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Nancy Sinatra "Nancy Sinatra" - Trombone
The Toasters "Enemy of the System" - Trombone and songwriter
Primitive Reason "Some of Us" - Trombone, arranger
- "Firescroll" Trombone, Trumpet, Arranger
Rocker-T "Tru Ganjaman" - Trombone, Trumpet
The Scofflaws "Record of Convictions" - Theremin, Vocals,
Trombone
"Live!, Vol. 1" - Vocals, Trombone
"Ska in Hi Fi" - Vocals, Trombone
"The Scofflaws" - Trombone
One Groovy Coconut "More Like This Than That" - Trombone,
Trumpet
New York Ska Jazz Ensemble "Low Blow" Trombone
Bossa Nova Beatniks "Heart to Beat" - Trombone
Big Noise "CBS/Epic Presents the Unsigned" Dark Ages - Trombone,
Vocals
Gary Richard "The High Road" - Trombone
Various Artists "NY Beat Breaking & Entering" - Performer
Various Artists "Skankaholics Unanimous: Under the Influence of
Ska" - Performer
Various Artists "Skarmageddon, Vol. 3: A New Beginning" Performer
Various Artists "Ska: The Third Wave, Vol. 1" Performer
Various Artists "New York Beat, Vol. 2: Breaking and Entering"
Performer
Various Artists "Roots, Branch and Stem, Vol. 2: Ska's Not Dead"
- Performer
I Started playing trombone when I was eleven. A few years before, my
parents took me on a trip on the QE2 (thanks, Mom and Dad), and that
trip had a tremendous influence on me. So, when I picked up the
trombone in school and played it, I thought that it sounded just like the
ocean liner, and I was sold. I've been playing like that ever since, so
those of you who wonder why I don't try to emanate, say, J.J. Johnson
or Curtis Fuller, well there's your answer. I like to warn the port of call
that I'm coming in.
I attended Bard College up in Annandale, and futzed around with
different majors as liberal arts colleges allow, and I ended up with an
MFA in music, even though I also studied film and creative writing. It
was a fun time. My friend John Jacobs introduced me to the world of
long blues jams at the perfect time, because like most trombone
players, I was thinking of giving it up. What, was I going to be a band
geek for ever? He, Andrea Cairone and Nelson Bragg (of Brian Wilson
"Smile" fame) formed Big Noise (at first, "Live Short and Suffer"), and
we thought we would become major stars. We did not. However, we
did conquer the Hudson Valley for a spell. We played Coochies in New
Paltz, The Joyous Lake in Woodstock, and even released a single!
We opened for the Toasters at CBGB's in 1985 or so and those two
guys who used to sing "Shirley, You're my Girlie" sang "Night Club"
with us (when I was last there, the tag in the first 'dressing room'
behind the stage was still there on one of the rafters). We had an
appearance on "The Joe Franklin Show", and I was so nervous, I
couldn't speak, kind of like Ralph Cramden doing Chef of the Future.
We opened for the B-52s on Long Island because their sax player
Ralph Carney was playing with us at the time. We had some chances,
but stardom was not in the cards. All in all, I had a great time, but
sometimes good things come to an end.
Upon the dissolution of that band, I moved to New York to try my luck in
the scene. I played with various projects and open jams, notably Tony
Mindcontrolle's Zen Mambo, and Steve Marshall and the Deputies. I
played a gig at Nightengales's, where I first met Jeff Baker playing with
Skinnerbox - he had long hair, and he had painted his trombone,
dude, so cool. That's when I came upon the ska craze, or The Third
Wave as it was called. About a year previous, I got a ticket when I was
upstate and forgot to pay it. When I finally took care of it to clear my
record, the judge called me a "Scofflaw". I had no idea what that
meant, but not a month later, I joined The Scofflaws. Odd, but the
universe works that way sometimes.
I got a call from Eric Storkman, bone player for The Toasters that he
need a sub for a national tour. I took it, and started my association
with that band, my first "Get in the Van" experience. It was eye
opening, mind crushing, and an epiphany of sorts, because I was
finally playing my horn coast to coast. Big Noise had played some ska
music, but here was a genre that was gaining momentum
internationally, and I was participating! Wow, a future of hot gigs and
good bread lay before me like the scene at the end of "Brazil". I went
for it.
The Scofflaws recorded their first CD on Moon Records, and it was
quite well received. Going on the road was difficult because most of
the band had jobs, were married with kids or had no inclination to
leave The Island. I had just done the Toaster tour, and so I was sold
on the glories of the road (band rooms filled with beer, adoring girls,
twelve hour van rides, etc...), so I pushed for some good action that
way. The Scofflaws first went out supporting Desmond Dekker and the
Aces in 1992, Bad Manners in (I think) 1993, and that was the first
instance where some of the band members could make it, and some
could not. Thus, the turn-around began, and the stress began to set
people apart from one another. By the time "Ska in Hi Fi" was
recorded, two key members had already left the band, and the rotation
had begun. It happens in almost every band, so there's no real
problem with it, but music and solidarity make an elusive dream that is
not often realized. Needless to say, the next years saw the Scofflaws
become several different and, in their own unique ways, exceptional
bands. The common denominator? Richard Brooks.
The Toaster gigs continued, and my associations with the people in
the NYC ska scene grew. It was a wild bunch of years. Many people
saw great success. Moon Records was the underground cool spot,
with a store in the Lower East Side, and so many bands came through
there that some say it was a devastating flood. I disagree. It was a
renaissance. A lot of people had a lot of fun, and you can not argue
with that. There were the New Frontier gigs, Oi Skampilation (yo
T.C.!), Wetlands, The New Music Cafe, and out on the Island with the
Scofflaws, New York Avenue, Voodoo, Industry, the Freeport Crew...
Jeez, it is a novel unto itself!
Right when the Third Wave was cresting, No Doubt and The
Bosstones were stars and there was much 'ska' drivel on MTV, I
decided to release my solo project. About time, yes? I had a hard disk
recorder and a Sure SM-57, all ready to go. I called up Victor, Agent
Jay, Eddie Ocampo, all my friends, and recorded "The Club of Hopes
and Fears". It was released on Ska Satellite to a mild aplomb. Right
then and there, Noah Wildman took all the money, The Back Street
Boys took the kids, and the ska wave washed ashore bringing with it all
drek and scum that show business can dish out. Ska was dead.
I was not dead, however, and neither were the Scofflaws, nor the
Toasters, nor were many other up and coming artists. Shows
continued and tours went around the continent. I kept gigging, but the
gigs no longer supported the dreams of yesteryear. I left the Scofflaws
in 2000, joined the Toasters, got married, and started free-lancing
around.
All that continues to this day. I keep busy, thanks to all the people who
still believe in live music - not opposed to DJs at all, because they are
musicians too - but supportive of a bunch of a bunch pf people on
stage jumping around, making music. That's what a night out is
supposed to be. You dance, laugh, have a good time, and when ever
possible, you see a band, you go to a club with a good DJ, you meet
someone you love, love the life you live, and don't let nay sayers direct
your intentions. I still announce my arrival in port, so when you have a
free night, come out and see some good real live music.
