Via Jeff Kazee: I WANT MY CTV!! Clapsy hosts Kazee, Conte, Seguso & Alexander playing Booker T & The MGs’ “Can’t Be Still”. There is no Day Off for the jam inclined. Special Guests: Stage Manager “(Norwegian) Hood”

It’s been a while, since I found that brown envelope in my mail. A very thoughtful friend over in NYC got me the debut record of a young, promising, talent, singer, songwriter and pianist… That’s been 1999, when this talent was about to join that band from across the river… a move which should make the young Kentuckian an honorary citizen of the great state of New Jersey – which has been made official and permanent just shortly after. Although he pretends to be still living in the city today – truth is, that he’s been living in recording studios of all kinds and on stages of all sizes ever since. Backing the greatest bar-band of all times and today’s biggest all American arena act (also from the neighborhood), jamming in the smallest hole in the wall and on (Inter)National TV. This Wizard of social media & Key Master of Cool is Mr. Jeff Kazee. And the record in that brown envelope has been No River, his debut as a solo recording artist.

Jeff has now made his debut available to everybody who has access to the internets and the sufficient equipment to play electronic soundfiles. Which is YOU (since you are able to read this right now)! So, if you want to meet the artist BEFORE he joined the Jukes, when you are ready for a personal tread and a discovery of great music, songwriting and soul. Go over and get your files! Kazee on iTunes | Kazee @ amazon.com

John Kowalenko’s plan to bring together a crew of musicians and restaurateurs to raise money for cash-strapped East End food pantries is coming together.

The event, which will be held on August 3 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Principi farm in Amagansett, will feature a performance by a cast of serious musicians, all with ties to both East Hampton and to famous musical groups.

The group, calling itself the “Band of Brothers,” includes Simon Kirk from Bad Company, G.E. Smith from Saturday Night Live, John Conte from Billy Joel’s band and Jeff Kazee from Bon Jovi and Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes.

Local musicians will warm up the audience and surprise guests are expected.

“The show opens up with the Escola de Samba BOOM, who will open up coming through the audience, and will end up on stage and turn into the opening act with Bastards of Boom,” said Mr. Kowalenko. “Rob Camillio, out of New York, is a cross between Bruce Springsteen and B.B. King.

The Surf Dogs come on next—they’re a bit like the Ventures. Then will be Mamma Lee and Friends, and Danni D. She’s the new Madonna. She’ll have a couple of backup singers and dancers. All these musicians are donating their time, which is really cool.”

U.S. Representative Tim Bishop and New York City mayoral candidate John Finan are also expected to attend.

General admission tickets will be sold at all Bridgehampton National Bank locations. VIP tickets are available at the Ladles of Love hotline at 267-3312. Mr. Kowalenko is still looking for a few volunteers at info@hamptonevent.com and up-to-date information on the event can be found at ladlesoflove.org.

By Beth Young – Jul 21, 09 6:19 PM

Read the full article: http://www.27east.com/

Read more: http://www.easthamptonstar.com/

Jeff Kazee, Rich Pagano and John Conte perform Son of Your Father at The Bitter End in New York City during their ‘EE’ Early Elton show. A complete website and Facebook page is under construction.

As the story goes, Elton’s label didn’t have the funds to send him out to tour the US with a full band, yet Elton needed to promote his imminent releases. Having decided on Dee and Nigel, Elton then rearranged the songs and vocals to fit within the limitations of his new lineup. Suddenly, a new sound emerged that was both raw and poignant. While Jeff, John and Rich have used rare video, bootleg recordings and even Elton’s own home demos in shaping their collective vision of Elton’s Trio Period, they will be blurring the lines between replication and innovation slightly, while still capturing and utilizing the spirit, mood and energy from those early tours.

Next show;

Wednesday, July 29 8:00 p.m.
The Bitter End
147 Bleecker Street (between Thompson and LaGuardia)
New York City
(212) 673-7030

Source: Vimeo.com

Come celebrate summer, at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center’s first annual “Rock n Roll Summer Cocktail Party” featuring a special performance by the Bobby Bandiera Band. The event will be held on July 1st at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center, 100 Grant Avenue, Deal Park.

Things will get underway at 6:30 pm with a special cocktail reception sponsored by Stingers and 656 Ocean in the Axelrod Theater’s art gallery. Guests are invited to sip refreshing mint mojitos, sample delicious appetizers and win tickets to future shows at the Axelrod Theater. Theater doors open at 8:00 pm for a special performance of Bobby Bandiera’s “Rock and Soul Revue”.

Bandiera is a long time fixture of the Jersey Shore sound and his appearances with local legends Cats on a Smooth Surface date back to the early 1980s and clubs such as The Stone Pony, when Bruce Springsteen would jump onstage with them on Sunday nights. Bobby has played with such legends as Stevie Wonder, B.B. King, Eric Clapton and Keith Richards. Bobby regularly headlines in leading shore venues with his band, the Bob Bandiera Band, and accompanies Southside Johnny and Bon Jovi.

Tickets for the reception and performance are $40 per person and can be ordered by calling the Axelrod Box Office at 732-531-9100 ext. 142. Group Discounts are also available by calling 732-531-9100 ext. 155.

PRLog (Press Release) – Jun 18, 2009 – IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Jill Garbi, Marketing Director, 732-531-9100 ext. 130
jgarbi@jccmonmouth.org
www.axelrodartscenter.com

By Ellen S. Wilkowe • Daily Record • February 8, 2009

His kids call him Dad, but to everyone else, Richie Rosenberg of Randolph is best known as LaBamba. Everyone except for his wife, that is.

“She calls me LB,” he said.

For the past 16 years, the man of one hat, one horn — a trombone — has found himself on the receiving end of Conan O’Brien’s jokes as a member of the show’s house band, the Max Weinberg 7.

“I don’t know idea why he picks on me,” Rosenberg said jokingly in a phone interview from — where else? — NBC in New York, where he tapes “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” almost daily from 2 to 8 p.m. “But from day one, there was always a camera on Max and on me.”

This year O’Brien will head west to take over “The Tonight Show,” and while an NBC spokesman would not reveal the band’s fate, Rosenberg said he will be going along — “a dream come true,” he said.

“I can only speak for myself and not the band,” Rosenberg said. “I just wish I didn’t have to leave this all behind.”

This, meaning New Jersey. “I’ll miss the Shore,” he said.

So how does one find his calling in the form of a late night talk show’s band, not to mention more than 30 years as a member of Southside Johnny’s Asbury Jukes and numerous performances with Bruce Springsteen, including the Super Bowl?

“I had no idea,” Rosenberg said. “But I was sure by the time I was in high school I enjoyed what I was doing.”

His high-mileage music career began at George Washington High School in Philadelphia, took root in Asbury Park and branched out to full-fledged albums, national and world tours, charity events, weddings and corporate parties.

At last Sunday’s Super Bowl, he performed at halftime with Springsteen and the E Street Band.

“There was so much adrenaline that I didn’t feel any pain in my foot,” said Rosenberg, who recently suffered a foot injury.

“I enjoyed it in a musical sense in the fact that all the music was memorized and there’s no reading. A lot of times you do a job and you’re reading with one eye on the conductor and one eye on the music.”

As for the fireworks? “We felt that heat,” he said.

Born to musically inclined parents, Rosenberg took to the piano and choir first. A sisterly intervention redirected him from the choir to the school’s instrumental director, who introduced him to the trombone.

“My senior year in high school, the saxophonist in jazz band and I both made first chair in the Philadelphia All City Jazz band,” he said.

His stepfather instilled in him an appreciation of jazz, specifically trombonist J.J. Johnson.

After a short-lived first year at the Philadelphia Music Academy, Rosenberg abandoned his scholarship to tour with the band Vicki Allen and the Image.

“I figured it would be more useful,” he said.

A call from high school friend and fellow musician Rick Gazda with “an offer you can’t refuse” brought him from Schenectady, N.Y., to the Stone Pony rock club in Asbury Park.

“I had never been there,” he said. “People from Philly went to Atlantic City, Margate or Ventnor — never anything north.”

The offer came from Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.

“It was their first rehearsal,” he said. “There was no other trombone player.”

That fateful night earned him his nickname, an initiation or rite of passage for band members. “Everybody had a nickname back then in Asbury Park,” he said.

“I had an afro and a Fu Manchu,” he said. “Some roadie with the Jukes, Gary Anderson, yelled out, ‘LaBamba!’ Then Springsteen jumped up on the bar and said, ‘Give me an L-A-B-A-M-B-A!’

“Bruce would rehearse with the band,” Rosenberg said. “He wrote a good amount of material for Southside. He was changing managers and was in a lawsuit, so he couldn’t record.”

After joining the Jukes, Rosenberg moved to the Shore area and lived in Belmar, Long Branch and “even across from the Stone Pony,” he said.

“It was a fun atmosphere,” he said. “The Pony was always packed.”

In 1981, a Jukes show at The Savoy, now the Hudson Theatre in New York City, caught the attention of Diana Ross’ producer, Nile Rogers. “He asked us (the horn section) to go on the road with her,” Rosenberg said.

After a two-year tour with Ross, Rosenberg returned, only to hit the road with “Little Steven” Van Zandt’s world tour in support of his album “Men Without Women.”

In the mid-1980s, Rosenberg fine-tuned his own bands, LaBamba and the Hubcaps and LaBamba’s Big Band, made up of 13 horns. The Hubcaps served as the entertainment for last year’s New Jersey Hall of Fame induction ceremony and were invited to play this year’s as well.

“LaBamba is one of the most versatile musicians around, which is why the New Jersey Hall of Fame has asked him to lead the stage band for our annual induction ceremony,” said Don Jay Smith, New Jersey Hall of Fame’s executive director. “Last year they not only entertained our NJPAC audience on their own, but they brilliantly backed Phoebe Snow, Joe Piscopo and, of course, Bruce Springsteen. To see Bruce, Danny DeVito and Yogi Berra singing ‘Glory Days’ with the Hubcaps cooking behind them was absolutely amazing.”

Rosenberg’s musicians also have accompanied the likes of Frank Sinatra, Dizzy Gillespie and Tina Turner, among others.

Rosenberg brought his wife along for Springsteen’s “Tunnel of Love” tour, circa 1988.

“We played East Berlin before the wall came down,” he said. “There were people in trees waving American flags. It was a whole different scene then.”

Nearly 20 years later, in 2006, Rosenberg made the rounds again, this time on Springsteen’s “Seeger Sessions” tour.

“It was a great tour and a lot of fun to play, but it was a tough message to put across for Bruce fans,” he said. “I was never to a Bruce show where there were empty seats, but that first show in Boston there were.”

While touring in Europe with Southside Johnny in 1993, he got a phone call from Springsteen’s drummer, Max Weinberg, that piqued his interest.

“He was telling me about auditioning for the Conan O’Brien show,” Rosenberg said.

Sixteen years later, even as the show winds down, the Max Weinberg 7 remains an essential staple, musically and comedically.

In September, Rosenberg brought his big band on the show to perform, “the most outrageous experience ever, more so than the Super Bowl,” he said. “To have my own band on the show that I’ve been with this many years.”

Recently Rosenberg and his big band teamed up with Southside Johnny for the album “Grapefruit Moon: The Songs of Tom Waits,” released in September 2008.

“The first two sessions were recorded in Jon Bon Jovi’s garage,” he said.

Another Shore music connection, recent New Jersey Hall of Fame nominee Bon Jovi entered the circle as “an Asbury Jukes fanatic,” Rosenberg said.

Besides, what’s opening up your garage to band members you’ve admired since the 1980s.

“He (Bon Jovi) was in a band called the Atlantic City Expressway,” Rosenberg said. “He would practice in his parents’ basement. One night he invited us over — just the horn section.”

The pair have joined forces for charity events including the Special Olympics’ “Very Special Christmas” television special, hosted by President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton at the White House in 1999.

Last year, Randolph High School string players joined the Asbury Jukes at the Community Theatre in Morristown. Rosenberg wrote the string arrangements and Randolph High School music director David Aulenbach conducted the students for a concert to benefit the Daytop Village substance-abuse program. Rosenberg’s oldest sons, Evan and Justin, performed with the band.

“They still talk about it, and we have an autographed concert poster hanging in our music area,” Aulenbach wrote in an e-mail to the Daily Record.

With five kids in the Randolph School District, Rosenberg is no stranger to the music department head.

“Being a long time Conan fan, I have always enjoyed watching (Rosenberg) on TV,” Aulenbach wrote. “On TV he is funny and a great showman. In person, he is kind, humble, extremely talented and a monster trombonist. He is the best.”

When Rosenberg is able to come up for air, he can be found out home helping his wife, Susan, with his kids. In addition to Evan, 19, and Justin, 12, he is the proud father of Reed, 6, Samantha, 9, and Jade, 17.

Rosenberg is currently working on new material. He was just made aware of a fan club in his honor, on MySpace.

Perhaps, they will follow him on “The Tonight Show,” too.

He said he plans on leaving for the Los Angeles area following the New Jersey Hall of Fame induction ceremony in May.

As for his own bands?

“I plan on keeping that going,” he said. “I could take a red eye anywhere.”

Copyright (c) The Daily Record / Gannet News Corp. 2009

KB: Jeff, how are things going in Queens? The blizzard must have been a hit…

JK: Yeah, we got hit with 27 inches of snow-but guess what? I was in Miami Beach Florida the whole time! My wife was cursing me out left and right because she had to deal with it. My kids truly loved life-sledding and best of all… no school. I’m right in the middle of the Have A Nice Day Tour with BonJovi right now so I kind of get a free pass from domestic reality for a while… until I come home – then it’s Mr. Fixit with the old lady standing over me.

KB: Oh well, I’m glad for your kids and I also feel with your wife! We had some blizzard the weekend before the Jukes were scheduled in Osnabrück, never had that much snow since a century. It seems to me that you made some fair good choices regarding that. But I also see a point that the Bon Jovi tour crew had enough of flying under heavy weather! So how is the tour going?

JK: Ha, I assume you are referring to our brush with death when Bon Jovi’s charter jet overran the runway in Hamilton, Ontario. That was a bit scary – poor Bobby Bandiera, we had to carry him off the plane in tears. Seriously, it was a bit more unsettling when I saw the picture of the mishap in the news.

The Tour is running quite smooth. Sold out in 99% of the places and Jon and the band seem to be really pleased with the shows and the audience’s reaction.

KB: And did you made Bon Jovi fans out of your beautiful daughters, or were they already? Who do they prefer? Uncle John or JonBon?

JK: Oh, they love Bon Jovi and the new CD! Both of my girls are in awe of Jennifer Nettles – the country star that Bon Jovi recorded a version of Who Says You Can’t Go Home Again with. Bon Jovi has a big crossover hit with that tune. The girls seem to know most of the words of the entire setlist.

Regarding their love for all things Jon/John… they certainly have a admiration for Jon – they get serious street cred from their classmates – but to be fair, Southside is longtime family. John has been around them basically since birth and is considered Vassileia and Sophia’s eccentric uncle. I mean, he lives in our basement for days at a time. Why, just the other day my 7 year old Sophia ordered “Jack Daniels – splash of water – and on the double!”… “…for a friend,” she said.

KB: Oh sweet Sophia! And your wife?

JK: She only thinks of me and waits at the window. I have to cling to that belief.

KB: Hmm… family affairs don’t belong into interviews, do they? (Laugh)

JK: Who told you about the affair? – Oh…family affairs! – Right. No, they don’t belong here.

KB: I’m glad I didn’t ask! – Now, together with fellow Juke Bobby Bandiera you joined one of THE stadium acts on the globe, before you joined that multi million dollar tour-trek, I could meet you casual playing a pinball machine right before a gig with the Jukes. Now, tell me, do you miss it? Or does Jon bring his own pinball saloon to the shows?

JK: Backstage, we have a dartboard for everybody and a golf putting practice pad for Tico Torres and myself. Pinball machine – I’ll put in an invoice to Jon for that.

KB: I’m sure, to watch a backstage pinball championship would be a helluvafun! But hej, golf practice? That’s new to me! Do you really play golf courses? Or do you play on these driving ranges I’ve seen in NYC where you hit the ball and try to put it on the New Jersey side? – There must be a million balls on the ground of the Hudson River!

JK: Absolutely real courses. Tico and I are always trying to find a nearby course on our day off to play. It’s a great game and it kills time in a fairly civil manner. As far as golf balls in the Hudson, those driving ranges do have nets to prevent the balls from hitting the water – though, there is a rumor that Joey “Golfballs” Jukanelli’s body was dumped in the Hudson after refusing to pay some grease back to… mmmm, I digress.

KB: But you do for sure miss the Blue Bread Truck!?

JK: No. I hate that truck with all of my heart. I am the one who labeled the Jukes’ touring “bus” The Bread Truck. Many good times have occurred in that truck, but it doesn’t come close to the amount of crowded abject boredom that has been pressed onto us by that miserable vehicle. It has brought me one creative brainstorm. “The Lorry from Hell – The Musical!”

KB: Well, for me the “Blue(s) Bread Truck” symbolizes one core impression of hard working musicians in Rock and Roll. You know… it need’s a certain ethos to board such a vehicle and live in it for weeks. The charter – airplane, that’s big show business! It’s the Entertainment industry. But don’t get me wrong – I mean, if I’d be asked and I had to choose, I’d always take the plane! Sure! But tell me about the “band” chemistry on the truck, and the differences on the road with BJ. I’m sure you won’t necessarily have to love each individual on board, but it certainly needs a lot of respect and companionship.

JK: Klaus… the bus sucks. While it may sound romantic to the fans and road rookies, forced sharing of space on a too small vehicle, for long periods of time, gets old to me real fast. Hey, it’s part of the job and you do the best that you can. Some guys talk, some guys read, some guys argue, and some guys sleep. It has been said that we don’t get paid to play the gigs-we get paid to get to the gigs. That is true, whether you are in a bus or a plane. You learn to get along with others, laughing at the the rare joke that you haven’t previously heard, and just try to keep it together so you can fire up your fingers, voice, and resolve for that night’s gig.

All of the Jukes and the guys from Bon Jovi wear travel well and – just like in life – some better than others. I guess the romantic part of the travel is that it does force guys with completely different lives to band together and get stuff done on a high level – not unlike being on a sport’s team.

KB: Does romance still exist at all in Rock and Roll? Has it ever been existing?

JK: Absolutely. Rock and Roll is built on romance. You have to love something and, to an extent, buy into the romance of that something to let your life be guided to and by that something. My something was music. You know, most of the guys in the bands I’m in grew up in the Jersey and New York area. They had a scene that allowed them to cultivate their craft and perform for a very willing audience, all the while creating a legendary musical and social happening – Stone Pony, seaside bars, every college on the Eastern seaboard, etc. – that influences and romances many adults and kids today.

I had the radio, albums, Rolling Stone, the public library’s copies of Downbeats and Village Voices, and MTV as my viaduct to the mythical Meccas of Rock. Southside had New York City within arm’s reach, I had Toledo, Ohio(!), so you find it wherever you can! Regardless of our origins, the chasing of the Rock and Roll high is based on that shared romance of performing loud music at fast rates of speed and the possibility of hot babes with sweet perfume wafting thru…

KB: Hmmm, how much I would like to smell that perfume! (taking a deep breath…) – Toledo, Ohio? Home of the famous 4077 Corporal Klinger! That sounds like my youth in Essen, West-Germany. But well, we didn’t have that much corn around but we had ROCKPALAST twice a year… Without that we wouldn’t be talking here! Credit again to Peter Rüchel!!!

Now, what brought you to joining the BonJovi enterprise? Has Jon been approaching you personally? Did he send you an Email? Or did Southside send you there to take care of Bandiera?

JK: Well, you know that Jon is huge fan of all things Southside. Over the years I have been able to do a few things here and there with Jon-so when he wanted to expand the sound of the live show he called Bobby and myself and asked us to sign up for a bit. No one can take care of Bandiera. He is a… special person.

KB: Oh yeah he certainly is! (Laugh!) Now, tell me about the artistically difference and the challenges of and between surfing the B3 with the Asbury Jukes and playing in the back of BonJovi’s powerhorses.

JK: Jukes – wide open musically. No hits. No rules. No airplay. No promises to uphold besides delivering the Jersey ethos of leaving it all on the stage. Of course, all of the artistic freedoms that John, myself, and the rest of the Jukes are privy to comes at a price. Our schedule and roster sometimes looks like it was decided from a Lottery ball tumbler. I’m immensely proud of my ongoing role with The Jukes. On another note, I am obviously involved in a creative relationship with John that has great promise to it.

BonJovi – you are talking Rockstar here… and everything that goes with it. Great travel, gear, talented roadcrew, perks, and the obvious recognition from the common punter. Jon and Richie have really written some great songs that hold up night after night. It is amazing to see 20,000 people in an arena with all hands up singing every word. Very few acts get to that level.

Don’t forget that Jon’s benchmark for musical and performing success started with John and Springsteen – but, he has redefined the definition of staying power for a group that was simply dismissed by critics for years. My role in Bon Jovi is simply to support the band’s sound with my voice and keyboards. A lot of piano, Hammond, and various weird bits with the accordian and other devices. I give Jon and the guys credit for adding Bobby and I to the mix-it’s a small circle in BJ world, and fans don’t necessarily love change.

The similarities of BJ and John are that both situations feature dynamic frontmen who have “It.” Really cool to watch both guys work their magic in a room.

KB: It’s a different music you play as well… how much of Jeff Kazee’s musical background and taste is reflected in the BJ catalogue? What would be the BJ songs you would have liked written yourself (not considering the royalties!!!).

JK: My ability to wear the music’s clothes via my keyboard parts. I am a huge fan of Benmont Tench (Tom Petty), Billy Preston, Roy Bittan (Springsteen), and any of those guys who, while having some virtuosic talent, really try to serve the song at hand with well constructed parts and empathy for the musical moment at hand. Jon and the guys seem to like my take on that whole concept.

Born To Be My Baby, Livin’ On a Prayer, Keep The Faith, and Blaze of Glory from the “Hits” section. Misunderstood, Miss 4th of July, and I Want To Be Loved from the “Rara Avis” catalogue. Almost all of their songs have the ability to be covered in a variety of ways and I am attracted to that. It’s strong writing.

KB: I really found it a pity that on the peak of your songwriting together with Johnny Lyon on the latest Jukes album “Into the harbor”, you were not able to actually play your songs with the Jukes when they’ve been in Europe.

JK: Thanks. There will be many more chances.

KB: Oh, how much I do hope so! You are really missed over here! But you were talking about your promising creative relationship with Johnny before: “Into the Harbor” seems to me the most perfect song written for/by Southside Johnny since more than a decade. It suits his personality and his voice to a degree; I really am still amazed about. How did that one come together?

JK: Wow. Thanks. We wrote that in my basement in the Winter of 2005. Basic arrangement done in an hour. However, we recorded a ton of takes, listened back, and refined it from those performances. Even the basic demo was pretty strong. I initially thought Harbor was for the reputed “acoustic” album, but John saw fit to make it the title cut. I really think it’s Southside’s most poetic offering to date. No bird references in that one, though.

KB: There can’t ever be enough birds! “In some vague hope of heaven, Fired by desire, We’ll burn our existence, In the last rays of the sun…” That’s another line where I’m shaken by the sheer passion of the lyrics and the music – then comes the birds… it’s just beautiful!

Now, how comes such a song together when you write on your own or with a co-author like Johnny? Do you get some lyrics and just put some music under it? Is it the other way around? How does such a process work for you?

JK: With John and myself, there is no real method. “Into the Harbour” started out from a few scraps of verse that John had no music for. I simply tried to fit the music to the feeling of the words. With “Don’t Call Me Baby,” we knew we wanted a Philly Soul type thing for the record and I already had the complete hook and chorus music mocked up on a previous demo from my own personal stache of tunes. John loved the intitial idea and we just ran with it – words and music, back and forth – until we had what you hear now. I guess our method is to throw ideas out at each other, make fun of the bad ideas, and then proceed to try and make something out of the good ones.

KB: For my 2 cents worth: You are already entitled to eternal Jukes fame for your song “Lost” from the “Jukesville” album!

JK: Thank you. The story on that song is that I had written another song that was to be on the album. The night before the sessions, I completely wrote another song in essentially one take. Two o’clock in the morning, and me whispering the words and barely touching the piano in my living room – can’t wake the kids and old lady, you know. The words just fell onto the music. Straight from the sky stuff. That song is about two things: letting yourself be seen in the most vulnerable light to the one you love and praying/thanking that she will just be patient and not run.

The next morning we record a few other tunes and Southside asks to run over the previously agreed on song – another ballad – and I inform him that, well, plans are changed – how about this one?

SSJ: “what’s wrong with the other one.”
JK: “your’e gonna like it, check it out.”
SSJ: “we don’t have the time, it better be good.”
JK: “would I lie to you? It’s a well-read Otis Redding kind of thing” (now I got him).
SSJ: “hmmmmm.” (I really got him).

Teach John the song. Teach the song to the band. Hit the record button. Two takes, next.

KB: You seem to me like the most soulful addition to the Jukes since Steve van Zandt, and while he represented the American tradition, in my ears, you have a certain Irish-ness… talking about Van Morrison now… did you manage to catch his latest one “Pay the Devil”?

JK: Strong words, coupling me with van Zandt’s name – I’m sure many Jukes fans would argue vehemently with you on that one! Well, my Appalachian roots – from the Scotch/Irish clans that migrated here many years ago – have fostered a strong musical tradition in all of us hillbillies. Van is the best white Soul singer alive and I have enjoyed his take on American Country music.

KB: Well, I take it with any Jukes fan at any time! Because all of us just love what the Jukes are! That’ll make it easy!

To me it seems significant that Johnny lives on musical relationships and genius collaborative processes when creating his portfolio, there’s been many strong influences and collaborators over the years, but among them, there’s a core which has been members of the Jukes: van Zandt, Rush, Bandiera, Kazee… Now, what I liked so much about Jukesville and the Harbor is the fact that we’ve got such a variety of songs, and that John seems to reach new frontiers with the new material.

JK: Yeah, well John has a wide canvas to paint on. In recent years, I think that a lot of fans have been taken aback by the diversity of South’s interests – musically and otherwise. Wait ’til you hear the double album tone poem inspired by the film Brokeback Mountain. He does all the voices and is really proud of it.

KB: I can’t wait for that! Now, could you imagine John Lyon doing a country album?

JK: Absolutely, though there would have to be the usual Southside twist to it. The Big Band project he is doing with LaBamba – featuring Tom Waits songs – is in that area.

KB: Well, I agree, he should do the Tom Waits Big Band Project… I’m sure that Tom will be made very proud of it!!! But then… I’d just love if John would be diggin’ out some of Van’s tunes for another Jukes record… a live one is due since years!

JK: So much music, so little time. It really does bother me – thinking that I won’t be able to fit it all in.

KB: Ah, don’t you worry! (I pray &) I’m sure, that your and John’s creative process will continue for a while! He seems to enjoy what he does so much. But let’s talk about your solo creations – I learned you have been musically involved in a Broadway production? What was that about? And then there’d be the long awaited Kazee record – you left us wondering how far your production already has been, before you left town with BJ.

JK: Long story short is that I did some arranging of Brian Wilson / Beach Boys music for a Broadway show called Good Vibrations. While it was tons of fun on the musical side – the show was eventually rushed onto B – way due to some contractual stuff and wasn’t able to be tweaked (away from NY audiences) in the necessary manners – it was a criticical flop and went to the Broadway graveyard after a few months. A Broadway show is a tremendously huge and expensive undertaking with about a thousand things that can go wrong quickly. Though, the only things that weren’t skewered by the critics were the musical contributions of the arrangements, orchestrations, and band. Fantastic musicians and creative talents. I slipped out unscathed. I learned a tremedous amount in the areas of collaboration and dealing with huge production teams. Overall, I’m proud of my work there. – Man, arranging Brian Wilson’s music, a big deal for me. I’d do it all over again.

Regarding my record, I was halfway done, took off some time to work with others, and 3 or 4 years went by. I have plenty of songs written – I just need to be back home for a while to record them. Recording / finishing my next record is a big priority for me – and while I won’t promise dates (or even the year) – I can assure you that I’ll be heading for the home stretch soon.

KB: Jeff, I’m the first to order one! Your first solo album ” No River” is pretty worn out already! I still love it! Some great songs and a fascinating voice to listen to, when you’re all on your own, driving at night… on a Dutch highway… forgetting any speed limit. You wrote all these songs years ago… listening to them now, how do you feel about them? Did your perspectives on life change?

JK: Not in relationship to those songs. Certainly your life’s perspectives change as you go through life – if they are not changing, you’re probably not living life. “No River” has quite a bit of darkness dressed up in pop/rock clothes. A lot of listeners have commented on the fact that they are happily singing along and — bam! — “hey, wait a minute, this isn’t the happy – go-lucky thing I thought it was.” I love that. But Klaus, looking back at that record – and at it’s tone, I certainly agree that my perspective has changed in the fact that I am now a bit more positive about life. Don’t worry, I’ll flip-flop back a few more times in the next couple of years.

KB: What are your plans once you finished the “Have a Nice Day” Tour? Will it be playing live, writing material, producing? Your own band? Other collaborations in the work? You seem to have so many talents, where would you like to put your focus on? I personally would love to see more of you as a solo artist!

JK: All of the above. Realistically, writing is really the future for me. I love the daily struggle to create something from nothing. It’s what gives me the most satisfaction. Living in NYC, I am lucky to be a circle of artists and producers that always seem to call me with interesting things.

Performance-wise, I’m looking forward to getting my piano chops back – got to hit the wood shed and resume my practice routine. More shows with my Soul band, Professor Crewcut, and of course, my usual oddball gigs with whatever flavor I’m tasting that day.

KB: Now, you are about to come to Europe with BonJovi in spring, playing the largest venues all around (not sure if the Brits get the Wembley Stadium ready until then!), will it just be another leg of the tour, or do you have any special relations to touring in Europe? Japan? Australia?

JK: Going back to Japan will be a lot of fun – I was there in 2002 with Steve Cropper and the guys in the Blues Brothers Band. Looking forward to the daily question after meals: “did we really eat that, and what was it?” Those huge Japanese markets have the weirdest selection of stuff to eat and it’s a lot of fun to run one’s self through the culinary gauntlet over there…

Europe is always fun-so many sights and wonderful food to experience. The food thing is always the first item of business, as you can tell. And as usual, I’m always on the lookout for some wonderfully funky threads that only the Germans wear.

KB: Still addicted to LION candy bars?

JK: No. But nonetheless, a marvelous mass-produced candy bar that is a jewel in the crown English cuisine. It’s a small crown.

KB: I’ll get you some!

JK: Hold off on those, I gots to get in those leather pants, you knows.

KB: Well, I guess, that’s the main difference between the Jukes and Bon Jovi! No dresscode! Everything else is a matter of that! – Jeff… Thanks a lot for your time answering these questions of a common punter. I had a hell of fun and some serious insights! I’ll be seeing you in a few weeks for the German BJ tour opener in Düsseldorf! Safe and happy traveling for everyone on board!

A conversation with Jeff Kazee, compiled by Klaus Boettger, March 2006
Copyright by KazeeMusic.Com and Asburyjukes.Net

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“Once again we showcase one of the many great talents to come out of New Jersey. He’s a superb guitarist who is equally at home in the Bon Jovi touring line up, playing on stage in front of 70,000 adoring fans, as he is in a packed and smoky club venue in Amsterdam, really letting rip with Southside Johnny and the Asbury JUKES. He is also a fine solo artist in his own right; he is Bobby Bandiera.”

(sound of pool balls clacking away in the background)

Marc: Now, nine o’clock in the morning, there I am in a German hotel/country club and ready to meet Bobby Bandiera, one of the finest guitarists to come out of New Jersey. and what do I find? He’s already up, he’s had breakfast and he’s playing pool. now THAT’S rock and roll! He’s just finished a massive world tour playing with Bon Jovi and now he’s back on the road with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. so how does he get his head around these crazy changes of life style.

Bobby: At the beginning of the day it’s what I do. in the middle of the day it’s what I do and at the end of the day it’s what I do. whether it’s on stage in front of 20,000 or 70,000 people with Bon Jovi, or small clubs that I do with Southside, or on my own. I bumped into Dave Edmunds while I was in London and there’s a possibility that I may come over and do a month this coming year with him. so we’ll see how that goes. but it’s just a great thing to be working and making a living at playing music, as I’ve always done, and hopefully it’ll go for the next fifteen years or so or, whatever I have left in life.

Marc: A lot more than that one hopes.

Bobby: Hopefully more than fifteen, but I’ll take fifteen.

Marc: OK. so he’s playing with Bon Jovi one day. he’s playing with Southside Johnny the next. but does he feel more involved in the more intimate surroundings of the Southside tour.

Bobby: Definitely. it’s more intimate in a small room like that. it’s. I think it’s a little bit more fun in that you have a closer connection, you know. because you are closer. but it doesn’t mean on a big stage that you can’t rev it up and get that same communication goin’ in front of 20,000 or 70,000 people . I haven’t been on my own in a situation like that to know what it feels like to command it but being on the stage with Bon Jovi. I mean if you’re on stage and you’re performing, you’re pretty much part of commanding. the crowd’s response you know. all that has to do with it. but watching him is great . watching anybody do that on stage is a great thing knowing that they can get 70,000 people in their back pocket . but to answer your question ultimately, it is more fun and more intimate to play in a smaller place.

Marc: Tell me a bit about this New Jersey collective. you pop out and go and do a tour with Bon Jovi. Ed Manion’s out there playing with Bruce right now. and then you come back together. it’s sort of like you’re just a big gang of friends.

Bobby: Yeah, it’s like a family. a family reunion. you haven’t seen them for a while. you go out with Jon Bon Jovi’s thing and it’s guys you haven’t seen for a while and it’s like “How’s the kids?” and bla-bla-bla. this is great playing again, it’s fun playing again, it feels good playing again. I come home, do my local thing with one or two other people that I don’t get to see while I’m out here doing this. Bruce does a handful of Christmas shows or a party during the year for this or that .

Marc: So it’s like a networking thing. big time.

Bobby: All part of being smart, yeah.
(“Only In A Dream”)

Marc: That’s “Only In A Dream” from Bobby Bandiera’s first solo album that came out in 1993 just called “Bandiera”. So getting back to the man. this diversity thing, playing with all sorts of different people, doing all sorts of different styles. does that keep you fresh and on your toes?

Bobby: There’s a lot to be said for that, right? I mean you’re expecting a little bit of a different twist in each situation but ultimately you’re asked to play in those situations because of what you do. what you bring. yeah there might be a little twist that you have to play a mandolin or a 12-string or acoustic guitar more than you’d play electric in some situations. it all goes into the pot and it comes out playing and doing what you like to do and feeling that you’re doin’ alright because you’re working.

Marc: That really leads me into your own solo work and the diversity you’ve shown in that. you really do seem to spread it around a bit…?

Bobby: Well yeah. if there’s been one thing that I’ve been pretty much warned over the years it’s when you make a record – why don’t you set more of a direction as far as a style or the style you want to be perceived as – and my attitude is, I want to be perceived as playing every style I’m good at doing and have fun at doing. I don’t have to make a record that goes a little bit of the way like country song , a pop song or a 3-piece power-pop thing. if I’m writing, and I happen to like a handful of songs that go this way or that way, and I wind up using one or two of them and make the album more fun to listen to instead of just in one direction. although record companies want to see one direction . although I don’t know if they do that so much any more. it’s just so different to the way records get perceived and made these days than it was 25 years ago or 20 years ago.

Marc: So for you to make another solo record, and indeed I hope you do, and it’s not too long.

Bobby: I’ll be working on a record within the next three months. another record for myself.

Marc: Excellent! A collaboration?

Bobby: Yeah. there’ll probably be some . probably be some. I hope to come over to Europe in 2007. here and there so if you’re out there, pay attention and come and see me!
(“Change, Change, Change”)

Marc: Another track off the first solo album from 1993 just called “Bandiera”, “Change, Change, Change”. I noticed at the gig the previous night that he was giving the old Telecaster a rest and playing something new and sparkly. I wondered if this was a local purchase?

Bobby: Let me see. a couple of months back, you know, you’ve got nothing to do some days that you have off. you wander into the music stores. and a guitar that I bought about six or seven years ago when I was here, a Duesenberg – and they have a new body style, they made a new style. and I happened to see it in the store and I was like. this is good. this is good, let me see if I can contact them so I don’t have to spend $2000 buying it in a store. and if they like the idea that I’ll be playing it and showing off their goods for them, out in front of an audience on tour, maybe we could work a deal. and they said “Yeah, yeah. sure we can work a deal.” So I got a great deal on this guitar and I like to stick to my end of the bargain. I told them it doesn’t have to be for free, but I said if it’s a good deal I promise you when we’re touring I’ll bring the guitar so it’s a visible thing for people to see. but it’s great, it’s great. and you know Fender is a great company. and now this company’s doin’ it. it’s just one of these things that go along with one of the perks of being a musician that’s working.

Marc: It’s a great guitar. it looks a bit like a 50’s Chevvy or something on stage.

Bobby: Yeah, it’s got that retro 60’s/50’s/60’s look to it and it’s cool and it sounds great too.

Marc: Yeah well you played it virtually all night so it can’t be a bad guitar.

Bobby: Duesenberg “Double Cat” that’s what it’s called.
(“I’ll Never Find Another You”)

Marc: A really great version of the old Springfields’ classic, “Another You”, and you can find it on Bobby’s most recent solo album, “Is My Father There?” – it came out in 2004. So, solo work. projects on the books. touring with the JUKES as we speak. but what about Bon Jovi. is that it for now with those guys?

Bobby: Well. I don’t know. don’t know. there could be some more. I’m not sure if it’s going to be this year or 2007 but if it is. if he gets another record done . I hope I play on it first of all, and if I don’t that’s OK too. but I’ll be working on my own record … I’ll be working whatever John’s got. like I said Dave Edmunds asked me to come over and play a little bit, I think the month of April so we’ll see if that comes to light . but if it doesn’t, whatever comes up on the table in the next year that’s going to keep me working through the year, I’ll be there.

Marc: Dave Edmunds. I’ve read that you’ve been admiring his stuff for years and years…right back to before Rockpile, even before Love Sculpture.

Bobby: Yeah right. you know. he was great to play with. I played with him for a couple of years and it’s just a balls-to-the-wall guitar rock’n’roll band.

Marc: Well, we’re going to catch up with you next year, either with that or with your own band which would be great to see you out with your own band.

Bobby: I’m really excited about getting another record done and coming to Europe to tour a little bit behind it and do anything I’m going to do in the States with it as well but I really look forward to trying to push myself more in this coming year 2007 . not that I won’t accept a tour with this guy or that guy, but I really want to try and make it stick this year as far as “Bobby Bandiera” is concerned.

Interview transcribed by Maggie Powell with permission of the author

Copyright by (c) BFBS2 / Marc Tyley – 2006

SHORE GROUP PAYS TRIBUTE TO ROY ORBISON

“I gotta follow that?” asked John “Southside Johnny” Lyon with a look of mock-horror on his face, as he took the stage at Red Bank’s Count Basie Theatre, Friday night.

He was exaggerating for comic effect, but still, he faced a daunting task. It was the first show by the newly formed Jersey Shore Rock and Soul Revue, and Bobby Bandiera, the Revue’s leader, had just finished singing a version of Roy Orbison’s 1961 hit “Crying” that Orbison himself would have been proud of. Audience members responded with a standing ovation, and some were still standing as Southside Johnny walked out.

The nine-member Revue, dominated by current and former members of Southside Johnny’s Asbury Jukes, plans to present a series of Basie shows paying tribute to various rock, pop and R&B legends. It decided to start with Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Orbison, in part, because he has had such a huge influence on Bandiera.

A longtime Juke as well as a solo artist, Bandiera can imitate Orbison’s operatic voice with uncanny accuracy. He handled lead vocals throughout most of Friday’s sold-out show, which featured trademark Orbison songs such as “Oh, Pretty Woman,” “Only the Lonely (Know How I Feel),” “Running Scared” and “Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)” as well as more obscure tunes like “Uptown,” “Workin’ For the Man” and “Candy Man.”

“I grew up listening to Roy Orbison,” said Bandiera, 51, before adding a self-deprecating joke: ” … if you could call this grown up.”

Not all the material was by Orbison, who reached the Top 40 for the first time in 1960, and died of a heart attack in 1988, at the age of 52.

Bandiera performed several self-written songs that showed the influence of Orbison’s style, including “Only in a Dream,” “Tracey Marie” and “Pardon Me.” Southside Johnny, a surprise guest at this show, made his first appearance singing Bandiera’s “(We’ll Make This) World Stand Still,” which has a strong Orbison flavor. Then he returned to sing and play harmonica on the portion of the show that seemed to have the least to do with Orbison: the encore, a medley of Bandiera’s upbeat rock song “C’mon Caroline” and the Sam Cooke classic, “Twistin’ the Night Away.”

The Traveling Wilburys — the supergroup Orbison formed with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne just months before his death — were represented by “Not Alone Any More” (sung by guitarist Bob Burger) and “Handle With Care” (a duet featuring Bandiera on Orbison’s lines, and Burger on the other parts).

Keyboardist Mick Seeley sang a version of Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road,” since the song was influenced by Orbison, and contains the line, “Roy Orbison singing for the lonely/Hey that’s me, and I want you only.”

The versatile band — also featuring keyboardist Kevin Kavanaugh, drummer Joe Bellia, bassist Steve Shewchuk, saxophonist Joey Stann and backing vocalists Lisa Lowell and Maureen McCrink — proved adept at the slow-building melodrama of “Blue Bayou” (with McCrink on lead vocals) and “It’s Over,” but also showed it could pull off the lean-and-mean rockabilly of “Ooby Dooby” (sung by Lowell) and “Mean Woman Blues.”

While all the musicians were competent in their lead vocal slots, the show only became magical when Bandiera was singing. When it comes to evoking Orbison’s spirit, you really have to hear Bandiera to believe him.

Plans call for the Revue to present tribute concerts at the Basie about three times a year. Possible tributees include Elvis Preseley and Frank Sinatra.

Between songs, Bandiera announced that the Revue’s next show will be on Aug. 6. Tickets are not yet available, and the subject of the tribute has not been determined.

Copyright 2005 NJ.com. All Rights Reserved.

Lots of rock vocalists admire Roy Orbison, but few try to imitate him. It’s just too daunting a task. One of the exceptions is Bobby Bandiera, who has often covered Orbison’s soaring, almost operatic songs, and written tunes with a strong Orbison flavor.

Bandiera, a longtime member of Southside Johnny’s Asbury Jukes who also leads his own Bobby Bandiera Band, will front the newly formed Jersey Shore Rock & Soul Revue in a sold-out Orbison tribute concert, tomorrow night at Red Bank’s Count Basie Theatre. Plans call for this new group, dominated by current and former Jukes, to continue to present occasional tribute concerts at the Basie in the future. Potential subjects include Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and The Everly Brothers.

Count Basie Theatre CEO Numa Saisselin came up with the idea for the project, but Bandiera suggested starting with Orbison.

“He’s been close to my heart my whole life,” says the 51-year-old singer-songwriter-guitarist, who grew up in Orange and now lives in Brick Town. “I used to listen to his records growing up — my mother used to have his records on the stereo all the time.”

Joining him in the newly formed band are guitarist Bob Burger, keyboardists Mick Seeley and Kevin Kavanaugh, drummer Joe Bellia, bassist Steve Shewchuk, and backing vocalists Lisa Lowell and Maureen McCrink. Bandiera will handle most of the lead vocals tomorrow, though Lowell, McCrink and various band members will also be featured occasionally.

The show will be dominated by Orbison’s hits (“Oh, Pretty Woman,” “Crying,” “Only the Lonely,” “Blue Bayou”), but also have room for more obscure material and a few of Bandiera’s Orbison-style originals.

Is a Southside Johnny guest appearance possible? “I will certainly invite him to come by, though I don’t know that there’s anything he’d like to sing as far as a Roy Orbison song goes,” says Bandiera.

How about Bruce Springsteen, or Jon Bon Jovi? Bandiera worked with Springsteen as recently as December, when his band backed the Boss at two charity shows at Harry’s Roadhouse in Asbury Park. He also appeared on Bon Jovi’s 1997 solo album, “Destination Anywhere.”

“All my local friends — Bruce and Jon and Gary U.S. Bonds and Southside — they’re all more than welcome, and even if they show up on the spur of the moment and want to sing something, that’s fine with me,” says Bandiera. “But we don’t have plans to work with any of those guys that night.”

Bandiera has performed at the Basie theater many times — mostly, but not always, with the Jukes. In January 1998, he led the house band at an all-star (Springsteen, Bon Jovi, etc.) concert there that raised money for the family of Patrick King, a Long Branch police sergeant who had been murdered. In April 2003, the theater was the site for “The Hope Concert,” benefiting Bandiera’s son, Robert Bandiera Jr., who has struggled with neurological problems for many years.

Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Bonds, Southside and The Max Weinberg 7 all performed. At the end of the show, Springsteen said they were there because “Bobby has saved all of our asses so many times over the years.”

Saisselin, who became the Basie theater’s CEO in January 2002, says he first met Bandiera about two years ago.

“I just instantly liked him,” says Saisselin. “I thought, ‘We need to do something together. I don’t know what it is, but we need to do something.’ About a year and a half later, I had this idea … because nostalgia is so big these days, I thought, ‘There’s got to be a way to pay tribute to people kind of classily — the way it should be done.’ And I kind of hit on this idea of Bobby as musical director.”

The fact that the show sold out, and therefore will be profitable, makes Saisselin breathe a little easier.

“I would have been thrilled if we broke even,” he says. “Frequently, the first time you do anything new, it’s rocky, and then you have to look and say, ‘Did this flop because it was a bad idea, or because we didn’t quite figure it out yet?’ It’s rare that you hit a home run out of the gate.”

Saisselin says if the project continues to be successful, it could even travel elsewhere. “We’ve got a bunch of other venues coming to take a look at it,” he says, “because in the back of my head, I always had this idea: If we can make it fly here, we could send it out on the road for a week.”

But for Bandiera, who has traveled all over the world with the Jukes for 20 years, one of the best things about the gig is that he’ll be able to sleep in his own bed.

“It’s a night in my own backyard,” he says. “I feel very comfortable about the whole thing. You couldn’t ask for a better situation.”

Copyright 2005 NJ.com. All Rights Reserved