing my total concerts has to be in the high 3 digits but proably not 1000 but it could be though. Also I'm not counting local bands that I have seen. |
| richm |
Posted - October 30 2005 : 9:04:38 PM
Bean: It sounds as if you have seen a few concerts. How many do you think you have attended? |
| Bean |
Posted - October 29 2005 : 12:11:33 AM
don't think they ever all got along too well? That's why they were good. My belief is when a band is too happy and content they usually suck but when there is friction, tension and an edge that's when they put out their best stuff. |
| richm |
Posted - October 25 2005 : 12:15:45 AM
Blind Faith! I forgot that great band! Winwood awesome, Clapton and Baker still great! Why did they stop playing together?
Potent pharmaceuticals were not a big deal in my high school years (VSCHS '65), and I was out of town by '68. The Village Green was a more pastoral Lawrence Welkian environment when my crowd haunted it. The West Point Mens Choir was a big deal then, and the mosh pit was all senior citizens in lawn chairs. |
| Bean |
Posted - October 24 2005 : 01:14:02 AM
I actually liked Blind faith even better than Cream, with the addition of Winwood on vocals and keyboards. He gave the band a little more texture and flavor and Winwood was a much better singer than Bruce..the bass player in Bilnd faith was Rick Gretch from another lesser known English band called " Family "
as for free tickets and free airfare to see Cream this week in NYC, you had better get some of those little ornage, and purple pills we were doing back at the Green in the late 60's and early 70's because that's the only trip taking any one will be doing for free!!! |
| richm |
Posted - October 24 2005 : 12:22:30 AM
For a while, Cream was a perfect band...singing, musicianship, presentation. I wonder if they regretted ripping it all apart, or if they were so pissed off at each other that they were glad it was done. I wonder where I could get free tickets and airfare..... |
| Bean |
Posted - October 23 2005 : 5:01:04 PM
I love Dr Johns version of IKO IKO. Whne ever I would see the Dead or any of their current offshoots like RatDog or the The Other Ones, Bob Weir, etc...I love when they do that, and Not Fade Away too.
btw I just found out that Da Gacomo's from Milan has a place in NYC on the upper east or west side I forgot the address now but you can find info on the web about it. The menu looks very similar to the one in Milan so I can't wait to try it.
Are you or anyone here going to the Cream shows this week??? Ben Dadoine is coming in from LA for ther Monday night show and I might meety him and Bob Carapezza ( both from VS central class of 71 ) also I know Mike Pascuzzi, Michael Stankowitz, and Tony Maluzzo are going either Tuesday or Wednesday night. Not sure if Big Arthur Sprinczeles is going or Jeffery ( Ginger Baker himself ) Zohler is going...
Bean |
| richm |
Posted - October 23 2005 : 12:43:40 AM
Well, I sincerely hope Mrs. Roche is still incarnate. I did not know Ms. DiGacamo. Funny, I was listening to Dr. John sing about a Jacamo this morning, in his version of Iko Iko. I was giving my son Mike a taste of New Orleans rhythm, and we were listening to the wonderful syncopation in that tune. I consider Mac Rebennac a national treasure. He should get one of those Presidential awards, as far as I'm concerned. |
| Bean |
Posted - October 22 2005 : 03:06:42 AM
Favorite Meal was in Milan at a resturant called either DiGacomo's or just Gacomo's and I'm not sure of the spelling but I know it's close because it reminded me of a girl I knew in Valley Stream named Debbie DiGacomo. Maybe you knew jer too, lived just off (before )Ormande Ave on Copague St.
Mrs Roche' was my 6th grade teacher at Shaw, she honestly believed that she was reincarnated and that shw was and Egyption back from the days when of the Pyramids. She signed my little autograph book using hieroglyphics.
Bean
|
| richm |
Posted - October 22 2005 : 02:01:48 AM
Bean: I remember two of the three teachers you mention. Miss Harris is a little after my time, I suppose, at Shaw, but I clearly remember Mrs. Roche, a nice woman, and George Weimer at Central. He was a rookie teacher when I was there, on lunch room duty. He took a lot of teasing, in a good natured way. If he was there into the nineties then he put in at least twenty-five years. I hope he's enjoying a nice retirement.
As for Italia....what was your favorite meal, and where did you enjoy it? |
| Bean |
Posted - October 21 2005 : 02:20:28 AM
and Doc talk about places with lots of history??? You must go to Italy if not for the art & history than just for the food because it is to die for! Did you see Dink and Lillian in Ga.??? |
| Bean |
Posted - October 21 2005 : 02:18:20 AM
There were a few favorites, Ms. Harris and Mrs. Roche' from shaw Ave...Harris got married shorlty after, can't remember what her married name was? She was still there as of the early 90's when I had to stop there for something and she remembered me! So did Weimer at Central when I stopped in to visit once around the same time. |
| richm |
Posted - October 16 2005 : 11:57:27 PM
Doc: I am not sure of which Bob you refer to. Paul played in Lester Lanin's orchestra as well in the seventies, maybe the eighties, I'm not sure. He was lead singer in a terrific vocal group called the Lost Souls, and played bass in The Albert.
I do not miss travelling to play music, though I do miss playing and recording. My old friends will be here in Las Vegas at the end of November, so I will see them then. Four original members are left.
Years ago, when I played bass more frequently, I had a blue Jazz Bass. Unfortunately, I sold it to Scott Donaldson (he was a South High School guy), who had a bass of his stolen.
I now have a reissue Precision Bass, and an original Fender Bass VI. I need a good bass amp, but don't play out, so I won't be getting one. Have we turned the Corner Mailbox into a guitar players' forum?
Let me try to switch gears back to the Valley Stream/Shaw Ave./Central High School realm with a question I posed to my fellow Cobbs Gangstas in another internet space:
Who was your favorite teacher?
This was spurred by my son asking that question of his Aunt Carol, my sister. Without hesitation she answered her fourth grade teacher at Shaw: Vincent Leatham. I had him for grade six, and I'll vote with my sister on this one.
If anyone knows of Scott Donaldson's whereabouts please let us know. He is MIA for Cobbs Gang, and will be welcomed back with open arms. |
| doc |
Posted - October 16 2005 : 4:58:51 PM
RichM,
Just returned from Savannah, GA. Beautiful old town with lots of history. Sherman banged it up a bit but left most of the town intact. We visited SCAD with my daughter Kerri. Interesting place.
Regarding the B-15. I worked six and seven nights a week in a society/show trio in Manhattan, FLa, and summers at the Concord Hotel from 1980 until about 83 or 84. It seemed that every bass player used a b15 and a jazz bass in those rooms. (Rainbow rm., Jimmy Westons, and St. Regis Hotel, etc.) Sounded great with a nine foot grand. It didn't sound quite right without that setup.
My Jazz bass which I still use, was made in about '78 and it weighs a ton. All of my tuxedos had a hole worn out on the left shoulder. In the 70's when I played with a top 40's band (at Holiday Inns all over) I used a 1970 Rickenbacker 4001 bass. Nice and light but it sounded like a Rickenbacker. I later pulled the frets out which improved the sound but still didn't make it very versatile. I don't use it at all anymore so it might be going on ebay soon.
Although I ran into Paul Petrocelli at showcases back then, we never really spoke, only to say hello. Also heard of Neil but I don't think we ever met. We were going to use his studio once when my hard drives crapped out. He is also a friend of Bob's.
Ever miss the road with the "other" group? I guess It probably got to be overwhelming. Many/any of the originals still with them besides the lead singer? |
| richm |
Posted - October 10 2005 : 10:01:46 PM
Doc:I was last with the 'other' group in '79, until I took a teaching job. By '82 I wanted out of teaching, and Ric offered me a gig while I trained in the securities industry, where I've been since.
Ric also asked me to be part of Prospect's band that was being put together. I recommended my good friend Paul Petrucelli for that gig. Did you know Paul? Great bass player and singer. I haven't had a regular paying music gig since. I consider myself retired from the music business, though I still play.
I try to get together with my Cobbs Gang friends every time I visit Long Island. The last of these get-togethers was in none other than Valley Stream, NY at Richard 'The Count' Kopsco's house. Our buddy Dan Loesel was in attendance, along with Marty Badamo, John Kleiss and a few others. We could have used a bass player. Marty brought Lucille. I played John Kleiss' fabulous old Telecaster through his equally fabulous tweed Tremolux amp. Among the Cobbs Gang family of attendees was Barbara Bradley, nee Quinn. Her husband Bob was drummer for the Bad Boys group I see mentioned elsewhere in these forums, as well as the Stanton Anderson Band. It is a small world, isn't it?
I believe Marty has played a gig or two with Tom and another very talented friend of mine, Neal Ferraro. Neal plays about thirty five thousand instruments and makes jingles for a living out in Patchogue. Great guy. You should meet him, and I wouldn't be surprised if you did one of these days.
I remember those old B 15 amps. Every recording studio had one in the old days, and one of the very best bass amp combinations I ever heard was a society group's bassist I met in the Riverboat Cafe in Manhattan. He played a Fender Jazz Bass through a B 15 top and a Fender single Showman cabinet. It was perfect for that room, and that was a big room.
When I lived in Valley Stream, back in the 1960's, I played my Jazzmaster through an Ampeg Reverbrocket amp. I loved the guitar, but not the amp. Now they are both gone.
Thinline guitars are versatile indeed. To get a good one for less than a thousand bucks is a great bargain. Roman probably was not happy about that. |
| doc |
Posted - October 10 2005 : 8:43:59 PM
Rich,
So, you played with Ric Mango in '82. I started playing for his office about '83. The only other band I recall from the office back then was the Rob Prospect group. Have you been out of that "other" group for that long? I had the impression that you were with them into the 90's. Ever get the urge to go back?
Tom sullivan. He was working in the ad" media business out here in Islip for a short while with a buddy of mine, Bob Ferring (a trumpet & keyboard player). I met him about two years ago through Bob.
Regading guitars, I'm very familiar with the ES 175. a great great guitar. I still look for them on e-bay but wouldn't have much use for it except for playing it around the house and for home recordings. I opted for the 335/ Heritage 535 because of versatility. I can use if for lots of different applications. the bass amp I picked up is a self contained unit. Ampeg model BA-115. It's the contemporary version of the old B-15. Sounds great and has lots of sound variations but is limited due to the size. For larger venues I still use the Hartke 4x10's with an old beat up GK top. I haven't played a job in a few months so they haven't been used very much lately. I'm starting to put some feelers out now. |
| Yelnats |
Posted - October 09 2005 : 12:58:14 PM
doc,
artie was a few years younger than me, passed on way too young.
his mother and father worked with me for a few years and then they retired and moved out west. havent seen any of his sisters for at least 20 years now |
| richm |
Posted - October 08 2005 : 3:20:05 PM
Doc: Ric has a tendency to, how shall I say this, embroider some of his exploits, but all in all I would have to say he's had a pretty amazing life. He is one of the most colorful characters I have ever met, and that first meeting dates back to fifth grade at Shaw Avenue School, probably in 1957. He was a performer by then, with a professional version of 'Rockin' Robin' in his repertoire and a D.A. hairdo. It was as if a star had suddenly started attending our school.
He's probably worked constantly, or nearly so, since then, and I keep on bumping into him, sometimes in strange circumstances. I first played guitar with him when we were at Shaw, and last in his wedding band in 1982, which was a fun gig and an education all rolled into one. My good friend and saxophonist extraordinaire, Tom Sullivan, still works with Ric on Long Island. I am not sure if one should believe all of what one would hear from Ric, but I would recommend believing most of it. He's lived through a lot.
The Heritage Sweet Sixteen neck scale is, to the best of my knowledge, the same as the Gibson ES 175, which is known as the 'workhorse' of the jazz guitar world. Players who have used this ax include Joe Pass, Pat Matheny, Steve Howe, Jim Hall, Bonnie Raitt and many many others. I find the size and scale of the neck, and guitar, very comfortable.
My first good guitar, a Gibson L-4C, was a Christmas gift purchased from Alden School of Music in 1957 by my parents. The L-4C is of the exact dimensions as the ES 175, the differences being the L-4C has a spruce top and no pickup, and the 175 has a maple top and pickup or pickups installed. Sixteen inch body and Florentine cutaway on both. The smaller neck scale was great for this ten year old. Ric Mango loved that guitar of my, and I would lend it to him, to my Mom's dismay, at times. I still have the guitar, the pickguard has to be reattached, and it could use a fret job, but it still plays great. It has no pickup now, so I only play it 'acoustic'. If I need to plug in....I just plug in an old 175 I have. I'm spoiled.
What kind of bass amp did you get? And do you love it? |
| doc |
Posted - October 08 2005 : 2:33:13 PM
quote:
Originally posted by richm
Doc: Sinookas are not a form of billiards, but rather a term from Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle, and mean the 'tendrils of one's life'. An example might be if you meet someone and find out that many years ago they might have some kind of shared experience, such as making music with the likes of Dan Loesel or Ric Mango.
Another example could be La Tosca's, which was at least very close to the bicycle shop in Laurelton, if not right next to it.
The Heritage Sweet Sixteen is a 175 sized guitar. I played one here in Las Vegas a couple of years ago and was very impressed. Short scale neck, maple back and sides, and I think a solid spruce top (I might be wrong on that). Great comfortable sized jazz box.
Yelnats: say hello to Patty for me, please. She's good people, too.
Rich,
I guess I was thinking of snooker due to my limited Vonnegut literary reference "pool".
And it continues still ..... as you mention Ric Mango. I never played in his band but played bass with one of the bands in his stable (Ric Mango Orchestra's) a bunch of years ago. We chatted a number of times when he would come into the affairs for his $. He told stories of the Valley Stream days. (Sounded fictional to me though). Not sure what he is doing now but he was doing very well back then. He was booking his own band and three or four others.
Regarding miss Heritage... is the short scale neck maneuverable enough to be comfortable? I've never played one. Also, I can relate to the "lazy old man" reference. I bought a new "portable" bass amp last year for clubdates and made my final decision based soley on weight. Sound was secondary, although I did opt for the 15" rather than the ten. Pretty sad huh? |
| Bean |
Posted - October 08 2005 : 07:47:56 AM
I don't know every group Doc has played in since but I can vouch for the best group he played in and they were the infamous
F.T.W.
where it was LOUD NOISE AT IT'S NOISY and raunchy BEST!
Bean founder,creator, drummer, and spiritual advisor for F.T.W. and all its off shoots, including Frank Wrappa and The Greasers of Invention aka Iggy & The Stooges. I supplied the entertainment as the frontman, DOC supplied the transportation to, and Richie was the get-a-way car and also supplied the segovia beatle bass that big Arthur cracked over my head. ( thank god for the helmet but I still had whiplash and a giant headache!) |
| richm |
Posted - October 07 2005 : 8:01:08 PM
Doc: Sinookas are not a form of billiards, but rather a term from Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle, and mean the 'tendrils of one's life'. An example might be if you meet someone and find out that many years ago they might have some kind of shared experience, such as making music with the likes of Dan Loesel or Ric Mango.
Another example could be La Tosca's, which was at least very close to the bicycle shop in Laurelton, if not right next to it.
The Heritage Sweet Sixteen is a 175 sized guitar. I played one here in Las Vegas a couple of years ago and was very impressed. Short scale neck, maple back and sides, and I think a solid spruce top (I might be wrong on that). Great comfortable sized jazz box.
Yelnats: say hello to Patty for me, please. She's good people, too. |
| doc |
Posted - October 07 2005 : 3:55:44 PM
quote:
Originally posted by richm
Do you know what sinookas are? And have you played the Heritage Sweet 16 guitar?
Rich,
The next time, actually the first time, I am in Vegas, I will take you up on that offer. As for sinookers, as far as I knew it was a form of billiards. And no, I haven't played a sweet sixteen. I have only seen them on the internet.
Wasn't La Tosca's next to the bicycle shop in Laurelton?
Yelnats,
I used to be friendly with the late Artie Miller. Did you and Artie both have Newsday routes? |
| richm |
Posted - October 06 2005 : 8:13:52 PM
Yelnats: Patty is too kind. The current buffer zone between my house and Hook Creek includes several large states, the Mississippi and a coupla three mountain ranges. To think that I once could walk into Laurelton for some great pizza at La Tosca's....
Doc: Do you know what sinookas are? And have you played the Heritage Sweet 16 guitar? |
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