BluesPlayer's profile

Eons member since

Jan 10, 2007

Age, Gender

60, Male

Location

Flemington, NJ

Hometown

Brooklyn, NY

Places I've been

High School

Cathedral Preparatory Seminary, Brooklyn, NY

College

Fordham University (BA, Social Science, 1969)

Rutgers University (MCRP, Master of City and Regional Planning, 1975)

Current Work

Blues Band Leader / Bass Player / Vocalist / Arranger, The BassBoards

Senior Solutions Architect, Corporate IT Enterprise Architecture, Merck & Co.

NJ Licensed Commercial Real Estate Agent

More about me

NEW!!! 

The BassBoards Electronic Press Kit Widget and Video Sampler on the Left Side of My Page!!!

Also See the Audio & Video Jukebox Widgets!

I'm 60 years old and still have all my own hair! My daughter turned the beard gray; the sons are working night and day on the rest. Brooklyn-born, Sicilian, ex-Catholic (or is that "fallen"), 5' 10", 195# with so-so knees. Guess I should have stopped playing hockey at 55 before the injuries. Damn, I miss it!

A big life change just occurred in February, 2008 when I was hired FULL TIME by the pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. to work on their global Enterprise Architecture team. Not easy to get a job like this at age 60 so I'm relishing the opportunity. I must be walking in a ray of light!!!

The most fun I'm having right now is leading a rather large blues band, The BassBoards (pronounced "base"-boards...we're not a fishing group!)

I play bass and guitar, sing some lead and harmony, and do the arranging for the group, now numbering 11 regular members plus guest artists and occasional subs. (Yes, Virginia, we have a 5-piece horn section!)

The best part is that I get to perform with my daughter Kate (vocals) and her husband Mark (guitar) when they join us as guest artists. She's 29 and a personal trainer / nutritionist; my daughter by my first wife who died of breast cancer in 1983 at the age of 34...Kate was 5. We only found out a few years ago that she could sing and what you hear is pure, raw talent, no lessons! It is so special to be on stage with her.

Check out the band by clicking on:

Our MySpace Site

...or...

Our Regular Band Site

You can also check out the audio and videos in my widgets to the right or see a whole lot more video at...

YouTube.com

Just search for "bassboards".  Whatever you do, PLEASE don't play the one of me impersonating Ozzie Osborne on Halloween performing Paranoid.  It was a gag.  I was drunk.  I wasn't even there.  It's an impersonator.  My car had a flat tire.  My dog ate my homework.  Whatever.  Just pleeeeeeeze don't play that video!!!

Over in my videos section, there's also one produced by Guitar One Magazine for The National Guitar Workshop in August of 2004. Greg and I backed up 35 would-be "guitar gods" on stage at the famous Bitter End in NYC. After that unique experience, we started The BassBoards (bass and keyboards).

Enjoy and WRITE TO ME!!!!

Favorite Movies

The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, The Natural, Same Time Next Year, Blade Runner, V For Vendetta, The Hunt For Red October, Citizen Cane, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Robin Hood (Errol Flynn NOT colorized), Animal House, Field of Dreams, LA Confidential, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Blazing Saddles, Harold and Maude, North By Northwest, Starman, Fail-Safe, The Manchurian Candidate (Frank Sinatra), The Shawshank Redemption, Three Days of the Condor, Young Frankenstein, City of Angels, The Fifth Element, Dr. Strangelove, Groundhog Day, The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

Favorite TV Shows

I Claudius, The Prisoner, M*A*S*H, The Sopranos, Quantum Leap, Dead Like Me, Stargate SG1, Nip/Tuck, Six Feet Under, Connections (James Burke), Seconds From Disaster, Buffy/Angel series, Julia Child, SNL (most years), Star Trek (except for DS9), ER, 24, Heroes, Rome, Family Guy

Activities

I'm the Webmaster and an Asst. Scoutmaster/Merit Badge Counselor for BS Troop 194 in Flemington, NJ and serve as a volunteer for the Hunterdon County Medical Reserve Corps. On the really fun side, I'm the leader, bassist, vocalist and arranger for The BassBoards Blues Band.

Favorite Charities

American Cancer Society, Salvation Army

Favorite Music

Blues, blues, blues...oh yeah, and classic rock, jazz, big band, swing, classical (especially Vivaldi) and throw in a little country. Can't stand death metal, rap, hip-hop and any other screaming junk.

Favorite Books

Lord of the Rings trilogy by Tolkien, the Dark Tower series by Stephen King, the entire Dune series by Frank Herbert and later by his son, the Jack Ryan books by Tom Clancy, anything by Dean Koontz, Isaac Asimov or David Eddings. Throw in the occasional politically incorrect non-fiction.

Favorite Quotes

"The stupid don't get to breed" - My corollary to Darwin's Law of Natural Selection / "Sometimes you just have to say 'Fuck it'" - Tom Cruise, Risky Business

Favorite People

John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Ghandi

Favorite Places

San Diego, CA / Lucerne, Switzerland / Boston, MA / Vancouver, BC / Dallas, TX / Cape Cod, MA / Montreal and Quebec City / Boca Chica, Dominican Republic. Want to visit Malta. Generically, romantic beaches or mountains in state and national parks. There's beauty everywhere.

Favorite Animals

Yellow Labradors, Golden Retrievers and opossums (because they walk funny).

More "About"

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