I love chronology. These are the bands in which I partook in my lifetime period.
| YEARS | BAND | COMMENTS | PEOPLE | WHAT DID I DO? | Notable Song(s) |
| HIGH SCHOOL YEARS | |||||
| 1984-85 | Joe Froodlonga's Squat-Like People | This "band" actually started in 8th grade. Mostly just me, though my friend Corky helped a few times | me | everything. mostly casio keyboard, sing and a little winds |
Squats Away Screwed-Up Song
|
| 1985 | Mow the Grath | really a one-shot deal. me and Corky jamming on keyboards one weekend in my basement | me & Corky | casio keyboard & sing | Hamburger Helper |
| 1985 | Giant's Tooth | again, me and Corky looking for a good band name, one weekend in Vermont - Corky now playing drums. | me & Corky | synthesizer & sing | Mr Blue Sky |
| 1985-86 | Desert Wind |
my first full-size cover band. We weren't very good, but we had our moments. Great bunch of people. They kicked me out eventually, shortly before renaming themselves the XYZ Affair. Notable was an original by the bassist Ann Marie, "On Our Way" |
Tom Hamel Ann Marie Hamel John Dillon John Swingler Rich Contrastano Lisa Jones |
piano, synthesizer & voice | On Our Way |
| 1986-7 | Free Hand | this was the main band of me and Corky really trying to play, mostly our own music, though with a few covers. |
Corky Mower - drums Kim Risley - vocals |
keyboards & voice |
The Digestive System Eleventh Earl of Mar |
| 1986-87 | Fourth World | --in various combinations. I used to drive up to Enfield all the time to participate in this, mostly Junior year of high school |
Corky Todd Parsnow Kim Risley Annette Houle |
keyboards, voice |
Abacab Two Tickets to Paradise |
| 1986-87 | Up in the Air | A real cover band, back home in Newington. We played a lot of Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen, a true central Connecticut band. Some great musicians. I was proud to have gotten this band to play Genesis's "Turn it on Again" however my influence in adding "The Voice" and "Swingtown" to our repertoire garners less praise |
Chris Pandee Mike Cohen Tony Leone Chris Marolda Brian Kelly Fred Blankenburg |
electric piano & synth |
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) Money LA Woman Miami 2017 |
| 1988 | Joe Falsetto and the Brass Menagerie | This band was around my town for a few years, formed when I was a freshman or sophomore in high school. I joined for one summer when it was reformed after a hiatus. Wow, great band, some fabulous musicians a number of whom are pros all from my hometown. Full horn section, we specialized in Blue Brothers covers, but also threw in tight versions of the works of Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder, and the Jaco Pastorius version of James Brown's "The Chicken" |
Tony Leone Tom Polce Joe McMahon Brad Pitman Brian Kelly Brian Montgomery Will Heron Josh Guite |
electric piano & synth |
The Chicken Bodhisattva Spinning Wheel |
| COLLEGE YEARS | |||||
| 1990 | OCMR | My first college band. Neat bunch of folks, stylistically pretty varied though had a strong folk sound, attributable to Alisa. Our vibe was dominated by the innocence of Dan's songs & the mystery of Alisa's. The jokier, oddballish nature of my songs & Don's were a nice counterpoint but didn't dominate. Everybody had a voice (literally & figuratively). |
Don Marvel Dan Kennedy Alisa Franklin |
clarinet,keyboards & voice |
Satellite Paco Loveseats are for Guitars Gopher Gassin' |
| 1990 | Mr Ability | Over the top quirky band, dominated by Jason Mittell & Don Marvel, though eventually I was running rehearsals. Huge band, in a Parliament sort of way. Many people came and went but the core group was solid. For me the most enjoyable college group. It was just fun, and almost everything we did came out neat. |
Don Marvel Jason Mittell Dan Kennedy Thisbe Nissen Carla Kihlstedt Matt Hubbard |
keyboards, voice and clarinet |
I Am the Magic Hand Schoolhouse Rock Medley Lucky Sukey |
| 1991-92 | Lumberbride | Mostly active in 1992, this band wrote, constructed and performed a 90 minute multimedia work, which constituted my senior recital |
Don Marvel Carla Kihlstedt Greg Myers Matt Hubbard Susan Hanson |
clarinet, piano & synth |
Younger Than You Are Meni and Sammy Infomercial |
| NYC YEARS | |||||
| 1996 | Young Elvis Tribute/Night Train | my first NYC gigs, introducing me to the Orange Bear bar | synth | Heartbreak Hotel | |
| 1997 | Trouble Dolls | First regularly gigging NYC band. I played only micromoog (occasionally piano). they kicked me out. All Doll material, no covers, none of my music. I helped develop a couple of songs which were coming together nicely. around the time of my departure Also went to a recording session they did, not sure what came of those recordings. |
Matty Doll Cheri Doll Mikey Doll Dave Schneider |
micromoog |
Kirby Fair Piece Ice Cream Cow |
| 1997-99 | Anomaly | The final straw. My own band! Great guys, taking their best crack at the stuff I brought in. We did a solid rendition of Meat Balm the Web-Footed Groove Hound (a piece I thought was unplayable by a live ensemble when I was in college), plus some nice Steely Dan covers (notably Your Good Teeth II). It started as my keyboard trio with Eddy and Mike Caudle, the drummer from the Elvis Band. When I realized I needed help to fill in the spaces, Matt joined, lending his jazz sensibilities and self-conscious hard rock guitar. But then Mike left the country and was invited never to return. after a 6 month lull we held auditions and found Brian, who gave life to the bridge of Gopher Gassin' in ways previously unimagined. After a couple of years I was married, Eddy was kicked out of the country, Brian was moving to DC...it was time to say, "thank you very much gentlemen." |
Eddy Spinosa Matt Applebaum Brian Lafleur |
voice, keyboards, clarinet |
The Atlantic Center Stingray Telephone Book |
