Today is a good time to talk about the live concert video we shot in Palmer Massachusetts on February 19, 2011. I am told that the video and the audio are done or at least almost done and that I will be getting a copy soon.

 

We performed in a state-of-the-art TV studio for a live audience of about 30 or 40 people were invited by the show's producer Don and. It was a multi-camera shoot and we brought our lighting designer, John Yorke and his assistant up from New York City with lots of special effect lighting and lasers. Also coming up from New York City for the show were Tish and Snooky who contributed to our album on backup vocals and we were going to try and re-create the album as best we could. I believe that when we perform with them, because we have two sets of siblings, two sisters and two brothers, that it gives us a special kind of sound that people who are not related can never achieve.

 

At any rate a bunch of drove up to Palmer, which is a small town somewhere in the middle of the Massachusetts Turnpike, to record our performance for posterity. Because I was coming from Blue Point Long Island, I decided to take the Port Jefferson–Bridgeport ferry so that I wouldn't have to drive so much and could relax before the show. When I got to the North Shore and sat waiting for the ferry I noticed that it was quite windy and there were a lot of whitecaps on the Sound. It was too late to change my mind and drive around because I had already paid for the ticket. So I got on the boat with my car loaded with all my drums and proceeded to go up to the cabin where I checked in and got a seat where I could read my Nook. I had been reading “20,000 leagues under the Sea” by Jules Vern but after the first 20 min. of tossing and turning on the open water I started to feel sick. I decided I didn't want to read anymore about somebody going underwater and just concentrated on relaxing as well as I could. When I finally disembarked the feeling did not go away for hours and I decided that I would never can ride the ferry when the weather was like that.

 

When I got to the studio I found that I was the first person to arrive, which was good, and I proceeded to unpack and set up my drums. It was then that I noticed that my front bass drum head was broken (fortunately I had a spare) and the pad that was on the beater side had come off and I needed another one for the bass drum to sound right. Don o's brother generously volunteered to go to the local music store and get me another so I was able to do some quick repairs to my kit and I was good to go for this recording. I took my time setting everything up so that everything looked and sounded just right.

 

Next to arrive was John Yorke and his assistant and they started to set up their load of lighting gear. One by one everyone arrived, Dennis and Cindy, brother Joe and Tish and Snooky. We ran over a bunch of songs to make sure we got them right, especially Dolphin's Smile, which we planned to do an acoustic version of, and then went to the green room to change and prepare for the show.

 

The audience came in and we started the show. From my perspective on the drum kit it seemed a little dark compared to most TV shoots I've done in the past but I knew that the cameras that Don was using were more modern and sensitive than those cameras of the past too. There was no doubt that the show was dramatic and the audience was very enthusiastic. We played over 90 minutes and when we finished we went out to the lobby and met the fans and signed autographs.

 

Then everybody left and we packed up our stuff and I drove the long way around through the Bronx to get back to Long Island but at least I didn't feel seasick anymore. I’ve heard rumors that a DVD is coming soon. Stay tuned.