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Born in New Jersey where many great singers come from, I am the lucky descendant of two great Irish singers in my family … my late grandfather and father. Although I have never been formally trained and never did too much with my voice publicly over the years, I probably now enjoy my talent more than ever leading the Sarcastic Saints. My only experience being in rock band is with the current Saints. Yes, I am a virgin rocker!!! It really started as a general discussion between two neighbors having beers on a summer afternoon in 2004. Man...does that sound like the start of a bad book or what…. It’s true though!…Jeff Dufty (drummer) and myself were drinking beers out in front of my house as we do many a weekend on summer afternoons or even winter ones for that matter… Jeff tells me a couple of his old band mates are flying into town to jam for the weekend. He mentions they are short a singer. Hmmmm, thinking to myself…they are short a singer…I can sing…so I take a swig…thinking…this beer tastes really good…deciding…heck, why not…so I go for it…“You know Jeffy, if you need a singer…I can sing a bit!” Of course…I have never been in a band before much less sang with one…sang at an occasional wedding…karaoke once or twice…in the shower, daily…but a band…hell no. Don’t really know too many songs…I was kind of an old timer when it came to music. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Dan Folgerberg…you know the classic rockers… Apparently that brief music experience was enough for Jeff or he just didn’t care. Either way, he invited me to jam with his cronies…(I think that was what you call them)…So Jeff hands me a songlist, CD and lyrics to some tunes these guys wanted to jam to…AC/DC, Neil Young, Wheezer…holy crap! Who are these bands??? I started wheezing! Not knowing what to expect…I listened to this loud music…sang along with the lyrics…gyrated a bit…and thought to myself…hey I can do this! So next thing you know we are heading downtown Chicago…a practice studio is booked, equipment is stowed, cooler is packed, and now I was in the back of the car getting to know Jeff’s band mates (mates actually works in this case as Jeff is an Aussie). So after one of Jeff’s buddies grills me on about every Rock and Roll trivia question imaginable…Do you know this song? No…How about this band?…Uh…no…This? no… he finally asked what DO you know? I said I can sing a mean Danny Boy! Silence…I think he is impressed…so I laughed and laughed. I can actually – I take after my Dad there…well, Jeff’s buddy didn’t really ask me anymore questions after that…really didn’t talk to much the rest of the ride…I think he was mumbling something under his breath about Jeff and stupidity…couldn’t really hear…I think Jeff was considering pulling over on the busy highway and asking me to get something out of the trunk…but he didn’t. Beer anyone! Soooo…we get into the studio, set up and get started…yes it was a bit nerve racking…but let me tell you things started to gel…I mean we all got a little drunk which really helps…then it clicked…I mean we started to make some music…not in a love making way…but in a rock and roll way! It was not just great…it was liberating…more importantly, Jeff’s buddies started talking to me again. I got a “Hey, you can sing!” I can see Jeff’s relief too…life was good! We recorded 6 songs in the course of 2 days of roughly 6 hour sessions. It was such a great experience that we did it again a few months later. Much different that time…I was joking with Jeff’s buddies on the car ride down…I said things like “yo, yo…what’s up? You hear that new song from the Hip?”…I ripped up my jeans, grew a goatee, wore a black T-Shirt that said “Rock this!”. I had it all going…it was another successful session. It was afterward at Jeff’s house, when Jeff’s buddy said… “you guys should get a few guitar players and do this locally”… first there was silence, gears turning…then CLICK…light goes on…YEAH Baby, lets do it!!! That was when Jeff’s wife excused herself…I could have sworn I heard a blood curdling scream in the other room … sounded like, “Noooooooo…not AGAIN!!!” but she came back in and said something about the dog doing something wrong…I don’t know…I thought it was bizarre because the dog was at my feet the whole time…but it didn’t matter because the excitement of starting a band was in the air! We are going to be FAMOUS! Well, if nothing more, have some fun jamming! So that is really what got the ball rolling to start the Sarcastic Saints and me into the limelight of lead singing for them. Jeff and I have been very fortunate to find very talented local musicians in Tom, Bob and Jim to officially form the Sarcastic Saints. Although I have never been in a band prior to this, I am reminded by my band mates that we have a very unique situation. We are all at the relatively same level of dedication to make this band work and grow as well as balance our day jobs and families… I know everyone in the band is studying their craft in one way or another to keep pushing the envelope. I know I am…I mean I read a new chapter of “Rockstar for Dummies” every week and try to apply my new lessons. I was working on that move when you turn around on stage and fall into the crowd…great move, but after I gained consciousness I learned it is better to practice with a crowd. We also have had our first few public gigs under our belt and I am still trying to figure out how to get the ladies underwear thrown on the stage! I think that is chapter 5…so much to learn! So essentially, that is my story. I am now getting exposed to a lot of music. I now love The Tragically Hip, Mellencamp, CCR, Foo Fighters and various other classic rock bands that we now cover. I have always been drawn to vocally challenging music, so crooning singers like Bono of U2 and Stipe of REM have been my favorites since I can remember. I do like the rock and roll style but am also partial to some great R&B. Other personal notes, I have an adoring wife that I am absolutely head over heels for. We met in college at DePaul University in Chicago and have lived in this area ever since. We have 4 great kids and a dog! So for my social life (I love sports– either playing or watching events with friends) and now this band…you can say my wife is a saint for putting up with my many outlets! Now with my drive to succeed in everything I get involved in…the Sarcastic Saints might prove to be a true tester for her…but I am sure she will handle it fine. Be careful ladies…She is in the crowd!!! Career wise, I have always been on the entrepreneurial side of business. I have either owned my own business or have been working for international companies that afforded me the ability to be my own boss. Today, I am currently a sales exec at a public technology company. Tomorrow, who knows!!! Limos, private jets, Grammy Awards!!! Look out!!! Nobody wake me…I am enjoying this ride and there is room for more!!! Let’s Go! See you at our next gig!!! KB |