I moved to New York City in October 2000. During my first few years here, I played drums (and a little guitar) in a handful of bands. Nowadays, I am without band. I do, however, dick around with GarageBand. Below is my CV of bands I’ve been in with aural accompaniment. Following that you can enjoy my GarageBand mastery/misery.
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DOUGLAS LEADER
Douglas Leader started off as Syracuse ska staple Douglas Leader Orchestra in the mid-90s. Influenced by ska forefathers such as Prince Buster and the Skatellites, to the Two-Tone era stuff, to ska’s Third Wave and even swing, the band boasted a massive horn section and the classic ska sound. By the time I moved to NYC in 2000, the band had evolved into something more rock-based; think The Pixies or GBV with a 3-piece horn section. I joined the band in 2001 and was the drummer until we dissolved the band in 2004 or 2005 (I literally cannot remember. I have no internal clock). That final line-up featured Patrick Burns, Joe Fattorini, Stephanie Burns, Jason Buzzeo, Dave Prager, and me. Below are tracks from our unfinished demo.
LISTEN: Douglas Leader – “Rock Them Gently” (MP3)
LISTEN: Douglas Leader – “Ohio Girls” (MP3)
LISTEN: Douglas Leader – “Girlfriends on the Guestlist” (MP3)
LISTEN: Douglas Leader – “Gravity’s Pull” (MP3)
LISTEN: Douglas Leader – “Gotta Lose That Girl” (rough vocal mix) (MP3)
LISTEN: Douglas Leader – “Ohio Girls II (The Weekender)” (MP3)
LISTEN: Douglas Leader – “Instrumental” (MP3)
LISTEN: Douglas Leader – “Hey Hey Hey” (NO Vox) (MP3)
Douglas Leader – CBGB – 9/6/02
I remember this very well. First, how could you forget playing CBGB? Second, I saw Jim Jarmusch hanging outside after our set (did he see us play?). Third, I had to find a bodega that sold audio cassettes because the sound guy said he could record our gig. Fourth, I destroyed my snare drum.
LISTEN: Douglas Leader – “Ohio Girls (live)” (MP3)
LISTEN: Douglas Leader – “Euclid Westcott (live)” (MP3)
LISTEN: Douglas Leader – “Della (live)” (MP3)
LISTEN: Douglas Leader – “Upside Down Boat Helicopter (live)” (MP3)
LISTEN: Douglas Leader – “Hey Hey Hey (live)” (MP3)
LISTEN: Douglas Leader – “Elbow II (live)” (MP3)
LISTEN: Douglas Leader – “WASMIL (live)” (MP3)
LISTEN: Douglas Leader – “Elbow III (live)” (MP3)
LISTEN: Douglas Leader – “Rock Them Gently (live)” (MP3)
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ARLINGTON CATHOLIC
Arlington Catholic was an inevitable by-product of what was happening with Douglas Leader at the time. I was living with Pat and Joe from DL, and our place was a massive 3000 sq. ft. duplex with a massive recording studio in the lower level. As DL started to commit to being really rock-centric, and as Pat was heavily into bands like Guided by Voices, and as we all lived above a recording studio/practice space, it was inevitable that the three of us would simply get together to rock out. Arlington Catholic was strictly a three piece. We only played a handful of gigs, but this was one of my favorite projects. What follows below is two tracks I recently dug up while going through some old CDs. The origin of these cuts is pretty simple; our studio had inherited a 2-inch tape deck and we wanted to test it out live in the studio. The first song never really had a name, but for obvious sonic similarities to the band of the same name, I refer to it as “Rush”. The second song went on to be adopted by a later project of ours call Cenzo. We called it “Stop Me”. Cenzo eventually changed it to “Psychic Robbery”. I drum.
LISTEN: Arlington Catholic – “Rush” (Live Studio Recording) (MP3)
LISTEN: Arlington Catholic – “Stop Me / Psychic Robbery” (Live Studio Recording) (MP3)
LISTEN: Arlington Catholic – “Monomania” (not the best mix) (MP3)
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CENZO
Starting in 1991, I was big into ska, hardcore and punk. I went to hundreds of shows in Providence and Boston starting in 1991 until I moved to NYC in 2000. One of my favorite bands of that era was Bim Skala Bim, and one of my idols was the great Vinnie Nobile. When I moved to Greenpoint in 2001, my neighbors across the hall included former Spring Heeled Jack drummer Dave Karcich and former Pilfers bass player Carl Barc. Along with Vinnie Nobile and former Spring Heeled Jack guitarist Mike Pellegrino, the four guys had a band called Cenzo. Pat, Joe and I got really close with Vinnie, Dave, and Carl. As a matter of fact Dave had a huge hand in recording Douglas Leader’s EP God Bless Virgins. In April of 2001, Dave passed away from a brain aneurysm and Cenzo went on a short hiatus; that is, until Vinnie hired Pat, Joe, and me as Cenzo’s new rhythm section. Cenzo was by far the most successful band I’ve been in; we played sold out shows with the likes of The Toasters, Murphy’s Law, The Pietasters, Badfish and more. I was eventually “fired” because my work obligations got in the way of my availability to be in a band. The songs below represent my participation in the Cenzo experience as drumsman.
LISTEN: Cenzo – “Cardiovascular” (demo) (MP3)
LISTEN: Cenzo – “Deep Blue” (demo) (MP3)
LISTEN: Cenzo – “Go Back Now” (demo) (MP3)
LISTEN: Cenzo – “High Times” (demo) (MP3)
LISTEN: Cenzo – “Let It” (demo) (MP3)
LISTEN: Cenzo – “Come 24-7″ (demo) (MP3)
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ANTHEMIC POP WONDER – Luxx, Brooklyn – 10/17/02
Pat Burns, Joe Fattorini, and I were hired by DFactor, the man behind Anthemic Pop Wonder, to be his rhythm section. Why not? Here’s our performance at Luxx (now Trash Bar) in Brooklyn from back in October 17, 2002. Transferred from cassette.
LISTEN: Anthemic Pop Wonder – “Say Yeah” (MP3)
LISTEN: Anthemic Pop Wonder – “Fortune Reigns” (MP3)
LISTEN: Anthemic Pop Wonder – “Mastermind” (MP3)
LISTEN: Anthemic Pop Wonder – “Here’s My #1″ (MP3)
LISTEN: Anthemic Pop Wonder – “Hero For a Friend” (MP3)
LISTEN: Anthemic Pop Wonder – “Coming Inside” (MP3)
LISTEN: Anthemic Pop Wonder – “Corporate Show” (MP3)
LISTEN: Anthemic Pop Wonder – “Rapid Pop Thrills” (MP3)
LISTEN: Anthemic Pop Wonder – “Smash The Devil In His Head” (MP3)
LISTEN: Anthemic Pop Wonder – “Let Go In A Song” (MP3)
LISTEN: Anthemic Pop Wonder – “Party Car to Happiness” (MP3)
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ANTHEMIC POP WONDER – Arlene’s Grocery – 11/09/02
Pat Burns, Joe Fattorini, and I were hired by DFactor, the man behind Anthemic Pop Wonder, to be his rhythm section. Why not? Here’s our performance at Arlene’s Grocery in Manhattan from back in November 9, 2002. Transferred from cassette.
LISTEN: Anthemic Pop Wonder – “Say Yeah” (MP3)
LISTEN: Anthemic Pop Wonder – “Corporate Show” (MP3)
LISTEN: Anthemic Pop Wonder – “Let Go In A Song” (MP3)
LISTEN: Anthemic Pop Wonder – “Fortune Reigns” (MP3)
LISTEN: Anthemic Pop Wonder – “Here’s My #1″ (MP3)
LISTEN: Anthemic Pop Wonder – “Hero For A Friend” (MP3)
LISTEN: Anthemic Pop Wonder – “Comin’ Inside” (MP3)
LISTEN: Anthemic Pop Wonder – “How Great Was Husker Du” (MP3)
LISTEN: Anthemic Pop Wonder – “Free From Fear” (MP3)
LISTEN: Anthemic Pop Wonder – “Smash The Devil In His Head” (MP3)
LISTEN: Anthemic Pop Wonder – “Party Car to Happiness” (MP3)
LISTEN: Anthemic Pop Wonder – “Bastards of Young” (MP3)
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SEAHAG
LISTEN: Seahag – “Queermeal” (MP3)
LISTEN: Seahag – “I Am Seahag” (MP3)
LISTEN: Seahag – “1000 Virgins” (MP3)
LISTEN: Seahag – “Parasite” (MP3)
LISTEN: Seahag – “The Stew” (MP3)
LISTEN: Seahag – “Haunted Eye” (MP3)
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For the past several months I have been making tunes. You can hear them here. Heard? I ain’t no Mozart, or Art Garfunkel, or Marty Funkhauser, so don’t think I think my tunes are that great. They are what they are. Kapish?
LISTEN: Priapism – Moment of Siolence
LISTEN: Priapism – Hagar the Horrible
LISTEN: Priapism – The Michael McDonald Project 1
LISTEN: Priapism – The Michael McDonald Project 2
LISTEN: Priapism – “R I P“
LISTEN: Priapism – “R I P (reprise)“
LISTEN: Priapism – “Ascension, Cloudless“
LISTEN: Priapism – “B L K M T L”
LISTEN: Priapism – “A Painful End“
LISTEN: Priapism – “ Perfect Day, Nobody Noticed“
LISTEN: Priapism – “Almost“
LISTEN: Priapism – “G B V D G“
LISTEN: Priapism – “Pure Flesh“
LISTEN: Priapism – “Horns“
LISTEN: Priapism – “Jesu“
LISTEN: Priapism – “Jesu (reprise)“
LISTEN: Priapism – “End Credit Music For A Michael Mann Movie“
LISTEN: Priapism – “Massive Attic“
LISTEN: Priapism – “Descent“
LISTEN: Priapism – “Further Descent“
LISTEN: Priapism – “Never Be The Same“
LISTEN: Priapism – “Power Ballad for the Powerless“
LISTEN: Priapism – “The Bigger They Are“
LISTEN: Priapism – “Tribute to Waterless Floyd“
LISTEN: Priapism – “That Axe“
LISTEN: Priapism – “In Flight“ (watch the video)
LISTEN: Priapism – “Dusted“
LISTEN: Priapism – “A Sons Tribute (I’m Livin’ on God)“
LISTEN: Priapism – “Watershoes Anthem“
LISTEN: Priapism - “Chariots (B-Side)“
LISTEN: Priapism - “Webster Hall, 1AM“
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My Favorite Relative. Not a band I was in. However, back in the mid 90’s my best mate Ramsey was MFR’s guitar player Ramin Djwadi’s roommate. You might know Ramin from his work with Hans Zimmer, or his lead role in with the Game of Thrones soundtrack. Whatever the case, Ramin was the nicest guy I ever met, a phenomenal musician, smart off the scales. So in his honor, I bring to you the hard to find My Favorite Relative On Holiday EP.
LISTEN: My Favorite RelativeWhat You Gonna Do
LISTEN: My Favorite Relative Seashell
LISTEN: My Favorite Relative Motorbike
LISTEN: My Favorite Relative I’ll Be There
LISTEN: My Favorite Relative April
* Yes, I sometimes borrow from the GarageBand loops library. It helps!
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