My first real band came in 1970, when I met my friend Larry Bourneuf. We were both nerdy freshmen at a suburban St. Louis highschool, and quickly formed a strong bond, and a band. We played dances at the local high schools and junior highs, function halls, and private parties. We did the hits of the day, by groups like the Guess Who, Loggins and Messina, and the Doobie Brothers. I went on to play with Larry for the next 8 years in various incarnations. Our last band together was called ÒChanceÓ, and we still did the hits of the day (by this time it was Fleetwood Mac, Pat Benatar, and Van Halen). We played the local rock clubs and colleges, and even traveled a bit.
I met Tim Robert
in 1982 and joined his somewhat rag-tag band, which we quickly transformed into one of the most popular "New Wave" cover bands in St. Louis. We called ourselves Newspeak. We played a lot...3 to 5 nights every week and 4-5 sets a night, and we gained a large local following...it was a lot of fun. After two years of this we really wanted to do our own music, so we recorded an album, changed our name to Common Ailments of Maturity
and embarked on the adventurous road of original music.
We soon realized we wanted to be in a more thriving musical area, so after much deliberation we settled on, and in, the environs of Boston, Massachusetts. We arrived in January of 1986, and it was from here that we started to develop our edgy and poly-rhythmic sound. Originally a quartet, our bassist Ed Ruprect returned to St. Louis to attend to his family's business after only a few months in Boston. So along with synth player Dennis Parrish, guitarist/singer Tim Robert, and myself, we became a trio, and started crawling our way up to the middle of the Boston rock scene.
In 1989 Dennis left and was replaced by Chapman Stick player John Breglia
, and the third and final installment of CAM was born. We toured extensively around the East Coast and continued to record and release our own LP's, but in May of 1993 we officially called it quits.
During this time I was also meeting and starting to play with a lot of other local musicians. One of the first was Des from the Bentmen , who pulled me into that wild group and introduced me to a whole new world of Boston music. I remained with the Bentmen for eight years, 1987-1995. Another early supporter was Roger Miller , of Mission of Burma fame, who became a great fan of Common Ailments, and invited me to record on his album ÒWin Instantly!Ó.
Later during this time I met Mark Sandman, who would turn out to be a musical big brother to me. We recorded and jammed together often, and some of our sessions made it into movies and Morphine albums. He introduced me to many top notch musicians, and to great music from around the world. I never take for granted the nurturing and support I received from Mark. More than anyone else, he put me on the map here, and I will always be in his debt.
One of my biggest thrills of this period was being asked to join Concussion Ensemble
, a power house instrumental band led by one of my all-time favorite guitarists, Rich Gilbert
. CE was already headlining the big clubs when I joined, and it only got better from there. We were a top local act for many years, but were never able to translate that success nationally. But Concussion Ensemble is still legendary in the hearts of its Boston fans. We played our last show in December 1996 to a sold out show at The Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge
Another highlight of the past decade has been my involvement with Boston Rock Opera . My first show with them was their 1996 production of ÒJesus Christ SuperstarÓ. 14 sold out shows with Gary Cherone and Kay Hanley in the lead roles! I had loved this album in high school, so this was a real treat. IÕve gone on to do two more productions, ÒJ.C. SuperstarÓ again in 2000, and ÒAbbey RoadÓ in 2001.
When Binary System started in 1996, I was already playing with Roger again, doing some of his Òelemental guitarÓ shows. When he released his solo piano cd ÒThe Benevolent Disruptive RayÓ, he decided to add my drums to some pieces for performance. We quickly realized we had something there, and so did SST Records , who brought us out to LA to record our first cd ÒLive at the Idea RoomÓ. We have since released two more cdÕs on Atavistic Worldwide - ÒFrom the EpicenterÓ in 1999, and ÒOut of the Invention BoxÓ in 2001.