on DRUMS, with John Simeone
This is a local Long Island Podcast given by a veteran drummer on the Long Island music scene. We have a variety of local professional musicians as participants. We joke, give insights and share stories about our over 4 decades of experience in the music profession.
on DRUMS, with John Simeone
Behind the Notes: A Rollercoaster Through the Music Industry with Ben Phillip
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Remember the time our mate Chris snuck in a shrimp cocktail on stage, despite explicit instructions to the contrary? Yep, that’s the kind of deliciously eccentric characters you’ll meet as we take a nostalgic journey down music industry memory lane. Join us and our special guest, Ben Phillip, as we reminisce about our band days, our beloved band leader Gus, and our encounters with local sensations like Jimmy Cherry.
Let's take you on a tour of the music world that goes beyond the mic and the applause. Hear stories about our friend John Tobacco, a vocalist who could easily mimic Fagan, and the challenges we faced in trying to balance making a living with our musical passions. We'll share insights into the sometimes harsh realities of the music industry, including the frustrating focus of some clubs on drink sales over quality performances.
The world of music has evolved, and we're here to bring you up to speed. From the influence of agents like Jack Morelli in securing gigs to his son Jake's rise as a renowned guitarist, we'll discuss it all. We'll also delve into the role of the studio, the importance of a great drummer and the power of music to touch hearts. So tune in, kick back and let the memories flow as we explore the past, present, and future of music.
Okay, okay, this is episode. I think this is episode 14. I'm not sure of on drums. My name is John Simione. Today I have my first guest singer ever on the podcast. Ben Phillip is here to say hi, hello.
Speaker 2The first thing I have to say, john, is you got a friend in me.
Speaker 1Okay, here you go See, he's a singer, you've got a friend in me. And here's the thing he was on time for the podcast. We were making fun of singers who show up late all the time, but you're not one of those guys.
Speaker 2Never Now, he's early, no.
Speaker 1So you know, Ben and I, we know each other from… Coletti, right. So when was that Trying to get these years?
Speaker 2straight. You know I was. The funny thing is I was going, I was trying to remember all the things I've done in my life and I'm writing down all the musical things. Coletti was in the early 2000s, because I was working with Steve Klein with the 2020 thing, 2020 band, fabulous band and I got to know Gus. You know, because of showcasing. We were showcasing for Gus.
Speaker 1Oh, you guys were showcasing, we were showcasing, all right. So just to clarify, gus was not only a band leader, he was also. He had an office with people who worked in the office. Okay, right.
Speaker 2Right, so I grew Gus with Steve Klein and.
Speaker 2I got to know Gus and I got to observe him on stage and, as far as I was concerned, he was the best front man that I've ever worked with. He was good, yeah, because he had a philosophy and he talked to me. I said, wow, gus, I'm really like impressed with you. First of all, the guy could sing in Italian. He could do Dean Martin, he could do Tom Jones Fabulous, good-looking, tall man. But beyond that, he had this thing where he would bring the audience in. He said Benny, listen, this is the thing you know. Nobody wants to see a guy up there who's acting like he's better than everybody in the room.
Speaker 2Gus said that. He told me that, oh, wow, yeah, yeah. But I mean you know right. But he told me the thing you have to do you have to embrace the audience so, like you're someone at the party, you want to bring them in. You want to bring them in. They're going to like you more personally and they'll actually listen to you. So I learned a lot from him. He was I mean, he was really one of the guys that really set me straight with the singing thing. I learned a tremendous amount. But any event, getting back to what you said, I met you, but so I was in 2002, 2003, 2003, something like that.
Speaker 1So refresh my memory now. I think so. You were in the band with Gus.
Speaker 2Who else was in the band John Hips, Sal Rendazzo, Richie Scolo Then we'd have guys like Bobby Brace.
Speaker 1We'd have who played guitar.
Speaker 2We started with Katrone Donnie Katrone.
Speaker 1Don Katrone and Gus has been.
Speaker 2No, no, it wasn't him right.
Speaker 1No, you don't, Chris Carberry.
Speaker 2Chris, chris. Okay, donnie was with a different thing I was doing, but yeah, so it was Chris Carberry and the band was fabulous. I had just replaced Jimmy Cherry.
Speaker 1Oh, that's what it was, by the way, that's what it was.
Speaker 2Now the thing about Jimmy Cherry is I knew Jimmy when I was about 13 years old and he was in a local band in Belmore. I grew up in Belmore. He had a band in Belmore. They should have been famous. These guys were so outstanding. He was a great. When I heard his voice how can people? I was like he was great.
Speaker 1So just a story about Jim Cherry, because Richie Scullo used to break Jim Cherry balls all the time. Right, because Jim Cherry was a phenomenal singer, r&b guy. Phenomenal he was about five foot three, little man, yes, and he looked like an accountant. So Richie Scullo used to say when you got online for voices, you got on the wrong line. You should have been on the account line. You got on the R&B line and that's why your voice doesn't match what you look like, but such a huge amount Okay so now, I remember you replaced Jim.
Speaker 2Cherry Jim, cherry, right, okay, got it.
Speaker 1And then I left the band shortly after that, the funny thing I remember.
Speaker 2the thing is I remember when you left the band and in fact you had approached me, you said you know Sean from Code Blue? He said, sean, you know likes the way you sing if you want to. You know if you want to audition, because at the time he was moving things around in that band. And I said, john, I got to be honest with you, even though Gus's gigs went down from a hundred and twenty-five to about six.
Speaker 2And that's what you said. Say, ben, he's only doing like 60 gigs, but I was working in the city. You know I have a gig. I have a gig, I'm still working, but I work from home now. So I had a gig in the city and you know the 70 jobs that I was doing was perfectly fine for me. I didn't want to go because I know Sean was doing like 130 gigs, about 140. So I was like the band is fabulous and Sean is a monster guitar player and a really nice guy. Because I knew him, I said I can't handle yeah it was a lot yeah.
Speaker 2But, but you know he loved you and you went and you worked with him 15 years.
Speaker 1I did that band. That was the last club they've been. It was in. Was Sean's band? Right, I've been out about I want to say 10 years.
Speaker 2They're still. I think they're still.
Speaker 1They're not doing that volume anymore they're still yeah. They're still in the band. Still Dave Anton Wow, who I just got off the phone, wow.
Speaker 2Yeah, yeah. So I stayed with Gus and then, unfortunately, as we were speaking about before he died in August, august of 2008. 2008. And you know, I had to actually look it up because I wanted to have some information in my head for today because I would have said oh yeah, he died in 2017.
Speaker 1Yeah, you know what that makes sense? Because I bought this house in 2007. I guess it was just yeah, that's before I had kids. Yeah, I remember it. Now I remember yeah.
Speaker 2That was the last time. I saw you was out his funeral and, which was very sad, little Gus was there in Denise and you know that was a terrible, terrible day, but that's when, anyway, I worked with you for about three years with those.
Speaker 1Those are three years.
Speaker 2About three years, and the thing about the Kaledi band that to this day blows me away was all the people we met, like Armstrong. Neil Armstrong, who was the astronaut, baldwin you know the guy who was his name, baldwin. The mom was there, chuck Schumer.
Speaker 1We did a couple of gigs with what was his face said in I forget the old time singers said it he didn't like hips. I put hips was I forget. Anyway, it doesn't matter.
Speaker 2You want to hear a funny story about John Hips? Okay, so just prep.
Speaker 1John Hips is the keyboard player and Gus's band right. Who was a phenomenal genius he was. He really was just great.
Speaker 2And he didn't have any pigment in it.
Speaker 1He was very white. In fact, we used to say he, he looked like he was dead. But you know what you did one day we were I used to be a part of him that he was dead.
Speaker 2We were all sitting around. You know, gus, the one thing, gus as he still.
Speaker 1He could be dead at this point. We don't even know.
Speaker 2He's not dead, god forbid. The one thing that Gus always made sure was that we'd have a table and we ate. Yeah, and then the one time we didn't have a table, I'm taking, we're going, we're going. No, they set us up right away, but any event, we were all sitting around the table and you picked up a candlestick and you put it next to John's arm.
Speaker 1Yeah. And everybody just like was John was so he was so white and Gus's beard was all Italian guys. So John, but Gus would introduce the bear at the end of the night ago. John drums, john Simi, sal Rindazzo, tommy Rocco, denise, get all, and then he gets his hips and he go and on keyboards, giovanni hippo.
Speaker 2Now let me tell you a funny Gus hip story. You know these gigs, we had these big gigs for all these corporate gigs. I remember a lot of corporate things. So one time Gus had a sing, had a sing, a God bless America. So hips started out and somebody sat in you mean.
Speaker 2Yeah, yeah. But then Gus had a sing, had a sing, one of those things that might have been God bless America or one of those tunes. So hips started out in a really high key. So by the end of the song Gus was like and he had lays around his neck you know the Hawaiian lays so and he was, he was screaming and all you, we were all literally hiding our faces because he was screaming, because he couldn't hit the notes. The notes were like alto. At the end of the song Gus ripped the lays off his, off his neck, through my huge yeah.
Speaker 1Yeah, I don't remember that.
Speaker 2And yeah, you saw that, he threw that, he threw the lay it was. It was hysterical.
Speaker 1I remember something like that when Chris, Chris, Chris always brings up a story like that, that somebody started on the wrong key and buddy the song, Gus was screaming.
Club Dates and Musical Collaborations
Speaker 2That was probably it, yeah, I think that was Huntington townhouse. Now Chris is another guy. Whenever we, whenever we broke, I had a and we ate. I had to sit somewhere else because he liked to go into my, to your plate and grab. Oh yeah, it was, it was yeah. He always said. I'm sitting there. The first time I met him, all of a sudden I see his fork Boom, there were gigs.
Speaker 1There I got gigs. I got Chris's fork with an extension on it so he could just get to eat up everybody's plate. But there there was a gig I remember we had Denise said to us listen, this kick, tomorrow night we're not eating on the gig, don't go on the contact, I'll hour. Just bring up sandwich. We're just. It's just. It's a weird thing. We're not eating. No-transcript. We get to the gig and Chris walks in and he's chewing and she look I see her eyes open wide. She looks she goes to please tell me he did not go through any walks and he goes.
Speaker 1Hey you're gonna see this shrimp and the cocktail. Our man is um, but he did.
Speaker 2He walk right through and he I remember a guy, a big guy, who used to be a trumpet player. He passed away.
Speaker 1Oh, I know um Joey Joe.
Speaker 2Zimini, joe Zimini. Yeah, one time he positioned himself in front of the, you know, they had the big shrimp table. Yeah, and he had a toothpick yeah, I've never seen anything like it before, it was like a cartoon. He had a whole row of shrimp and the caterer came over to Remember who it was. But he's, I might have been Steve Klein. He said would you get this?
Speaker 1Shrimp joke, joke at each.
Speaker 2You gotta hear and do that. He was standing for Bing Bing.
Speaker 1Bing. So you know I've been a, give me some, you have your. I looked at your at your website, the Um.
Speaker 2You know you see, ben Philip, yeah, give me yeah, guys out there, if you want to know who I am, if you don't remember me, look up. Ben BEN Philip PHIL I P music. Ben Philip music. I have all my stuff there, anyway, you what?
Speaker 1do you so you like you get some people on there. You've done some work with well.
Speaker 2I worked with Phil grande, who was in the who's in the Joe Cocker band and, by the way, I met him through Timmy Lawless Uh-huh, because I had been doing, I had been subbing with a band. Timmy was in it and at the time called Called a milestone. It was one of these big power bands. I remember that band big power bands with four lead singers, yep, and everyone in the band was an amazing musician, steve. Steve a Briarty.
Speaker 1Oh, steve, steve. Steve moved away. You know I hate him for that. He moved to it's like South Carolina, so I don't know where he moved.
Speaker 2The horn play was Was Marty Kersic I don't worry, let's see who else was in that band. Steve Klein, steve was on drums, he did one of my podcasts. Yeah, I know he was great. He was a great, great drummer, great drummer. He's one of the few drummers I can tolerate a Richie.
Speaker 1Miranda Richie, miranda I met him.
Speaker 2That's how I met Richie Miranda. He was on keys. Who else was in the band? Anyway, timmy, what, what had happened was Phil reached out To Timmy because he's a named guy and an absolutely phenomenal vocal.
Speaker 2I love, I love Timmy. He reached out to Timmy because he had written a bunch of songs and he said Timmy, I'd like you to, I'd like you to listen to these songs and, you know, sing them for me. So he listened to them and and all of a sudden, about a month, lady Timmy called me up and he said hey, ben, listen, there's this. There's this phenomenal guitarist who used to work with Joe Cocker. His name is Phil Grande and he wrote a bunch of songs, but I gotta be honest with you, man, they're really not my bag, but I think you would be good for these songs. I said, oh, man, thank you so much. So then I got together with Phil and I recorded a bunch of songs and I ended up having Bands with him because he had a manager and his manager said listen, ben, you guys sound great. Phil likes you, he goes. Why don't you put a band together? So we ended up putting a band together and we did all like the nautical mile and all those different places With Phil unfortunately passed away too.
Speaker 2But it was an experience working with a guy like that and I met Joe Cocker through Phil right, which was Mind-blowing because Joe was one of my, is one of my heroes. Yeah, took me backstage and I met Joe. And it was funny cuz Phil goes, joe Benny's a good singer and Joe was well, I could see he's a pretty big guy too and I'm looking at him like okay, the fat thing again, come on Joe. But I said, joe, thank you so much. I love you man, you're my hero. They're not all Benny, I'm only kidding, I'm only cutting what you might. You know, I'm saying so. I met him, phil was an amazing guy. The first time I heard Phil play guitar I was like no can't be so I worked with him.
Speaker 2I worked with this band noise for a while and OIS a, which was a Funk, phenomenal funk band, and they would have guys coming in like I'm cool in the gang Tower of power, like all these touring guys would sit in with this band, mm-hmm and I, and she paid me. Her name is Tanya Smith. She paid me more than anyone has ever paid me in the.
Speaker 1Right. So you yeah, I just just ejected, you get an R&B thing going on. You're an R&B Right. I mean, yeah, that's it, I remember you know what it is.
Speaker 2You know what it is I would. You have a soulful voice. That's what I mean. Well, I was always hired as that guy, the guy. I was always hired by the guy to sing the rock and roll and to sing the R&B, but I could, I also can sing the Sinatra stuff well too. But the thing was with me, I just evolved like I started singing this. I remember that I remember the first club date band I was ever and was the Tony Curcio Orchestra. Oh, tony Curcio, great drummer, great big band drummer, especially so. I remember. I remember. I remember I had the whatever got guts To call because I heard about club dates. Right, because I was doing all rock and roll gigs. At the time I was working crazy, doing rock six nights a week.
Speaker 1You know, making like clubs making for whatever I was that's what I'm doing Now, like it's terrible.
Speaker 2It was no money. Yeah, so a friend of mine, evan Gould, who's a great keyboard player and a songwriter at the time had evolved and he was. He was doing club dates. So he goes, ben, why don't we do club dates? I said what, what is it?
Speaker 1Love's day? I never heard that.
Speaker 2I never heard the word. I said why they what they call. It's not a club at all.
Speaker 1No, and it's not anything like a date.
Speaker 2I said what is it? It's a gig where you do restaurants and weddings and really weddings.
Speaker 1Hi, I'm here out here club dates refers to wedding at weddings or bar mitzvah. Yeah, so I didn't know, I and so he kind of educated me with the term.
Speaker 2I said, well, what's the deal? And then he told me what the pay was and I was like whoo.
Speaker 1That's, it was a double. There you go so.
Speaker 2I started working with him and eventually he went off to school. He became an accountant, the CPA. He was working for Rolling Stone. He had a whole different career going on so so I'm sitting there and I want to get into another. I want to get into a club date band. So I opened up the phone book. They had phone books back in the day, right?
Speaker 1phone books. They opened up the phone book for those of you young kids listening. That was a book with phone numbers in it, right, so I opened it up.
Speaker 2I'm looking under orchestras and the first one that comes out is Tony Curcio orchestras right, which is not.
Speaker 1It's not an orchestra at all. It's not even close to an orchestra, it's a band, right.
Speaker 2So I had the whatever you know to call up and say hello, hi, this is Benny. Whatever I go, I'd like to audition for your band. He comes to me first of all. How do you know? I'm looking for a singer. My singer happens to be moving on. He was doing 50 stuff on the road. He goes, uh, he goes any good. I said well. I said well, people think I'm good, he goes. Well, he goes to me. Well, what do you look like? You have any kind of a weight problem at the time? I didn't. At the time, I kind of.
Speaker 1He really said that there's anyone can give away. Well, he had an image.
Speaker 2He had an image right, so he wanted everybody to look really good. So I looked like Donnie Osmond back in the day, right?
Speaker 1So you look like.
Speaker 2Donnie Osmond. Well, kind of, kind of a little bit darker and a little more whatever Italian Living and darker, but anyway, he and I went over to his place, you know in copic, and he had a studio, didn't they have a?
Speaker 1place in. So it was a summer. Yeah, I remember the place.
Speaker 2So, uh, I went into his home and he, the whole band was there and I sang half a dozen songs and they and they liked me and I and I got the gig. But at the time he was doing a lot of gigs in brooklyn and manhattan. He had that all sewed up and then he eventually came out to long island and he had the whole thing, all the different country clubs. So he was very, very, very busy and I was working with him like crazy and then which is what I do occasionally, I always seem to do some that sabotages my career. I was also studying at the time, right, I had gone to school for one year for pre-law. Didn't like it because my brother was an attorney. So it was like, oh, I should, I should become an attorney like my brother. Yeah, but it wasn't my thing, I didn't. I didn't feel like going in and fighting and litigating and all that stuff.
Speaker 1Yeah, that's why. That's why you get married.
Speaker 2Exactly so. But I like science and I like this. I said, maybe you know, I like dogs, maybe I'll be pre vet, like there's a pre vet, there's a pre vet program. So I started that and and my brother said why do you want to do that? Why don't you be pre-med? So I went, in any event, I went to Italy for a long time, I studied medicine in Italy and that's what I did. I basically removed, I had this incredible musical thing happening and then I just like pulled myself, which was very difficult because I was so torn, because music has always been my heart.
Speaker 1Well, you know what's funny about we? I don't mean to interrupt you, that's. That's why this podcast was born, because I have a gripe with society and it comes to music and that is. I can't you know. I know that people hate that I say no, no I can't stand it.
Speaker 1You know it's like if, every if. Let's just say, let's just say I keep saying brain surgeon. But let's just say surgery Is something that was entertainment that we saw on television all the time. Right, and every day you get to put the radio on and there's some surgery thing going on and you got it. You eventually go. You know I'm gonna buy a scalpel.
Speaker 1I'm gonna try it. I try it out. Maybe I'll just do some. I'll be a surgeon on the weekends. That's the way I view people who Don't, who like music, who thinks you can buy. They think you can buy a guitar and you are a musician, right, right and that. That bothers the shit out of me.
Musicians' Passion and Public Perception
Speaker 1I understand I mean, let me tell you something again, something that happened at my kid's school, because I taught band for 32 years About I know and we're in open, open house night and they're doing the teachers are doing their spills you know, so I go now. This is middle school, my kids play clarinet right.
Speaker 1So they go to the, to the band room in the band, the girls there, she's young, she's a band teacher, she's giving her rap about Becoming to go to lessons and blah, blah. And one parent raises her hand and says well, what happens if my son has a lesson during science? And the teacher said well, he'll have to, you know, miss science and make it up, you know, or he'll have to, you know, make it up with me. So she said well, I don't, you know, I would rather he miss band and science.
Speaker 1And you know, I can see the teacher got flushed it and like so there's a teacher who went, she's got, she went her bachelor's, her Masters, just like the science teacher, exactly right, and and she's, and the science teacher. You know what they're doing. I don't mean to speak for science teachers or any other teacher, but most English so studies, math teachers Teach their class right, they grade their papers and they go the fuck home, right, right, the band teachers, probably doing a gig that night or some other more dedication.
Speaker 2I know through my friends who are all in music, richie Miranda, he never came home, yeah.
Speaker 1Yeah, and I was from saying is like it's still got this, this still is weird, yeah, this weird wrong. Like you know, it's weighted differently and it's like this pass, a thing that anybody could do if they just get into you know I mean, and it's not. They can't you know, I mean it's. It's something most of us like you and I and most of my musician friends it's. It's something we couldn't avoid. You could not do it because it just it came out of you, it's. You know, it's like it's, it's a career that it's born inside you.
Speaker 2It's a real passion. Like Frank Rizzo, I remember Frank Rizzo trombone, sure, well, you have Frank Rizzo. Whenever I saw me say it was all about his marching band, well, he talked about as the marching band yeah, I was like but he's.
Speaker 1He had a passion ever.
Speaker 2I was looking at him like I know you, like the marching band, that's all he ever wanted to talk about. It was like we all right, dude, we know you, but he was so in he was watching me was probably phenomenal. I'm sure I was while we were like Frank was dude. We know it's funny.
Speaker 1I didn't mean to drop what you're trained to, thought I just that's. That's the thing that pisses me off. Yeah, about the public. Yes, I, you know, like I'll go to, I'll go to. This happened my two years ago and my son of my kids teachers was there and had neighbors who had a band right and I didn't know any of these people in the band Right and I go to the bar outside Nobody's drinking and you know I've already struck drunk and the band is terrible.
Speaker 1And, and you know, everybody's coming with me going. What do you think of these guys?
Speaker 2You don't want to say they saw I don't want to say it.
Speaker 1Yeah, I mean, and, but yeah, you know, it's like and I've been there many times.
Speaker 2Like you know, like I live in a community now and and there's always musicians or whatever they think they know how to play a little bit, and they get together and they play in the clubhouse and everybody looks at me like, wow, you know? What do you think? And I don't even. But you know, by the way, this is between us and the world is listening. Nobody knows where I live, that I even do this, you know, because I know you're a musician.
Speaker 1They don't know me.
Speaker 2No, but they only all they know is is that I work for a hospital and I do what I do, but I, I Don't want them to know, because I don't want to play in in the clubhouse, right, because then you got it. You know, I, what am I gonna do? I'm gonna ask my guys to come and play for free, because these, these guys play for free, you know, because that's what they should be playing for because they're having fun.
Speaker 1Oh well, a lot of musicians are playing for. As far as I'm concerned, playing for free right now yeah, for some reason, the club owners just decide All right, it's ten dollars a man.
Speaker 2Yeah, that's that's really bad.
Speaker 1Yeah, it's really bad. Yeah, after all that, after all the practice, still practice. You know, it's never over you never as good as you want to be right and you get in and they, you know they can hire some guy, who, who is, who is an accountant, who does it on the weekends, for a ten dollars an hour, right or nothing right, no, that's that's.
Speaker 2That's the part that's bad. It is bad and you bring that up a lot with these.
Speaker 1I know I'm a very angry no, no, but I'm. But there's something to it.
Speaker 2You know, but there are. I know what you're saying and, believe me, I know there were bands when I was doing the whole circuit thing nautical mile and long beach and all those places. There would be bands there that really weren't good bands, but everyone they knew their mother, their father, their brother, their friend, everyone would show up.
Speaker 1So they have 50 people there right and the club owner cares about is how many drinks am I so right?
Speaker 2He didn't care, they didn't.
Speaker 1They didn't care about the quality of it's a sad commentary, it really is, but there are other great bands.
Speaker 2You know like there's a plenty of great bands out there that that do show up and people recognize they're sure, you know, yeah, and they and they fill up the room. But there are a lot of and bands that really aren't good but they have a following.
Speaker 1Which, there again, I don't, I, I don't know yeah no no, I don't know.
Stories From the Music Industry
Speaker 2No, I don't get it. I don't get it. I mean, look everybody, it's kind of like these, the family members kind of like, live vicariously, as you might say, through their Brother or the whatever it is, and they show up and they want to be supportive and whatever the hell it is. But there was one band that I was in stealing Dan, you probably heard. Sure, I was in stealing Dan for A year and a half since Steve Friday playing that band also. Yeah, and then the guy passed away which is why that was a.
Speaker 1I had his kids in band. He was a West Isle and he was a great. He was a dentist, right yeah.
Speaker 2He was a dentist, very successful, but the guy was actually a very talented guitar player. But then he you know, the rest of the band was really talented people. And Again, even in that band I wasn't singing really much of the Fagan stuff, I was singing like the blues here stuff. Yeah, there's other guy, john tobacco. I don't know if you know who he is on tobacco Sounds like a mobster, yeah, no, but this guy is tremendous vocalist, you know. You know a sound guy and he has his own studio out east and I've recorded a lot of stuff in his studio. The guy's a brilliant, brilliant thing. Sounded like Fagan, yeah. So he was like the lead guy. I was like a supportive singer in there and I do a couple of things. But that band I was just talking about the guitar play he, even though he was a dentist, he was actually very talented.
Speaker 2He but one of the few. I know what you're saying. There are guys, right? No, there's.
Speaker 1There's there's gradients of this right. There's different levels of what I'm speaking about.
Speaker 2I'm agreeing with you. That's a bad thing when people play for free, because then the guy who's dedicated his whole life can't get a gig. Well, you know, joey and Jimmy are playing for $50 saying.
Speaker 1that's what I'm saying, and what are you?
Speaker 2gonna say they suck. You can't say that. You could actually say that. You could say that you could say it.
Speaker 1So let me ask you something.
Speaker 1Yes it's a singer. Yes, so I got my. You know I've already I trashed a couple singers in these podcasts, so so here's another drummer gripe I was talking about this with with Brian. Yeah, going to gig, and you know, especially if you're a sub right and it's the singer calls the tune and Won't call the tempo, yeah, I always call the tempo, okay, oh right, always. So you redeeming yourself, you're redeeming some singers, but in general it may not. In general it's. It happens where I go on a gig and they say, look, how about whatever split the fuck, ever song you want to play, right, I go, okay, what tempo? And they go just just kind of off. And then you count it. They go no, it's just slow.
Speaker 2Yeah, it's every time. Yeah, I learned that many, many years ago, at the very beginning, when I was singing, and I, whenever I'd say that you know, invariably it would be, it wouldn't be where I wanted it to be. So I said, no, yes, boom, don't want to write them in, right there, shuffle, whatever. Yeah, that's where I want it, yeah, and then, and then it just eliminates and also the pressure for the drummer. The drummer, the poor drummer. He plays it where he thinks it should be no, too fast, too slow.
Speaker 1It's always to something I used to always say that in the insurance ban I used to, I used to sit before every tune. I'd say do you want me to count this too?
Speaker 2fast or too slow. It's not fair.
Speaker 1No, not fair to you. So actually the guy who replaced me in that band was way Smarter than me because he was like fuck you didn't say fuck you guys, but he was like he brought a metronome and he had, he had how we did it, but every tune was clocked and this is where it is and that's smart, because we used to do some stuff with it, with a Sequence right, and I would play on the sequence in uncertain gigs and I'd say, oh, this sounds fast to me or slow to me, and I and I'd gauge my own self by how I felt on the sequence, because sequence was right, you know, I mean it's so. It's how you feel that day.
Speaker 1You know, I know everybody's feeling tempos different ways somebody had coffee, somebody didn't.
Speaker 2You know, you're thinking of it bluesy. You're thinking of it Whatever he, whatever's in your head at the time, because I think as long as I, but I know where it's supposed to be. You know, I always try to do the original or or, since you're the singer right. You determine where it's gonna be exactly. Yeah, and that's the way it should be. I'm a hundred percent agreement with that. Okay, by the way, brian's a monster, that kid I always watch.
Speaker 2Darrell's was a Darrell's house here, and I'm impressed by the way he's yeah, this is everybody's back. You know, joe Walsh walked in one day, like Joe Walsh. You know, Billy Gibbons and he's like this guy's playing.
Speaker 1Perfect, yeah, he was telling me he is there's. He's got two of his other brothers play drums. Yes, I, I were Kevin was the one, kevin's, I don't.
Speaker 2I don't think I've ever worked with Brian, but I'm Pretty sure I worked with Kevin years ago and different, you know different bands, I mean. I mean I've been in a dozen club date bands and a lot of rock and roll bands and R&B bands. Oh, my thing, people always ask me Impact, like people tell me. They say, you know, ben, what separates not separate you, but what makes you different than others singers is the fact that I could sing in Italian and Spanish. So because I sing in Italian and Spanish, I get like gigs and I get a lot of sessions, Like I just did a couple of songs in Spanish that are being looked at by the Disney people. Who the hell knows what's gonna happen with them, but oh, that's nice.
Speaker 2Yeah, who's Benny boom bots? Forget about it, you know, but you know it's fun. Look, I love sessions. I tell you the truth, the things I love most of all right now are working with people like Richie Miranda, his brother, danny Miranda.
Speaker 1Danny was here.
Speaker 2Danny is. Let me tell you about Danny. I don't know. A lot of people tell me about that. You know, I know Danny, you know Danny. But let me tell the folks who don't know about that. First of all, danny is not only a brilliant bassist, I, he's an amazing guitarist and he could sing and you could put him in a big band playing Freddie Green. The guy is just a monster musician.
Speaker 1He was born for it. Danny was born for it, but he could play in any genre.
Speaker 2I don't think a lot of people know. I mean, I saw him with Queen and he gave me the opportunity to meet them backstage, which was another highlight of my life. Meaning, I'm looking at Brian Maywealth why he's like nine feet tall. I'm like whoa, brian May and this guy and that guy, and at the time he was touring with the singer, what was his name?
Speaker 1Danny was.
Speaker 2Danny was at that time. The singer was that great singer from all right now. What's his name? Remember his name? Oh, all right now, oh God, I forget Anyway. Oh, rogers, paul Rogers, okay.
Speaker 1Paul.
Speaker 2Rogers. He was, he was on and that guy is. That guy is arguably the best rock singer that ever lived. I mean, the guy is just an amazing singer and he's like, right there, I'm meeting all these people because of a friendship and Danny acts like Danny's very nonchalant. He's a big deal, yeah, kind of thing, but anyway I love him and he whenever he's in town, cause he's always on the road. Now, with Blue Oyster Cult Danny lives a mile from here. Really, yeah.
Speaker 2So, he works with us whenever he can. And then we have a really great drummer, louie Joya, who's a Weckle guy. Louie's a great drummer and he used to yeah, he was Weckles, a techie guy cardage. You know, they call it cardage, cardage set up, and he did cardage set up and some tech stuff for the recordings and for shows and he knows him since 95.
Speaker 2You would love Lou Joya's drumming. He's like he's a lot like you, but he's like a mix between like Gad and Weckle and a little bit he's like it's the really.
Speaker 1Well, dave was the guy. Dave was the guy who turned me on to Steve. I went to college in 79 and he was there and I don't know who Steve was, Rose and Blatt phenomena. Joel and Dave were there. They were roomed Spirajara. They lived together, Joel and Dave, and they lived next door to me, which was who knew Spirajara.
Speaker 2But it's really I mean yeah.
Speaker 1Yeah, I mean, I learned everything from those two guys.
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 1At UB. Everything literally everything I mean. I mean my. It's funny because I was hired by Gus when I was like 16 years old. I couldn't even drive. That I know.
Speaker 2Your dad was great. My dad used to drive me. Your dad loved you so much, I know. I mean I used to sit at the table with. Sometimes I was invited to Gus's. You know like, hey, benny, come over. You know Denise made some positive buzz all. It's so exciting and I go over and you were there one time with your dad and your dad was looking at you like love yeah, he was, my dad was very supportive and he was the one that made me audition for Gus, but I wasn't ready. I was 16.
Speaker 1So, gus, let me go after about two months and it was really hard, I had a hard time with that and then two years later or a year later, left for college and I my growth as a drummer was like crazy because of what I was exposed to. And I got there and I thought this is the way college was Like. I thought you go to college and these guys that are head and shoulders above you, but it was not. I mean, all the guys were like Dave Right, and you know, everybody was great.
Speaker 1And I just thought I sucked, you know, and it brings your playing out.
Speaker 2But you didn't suck you, you, you just had it. I think I did suck.
Speaker 1You know, I was like at that point I didn't know what I was doing and I ever.
Speaker 2I learned literally everything from being at that school you always kept a tremendous pocket. I remember with Gus, nobody ever had a worry about the time. The time was always perfect and there was a one time I did that.
Speaker 1I was talking to Sauer and Dazzo did this about two weeks or a month ago and there was a gig we were on with Gus and it was a break and I was late and I was never late going back, but I was late, the band was playing without me and Sal was playing drums. So I ran up there and I you know I got behind, I took the sticks from Sal and I started playing and then Richie said oh my God, what happened to the time?
Speaker 2Yes, you know, I actually remember the night when, when Sal left the gig.
Speaker 1Sal's last gig I was, I think I was on it yeah.
Speaker 2I mean, it was very, very emotional it was. Everybody was crying.
Speaker 1Because he was in the band for a long time. Everybody was crying. He wasn't just a Chambon player, he did a lot, you know.
Speaker 2Brilliant musician, beautiful man, supportive. I loved Richie Scola, but he would like I remember one time Gus goes to me. Oh wow, benny, I need a. I need a trumpet player for next Saturday night. You know anybody and I'm not going to mention the guy's name because he'll be very upset with me. So I called up a guy who worked with. The guy was great. He worked with Count Basie, a trumpet player. Trumpet player worked with Count Basie and other bands. They worked with Buddy Rich and Basie. The guy could play. The guy was a monster player, but he had developed an attitude over the years Like you're lucky if I take it out of there.
Speaker 1Trumpet player with an attitude. You're lucky if I take it out of the case.
Speaker 2So he comes to the gig and you know they had charts for everything.
Speaker 1They wrote up the charts and who did Gus no way, Richie and and the other.
Speaker 2the other Richie was writing charts for them. Richie, Rich Iacona, I think.
Speaker 1Oh, okay.
Speaker 2So they had some. They had some music there, right For certain songs, and this guy I don't want to mention his name refused to read the chart. Well, after this set, I thought Rich Scola was going to kill this guy. You S-O-B. What is wrong with you? Why didn't you read? I didn't feel like it. He said you didn't feel like it. And well, let me tell you something. Scola went off on this guy and Gus at the end of the night said Benny, what did you do to me?
Speaker 1You told me the guy was good.
Musical Journey and Frustrations
Speaker 2I said the guy worked with Basie and Buddy Rich. What do I know he's going to show up and he's, you know he's.
Speaker 1You got to be a certain position, you know, you got to draw us in a bunch. You got to be a certain musician to do club dates, even though it's In other words.
Speaker 2In other words.
Speaker 1It was, it was to it was beneath his whatever.
Speaker 2So, and boy, I was embarrassed and I even went to the guy. Why did you do that, these guys?
Speaker 1they think I worked with. I mean it's that's part of the gig. Right Is being approachable and reasonable.
Speaker 2And you can't just be great. You got to have, you got to play.
Speaker 1Forget, people want to have to like what you do.
Speaker 2I mean, it's an ensemble, it's a section, it's a section right and I made a mistake then that I'm sorry about that.
Speaker 1Yeah, what are you going to do?
Speaker 2What are you going to do? But, uh yeah, no, it's been, it's been great, it's been a journey. Actually, let me tell you the first thing that happened in my life, which is why I became a singer. Okay, my sister her name is Lena, she was, and she's 15 years old in the name, and she was in a band in the 1960s called the imaginations and her name was Darlene Day at the time and she was, and she made some records and they used to rehearse at my house. A doo-wop thing. I literally thought my head was going to explode. I was like three or four years old and I see these adults, six adults with unbelievable voices in front of me. I was like it was too much, I couldn't even process. So, anyway, that's that was going to explode in a good way.
Speaker 2In a good way, like I couldn't believe what I was listening to and that's what, like, like set the spark in me and she should. She should have been a star, but my father wouldn't let her go on the road because she was doing all local gig you know, all these restaurants and things and she was working. But she was. She literally sounded like, sounded like Barbara Streisand and looked like Natalie Wood. She was like the package. And this guy his name was Doc Thomas. Look him up, google. Doc Pompeo MUS was a guy who was writing, who was writing music for the charelles and the Ronettes, and he was writing all this music and he told my father he was listen, your daughter is a star, but nobody knows it. I'm going to. We have, I'm a songwriter, we got the songs and he was also working with the guy that went to jail. What was his name? The?
Speaker 1jail.
Speaker 2No, remember the other guy who's famous, who worked with the Beatles, another another sound guy producer you know I'm talking about. I think he shot his shot somebody.
Speaker 1I don't know who.
Speaker 2What the heck was his name? He used to do sessions for all the big stars. Kind of a quirky guy. Pacino played him in a movie. What the heck, I don't know. Yeah, I don't know, I'll think of it later. But anyway, he was working with him and and he even told my sister he goes. You know, I got to be honest with you. If I see a good looking boy, girl, boy, and they could sing a little bit, I can make them a star. You know, I just got to give them the right songs, put them up in front of the people, dress them up. But he says, but not you, he goes, I don't have to do anything with you, I just got to give you the tunes. So this guy called repeatedly to my house and I hear my father on the phone.
Speaker 1She's not going anywhere yeah, what are you all Italian stuff?
Speaker 2yeah, she was like this my father was a, my father was a teamster truck, yeah, maybe that's enough. And and the guy was like I want to manage. Why? What are you gonna? Man? That was an old school, yeah there was gonna manage treated women differently.
Speaker 1You know what?
Speaker 2are you gonna man? You a wise guy? I don't know. Mr, whatever, mike, my last name. Your daughter is phenomenally talented and I want to give her an opportunity. I have a show that I'm taking to Vegas.
Speaker 2He had like, if I take, I avalan, whatever the name was, frank yeah, I had a whole year, the stable of singers that he would take and and put him in shows, and my father wouldn't let her go. Yeah, my sister, I remember I was like five. My sister was crying and my mother was pleading with my she's not going anywhere yeah, that was the old, my father was like that.
Speaker 1So I mean, the tree grows differently. To this day I feel better.
Speaker 2But it wasn't meant to be. What was it meant to be? Yeah, I guess you might say, but anyway, that was my first experience with music when I heard those guys. One of the guys in that band, the imaginations, wrote a song Montego Bay.
Speaker 2It was a hit a Montego Bay, one of the guys that song one to get a yes, yes one of the guys in that band from from a Belmore, actually wrote that song, made a lot of money from that song, but they were good because they they went on to work in Vegas and they would do shows all over and they would get on like the compilations. You know the. You know 50s and 60s compilations, yeah, and she, I think she got a few bucks for some because she recorded half a dozen things, but that was my thing. And then I went on to do chorus. Oh, this is the. This is important. I was always inquiring chorus from elementary school through high school. That's where I learned how to sing properly. That's why, to this day, I never, I've never, blown my voice out, because you sing from the diaphragm. You have to learn how to sing from the diaphragm and that's why I've never heard my vocal chords you're the only singer I've ever known who's can say that no, I'm saying because I know how to sing properly.
Speaker 2You know, I know how to use head voice. I know how to use full set right, I know how to use my voice. Because I'm not gonna I'm not gonna do like what Michael Bolton did by the way, bolton was phenomenal, but I was always like that guy's gonna blow himself out, because every song he said he was such a great singer and at the end he was like screaming yeah, he ended up getting nodes and he needed surgeries and when he finally came back he was singing everything a step down yeah, well, a lot of singers do that.
Speaker 1It shows right. They don't sing the original like.
Speaker 2Elton. But you know what, elton? When Elton sings a step down, he actually sounds better. I like him, he's really soulful. And Billy Joel, of course, dropped everything you know, oh, through, like through what he called Phil Gretis in mind. We, through Phil Grande, I met people like Richie Kanata. I met Steve Holly, who was the drummer with Queen, with with wings and with Elton. I met him. The first time I heard him play drums I was like what he was like, I'm like there's so many good drummers.
Speaker 2There's a lot of drummers yeah, and you know I met him and so you meet. You know I've been very fortunate in that I met people through people. I was never the star but I always like worked with them kind of like a supporting guy, like Ben almost famous Phillips, yeah what do you think about?
Speaker 1what's that? I mean, how do you any views on the state of music right now? Cuz it's a little bit bothers me a little bit, you know.
Speaker 2I'll tell you the truth. When, whenever I do a gig now and I work pretty frequent I do like two gigs a week. I could do more doing gigs with Richie Miranda. Oh, so I have a duo with Richie. What is it the gig you were telling me about? New it's called. It's called new image music, new image duo, and when I work with Danny, then it's new image music and with the drummer. But I'll tell you the truth, richie is such a fan of it's a duo, you and Richie yes, he's such a great keyboard player and he also knows how to you know I can cooperate.
Speaker 2Probably not good for you. Like sound, like drumming and he has like the best fucking no drums stick to the keyboard.
Discussion on the State of Music
Speaker 2He has the best equipment for, like you know, beats and drums. Yeah, so we're very we work all the time and in fact we refuse most of the stuff we do. We only want to do like country, just do us right, do us, we do country clubs and we do restaurants. And another important guy in my life is a guy named Jack Morelli. Jack Morelli is the best agent. If anybody out there needs a good agent, jack Morelli, m-o-r-e-l-l-i. He gets me all the country club gigs in restaurants. And his son is a famous guitar player, jake Morelli, who tours with Bruno Mars and who married Quest loves sister.
Speaker 2Imagine that wow yeah, so he's married to his quest love sister, so he's kind of like in that circuit. He's always a songwriter, producer and so Jack. But anyway, getting back to Jack, he's a straight shooter. You know all this stuff. His brother was the, jack's brother, bobby, was the was the VP of Sony Records and I just met him last week.
Speaker 1So you know I'm I've been very lucky you know I've been so good answer my question about the. What do you think about the state of music?
Speaker 2oh well, I always say the same thing whenever I sing a song. I go folks, I'm sorry, we just don't write them like this anymore yeah, I mean it's weird, right like I don't even know. I, I can't listen to anything.
Speaker 1I don't listen to anything it's a try, I try you know, you know, when I listen to stuff, I um, when I my friend Joel lives in Rhode Island, right, and I go to his house and he's always got some, you always turns me on to some stuff to listen to and it keeps me going for a while. But then I like I used to just like listen to you still like certain bands or whatever, and I don't you know, like I like people say that like, what do you listen to?
Speaker 2I gotta be honest, the best stuff now is probably like in Nashville. A lot of the, a lot of the great musicians that I know. One guy used to work with, edgar Winter, guitar player. A lot of them went to Nashville and they call it rock and roll, but it's rock and roll with a twang. You know, they have that twang, but it's still rock.
Speaker 1I know that's not your bed.
Speaker 2It's not really there's really, no, there's really nothing like that anymore. I mean, the only thing close to R&B is some of the rap with it but like it's, but there's, nothing happens.
Speaker 1But nobody's like writing good right now, unless I mean like once in a while I'm making effort, I go on it on Apple Music or something, and like they used to have this thing called I don't know new artists or something they all unknowns. Right, you know, and you'd hear some some really good stuff or some stuff. Sometimes I hear a song in a movie that I like and I look at the artist, but there's, but there's those people not making money. No, I mean, they're not right, you can't. It's impossible to make money from, even if you have a hit the biggest thing now is Taylor Swift.
Speaker 2Who? What right I don't.
Speaker 1I'm not a whatever okay.
Speaker 2I know she's very talented and and she's successful, so I I bow my, but that's not my thing.
Speaker 1I couldn't. I couldn't even name one song that tells no, I don't know anything. I think my daughter could.
Speaker 2But I don't know any of any of the songs either. I mean once in a while, like once in a blue moon, you'll hear a song that you say, wow, that's a nice song, you know.
Speaker 1But it's like they're like, they boom, they're like yeah there'll be a good, a good song, and then I remember, though, like list buying an album and like, like in the whole album yeah, I don't think that exists anymore. No, it doesn't, it's, it's you just like.
Speaker 2I don't know, I don't know what's going music now, see, you know.
Speaker 1I mean my, my kids listen to stuff I've never heard of. I took you know, I just doesn't sound like anything to me and then, these days you don't know who's playing what, who's really doing what in the studio. You know it's right right, the studio is like. So ambiguous at this point.
Speaker 2Yeah, I mean even me.
Speaker 1I get, I get. I get tracks to play on and I never. You like. Brian's a better man than I. He could, he could do one one take. It sounds great, but I'm like constantly like listening to hate this to bars and fixing it. You know that's cheating, right it really is, but I it's, I can do it, so I do it. You know what I mean. It's, but I think everybody does that.
Speaker 2Now you know you, it's easy to punch in and whatever look, for me personally, there's nothing better than going into a place playing some music. You got a piano player, a drummer, bass player, and you know, like the Tony Bennett thing, you know like what he would go. He would show up with his piano player, stand up a drummer right and it's like the greatest music. Yeah, and then Tony was just.
Speaker 1This was some of the swimming through the that some of the, some of the points that Brian done me which was I a complete him and I see eye to eye on everything was the thing that it's really is about the feel, yes, of the music especially for a drummer. Drum is the most important guy, I think even the general public right listens and goes oh, you know how that beat. It's not a beat, it's you. What you like is the way that song well, it's a note I look at.
Speaker 2I look at great drummers. They play notes. Whenever you say drama, it's like a note man, because, like, when I'm playing with a great drummer being bang boom big and it just a great.
Speaker 1A great drummer to me is a guy. Who's a who's, what's the word I'm looking for who is a team player, right, and that's loyal. It's got this contingent of guys were not even players, no, they're by themselves no, that's.
Speaker 2That's the problem with. I don't like again.
Speaker 1I'm Frankie Nostro. Steve Klein Brian right and. Joel right, very few. I have very few relationships that I with drummers because some drummers I can't even talk to them. If you look at what I don't want to, I mean, I've been at such a drum departments right the war and you know there's another.
Speaker 1This, oh, I always think, try to just I just want to get like four pairs of sticks and get out, and I can never just do that. I always want to put some conversation about symbols and gear and I know what I need here to get it and get out. It's always. This is weird mentality of people just want to like this, goss the drums.
Speaker 2Yeah, yeah, I don't want to discuss the drum sizes.
Speaker 1as a birch as it, I don't care anymore, you know. I'm just like not there anymore. You know, I don't even like moving drums anymore. I mean, I just it. It irks me. You know, these drums, they're like something never moved from this spot. You know, it's just the way it is, you're working with the.
Speaker 2Uh, you're working with the new version of uppercut, isn't that right? Yeah, there was uppercut. Yeah, and you and you took Frank Baluchis, franks yeah, frank, I've worked with him. All right, he's a very interesting.
Speaker 1Yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't see, I don't really know he's working with Danny Miranda.
Speaker 2Now they have, um, oh, is he what they have? Uh, they have a tribute band now for.
Speaker 1Oh, um.
Speaker 2Van Van Morrison. Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah, yeah, they just formed this band. There's this guy. You know it was funny because Richie went to the rehearsal, richie, miranda, his brother, went to the rehearsal and he was sending me, like you know, clips of the and I I'm looking at, I'm listening to the band and I go, wow, that guy sounds just like Van Morrison. Then I said, wow, he even looks like Van Morrison, it's like Ben, that's the Van Morrison tribute band. I go, oh well, that's good. No, but it's good when you don't, when somebody doesn't have to tell you.
Speaker 1Yeah.
Speaker 2Like it's boom yeah, the tribute bands, that's a big thing now, right?
Speaker 1I mean it's like yeah, baluchis and Danny's in it, but there's so many tribute bands.
Speaker 2I'm not a tribute guy, I'm not a big tribute guy, but I happen to have a second cousin who's the best uh, who's the best Paul McCartney in the world. His name is Tony Kishman and he was in Beatlemania.
Speaker 1I remember.
Speaker 2Beatlemania. He was in Beatlemania and he also has a. He has a show now that he works all over the world. It's called Live and Let Die, and he's my. He's my second cousin. Second cousin, second cousin, tony, and he's just a brilliant. I mean he could play guitar, bass, piano, ukulele and sings, and he looks like McCartney. Yeah, that's you know.
Speaker 1Looks like him. Right. There's so many great guys that are not that we don't know.
Speaker 2I mean that are that are just right in, that are not in the mainstream? Yeah, I don't, you know.
Speaker 1I don't mean just guy, I mean guys and girls. And there's a lot of talented musicians that.
Speaker 2There's a lot of talented people out there. I'm you know a lot of them, you know what it is Like. One of the I know a couple of your guests said I think it was, I think it was John Scarpool said it, I think Billy Haller, a couple of guys said the same thing, and so it's true. Like, for example, horn players, like when I was going to high school and junior high. You know they were horn players but I didn't pay much attention because they, you know, and back in the day it was the Beatles and the Stones and you weren't focused on the horn players. I knew them, who they were.
Humility and Passion in Music Industry
Speaker 2Now the horn players are very important, but anyway, they all say the same thing. Like when, for example, a John Scarpool will do moving out, who, who, who was he going to reach out to? He's going to reach out to the people he knows that he respects that sound good, and so they come into the show. And then, and then when it's a gig like Diana Ross, who was he going to be? Well, that's what they were saying. They all say you gotta be a good, you gotta be a good you gotta be a good.
Speaker 2You gotta be a good Also, and you got. I see Billy Haller made a great point.
Speaker 1Yeah, he. The reason why Billy Haller is doing so well is because he treats every gig like it's the gig. Yes, and he's a better man than I am, I have to say.
Speaker 2No, I know that he he, he.
Speaker 1So he puts the time into the gig as if it was the gig, and that's why he's hired Right. He plays great, he learns, he learns what he's supposed to learn and and Billy's one yeah. I mean and he takes it seriously and it's really he's I, I, my hat's all up to that. He's in a great band now with Tony Curse show.
Speaker 2It's called Watercolors. It's Tony Curse, billy Haller, right, rusty Salvo on guitar. Oh, rusty, yeah, phenomenal player and a songwriter. And this young boy, a young boy, he's probably 40, 45 years old, he's young. The boy Gross part, I think is a phenomenal sax player that I met when I was working with Steelie and Dan. They placed by Regira that's what they're doing basically and and Billy's just such a sweet, nice, humble man. And but all those guys, even like Greg Schleich, all of everybody you had on the.
Speaker 1They're very humble people and they're great, greg's probably the most humble guy I've ever met.
Speaker 2Yeah, and he really is talented very talented people and but yeah, there were guys who fly under the radar. Like I'll go and play, I'll play with a guy, like occasionally I'll meet a guy who happens to work on Broadway and the pit and the guy's a monster, yeah, but you don't know him because he's not really doing like club dates. Yeah, that's a whole other.
Speaker 1They're doing shows and you gotta, you gotta read.
Speaker 2Yeah, you gotta read. Like these guys are all about reading.
Speaker 1My friend Bill Lanham. Did I still do in shows, but he did. Lame is for forever.
Speaker 2Right.
Speaker 1And he at some point was trying to get me to go and learn this show because he wanted to sub out, and you know his Billy's take on it was at the time. This is 20 years ago, you know it. Just, it becomes like second nature and it's not. It's almost like not playing music anymore. Right, you're not.
Speaker 2There's no interaction really they want to get out of it.
Speaker 1After a while it is what it right, Because it's kind of almost the antithesis of creativity.
Speaker 2You know what a lot of those guys do. Then they'll go and they'll work for free in a jazz club.
Speaker 1Yeah, and you, billy, used to check it out.
Speaker 2Billy used to sub out. Lay miss.
Speaker 1This is now in the in the early nineties used to sub for me on a wedding. Wow, He'd sub out lay miss to do the wedding because it was local Right.
Speaker 2And it paid more.
Speaker 1You know what I mean? Yep, and it was different.
Speaker 2Right, it was different. Oh, it's a whole thing. Look, when you, when you, you know when you're in front of an audience and you could bring them in to me the most important most of the time I gotta be honest with you most of the time when I walk into a restaurant, they're looking at me like, oh, jesus Christ, you're going to loud and you're going to feel like you look loud.
Speaker 2I'm trying to talk. I'm trying to talk to Vinnie about this thing and there's big guys up there with the ponytail and he's going to annoy me, but we play real low.
Speaker 1Yeah.
Speaker 2And after a while you see them turn in their head and at the end of the night they'll say wow, I really, I really enjoyed that and thank you for playing so low.
Speaker 1Yeah, Thank you for playing so low.
Speaker 2The country clubs the biggest, the biggest compliment I get is thank you for playing so low. Yeah, so thank you. You couldn't hear me, and you loved it.
Speaker 1All right, so we're kind of coming to the end of our time here.
Speaker 2Anyway, man pleasure.
Speaker 1I'm glad you did this. This is my first you might. I didn't really plan to have singers right. Cause it's supposed to be drummers, but it's good because I like to have somebody. You know, I've been thinking trashing singers a little bit on this.
Speaker 2Well you know, look a lot of them maybe they deserve to be trashed.
Speaker 1Some drummers deserve to be trashed.
Speaker 2The guys who show up a half hour late. Maybe deserve it, and the guys who don't know what time it is is also a problem, that's right, but now it's a pleasure. Look, for me, music has always been my heart. Yeah, me too, you know I. But I had a. You know, like all of us, you have to make a living, I have kids and everything and you do what you got to do, but I'm still doing it Right and I still love it, that's the thing and I look forward to it, it's a passion.
Speaker 1Just a quick story. I just you just thought of something. My, my uh remember as a kid my grandmother, my mom's mom, had a stroke. She was about, uh, at the late sixties or something. She had a stroke and she couldn't talk but she could sing, which was, it struck me, she could not have a constructed sentence but she could sing a song, Right? So that's a different part of the brain. Yeah, yeah, it's it's, it's somewhere else in your brain.
Speaker 2I used to do, I used to do a lot of these nursing homes. I don't really do nursing homes anymore, but I used to do them and you know there'd be someone in a chair and this their mother or their sister or son, whatever, and I'd start singing a song and if they would remember it and they start singing it.
Speaker 1Meanwhile their family's crying because they haven't heard.
Speaker 2Different part of the brain, different part of the brain, and they're singing the song and after the song is done, boom, boom.
Speaker 1Back to it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, like awakenings Remember, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2Robert DeNier, and what an emotional thing to see that you tapped in. You got through to them with a song.
Speaker 1I mean, how more powerful of I mean music is the most powerful thing in the world and you and you think about your music every day of your life, pretty much.
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 1Right, you don't, you don't, uh, and it influences you. It does. It sets your mood. It does.
Speaker 2It sets your mood If you're driving in the car and you got some nice something on and you kind of walk out, hey man, yeah, yeah, it's like, it's like it's smoking a chewing how you doing, you know, okay, I love you baby. So, betty Phillip, hey, I want to just say what you're doing with this part. Kissed is.
Speaker 1Oh, you're just going to say that because you're on the very cast.
The Power and Role of Music
Speaker 2No, no, no, I don't I don't mean it that because I was listening. I've been listening since the first one and it's such a nice thing, the first of all, hear the voices of people that maybe I met 30 years ago. Yeah, and they're still around and they're still doing it and, uh, and and and you know what? They should be recognized. Yeah, what they? I don't look at myself as someone who'll be recognized. I look at myself who's very lucky Right To have done what I've done and met the people I've met to give me the opportunity to do it.
Speaker 1Absolutely, but that's how I look at singing.
Speaker 2Right Singing to me has never been something I wanted to really do as a living, but it's something that drove like, like my heart. Right, you don't choose music, it chooses you Exactly, yeah, and, and thank you for doing this and you're very successful and you're great at it, by the way. Oh, thanks, you got a great way that you, like you know you bring it in and no, no, you're very successful at it.
Speaker 1Oh, good, I want to see this thing blow up. All right, yeah, okay, hopefully it will. Who knows, we'll see.
Speaker 2Thanks Ben, thank you man. All right man Bye.
