Turn the House Lights Down… (2000)
Label: Ratamaque Records
Artist: Brown Sometimes In My Life
Featuring: Chris Masi (Vox/Guitar/Synth/Drum Programming), Chris Buono (Guitar/Sounds), Andy Voelker (Alto and Soprano Saxes/Horn Arrangements), Andy Citkowicz (Tenor Sax), Vince Bergamo (Synth/Hammond), Ryan Thompson (Bass), John Mikhail (Drums)
For more information: www.myspace.com/brownlive
At the turn of the century I started appearing on recorded works. Be it with bands I’ve been in, artists I’ve worked with as a sideman or simply as a guest it’s been a 20 year (and counting) run that’s produced a discography I can live with. It all started with this double CD release back in 2000 with Brown – a local band based out of the area I grew up in on the Jersey Shore. That all said, I feel like I’m just getting started and the best is yet to come.
Previous to my tenure with Brown I made a concerted effort to shift my career focus to NYC. Upon graduation from William Paterson College in 1995 I landed in Seawaren, NJ – a home base that afforded me an easy drive to New Brunswick and New York City. Between my time with Burgundy and D’Tripp I grew immensely both as a player and performer. The musicians and the music were inspiring in every way and the gigs as well as the traveling were life changing. Though as good as it seemed on the outside, I hit a wall around 1998 and moved back to the Shore.
From the fall of ’98 to the tail end of the century I hunkered down with Brown and redefined my playing. What you’ll read below will outline the details. In the end I’m thankful for the platform Brown gave me and I treasure the lifelong friendships that were made.
Shake It Loose
This is the first tune you hear me play on. The catchy hammond/guitar melody is of my doing. Throughout these sessions I switched between my infamous ’73 Strat and my Ibanez JEM777, which at the time was stripped of its fluorescence and painted black. I even swapped out the neck for a while, changed the pickguard and installed a trio of Duncan pups – JB, Duckbucker and Jazz from bridge to neck. That all said, I have no idea what guitar I used on this one. My comping is buried in the mix. HOWEVER, I did get the nod for a solo and was allowed to turn it up with a distorted envelope filter solo. The filter was a Guyatone Wah Rocker. They were all the rage back then. Fun fact: Because of that pedal I started a relationship that goes on to this day with a guy named Mike Piera, AKA Analog Mike, AKA Analogman.
Sometimes In My Life
I play all the acoustic parts on this slow jam including the solo. While it happened twice on this project, acoustic tracks have been few and far between since. The guitar in my hands in both instances is a Taylor 812ce. It was my first steel string and the first of many Taylor Guitars I’ve proudly played since. I was trying my best to convey my Wayne Krantz influence with a focus on his acoustic playing laid down on a duo record with Leni Stern called Separate Cages. While I was way off the mark it was fun trying.
Heat
This rocker was one of my favorite tunes to play live with Brown. The hook line I’m playing with the playing is one more of my doing. I’m doubling it with a technique that came to be known as punch comping thanks to my Music Editor at Guitar One, Adam Perlmutter, when G1 published my lesson article on the approach in the April 2006 issue. There’s another fun guitar interplay part at 3:23 right before the killer alto solo from my hero, Andy Voelker.
Push
This is one of my favorite tunes – hands down. I always loved the vibe and playing that wah part was a highlight of the set for me. I was just starting to get into all sorts approaches effects-wise including modded wah pedals. The quest was getting a wah to sound “throaty”. The secret in the sauce is in the inductor. That and smartly set compression with a touch of analog delay. This was a modded off-the-shelf Crybaby souped up by none other than Dave Friedman – a good while before he made his mark in the guitar amp market. The compressor and delay were a Boss CS-2 and DM-2.
Superone
This was another top choice for me to play live, though we rarely did to my dismay. It’s straight up 70’s cop show funk. That descending chromatic descent in the main riff and throughout was the shit. On this tune I shift gears at 2:15 and do something I’ve only done once – scat. With my brother Louis’s ’79 ES-175 in hand I give you my best George Benson at that time. I should start doing that shit again – it’s fun as fuck. I’m not sure I played anything else. No matter, that scat part is the price of admission for me when I feel like looking back on some early cringe-worthy moments from the old days.
