Wisdom and High School
the Early Pleistocene
Scot Kistenberger and Glenn Lyons, Winter of 1970. Glenn threatens a Christmas tree carcass, to Scott's amusement. Glenn and Jeff Wheeler were at Berklee College of Music at this time, while Scott and I were in tenth grade at Walt Whitman High School, playing with Larry Gallat in various lineups. Michael Barber was at college somewhere in Maine, if I recall correctly.
Apocalypse in Scott's Basement, Spring 1970 ... and it's Scott and I playing with Larry Gallat and David Meyer. Scott, Larry and I all lived in the same neighborhood and went to the same scools together. We didn't meet David until tenth grade and (for me, at least) it was like meeting a lost twin brother. Here was a guy who not only played and sang well, but was into much of the same music as us. In this photo we're practicing "Flute Thing" by the Blues Project. Left to right: me on my first guitar, modified to quasi-bass tuning; Larry Gallat on Farfisa organ; Scott Kistenberger on his Gretsch drum set in its original champagne sparkle finish; and David Meyer on flute.
Apocalypse at the Moose Hall, Spring 1970 One of my favorite gigs ever, bar none, was playing for the retards at the Moose Hall. Now I know it's politically incorrect to call kids with severe learning disabilities and limited IQs retards, but that's what we called them, and we loved them! We'd get our moms to drive us to the Moose Lodge and the 'tards would have a dance and we'd play for 'em. They were the best audience ever. They loved us, and we'd play our butts off for them. Note Moose wall-hanging in background. left to right: me (on my Gibson SG, the good guitar); David Meyer slapping the tambourine; and Larry Gallat on Farfisa.
Tom Schizzano sitting in at the Moose Hall, Spring 1970 Tom played in a band called "Orange Cross" at this time, but sat in with us on this gig. I don't think the 'tards minded too much. He was (and is) a phenomonal musician who played keyboards as well as guitar and sang like an angel. I'm pretty sure he brought down the horn you can see in the left corner. Adding a horn to our PA system at that time was like adding primary colors to a palette of brown and grey. The box in the lower left was a strobe light that I built from an old window fan. Or maybe it was a monitor that Tom brought as well, in which case he got massive cred for upgrading our Bogen-powered PA a hundredfold. Ominous portents of the future: Tom now runs Landford Productions, one of Long Island's biggest recording studios, and David Meyer became a sales rep for Bogen amplifiers. Left to right: Tom Schizzano on black Les Paul; Scott Kistenberger on drum batterie, moi on cherry SG; David Meyer as Mr. Tambourine Man.
Four fifths of Wisdom (and friends), Summer 1970. Soon after the above photos were taken, Scott and I left Long Island for Boston, Massachusetts and a truly life-altering summer of all-original music and starvation with the band we called Wisdom. Left to right: Douglas Baldwin, Scott Kistenberger (background, scrutinizing an orange), I-think-her-name-was-Cindy (vogueing), Michael Barber anticipating the apocalyptic flood, wuzzername, Glenn Lyons. This series of photos was taken as we were about to leave Boston in mid-August, 1970. Perhaps Jeff Wheeler took these pix - he does not appear in any pictures I have.
Three fifths of Wisdom (and friends). Michael and wuzzername are performing some kind of power stance, the kind of thing Michael was very good at conjuring up and cultivating with others. Note that Scott still clutches the orange, a significant reminder of our diet that summer.
Two and a half fifths of Wisdom (and half a friend). Probably influenced by Michael's skill at power stances, and also thinking of some of the early photos of the Mothers of Invention, I brandish a broken rubber shock absorber/engine mount thingie. Scott is not letting go of the orange anytime soon.
We can assume that Scott ate the orange. The house in which we starved and played miraculous music was on Everett St. (I think - Scott, get back to me on this!) and these pictures would be somewhere around the intersections of Everett, Cambridge St., North Beacon St., and the Mass Pike.
Lacewind at the Huntington CDY, Autumn or Winter, 1971. Left to right: Michael Barber (bass), Scott Kistenberger (drums), Douglas Baldwin (guitar), Larry Gallat (organ). Compare this picture to those of Apocalypse in 1970, above. Same lineup, but with Michael Barber on bass. Every time a member or two changed, we changed the name of the band. Gear geeks will note, in the foreground, the Lafayette four-channel passive mixer and Bogen amp. I can't identify Michael's bass, but our back line was all Ampeg: Michael played into his father's B-15 (with "Bill Barber" inscribed into the plexiglass on the front), I used a Gemini I or II, and Larry went into a B-15. Dig Larry's Farfisa and the early Uni-Vibe he's adjusting.
Michael Barber at the CDY. Same gig. This may have been the gig where he brought a papier mache hamburger with a plastic fly attached on a piece of thread. While performing some kind of take-off on a hamburger commercial (Dracula Burgers, perhaps?) he would twirl the burger around to make the fly look like it was circling for a landing. Lacewind's repertoire was so varied, it defied description. I recall us playing some Zappa ("What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?" with the 7/8 section: "...all your children are poor unfortunate victims of systems beyond your control..."), the Youngbloods "Get Together," "Boogaloo Down Broadway" by Johnny C. (with altered backup vocals that ran "Broadway, honky f#$%in' Broadway"), and Paul McCartney's "Ram On." I thought this is what bands were supposed to do if they were playing "cover tunes." I still do. And I suffer for my beliefs.
Lacewind, post-Michael, on an unseasonably warm day in the Spring of 1972. Here we find, left to right, yrs. truly (guitar), Russel Lloyd (?) (guitar), Alan St. Thomas (bass) and Scotty K. (drums). Barely visible at far left is the hand of Larry Gallat setting up his Farfisa. I was in full Allman Brothers mode at this point, working hard to nail "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" and learning all I could about slide guitar from Honest Tom Pomposello at Kropotkin Records. I remember the first realization that I was hitting a wall with other musicians when neither Russel nor Alan could wrap their heads around the Liz Reed thing.
The Skydogs
ancient history
The Skydogs at the Massapequa Snake-Out, summer 1975, with David Noyes on guitar. This is the oldest photo I have of the 'dogs, and the only way I can verify the date is because I had the presence of mind to write it on the back of the picture. Otherwise, I freely confess that all dates hereafter regarding the Skydogs are subject to debate. Any clues to verify or correct any dates given will be greatly appreciated! That's David Noyes on the left giving me the hairy eyeball, and Bill Grillo on the drums.
The Skydogs at Friends World College, about 1976. Left to right: Wayne Brusseau (bass), Scott Kistenberger (drums), Stephen Ramirez (guitar), Bill Grillo (drums), Douglas Baldwin (guitar). The Skydogs formed around 1974 with Keith Macken taking the guitar/vocal chair that Stepen holds in this picture. That original lineup was called Scott Calder and the Skydogs, in honor of our soundman. Previously, I had played with Scott Kistenburger in every band since fourth grade, when we lip-synched to Beatles and Beach Boys records in my garage (admission 5 cents). I had also played with Bill Grillo and Keith Macken around '71-'72 in Calder's Circus. In addition to Bill, Keith and myself, Calder's Circus featured Jimmy Haslip on bass. That was an honor.
More Skydogs. Stephen seems to be witnessing "Canoe Light" here. The other guitar/vocal position was a revolving door in the Skydogs. Keith Macken did the first shift in '74, then David Noyes did a stint in '75, and Stephen came on board early in '76. Stephen had wonderful wide ears - we shared a love of Captain Beefheart, Sun Ra and the Grateful Dead's wilder jams, and Stephen turned me on to NRBQ.
Still more Skydogs... Friends World College was a converted mansion/farm overlooking Lloyd's Harbor on Long Island. It was a remnant of the late 60's - early 70's "make your own ciriculum" institution, and I lived there from the autumn of '75 through the winter of '77, serving as a groundskeeper/graphic artist/campus bum. I was a bit "stuck" at this time. I wanted desperately to move forward with music while maintaining the principles of an austere, self-sufficient lifestyle, but the band was not well-focused and I was still very inexperienced.
Skydogs, rocking. In spite of my frustrations with the band and with myself, we had a large repertoire of well-chosen songs. At the time it was an undefined genre, but now we look back and say, "Oh! Jam band!" Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers, reggae, blues, country-tinged covers, and an eclectic batch of original songs. I have at least one songlist from this time (see below), and I have several of our original songs available for download on my "LISTEN" subpage. (Scroll down to "The Bone Song" and "Waiting for Armageddon.")
Skydogs, howling heartfelt harmonies. Wayne Brusseau was, in retrospect, a really good bassist who could play extremely melodic lines. He also had a killer tenor voice. Stephen brought great enthusiasm to the band, but it didn't always translate to his guitar technique, and his vocals were often, as Simon of American Idol would say, a bit pitchy. I practiced and wrote constantly at this time, and I still have notebooks full of songs that could stand the light of day. I always tended to sing out of necessity but, in retrospect, should have given some of my original songs to Wayne to sing.
The Skydogs Songlist, about 1977. This was a "promotional" songlist made in an attempt to book gigs. Dig the Rick Griffin-inspired lettering. According to the contact info in the lower right corner, we were working with Rick Morgan at the time.
Scott Kistenberger, People's Picnic, 1978. Although the Skydogs broke up around the Spring of 1978, we had a reunion performance at the People's Picnic in Whitehall, New York that summer. Scott and I had just begun a new band, tentatively called "Less Gravity," which also performed at the People's Picnic that summer. The lineup of Less Gravity was myself, Scott, Joe Silver on bass, Bill Alexander on keyboards, and Tom Perri on vocals.
Wayne Brusseau, People's Picnic, 1978. In the first days of post-Skydog projects, I recall recording three of my original songs with Wayne and Scott. Larry Perlman engineered, setting his four-track Teac up in my house at 5 Via Continental, South Huntington. The songs were "White Lies," "Waiting for Armageddon," and "Lumm-De-Lie."
Bill Grillo, People's Picnic, 1978. Bill and Stephen Ramirez went on to play with Honest Tom Pomposello, one of the guiding lights of the Huntington music scene. Does anyone remember Kropotkin Records, or Honest Tom running for town Treasurer as part of the People's Party? Anyway, Bill Grillo is now living in Rockport MA and practicing his phenomonal skills as a watercolorist. Check out his web site here.
Stephen Ramirez, people's Picnic, 1978. After his run with the Lashnits Brothers and Honest Tom, Stephen played bass with the Zen Tricksters before moving to the West Coast. Here's a YouTube clip of Stephen playing with the Tricksters at the club New YOrk Avenue in HUntington in the early 90s: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j60tm-mI-Uo&NR=1 . Two favorite Ramirez expressions: "True pong spirit" and "MAUUUUUDDDD!"
Coyote, People's Picnic, 1978. I'm playing my newly-aquired Hagstrom Swede.
At My Father's Place, Roslyn. 1979? Not long after the dissolution of the Skydogs, I played briefly with "Masi and Cassidy." On this night, we were opening for Richie Havens. That's Bill Grillo on drums.
Peter Massi, the Massi of "Massi and Cassidy."
Another shot from My Father's Place. The walrus mustache was not a recurring facial theme.
And another from that night at My Father's Place. The guitar was my beloved Gibson SG, which by them had been refinished and given toggle switches for in/out-of phase and series/parallel wiring when both pickups were on. These were some of my first tries at guitar modification, an addiction I still struggle with today.
The Eighties
A decade of transformation
With the Wes Houston Band, 1979. I clearly remember jumping at the opportunity to play with the band then known as "Wes Houston and the All-Star Space Band" during the summer of 1979. The band was huge! It was all over the Island! This was gonna be the Big Time! Soon after joining, we recorded a single on our own label ("Wanderin'" b/w "Too Long A Day" on Vector Records. We also did a radio spot for "Made in Paradise" jeans. Hoo weee! We had a manager, a huge P.A., a truck, three or four gigs a week... Hooo WHEE! Left to right: George Christ (harmonica), Marc Jay (keyboards), Bob "Dee" D'Andrade (bass), Wes Houston (guitar, vocals), Douglas baldwin (guitar), Joey Piazza (drums).
Playing my skinny little butt off with Wes, 1979. Wes wrote great songs, George Christ could blow the bejeebies out of a harp, and Joey P. was one of the best drummers I ever played with. The band had a killer mix of Queens street-tough attitude, songs much like early Bruce Springsteen, and jams that leaned towards an Allmans-style flow. I remember practicing like mad to catch up with the rest of these guys.
The Wes Houston band, about 1980. Wes must have a lyric somewhere about a cold wind blowing through, 'cause that's what happened to the band. Wes fired the manager, the drinking age went up from 18 to 21 (which emptied out the bars we played in virtually overnight), disco and punk transformed the musical landscape, the economy went into a serious recession, and the band's bass chair became a revolving door. Note the radical change in looks, particularly Joey and I sporting short hair and skinny ties. Hoo wee, indeed. Left to right: Larry Sheeba (bass), Douglas baldwin (guitar), Joey Piazza (drums), Wes Houston (guitar, vocals), George Christ (harmonica), Marc Jay (keyboards).
The Kim Strongin Band at Garvin's in Huntington, about 1982. This was a stripped down outfit, originally a band for backing up Kim's singer/songwriter stylings, but we soon became a basic bar cover band to make money. Two guitars, bass, and drums - a tight little equipment lineup, and a peppering of original songs to keep it interesting. left to right: Douglas Baldwin (guitar, vocals), Mike Guido (bass), Kim Strongin (guitar, vocals). Paul Shields can be seen on the right, sitting in on harmonica. to Kim's left. Keith Hurrell is in the back on drums.
The Kim Strongin Band Official 8x10 glossy. Left to right: Keith Hurrell, drums; Mike Guido, bass; Kim Strongin, guitar,vocals; Douglas Baldwin, guitar, vocals. In the background, reading the book on Ancient Egypt: Paul Shields.
The Kim Strongin Band Unofficial Artistic Portrait. Drawn by yours truly, probably from a collage of photos. I don't think this ever got reproduced, but it's a nice bit of inking, innit?
With the Kim Strongin Band at the Hobbit Hole in Selden, about 1982. Keith Hurrell can be seen on the drums, far right. We first met when Keith was playing with M.C. Osso and I was with Wes Houston. Keith made quite a difference in my life at this time. His technical skills caused me to reevaluate mine and inspired me to find Carmine D'Amico, the instructor/professional connection who introduced me to the wild and wicked world of weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, country club dances. corporate presentations, etc. (a.k.a. "club dates" in the New York area).
Being "the rock guitar guy" at a wedding, about 1985. Part of my schtick was to play some anthemic and appropriate rock song and rock out with the bride on the dance floor. Springsteen's "Glory Days" was the usual song. This became quite the event at an already huge event - you can see the photographers circlingwith their lights, capturing the bride's ability to get wild on her big day.
More club dating, about 1985. The rest of the band is on a break and I'm playing a ten-to-fifteen-minute set to keep the continuous music happening. Behind me is Ed Silver, who should be taking a break with the rest of the band. Instead, he's sitting in on drums. Ed normally played sax and clarinet and also hauled a Casio keyboard around to play on the rock tunes. As a drummer, he was a pretty good sax player.
The Jerry White Band in New York magazine, September 1986. The magazine did a piece on the Steven Scott Orchestras and used us for the photo. We're at the Fountainhead catering hall in New Rochelle. Left to right: Douglas Baldwin (guitar), Al Geller (keyboards), Denice Lopez (vocals, also my first wife), Jerry White (trumpet, vocals), Ed Silver (sax, clarinet, Casio keyboard, vocals), Bob Allen (drums, vocals). Missing in action: Richie Acciavettio on bass and vocals. Oh, the tales I could tell of these days...