From the first time I picked up a stand-up bass at age 13 and shocked everyone by walking the blues…to my first professional gig a week later…to meeting up with Lanny Ray many years and miles later…I feel like I have come full circle as a bass player.

I guess coming from a musical family kind of rubbed off on me. My Dad was a musician and singer, my Mom sang and my two brothers were born singing and playing.

My Brother Bobby was a huge influence as it was during one of his weekly jam sessions that I first picked up the bass while they were taking a break.  My younger Brother Angelo was also a huge influence later on in Los Angeles.  ..

It wasn’t until five years later when a Moose Lodge gig ended early that a new footstep appeared.  The drummer asked me if I wanted to join them at a nightclub to listen to this great R&B band. I naturally said yes and when I walked into that smoke filled club with gorgeous women all over the place dancing to a ten piece integrated R&B band, my life changed forever. The band was playing mostly James Brown hits and I was blown away wondering how long this had been going on. I was focused on the electric bass and was in awe fantasizing about how cool it would be to play bass guitar in a band this exciting.

It turns out the leader and trumpet player was a friend of my brother’s and he knew I played bass. About a week later he called me and said his band was looking for a new bass player and they were willing to work with me during the transformation from stand-up bass to bass guitar. I couldn’t believe it and felt like I was rejuvenated as a musician.

I started learning James Brown bass lines right off the record and with a lot of help from drummer Billy “the foot”, I improved at a rapid pace.  The foundation for my survival as a musician from Bridgeport Connecticut to Los Angeles was now being built.  The male singer from that band, Gary DeCarlo, went on to record the eternal hit “Na Na Hey Hey”.

I did my first big time concert tour with my Brother Angelo’s band opening for Sergio Mendez. We made it to the prestigious stage at Lincoln Center while signed to Atlantic Records. I was able to adapt to rock, pop and an eventual tour with Anne Murray in the mid-seventies. It was a real thrill during one of Anne’s TV specials and right up my alley to play the big hit Driftaway with guest star Dobie Grey.  Another thrill with Anne was playing the Canadian Expo with members of the Toronto Symphony and then the Troubadour back in LA with John Lennon and other celebs in the audience.

Aside from countless jobs in between the big gigs, I played with Phil Everly for a few years until he rejoined his brother Don to put the Everly Brothers back in business.

I started playing a lot of country gigs and met some great players but it wasn’t until my meeting up with Lanny Ray at a blues club that my music career became rejuvenated once again. My early blues back round was returning with a “New Blues” approach.

Out of all the great guitar players I had played with and I played with some great ones,

I had never played with a great blues guitar player. That is until Lanny Ray. His playing along with Dylan Sardo’s solid drums just kicks me into another gear .  Now I feel the blues like never before. The Reels' first cd, BARE-BONE, was a great accomplishment for the band . . . and now we're about to release REELIN'  . . .  some of my best work to date . . . and another great Reels album .