Playing an outdoor concert in Holland c. 1971
I was born in Brooklyn, New York on October 18, 1949. Music, in one form or another, was a part of my life since I can remember. Sometime around age 10 it was discovered that I had a pleasant singing voice. Singing was, and still is, a defining characteristic of me. One summer night, at around age 14, I had an epiphany that determined the course of my life. Sitting on a park bench was a young guy, maybe two or three years older than me, playing a guitar and singing. He was surrounded by giggling girls all staring at him longingly. I knew what I was going to do next.
Clapton and Hendrix
The Orange Gretsch Country Gentleman. I saw George Harrison playing it. That was good enough for me.
After noodling around on a cheap acoustic guitar for a while, I convinced my parents (how did I ever do that) to buy me my first electric guitar. It was an orange Gretsch Country Gentleman. The only thing I knew about this guitar was that I had seen George Harrison playing it. Good enough for me. I spent endless hours (mostly in vain) trying to copy George Harrison licks. At the same time I started playing in my first band, The Madabouts. Life was good. But the adoring girls were still not flocking around me. I was disenchanted. A friend invited me to join him at a Greenwich Village nightclub to see a new English band that was gaining some notoriety. There were only three of them. I’d never heard of a rock band with only three musicians. I was skeptical but interested enough to check it out. I wasn’t prepared for what I saw and heard. In a space no larger than my living room, I found myself sitting 3 feet in front of Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton – Cream! Then I understood how powerful a 3 piece rock band could be. But wait. There’s more. Shortly after this first mind blowing experience the same friend (some friend huh?) invited me to join him again at a concert at New York’s Hunter College. “If you thought that 3 piece band was amazing, wait till you hear this one” he said. Jimmi Hendrix. My fate was sealed. I was going to be a guitarist. End of story.
Missed Opportunity
The Original Woodstock Music & Art Fair Poster
To supplement my meager musician’s income, I began working summers at a Carvel ice cream store in Greenwich Village. The money wasn’t great but being at the epicenter of the 60’s music scene was payment enough. Early in the summer of 1969 a buzz began about an upcoming outdoor rock concert in some obscure upstate New York town. I didn’t pay much attention. By the end of July a man had walked on the moon. What else could make history that summer I wondered. So when some friends urged me to tag along with them on the 100 mile drive to someplace called White Lake, I declined. Besides, I had to work and it was going to rain all weekend anyway. So while I spent the weekend of August 15, 1969 serving milk shakes and ice cream cones to shutter snapping tourists, my friends, along with half a million others, made history at Woodstock.
Back to School
Me playing my Gibson archtop Super 400 guitar with the Berklee Count Basie Orchestra c. 1975. Wish I had that guitar now.
The next phase of my life is pretty well covered in The Sweet Smoke Story. When the band broke up for good, I left Europe and settled in Boston to attend Berklee College of Music which I did from 1974 to 1978. While there I continued to work in local Top 40 bands. Most importantly though, I learned the mechanics and language of music, something that I had been yearning to do. I came to love the music of the great American composers and developed a deep admiration for that most American of music forms – jazz. I continued to actively play with general business bands (weddings, functions, etc.) throughout the 80’s and 90’s and between 1984 and 1995 was a house band leader at one of Boston’s popular banquet facilities.
Doing stand up at Boston’s Stitches Comedy Club c. 1988
Sometime around 1988, at the urging of several close friends, I tried my hand at stand up comedy. Comedy was huge in Boston at the time and there was no shortage of venues to get my feet wet. I did pretty well at it finishing my short career as a finalist in the 1989 WBCN Radio Comedy Riot. I could have kept going but I guess I was just trying to prove to myself that I could do it. If nothing else, I certainly learned how to deal with fear. As far as music goes, I still play but not as much as I’d like to.
These Days
In 1995, as part of a temporary work assignment, I was asked by my company to learn about a new fad that was gaining ground – the Internet. Thus began a journey I am still on. In 2005 I founded and still run Kaneworks, Inc., a small web design and production company serving the needs of small to mid size companies. Additionally, I help companies and individuals navigate the confusing waters of social media.
You can follow me at these familiar sites:
At a recent gathering of Sweet Smoke in Doylestown, PA
