updated 12.08.03
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OUTERSHELL INTERVIEW WITH TOM STALEY by Roy Harper December 2003 Tom is the original, ex-drummer of NRBQ. His new CD is titled 'I've Always Known'. RH - Oysters - raw, cooked, or not at all ? TS - Definitely raw - but with oyster crackers and sauce with a healthy dose of horseradish in it, chased down with a swig of ice cold Heinekin. RH - How do oysters relate to your music ? TS - They don't. Now, if you had asked about RC Cola and Moonpies - that might have related. RH - Your new CD, 'I've Always Known', seems to be a throwback to the 'psychedelic era' of the 60s. Is that a fair assessment ? TS - Yes, very much so. Maybe it was The Beatles, or marijuana, or the CIA LSD experiments, or all three ? I don't know. I have noticed in my transit through this life that music from the 60's seems to have embedded itself deeper into my synapses than all the other decades. I guess the late teen's and early twenties are the impressionable years. Fortunately, my impressionable years were spent in the 60s. I got The Beatles, Byrds, Beach Boys, and Lovin' Spoonful. Today one grows up with corporate rock, approved by the suits in the boardroom. Very little human about it. Strictly a business deal. The CD does have a 60s flavor, but not everything is a throw back to that time. RH - This CD is quite different from your previous CD 'Twitchin' N' The Kitchen'. Describe the difference, and why you put out 2 CDs so different in style. TS - The new CD is really a combination of archival stuff, old mixes, and some new tunes. These tunes just had to come out from where they were hiding; if you know what I mean. It represents my first attempts at song writing. Some of the tunes are from the early 80s and a few are 4 track bedroom recordings. They are pretty impressive technically considering the low tech recording equipment we had. They were engineered by Bob Marcus who also played bass on the tracks. He did a masterful job, in my opinion. Some tracks were bounced 4 times or more to get all the overdubs on. The new tunes were recorded in 2001 and were done on Bob's computer utilizing his Cakewalk software. 'Twitchin', on the other hand, was done in a studio with a great engineer and has a superb continuity of sound. In many aspects, I tend to like the new CD more, but 'Twitchin' definitely has some great tracks! It's really like comparing apples and oranges. RH - NRBQ is still around, and kickin'. Do you miss your days with NRBQ, and have you tried, or given thought to, being in the band again ? TS - I'd go back in a heart beat !!! - (Not): Honestly, I get melancholy on occasion; mostly after I sit in when they play at Skippers (Tampa, FL). But in reality, the lifestyle is something I've grown out of. I'm sure it would be thrilling to do it for a while, but I doubt whether I could keep it up. I don't mean physically. I'm still in good shape and playing better than ever. I mean I'd miss my wife and grandkids too much. I'm really a family man at heart. To be honest, I'd really rather record another CD. The instrumental CD I have planned is going to be a new departure for me. RH - What was right, and wrong, with the 60s ? TS - Back when the music was good, it seemed that public issues were more widely understood. Nixon didn't get away with his crap. Today, he would. Bush is getting away with his crap. I blame it on the music, on corporate control of creative options. The lessons of the 60s have been forgotten. John Lennon's 'Imagine' has become elevator music in today's world, whose message is laughed off as idealistic foolishness by the suits as they plot their next global plunder. Love is still the answer. I believe Man is basically good and someday we will unite into a brotherhood. We just need to get rid of some baggage, identify the warmongers who hide in the shadows and promote conflict on both sides (bankers, corporate greed heads), and put some standard ethics in. RH - Do you think the philosophies and ideals of that era should be revived, or has society progressed too much since then ? TS - Society has digressed since then. The 60s were a time for checking your self out - taking a good hard look. Most of us who did , saw the madness of war and mankind's seemingly endless appetite for cruelty. We thought we could change the world with peace love and understanding.Some of us tried and some are still trying. Over 15 million of us worldwide showed up to say no to Bush's dirty little war for oil. It's a never ending battle, but love will win in the end. RH - What, from the 60s, has most benefited society today ? TS - One thing that really impressed me was how fast we mobilized against the War in Iraq. It took years to wake up people in the 60s. I believe sense of community and activism has survived. Don't forget we helped turn the tide of the Vietnam war. The Internet has been a marvelous tool in bringing every one together. RH - Besides music, what do you do for a living ? TS - I work at a stained glass business and teach part time. I do the 9 to 5 routine 5 days a week, but I'm considering going back to teaching music full time.Up till now it's been to supplement my income. Time will tell. RH - Do you play live ? How often ? TS - I play with The Honeyboy Blues Band. We are all local, seasoned veterans and live in the Tampa Bay area. I'd say we average 4 or 5 nights a month playing in a 100 mile radius. We get out to The House Of Blues, in Disney (Orlando), now and then. It's a good band and we will be putting out a CD soon. I'm having a real ball playing with Tim Heding, our organist. He's definitely one of the most exciting keyboard players I've ever played with. Tim played with James Brown for 3 years back in the 60s ! He also played and recorded with Lonnie Mack ! RH - Which do you prefer - playing live or recording ? TS - I love playing live and recording. But playing in front of an audience is where it's at for me. You send it out, and they send it back ! RH - Has music, into the 21st Century, become too separatist as far as having listeners/fans of the various music genres versus a dominating category of music ? TS - I don't think so. There have always been people who listen to one genre of music only ( I know a lot of blues snobs for instance). They form things like blues societies, polka societies, etc. Technology has given people more of a chance to come together and support their music, which is a good thing but it's also provided a way to expand peoples listening experience. I'm for diversity myself.Unfortunately only independent radio stations that aren't owned by Clear Channel Corporation can get away with presenting diverse, eclectic music. There are a lot streaming on the Internet. www.kcuv.com. There is a community radio FM station here in the Tampa Bay area that might be the best little radio station on the planet. I have it on all day while I'm working and I never get bored. There is always something new and fresh to listen to. You can listen to it on the web @ www.wmnf.org. They are really a breath of fresh air among the huge numbers of corporate owned homogenized, cookie cutter stations that dominate the air waves today. Of course I thrive on eclecticism and personally, it's hard for me to understand how someone can't love Hank William's, Mozart, and Sun Ra equally. I guess that's a result of growing up in the 60's too! RH - Who seems most attracted to your music ? TS - Most of my listeners are my age and are musicians or NRBQ fans, although I have had some people in their 20s tell me they liked some of my music.. I really don't have a clue why some like or dislike it. RH - What, if anything, are you trying to convey with your music ? TS - Nothing really. I'm just creating, having a blast. Hopefully, that joy and enthusiasm will come across. RH - Why should people listen to your music ? TS - People should be open minded enough to listen to anything and be able to experience anything! As the Tom Hanks character in the movie "Castaway" said - "You never know what the tide may bring in". |
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WUSB 90.1 FM ~ Long Island, New York by Bill Kay file format: mp3 ~ 15mb |
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Part One: The NRBQ Years
~ by Roy Harper
A founding member of NRBQ and drummer, Tom Staley (who now lives in St. Petersburg, Florida) has a new album out - 'Twitchin' 'N The Kitchen'. Obviously rooted musically from NRBQ, the music is a blend of Blues and Rock. In this 'Part One' we talked about NRBQ and his leaving the band. RH - You were with NRBQ from nearly its start in 1967 to 1974. The band still endures. Why do you think that is? TS - That's a easy one. There is a strong purpose and that has endured from the inception of the band. It became clear to us after awhile what the broader implications the impact of the group could have on the world. It was the 60's and we were using psychedelics and realizations of what we were doing tended to appear larger than life, but it did seem that destiny was calling because we all felt we were fulfilling a greater purpose. That purpose was expressed in Don Adams' liner notes on the back of the first album. We were proving that "Hey Baby" and "Rocket #9" are really the same energy and therefore it follows that the unity of life is imminent. In those days there was a lot of 'serious music'. We were playing what's known today as 'roots music'. We dug the purity of Carl Perkins, Eddie Cochran, and the other pioneers of rock n roll. It was a challenge to try to play those songs and capture the spirit of the originals. In other words, we had respect for them and thought that turning them into psychedelic aberrations was a crime. So, amid all this experimental purple haze emerged NRBQ, playing pure rock 'n roll. We were ahead of our time and history has seen to show we were catalysts and an inspiration to many artists. So today, you have the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Keith Richards, Elvis Costello, and Paul McCartney raving about the band. RH - Why did you leave the band? TS - I wish I could say it was because I wanted to pursue a solo career! To put it simply, my wife and I decided to have a baby. At that time, we were all living together in up-state NY. We weren't a hippie community where birth was a shared experience and all shared in the duties and welcomed the new-born and all that. We needed our own place and the group had to pay for it and funds weren't cool back then. That was controversial and some didn't like it. Then, once Karen and I were in our own place, we began to look at the others in a different light. The group had its politics and internal conflicts and we became exterior to it all. Then after the baby was born and I had to travel, my heart wasn't in it anymore. I was homesick for my family. We decided to leave and move back to Ft. Lauderdale. I don't regret it now, but it was tough for a number of years. I loved NRBQ and when I left, a part of me remained and is still there to this day. RH - What was the best part of being in NRBQ? TS - The music! It's always been about the music. The lifestyle was a trip and it was great being a star and all that, but I couldn't wait to get back on stage! There were some serious 'chops' being laid down in that band. There were moments when we approached the greatness of Sun Ra. Carl Perkins remarked in an interview about the NRBQ/Perkins LP 'Boppin The Blues', that he thought NRBQ had created a 'new Sun Sound'! The ultimate compliment! We had a finesse and sophistication that was unapproachable by other bands ! I think Steve Ferguson is an amazingly underrated guitar player. The other proponents of that style are not with us anymore which leaves him "king of the hill", but Ferguson has got it all over them because he is a prolific songwriter and a powerful singer to boot! Terry Adams is a phenomenon to watch, in my opinion, one of the best piano players that has ever breathed life! RH - What was the worst part? TS - The money! There wasn't any! We really starved in the early days. I can remember $5 a day. I didn't care about the money till the baby came, believe me. RH - Who were some of the famous musicians you met back then? TS - Let's see - Monk, Carla Bley, Eddie Brigati (Rascals), Mingus, Sun Ra, Pat Patrick, Elvin Jones, Lonnie Mack (played with him), The Beach Boys, Mama Cass Eliot, Peter Green, Nicky Hopkins, Mick Fleetwood, Jimi Hendrix, Tina Turner, Albert King, to name a few. Jimi Hendrix was a big fan of the band's. When we played 'The Scene' in NY he was there every night yelling 'Go Fergie Go!' and would whoop and holler. We did a week opening for Jerry Lee Lewis. We were stealing the show. He was cool, yet he never once mentioned us. We were watching and listening, though, to every note! This was during his country period and he had us in tears, man! We were the students, he was the master. RH - Was it a hindrance for NRBQ being from Florida? TS - No, I wouldn't say it was a hindrance. It was a good place to get the band together. We took that "Florida sunshine" right into the Record Plant in N.Y. and cut the first LP! RH - After NRBQ, you formed The Soul Drivers as well as being in various bands. TS - The Soul Drivers were formed
in Massachusetts in 1977 with Steve Ferguson and Bob Marcus. We met J.J.
Johnson, a local guitarist, and started giggin'. We didn't play a lot,
a few gigs here and there. There is a live performance on tape recorded
at Jonathan Swifts, in Boston, which is superb. We even got a chance to
demo, but Steve up and split out of the blue. I guess he got cold feet
or somethin'. We went back to Ft. Lauderdale and did some recording in
1979, which I organized, but nothing ever came of it. We bought a house
and I put down roots. I supported us by playing in local bands. I've played
in hundreds of bands from country to disco, reggae, jazz, even a Dixieland
band, which was great fun! Some of the bands sucked and I didn't stay long
and some were real good as far as commercial bands go.
In the last issue, I talked with Tom Staley about his years as one of the founding members of NRBQ and being the drummer for the band. In the 70s, he formed the band The Soul Drivers with Steve Ferguson and played in a variety of bands as a means of simply being involved with music, and keeping his head 'above water'. His love of music has kept him going, and his new CD is 'Twitchin 'n' The Kitchen'. RH - After the Soul Drivers, and with the frustrations of simply going from band-to-band, just because you wanted to play music and make a living doing it, did it ever get to the point of a frustration that you wanted to 'give up' playing ? TS - No, I've never put the sticks down. I took a vacation from it when we moved to the Appalachian mountains in north Georgia. For a period of 4-5 months, I just played guitar and worked on writing. I've always played at least on weekends. Shortly after that vacation, I started playing with a blues band out of Atlanta called 'Felix & The Cats', I did the 'chitlin' circuit with them for a while, and then went on to play at 'Blind Willies' as house band B with Sandra Hall & The Excellos. It was a regular couple nights a week there and I was exposed to the hard-core blues scene and met quite a few touring blues artists. As a result, I went on to cut a CD with Sandra, which is available on the Ichiban label. RH - Do you have a 'standard' or
'conveyance' in your playing of music that has pressed you to
TS - I have always tried to "play" the music and have a large enough inventory of fills and knowledge of the genre to tastefully make a statement from my heart, not just academically. I'm always looking for that connection to the other players to create a magic moment in time together. For example: you can tell right away if someone doesn't know their roots, like taking a song like 'All Shook Up' and making it sound like Led Zeppelin, and in the process losing all the original beauty and charm of the original. Possibly playing the solo (ala Eddie VanHalen) showing off the guitar players prowess with "hammer ons". That's just plain ignorance and shows no respect for the original intent of the song writers who created it. It is easy to scream and bash away. It's very hard to be tender and feeling. Musicians who would do that think that the musicians who were the originators are somehow old fashioned. Like I said, it's just that they are not aware enough to understand. RH - Tell us about your new CD - 'Twitchin 'n' The Kitchen'. TS - The CD is a result of finally after-all-these-years getting it done. I have a tremendous backlog of tunes and covers I've wanted to do. The CD has been described as Country Rock, Rockabilly, Big Band, Pop, Jazz, Country Blues, fun, adventuresome, & supremely interesting! I would only say it's eclectic and definitely influenced by NRBQ. The CD has 14 tunes . (Four are covers). One of the covers is a tune by Al Anderson, and one is written by Steve Ferguson (NRBQ used to perform it when I was in the band). There is a cover of a Dale Hawkins rockabilly classic, 'Tornado', and a new version of Pee Wee Kings' 50's country hit 'Slow Poke'. The rest are original and are influenced by some of my main influences: Capt. Beefheart , The Spoonful, The Byrds, and Buck Owens. RH - You've said that this CD is the best thing you've done since NRBQ. Why is that ? TS - It's the best I've done for
a number of reasons -
RH - Why should people buy this CD ? TS - They will buy it if anything I've said grabs their interests, or because they have all the other stuff I played on from the "Q" days and must have this. For those who don't know NRBQ, I would suggest you go to Borders or to Amazon and catch up on the history of one of the world's greatest rock 'n' roll bands. There are treasures to be had !! A word of warning though - it may become habit forming !!! You can order my CD's from here on this web site. --------- Happy Listening !! |