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By ADAM LEECH
Tommy Gallagher’s Incredible Friends are entirely credible.
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Tommy Gallagher’s Incredible Friends are entirely credible.
So, upon completion of this week's issue, it will have been a full year of you all having to decipher my incoherent and tense-confused rants and rambles, and I think now would be as good a time as any for a bit of collective "scene" reflection. Take a moment.
See, it could be worse. It has been worse, and it seems to be getting better. All the time. Get-ting-so-much-bet-ter ... ah, crud. You can blame my dad for that!
But it really is getting better. Even the quality of bar bands is simply stellar. Tommy Gallagher's Incredible Friends will be performing tonight (Thursday, July 31) at Southside Johnny's, and I've got to admit, Tommy Gallagher, in addition to being a fairly impressive performer and songwriter, has some pretty incredible friends.
First, he's got his buddy, the guitar virtuoso Michael Reese (Los Angeles Music Awards '95 "Guitarist of the Year"), on guitar and vocals. Then his pal Kim Stone, from Spyro Gyra and the Rippingtons, jumping in on bass and vocals. And then, if that wasn't enough, his comrade Lenny Campanaro, who has hit the drums for both Badfinger and Iron Butterfly, will be keeping the beat going strong all night long.
Incidentally, I baby-sat Lenny's kids a few times a dozen years or so ago, and still to this day, whenever I need to sound cooler than I really am, I tell people, "You know, I used to baby-sit for the drummer of Badfinger and Iron Butterfly." It totally blows their minds.
http://www.csindy.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A28080 - Independent Colorado Springs
Look, people - there is no doubt that Tommy G. & Co. are the baddest motherfuckers in the land right now. They are a thoroughly seasoned and experienced group of musicians who have a unique capacity to hear one another and create one of a kind grooves. There are few bands that can cover the likes of the Allman's 'In memory of Elizabeth Reed' and 'Southbound' with the identical skill and and astounding musicianship of Duane Allman, Dickey Betts, Greg Allman and their various successors in the group. Close your eyes during these songs and you may think you're at Fillmore East in 1971. They dare to take on such heavyweights as Hendrix and Zeppelin with such astounding results that it's hard to imagine the originals being any better. Their originals are full of driving funk, soaring melodies and fantastic rhythm's with an unparalleled anticipation of improvisation that makes a song utterly unique upon each hearing. However, the band does tend to be overshadowed by their remarkable entourage. This group rivals the famous Allman's 'peachheads' and the renown 'deadheads', whose devotion to the Grateful Dead was unmatched in the history of live music devotees. The TGIF entourage are led by the enigmatic and dashing Randy Hylton, considered by many to be the most preeminent living music authority in the world. - Westside Friends
Discography
Most Band members have CD's and get some type of airplay, personal sites etc....
Photos
Bio
Tommy Gallagher's Incredible Friends based out of Colorado Springs Colorado came together late October 2007 at the prodding of L.A. Music Award Winner Michael Reese, also Nominated Best Guitarist at those same Prestigious Music Awards. Michael knew I had been wanting to do a music project. So I started right with him. OK I said, I’M on Guitar & Vocals, you wanna be in my band? He was in! The next step was asking other personal friends I have jammed with before and have wanted for this project and to record with….Then came 5 time Grammy nominee former “Spyra Gyra” Bassist Kim Stone and current member of the very popular “Rippingtons.” I spoke about the overtone of where I wanted to steer this project, Kim responded that he was in. Drummer Lenny Campanaro former "Badfinger, Iron Butterfly and his band Private Life opened for Van Halen during the Sammy Haggar days" was Brought in a shor time later and there you have it
We Ocassionally bring in Keyboards Hammond B3 deppending on the event
Extended Bio Below
TOMMY GALLAGHER Guitar & Vocals
Tommy is a self taught musician, picking up the tennis racket in 1968 and mock jamming to the sounds of the Beatles, the Doors, the Rolling Stones, The Who, the Monkees and many other 60s Rock'n'Roll bands. Realizing what a blast real music was, he dropped the racket and bought a Sears Silvertone guitar and amp for $22.00 in 1973. Although he would play in various projects, the real desire to play music did not flourish till his late 20s.
Left of center, sarcastic, and a bit pissed off, Gallagher breaks the mold of the stereotypical singer/songwriter and instead revels in pushing the envelope by blending the rawness of a Blues Rocker and the softness of a balladeer with the edginess of rock and roll.
Tommy was an original member of Second Generation from 1987 till the band break up in December of '95. Second Generation played mostly in Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs and Woodland Park, Colorado. SG opened for Shakedown Street, a popular Grateful Dead cover band,
KIM STONE Bass
Following a four year stint with east coast based Spyro Gyra, bassist Kim Stone headed west in 1990 to join the world renowned Rippingtons. Their latest release, Life In The Tropics, entered the Billboard Contemporary Jazz charts at number two.
Kim's other credits include working with such greats as B. B. King, David Benoit, Steve Reid's Bamboo Forest, the David Benoit/Russ Freeman Project, Larry Carlton, Eric Marienthal, Jeff Kashiwa, Rob Mullins, Paul Taylor, Jessica Williams, and Firefall. His extensive performing experience includes multiple appearances at the prestigious Montreux, North Sea, Newport, Kool, JVC, and Playboy jazz festivals as well as numerous nationwide tours of the U.S., Europe, and Southeast Asia.
An innovative composer, Kim has had several of his songs recorded, most notably, Bob Goes to the Store, which was selected by Spyro Gyra as the featured video from their Breakout CD. This composition was such a favorite of theirs that they also included it on their recent release, The Best of Spyro Gyra (The First Ten Years ). In addition, Kim has received five Grammy nominations for four records with Spyro Gyra and one with Rare Silk.
In 1999 Kim released his first solo CD entitled "More Often Than Not". His most recent release, Lets Cool One, was released in 2002.
MICHAEL REESE Lead Guitar & Vocals
Michael soon established himself as the finest guitarist ever to come out of Colorado. Before long, he was playing with such legends as Keith Emerson, of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Mick Fleetwood, a founding member of Fleetwood Mac, and Mitch Mitchell, the drummer who dept the beat for The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Michael has played blues, rock, country, funk and jazz in over seventy bands. He also formed several bands of his own which he used as vehicles for his original compositions. He opened for such rock luminaries as Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter, John Mellencamp, Huey Lewis, Robben Ford, John Mayall, Alice Cooper and Steve Morse, the multi-talented lead guitarist and founder of the Dixie Dregs and current guitarist with the revived giants of the revived seventies rock scene, Deep Purple.
Michael's gifts and his creativity have been recognized over and over. He was nominated as "Best Guitarist of the Year" at the prestigious Los Angeles Music Awards for his work on his first solo CD, "Dragonflyer." Which won Best Produced CD. Michael performed in the Tommy Bolin Tribute Concert and was named an Official Fender Endorsee by Fender Musical Instruments, Inc.
In 1996 Michael formed the band F-5 with former Joe Walsh keyboardist Tommy Stephenson and Peter Frampton's former bass player, Stan Sheldon. Their first CD, "Dodging the Dream Killers," produced by famed Santana drummer, Michael Shrieve, was nominated by Jazz Central Station as one of the top ten best jazz CDs of the year.
Lenny Campanaro Drums
Former Badfinger,
Links
