The BERGE PROJECT involves an ever changing combination of Musicians and whatever kind of Music is called for at any particular Venue.
Influences
FIRST AND FOREMOST!---GOD and the PROCESS OF RECOVERY! . FRIENDS and LOVED ONES! IN MUSIC:---TOMMY BOLIN, BUDDY MILES, BILLY RYAN, CANDY GIVENS, STAN SHELDON, all of whom I had the pleasure of touring and recording with.-------also some very talented musicians I worked with.---- artists from: [ L.A.-- Merry Stewart, Phil Brown, Jackie Lomax, Mike Miller, Russell Bizzett, Bobby Keys, Reggie McBride]----- [Boulder--Michael John, Otis Taylor],----- [Iowa--Danny Matousek, Johnnie Bolin, John Bartle],----- [Denver--John Herdt, Dan Brynes, Rich Salee]----[Makon,Georgia---Buddy Knox]-----[Sioux Falls---Steve Ellis, Myron Lee]------HUGE Influences were:----THE BEATLES, STONES, JIMI HENDRIX, JIMMY PAGE, JEFF BECK-----THE WHOLE ENGLISH INVASION AND THE ENGLISH DRUMMERS STYLE OF POWERFUL AND SOLID BASHING!!------My First DRUMMING Influences in the SIOUX FALLS area were VIRGIL MICHELSON, RICH STEVENSON, and STU PERRY-------also:-- THE WONDERFUL MUSICAL, TECHNICAL DRUMMING OF----JOE MORELLO, BUDDY RICH, EARL PALMER -------JOHN BONAHM, MITCH MITCHELL, NEIL PEART---------TONY WILLIAMS, BILLY COBHAM, LENNY WHITE, NARADA MICHAEL WALDEN, HARVEY MASON, DAVE WECKYL----------MANY STYLES OF MUSIC AND MUSICAL GROUPS, PAST AND PRESENT!-------------INSPIRATIONALY----GOD{TAO}, CHRIST,BUDDHA, ZEN, ALAN WATTS, --------, YOGA, MEDITATION, NATURE, LONG WALKS, and GARDENING.
Sounds Like
Sometimes Jazzy, Swing,Be-Bop, and Latin---------Sometimes Bluesy, usually Hard Straight Ahead Blues, ---------And Also Hard ROCK and some FUNK, usually CLASSIC ROCK with Funk and Jazz Flavoring------WHATEVER THE GIG OR MUSIC BEING PLAYED, IF IT SOUNDS LIKE THE BAND AND AUDIENCE ARE HAVING A BLAST!, THATS WHAT I'M AFTER!!----I DON'T CONCENTRATE SO MUCH ON TRYING TO BE PERFECT AS I DO ON JUST HAVING A LOT OF FUN WITH THE MUSIC!!
I have posted and wish to share a lot of my personal Favorite Pics of TOMMY BOLIN and my close friends--and-- plan on sharing a constantly changing variety of my musical experiences, done with close friends,with much of the material paying tribute to the Great TOMMY BOLIN.--------Touring and Recording with TOMMY BOLIN was definately the high point of my Music Career! He was a GENIUS and what a treat playing with ENERGY, experimenting and improvising with our brand of Hard Rock,Metal,Fusion, and Blues.-------- Some of the Main Groups I played with are: ZEPHYR from 1970-73,{ZEPHYR featured TOMMY and CANDY GIVENS}[I played Drums on ZEPHYR'S Album "GOIN BACK TO COLORADO"], ENERGY from 1971-73[There has been Umpteen Releases by the TOMMY BOLIN ARCHIVES of old Recordings by TOMMY and ENERGY], TOMMY BOLIN BAND from 1974-76[I played Drums on TOMMY's TEASER Album "the GRIND" and "LOTUS"] and all of PRIVATE EYES except "SOMEDAY WILL BRING OUR LOVE HOME"], BUDDY MILES in 75-76. I played Drums on "MORE MILES PER GALLON" and "BICENTENIAL:A GATHERING OF TRIBES" {Yes, I played tubs while BUDDY fronted the band. He would usually play a few tunes on drums then go out front and sing while I hopped on the skins.------BUDDY, {besides being a Great Singer, plays All Instruments!} ON ROCKIN and ROLLIN on the STREETS of HOLLYWOOD, I'm on Drums and besides Vocals, BUDDY is playing Keys and some Very FUNKY BASS!!------- BILLY RYAN and BLACK IRISH from 78-80.[I played on "JOKERS EYE" and "GENERIC",which was included on BILLY's ALBUM "BILLY RYAN and BLACK IRISH",Released in 1988], {Besides TOMMY, BILLY was one of the best Heavy ROCK guitarist I worked with}. BLACK IRISH recorded JOKERS EYE and CRAZED FANDANGO in Boulder[1980] with the engineering help of BUTCH TRUCKS of the ALMOND BROS]. I did many DEMO Recordings in small Studios and Homes, and also Live Recordings at CLUBS and CONCERTS. 1987-1990---MERRY STEWART [SFR], PHIL BROWN, and JACKIE LOMAX, Off and On---1980-81,1990-91 MICHAEL JOHN in BOULDER, Colo., From 1997-2000----a Great Band in Sioux City---AFTER ALLEY [This Band followed JOHNNIE BOLIN'S "BOLIN'S ALLEY"----Hence "AFTER ALLEY"!,, also, collaboration with BILL SEDAT, a guitarist from OMAHA 2002 { I Played on BILL"s Version of "LOTUS",which was released by his Band "DREAMER"in 2004.] and JOHN HERDT a fine guitarist from DENVER-- [2002-2008]{I have done several Recordings with JOHN which were included on his Album "GATHER",and later Demos in 2007,08}. My FUN JAM BAND "BLUES BASTARDS"[2000-2003] and as of lately, The "BLUES BASHERS"[2007-9]. Lastly material from the TOMMY BOLIN TRIBUTE Concerts [1996 in which DVD and CD were released by TBA],2002,2006,08]{BERGE PROJECT}----------NOTE!!-------A special thanks to my friend JOHN HERDT who has shared his website{RAMPANTZONE.COM}with me-------I suggest to all to check it out including his music and webmaster talents------also on the site is another talented friend and huge BOLIN Fan, SAL SERIO.-----ALSO:!!!---JOHN HERDT is the webmaster for The TOMMY BOLIN website TBOLIN.COM He has done much hard work keeping this site going!! A BIG THANKS to him! It is very much appreciated by the many TOMMY BOLIN FANS!
Hey there! Just wanted to invite you out to a musicians networking event we are putting on next month Sunday, August 16th at Club 94. Club 94 is right off of the Baltic exit, off of I29. All musicians, friends and family are welcome. Come jam, meet and greet musicians in and around our area. Time is 4 to 8. For more info call out to Club 94 and talk to Jay or Mike 605-529-5141. This event is open to the public and all ages.
hey bobby! great to hear from you, glad I found you for sure. Your music is sounding awesome as usual. Would be cool to jam with you again. If you get out to socal hit me up!! I miss the good ol days in colorado, had some great times there.
Hey Bobby - I love music projects where the musicians change all the time! Is it fun??
hehe sounds like it!
So thanks for finding me hope ya had a chance to treat your ears :) I'm working on my first full length album as I just landed a most coveted record deal it's CRAZY!
So thanks for the support and I hope I can give you some more tunes to dance to! hehe
Thanks so much, Bobby. I also developed fibromyalgia last year so I'm often in a world of pain myself. That'd be the only reason why I couldn't make it to SC...sigh. Well, everyone has a cross to bear, right? xo
Hi Bobby Berge, Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers & Chickenfoot) presents the Bombastic Meatbats, a sexy and loud, sonic funk experience that fuses together styles as diverse as funk, punk and 70's R&B! The CD will be in stores on September 15th and is available for PREORDER NOW, along with Free banner and wallpapers downloads! Please help spread the word and thanks for supporting Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats!!!
Dude, I may have called you some funky names but you know how to ROAR! RAWR!!! You and your Cancer mood swings, me and my Pisces mood swings: NICE COMBO! Ha ha...are you kickin' out the jams at the next Bolin fest? Of course you are. I'd drag you there if you weren't! I am considering a jaunt to Iowa if I am lucky. Right now my sister Ann is in the hospital and we're waiting to see when she will be coming home. She's been very ill and needed a stem cell transfusion but the prognosis looks VERY good. Keep her (and me) in your prayers, okay? Blessings, all luv and cheers...xo Christine
I have to say it again, you played GREAT at the Bobby Berge birthday bash this past weekend. I hope you had as much fun as I did. I know you're not pushing for your birthday to be a center point every year, but thanks for making us feel welcome at that one. rock ON, john.
Bob-arino! What it is? Man it was great seeing you for the birthday bash. Great jams and glad we got supper together so we could shoot the shirt. You and Johnnie were both ACE on drums, that was a hell of a cool weekend. rock ON, john.
XO
