Musicians on CD -- Tony Tedeschi: lead vocals and rhythm guitar;
Doug Kwartler: lead guitar, slide guitar, banjo, backing vocals, bass, percussion;
Michael Leuci: Hammond organ, drums;
John Henry Trinko: piano;
Dan Zellan, lead guitar;
Mark Crosson: lap steel;
Jim Leach: electric bass;
Doug Drewes, stand-up bass;
Rob Hecht, violin.
Influences
Started with the whole Sun Records thing: Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Elvis before he went mainstream. Then Dylan and the Greenwich Village folk scene. Blues, definitely blues: Lightning Hopkins, B.B. King, Jimmy Reed. Numerous female artists both vintage and new: Joni Mitchell, Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams. Throw in some Ray Charles . . . and, well . . . Stuck in the '60s, maybe even the '50s some. Mark Knopfler, Willie Nelson and Richard Thompson have traveled across the years with me. Newcomers like Anne McCue, Ray LaMontagne, Jonny Lang, Andrea England (a wonderful Canadian singer-songwriter), Mary Gauthier (one of the best songwriters I've heard in years) and Susan Tedeschi (no relation) have added some recent spice. I came late to Leonard Cohen, but, damn, he hit me hard. I am also very much influenced by fellow Long Islanders like Doug Kwartler, Toby Walker, Joe Vicino, among those with growing reputations, Pedro Pereira and Michael Leuci, who have provided guidance and inspiration. Playing in this area and interacting with wonderful performers such as these is an ongoing source of inspiration. I have a master's in English Lit and there is no overestimating the influence of the great poets from Milton to T.S. Eliot, Donne to Pound; Whitman, Dickinson, Wallace Stevens. Among novelists, F. Scott Fitzgerald and James Joyce. How do they influence music? How do they not?
I consider myself a child of the ‘60s. I was co-editor of the student newspaper at NYU in Washington Square when Dylan was playing the coffee houses, progressive jazz was ascendant and the beat poets were having a liberating impact on American Lit. We expanded the newspaper to cover those cultural events. When I graduated, I joined the Air Force, spending the better part of four years helping to train Tactical Air Command pilots, who went immediately to war. The demoralizing effect of a war we were clearly losing and the domestic unrest it generated resonated even with those of us in the armed forces. I came home from that experience with a wife, two young daughters and a sense that freedom was every bit as important an element in life as all the euphemisms suggested. While finding work in public relations firms helped support my growing family, including the adoption of a third daughter, my creative release always came via my freelance writing. I’d played guitar, sang and wrote songs for a band in the ‘60s, but gave it up to concentrate on my prose and a couple of novels I’ve authored. I have traveled extensively as a journalist and I am the founding editor of an award-winning travel website: www.naturaltraveler.com. But music has always played a critical role in my life. I’d always felt that Dylan had liberated the songwriter in all of us, while setting his almost-impossible-to-reach benchmarks. I have come back to the guitar, letting it drive my creativity. My debut CD, “Stuck in the ‘60s, Vol. 2,” on Hollow Body Records, has been produced by Doug Kwartler, a gifted musician and songwriter, who also runs Hollow Body Studios and is a talented engineer, bringing a great deal of his musical genius to my work. Samples of that work are available here. Enjoy.
Hi Tony, great lyrics, great music and a great life story you have. Yes, when I first visited BC, I remember flying in thinking "Am I in heaven or what!". Anyways, now part Canuck, I truly enjoy myself here. You live back in my old haunts. Love it there too. Peace to you, Leah
Wow, I absolutely love your music! Your sound! I saw Tony Tedeschi in the band member section and immediately thought of Susan! Double wow! Don't stop doing what you are doing! I LOVE/live and thrive on good music like this so full of emotion, passion, soul and life! All my best, Dawn
The Craic Festival 2009 has invited FairplayCollective to play at this years Festival. All members will be playing in the round. The show is at The Mercury Lounge, March 14th at 8pm. This is the last night of the festival and Foy Vance is also on the bill.
What more can I say, a great night for music and film, with the odd star thrown in. Come show your support.
Hi Tony, thanks for the friendship. I'm stuck in music and it's always a pleasure meeting people with almost the same taste. It's also a good feeling listening to the well created songs of a sensitive musician like you. Peace, LB
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