1

I lost my voice. I don’t remember having laryngitis since the sixties.

It was illegal to be sick growing up in my house. You see my mother’s mother was a hypochondriac and as a result if we had a sniffle we went to school and we did not go to the doctor unless we were near death. Well, unless our symptoms were so bad immediate action was necessary.

Which is all to say I started getting sick ten days ago, on Sunday the 11th, and I tried to sleep it off, but otherwise I didn’t change my behavior. I’m a big believer in the healing power of sleep. I don’t know why people brag about little shut-eye, nor do I understand their need to brag about getting up early. True, the early bird does catch the worm, but are you eating worms? As for sleep… I hope you don’t work at the factory, or as a butcher, because the less alert you are, the greater the chance of injury. Also, clear-headed thinking is needed for creative work and also to make the best decisions. I don’t want a lawyer who was up all night, and I don’t want a mechanic or doctor either. I want someone who is fresh, alert, who can make decisions on the fly, who is sharp. That’s the scourge of America, dullness. People more interested in what they wear and how they appear than how they function cognitively.

Which is all to say that despite symptoms, I skied anyway. I see it as a job. This is what the 10,000 hours is all about. Doing it continuously, not just when you want to. It’s about refining the edge, making efforts instinctual. Sure there are days I don’t want to suit up and go out, but there always becomes a time when I’m out there that my mood changes and I’m thrilled to be there, in the great outdoors, usually by myself.

I’m in the process of getting a new pair of skis. That’s another thing about aging, you learn not to hold back. I mean how many more years am I going to be able to do this? My friend Jack Binion is still skiing every day in his eighties, but I know others who can barely walk at that age, or are already dead. My old 95s don’t hold on hard snow. I want something that does. So I’m demo’ing.

And first I tried the Stockli Stormrider 95s. Hand-built and four hundred dollars more than the competition. They’re silky smooth, and they’ll plow through anything, and there was a lot of crud. At first I said no way, I would never buy them, but by the end of the day I was at one with the skis. They gave me confidence. But they just weren’t that quick. I like a playful ski.

So the next day I demoed the Blizzard Bonafides. Notoriously a truck, I hated them the last time I skied on them. But Billy said they’d changed. Billy is my expert. He’s never steered me wrong on skis, and I’ve made a few mistakes. And lo and behold, the Bonafide had changed. It actually turned quicker than the Stockli, and the tail was a bit softer. I couldn’t get excited about the Bonafide, but it was better in the bumps than the Stockli, and I like to go into the bumps.

And then the weather turned.

2

Not only was it snowing, it was blowing. But even worse a cloud had descended on top of the mountain. Which meant there was no depth perception, you couldn’t see the bumps. It was the wild west, literally.

This is the weather I love. The more it blows and snows, the more alien it is, the more I enjoy it. By this point almost everybody had gone in. Yes, you can get out for first chair, but the snow is firm and if you’re chasing powder…you’re truly chasing it, it ceases to be fun, it’s a race. You get one untracked run and then you hunt the least tracked spaces and… Vail is vast, unlike the Utah resorts it does not get completely tracked out in an hour and a half. You can ski crud for days. But not on the main slopes, you’ve got to go into the trees and… My preference is storm days, when most people are gone and the snow is piling up and the snow was piling up on Thursday afternoon and it felt like winter, how great.

But then I had to go from the top of 3 to the top of 2. It’s a long ridge sans vegetation at the top of the mountain. And in these conditions they frequently put in lights, to guide the way. But not this day. There was a risk involved. That I’d ski over a bump and be thrown, maybe hurt, but I went slowly and eventually saw the top of 2 in the distance. And then I traversed over to Ledges and took one of my favorite last routes down. I’ve got a few. Ledges is like a ballroom, almost always empty, it’s fun…you don’t want to take the most challenging slope at the end of the day. That’s weekend warrior stuff, that’s how you get hurt. Ease into it.

So after hanging them up I eventually went to the shop for the Mindbender 99ti’s. Billy said it was one of the three, the Stockli, Blizzard or K2, even though in the abstract I had no interest in any of these brands, I haven’t skied a K2 since 1969, when I had two pairs of Comps that fell apart. I like French skis, not Austrian ones. As for German Volkls… The last pair I had, the only pair I had, were so stiff you could suspend them between two bumps, they wouldn’t bend in between.

So Dirk gave me a freshly-tuned pair of Mindbenders, I took them back to the condo and then…

3

Friday I woke up really sick. I thought maybe I shouldn’t have gone out on Thursday, but it was clear I couldn’t go out on Friday, no way.

So I stayed inside and worked. Wrote, told you about my radio show on Saturday and then…

That’s when my voice started to go. My throat was sore, speaking was hard. Yet, like in the circus, the show goes on. I planned to do my show.

But when I woke up Saturday, I could barely croak. I texted Billy, told him I hadn’t used the K2s, asked him if he wanted them back, he did, so I delivered them, and when I handed them over…to say I sounded like a frog would be charitable.

I came home and canceled the radio show. Harvey Fierstein sounded better. But even worse I couldn’t stop coughing. There was no choice. A rerun was necessary.

And then I got worse.

4

I’ve got antibodies. People ask me how I can leave the house, with my immune issues.

I won’t detail every element, but…

The vaccine didn’t work for me. Because of Rituxan, a drug that wipes out all my b-cells.

Then I got Regeneron in August of 2021, but it turned out those antibodies didn’t work for Omicron.

And then I got Evusheld and Omicron was rampant and my immunologist said to stay home anyway, until it died down, and then the government said I needed double the dose. And I couldn’t get it. So I flew to Vail and got it there, and skied 48 out of 50 days, March and April. You didn’t know that, today you can be anywhere. I was the only person wearing a mask on the hill. As for the two days off… Wind…one day all the lifts were closed, the other day half.

So we were waiting for my b-cells to repopulate. It was supposed to take six months since my last Rituxan infusion, but now it was almost eighteen. I got the vaccine again the first day of June, 2022. Worked a bit. As for the second dose… Impossible to get, no one would give it to me. I told them the first two shots hadn’t worked, that I needed two new full shots. But all I could get was a booster.

Which carried me through to the bivalent booster in September, which I got three days after it became available. I was tested. I have antibodies. I’d give you the numbers, but… Here’s the bottom line, many people have more, but both my immunologist and my internist say I’m covered. As for t-cells… They can test those, they just don’t know how many you have and what it means. But, the Rituxan does not affect t-cell production, so I’m now up to snuff on those and…

I can’t believe you haven’t gotten the new booster. You want to live, don’t you?

Maybe not.

The news article that struck me most this week was this:

“Can politics kill you? Research says the answer increasingly is yes.”: https://wapo.st/3G7NjP0

Yes, that’s the “Washington Post” folks, which means almost half the country won’t read it, never mind believe it, but you should:

“The study, published this month in the Lancet Regional Health-Americas, found that the more conservative the voting records of members of Congress and state legislators, the higher the age-adjusted covid mortality rates — even after taking into account the racial, education and income characteristics of each congressional district along with vaccination rates.

“Covid death rates were 11 percent higher in states with Republican-controlled governments and 26 percent higher in areas where voters lean conservative. Similar results emerged about hospital ICU capacity when the concentration of political power in a state was conservative.”

This is a nonpartisan study.

I don’t want to die. You have the personal responsibility to do so, but why? To prove you’re a member of the team? As for being anti-vaccine… I won’t even bother to address that issue, except to say that that’s the world we now live in, where everything is up for grabs and nothing is true. And unless something can be proven 100% it is not to be banked on, never mind believed.

But this isn’t about you, but me.

I got too isolated. I’m still not fully integrated yet. I spent two and a half years out of touch, at home. And you need socialization to survive. I hear from more people every day than anybody I know, but it’s not like the real thing.

As for my immune condition… Once again, I take Rituxan for my pemphigus, that causes my immune condition. I do not have an underlying immune condition. But the Rituxan is a miracle drug for me. As the doctor told me when she diagnosed me…don’t Google pemphigus foliaceus.

So really, I need another Rituxan infusion. But I don’t want the cycle to repeat. So the doctor says to get three series of IVIG infusions. Which will wipe out the bad, pemphigus cells, which have returned, there’s a test. Took them three weeks to get all the approvals and then it was going to cost me $7,000. I’d have paid, but who wants to? And then I was told that if I got the infusions at the hospital they’d be essentially free. Two months later, I’m finally scheduled. My symptoms have returned a bit, but… At least I’m better off than my friend Barry, who’s got Parkinson’s. You’re gonna get something, be prepared, and you want to be able to throw everything you can at it. And the dirty little secret is many people can’t afford this treatment, never mind not knowing how to navigate the corridors of the health system. This is where everybody is a Republican, you’re on your own, it’s all about personal responsibility, and that’s a damn shame.

5

And my nose was running like a faucet. I went through box after box of kleenex. And my throat was so sore. And the only way I could sleep at night was by taking Tylenol. Yes, if your nose is running, it helps. Two extra strength tablets every two hours.

Covid?

I tested myself twice. My symptoms didn’t align, I had no fever. My fatigue was minimal. But you never ever know.

And it’s probably a virus, and I don’t want to treat viruses with antibiotics, I don’t want to be part of the problem, but I scrounged through my old kit bag and found a Z-pak. It expired in 2009, but in truth most of these drugs barely fade, never mind away.

You see I was getting scared. That’s the flip side of my upbringing. You ignore the symptoms and then when they’re too intense to do so you start catastrophizing.

And I’m sitting on the couch and you know how it is… You’re thinking about breathing, and you never want to think about breathing, it should come naturally.

And the funny thing about illness is just when you think you can’t tolerate it anymore, when you can’t stand another sleepless night, the tide turns. Happened to me yesterday. My nose is not running 24/7. And when I cough it doesn’t feel like I’m ripping out my insides. I’m on the road back. Could I have skied today? No way. This is the first day my head is somewhat clear, but there’s still that feeling in my chest and my voice still has that sandpaper, anybody would notice, ask me what was going on.

6

So, that’s what’s happening. Your mileage may differ. If you’re reading the news you know there’s a bomb cyclone, in not only weather, but health! I got my flu shot, I hope you got yours. That’s another thing I can’t understand passing on. I got the flu once back in the nineties and I haven’t missed a shot since.

And it pisses me off to miss all these ski days.

But they just closed Blue Sky Basin and the Bowls. Must be the wind.

And tomorrow is supposed to be atrocious.

And I want to get back out there, but like in that Clash song “The Call Up,” I don’t want to die.

And it’s my decision. No one knows how you feel inside. It’s a razor’s edge I tell you, engaging with life. You can stay home, see nobody, take no risks, but how fulfilling is that? Never mind depressing. Or you can venture out your front door, into the unknown, where the stimulation and rewards are.

I wish there was someone who could tell me what do to in every circumstance. I’m not talking about false prophets, but gods. But they don’t exist. You’ve got to take your internal temperature and make your own decisions, on the fly.

Which is why you want to get a good night’s sleep.

And why you don’t want to be a sheep.

Do what’s right for you.

But let me tell you, it’s a full time job. Pay attention, don’t follow leaders and be sure to watch the parking meters.

As for your health being everything… Either you know this already or will learn this. It’s life. You live, you die, but you don’t want to do so prematurely.

Out.

1

I’ve been sick as a dog. And there’s nothing worse than being unable to ski whilst at a ski area. I could check myself, apologize somehow, for not only being in Vail but choosing to ski at all, but that’s exactly the point. You think everybody is watching, you think everybody cares, when in truth almost nobody is or does. Even if you’re world-famous you can ignore the haters. Because hating is an activity these flamethrowers love to engage in. It’s their raison d’être.

In other words, we no longer live in a cohesive society. This is what Covid taught us. Nobody was in control. And it does not only apply to illness.

So last night we were watching this documentary on Netflix entitled “Carmel: Who Killed Maria Marta?” I’d never heard of it, and you probably haven’t either, but Jared Leto recommended it in the “Wall Street Journal”:

“I recently binge-watched: ‘The Alcàsser Murders.’ It’s a Spanish true-crime series. The other thing I recommend is ‘Carmel: Who Killed Maria Marta?’—about an Argentine murder. Trust me, watch it.”

https://on.wsj.com/3PFaXFK

I made a note in the Notes app on my iPhone. I’ve got one for series and one for movies, but we barely ever watch movies. I guess that’s my main point here, we are living through the eclipse of the baby boomers and they don’t even realize it. Oldsters revere movies. Youngsters will watch anything that interests them, from a few seconds to many hours. And if it’s good, they don’t want it to end, they want it to last. Despite being labeled with short attention spans, they love to binge.

There’s an hilarious story in today’s “Hollywood Reporter” wherein Hollywood players lament the demise of the theatrical business and believe it will come back.

“Kim Masters on Hollywood’s Year of Wishful Thinking – This year brought some big box office wins — never underestimate Tom Cruise — but mostly it was a time for film execs to stanch bleeding, rethink radical change and figure out how to get consumers to magically forget all about that whole direct-to-streaming thing.”: https://bit.ly/3FH0hSh

Talk about living in a bubble…

Executives have short memories. The past is prologue, the music business was the canary in the coal mine for digital disruption and the main lesson that was learned is you never ever try to hold back the future, the customer is now in control, you satiate the customer, you don’t alienate them, or else you die.

The issue was whether films going directly to streaming during Covid killed the theatrical business. There’s a belief that just opening in theatres boosts a movie. But, I ask you, in this era where there’s no network Must-See-TV, how do the studios plan to get the word out? The Netflix home page real estate is worth more than any advertising. As for advertising, it’s anathema. Did you read today’s “Wall Street Journal”?

“Netflix’s Ad-Supported Tier Was Its Least Popular Plan, Analytics Firm Estimates – Streaming giant’s ad-backed plan accounted for 9% of new signups in the U.S. in November, according to subscription-analytics firm Antenna”: https://on.wsj.com/3HVv9kL

Here’s a quote, just to make it perfectly clear:

“The plan accounted for 9% of new Netflix sign-ups in the U.S. during the month. Some 57% of subscribers to the ad-supported tier in the first month were people re-joining the service or signing up for the first time, while 43% downgraded from pricier plans, according to Antenna.”

It’s a disaster. Cannibalization at best, and de minimis to boot, but the Netflix brass listened to the Street, which only cares about money, and isn’t so savvy to begin with, and wasted all this time and bread just to find out that people don’t want to see ads, that the money is in the premium product, which Netflix used to be perceived as. The world’s most valuable company is Apple, why did Netflix choose to be Android, with tons of market share but almost no profitability? Meanwhile, Apple’s smartphone penetration in the U.S. keeps going up, it’s over 50% today, and even the less wealthy will pony up for what they perceive is a premium product, for their self-image.

Anyway, back to “Maria Marta.”

2

It’s subtitled. Oops, there goes two-thirds of the audience. Be my guest, I don’t care, the joke is on you. That’s the beauty of streaming, product doesn’t have to be for everyone, just someone, as long as I keep paying my monthly subscription fee.

Zaslav is getting all the ink, but he’s running the Warner assets into the ground. The fight for streaming subscriptions is not over, not every company will survive, and the way you assure your continued existence is via enough product that you satiate your entire customer base, and more. I gave up on “Stranger Things” after the first season, but I didn’t can Netflix because it’s got such programs as “Dead End.”

It’s a six part Polish series. It could be remade in English to be a blockbuster. It’s both drama and comedy, but I’d never call it a dramedy. A dramedy is a network show, funny but with fake gravitas. Whereas “Dead End”…

I read about it in the “New York Times,” I think it was in the newspaper, but it was also included in its “Watching” newsletter. You should subscribe. The dirty little secret is most newsletters are worthless. If for no other reason than people can’t write. You subscribe, skim, and then disconnect. Maybe you’re going to do that right now with my newsletter! But the point is raw information is just not that interesting. It must be presented in a palatable way. And do not trust subscription numbers, if people don’t cancel subscriptions they are paying for (there are constant articles how to review and cancel your digital subscriptions, even an app for that), lord knows they let free subscriptions continue. The issue is whether the newsletter has an effect on people, makes them think. Almost nothing does. And in a world where there are so many options…

But this paradigm affects all verticals. There’s a myth that in this data-driven age that numbers are everything, but they’re not, impact is. But impact is much harder to quantify. As is attachment. Do people need to read what is written? That’s the issue. Also, he not busy being born is dying, if you keep doing the same thing people have seen the trick and burn out and move on. But then there are those who don’t want you to ever change. But evolve or die. Bob Dylan taught us this.

So, “Maria Marta” is another one of those true-life documentaries about a death. I’m only halfway through, and there are only four episodes, but I’m riveted.

Oh, you can get confused, with not only the subtitles, but the Spanish names. However, you get a window into Argentinian life. Makes you want to go there. Then again, they ultimately reference the danger, but too many Americans think everybody else in the world lives a restricted, subpar life, whereas when you watch “Maria Marta” it is clear this is untrue.

But the reason I’m writing about “Maria Marta” is not the content…

Oh wait, I’ll make one point. I don’t expect any big revelation, I realize that ultimately “Maria Marta” is just about people, humanity, and that’s what interests us most. I.e. the success of TikTok. We live for the gossip, what are other people thinking, their choices, we love to peek into their lives, and if you give them a view… This is what has been lost in too many art forms. In trying to be everything to everybody, the work ends up broad and no one can relate to it. Whereas the personal is what truly resonates.

Anyway, the real reason I bring up “Maria Marta” is… She died in 2002, and now it’s twenty years later. Seems like only yesterday, but two decades have passed.

3

Future shock. Baby boomers certainly have it. Gen-X’ers too. Even some millennials.

You see the kids in college today only know a broadband world. They expect everything to work right out of the box. They know that clothes are really expensive or really cheap. That a sandwich costs fifteen or twenty bucks.

It didn’t used to be this way.

You keep trying to square today with yesterday and you can’t, this is the mistake of the movie studios, time has moved on.

Digital means access and convenience, anything that undercuts these two elements will fail, unless it’s a quaint one-off. No one is going to line up for concert tickets anymore, it’s too much of a waste of time. You did it, but you also went to college with a typewriter without spellcheck.

So you can see how the people have aged in the twenty years since the death of Maria Marta. The prosecutor’s hair turned white. Others filled out, got lines in their face. You’re just moseying along, living your life, and you don’t realize you’re burning the candle down. You’ll want all those hours back, but it’s too late, no one can turn back the hands of time.

So, I got old. If you’re lucky, it will happen to you. And as you do your vision of the landscape will disintegrate. So much you thought mattered will not. You’ll wonder what you want to do with the time left. And you’ll feel like nobody in the world is on your page.

You’re older, you’re smarter and wiser. You wouldn’t do what Sam Bankman-Fried did.

But you do need something to believe in. Which is why you might be attached to your political position, but really that doesn’t matter much either. I’m not saying elections don’t have consequences, but like George Carlin claimed, the owners of this country want to give you the illusion of control, but you ain’t really got it.

Do I want to get into politics?

If you read two articles this week, and I know you’ll read neither…

First:

“How Trump jettisoned restraints at Mar-a-Lago and prompted legal peril – The inside story of how Trump transplanted the chaos and norm flouting of his White House into his post-presidential life, leading to a criminal investigation into his handling of classified documents that presents potential legal peril”: https://wapo.st/3hBMCUN

Ignore the headline, even if you’re a Trump diehard you should read this article, because ultimately it’s about Trump’s day to day life after the presidency. I’ll make it clear, here’s a quote:

“Trump is hardly the first ex-president to struggle with life as a private citizen after the heady experience of holding the world’s most powerful job. Bill Clinton, for instance, filled hours in his first months after leaving office holed up at home in Chappaqua, N.Y., bingeing TV shows and movies he had missed as president on a TiVo gifted to him by the Hollywood director Steven Spielberg.”

They’re just like you and me! They lost their big job and don’t know what to do with themselves! Just like a rock star after a world tour. They end up nearly alone in a room and at loose ends.

In other words, they’re no different from you and me.

Second:

“Putin’s War – A Times investigation based on interviews, intercepts, documents and secret battle plans shows how a ‘walk in the park’ became a catastrophe for Russia.”:  https://nyti.ms/3FJvLY6

Putin was clueless, in a bubble, operating on bluster, and we believed all of it. Yes, point to someone who knew Russia wouldn’t immediately conquer Ukraine… I can’t find anyone.

So the bottom line is… What else is untrue? What else is pure bluster?

Can you see the similarities to Elon Musk?

But my inbox is full of fanboys testifying. They don’t realize they’re expendable. Everybody’s expendable but Musk and Trump themselves… Look at history, they survive, you don’t. And once Wall Street woke up to Robinhood, the professionals won and the amateurs lost. Just like with crypto. In other words, information and experience are king, but everybody today thinks they can play at the top because they’ve got the digital tools. NO!

4

I  could laud the “Post” and “Times” here, but it wouldn’t make a difference to nearly half the country. They believe the spin, that the two are irrelevant, even though everybody telling them that reads them religiously.

Information is king, it’s accessible at your fingertips, but people would rather accept spin.

You can’t make sense of it. Impossible. So how do you live your life?

This is the question. You want to belong, you want to feel part of something, but you look at the landscape and see no home.

As for recommendations… I trust Jared Leto more than any critic, because he invested his own time, off the clock. Would those music critics listen to those records if they weren’t being paid? No. So I’ll listen to the hoi polloi. Well, not everybody, I’ve got my trusted sources, and so do you.

In other words, who is buying the party line?

There’s this gross division between the institutions and the public.

And all the baby boomer parameters have evaporated.

Like scarcity. There’s too much stuff, not barely enough.

Price. Some of the best stuff is incredibly cheap. And if it breaks, you just throw it away and buy a new one. Most people don’t want to fix their devices. Old computer gear is nearly worthless, you’ve got at least two old computers in the garage.

And the boomer disinformation… Keep your old smartphone, get off of social media… These people are so lost in the past it’s hilarious. And the funny thing is even though I lauded the “Times” above it’s one of the worst offenders. Yes, the “Times” is a club, that’s how the reporters make themselves feel good, by being members, feeling superior, when oftentimes they’re clueless and lost in the past. But when it comes to world events, they’re the best. Laugh all you want, Fox News does no reporting, it’s only opinion. As for the website you follow…

Oh, now I’m entering the debate.

My point here is we are living in an age of loneliness and alienation, and everybody keeps telling us the way to solve our problems is to return to a past which is dead and buried.

Confused yet?

I certainly am.

Gene Cornish visits my friend Eric who has Cerebral Palsy…it was very sweet. Before Eric’s condition deteriorated he was in a band with Brian Setzer’s brother. His father was an RCA engineer.  He has been immobile for decades. Count your blessings…

Michael Fremer

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The first concert I ever went to on my own was The Young Rascals at the New Haven Arena in May 1966. My best friend and I went downtown but we didn’t have tickets. It was a Saturday daytime show, they were doing a second show in the evening. We somehow convinced a security guard to let we very young teenagers in and it was insane inside. They played all their hits and I became a fan forever. 6 years later I had the pleasure of introducing The Rascals as MC at an outdoor concert at Brown U and 8 years after that I worked with Felix Cavaliere on his solo album Castles In The Air while at Epic. I still have all my vinyl of the early albums. RIP Dino.

Dick Wingate

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Dino totally changed rock n’ roll drumming. Before him it was the paradiddle musings on guys like Ron Wilson of The Surfaris or Sandy Nelson. Both great, but mainly driven by the snare heavy prominence of high school marching bands. Dino’s twirling was great but his KICK changed everything.  Suddenly the ballsy kick heavy drummers from NJ, the Bronx and Long Island followed in his wake. Guys like Carmine Appice, John Barbata and Tom Scarpinato. If you were at any concerts at the NY State World’s Fair in 1964-65 you saw the change. This time around the Brits followed us with heavy kick players like Bonham, Baker and the vastly underrated B.J. Wilson.

Every week it seems we are calling it the “end of an era”, but Dino’s passing truly is one.

best,

John Zambetti

The Malibooz

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I really enjoyed your thoughts on Dino.

I remember Chip,  my older brother  taking me to meet Gene Cornish at a hotel,  before his show in Birmingham. Many years later, at the Library of Congress, featuring Legendary ASCAP Songwriters, I was in an all star band with Felix Cavaliere on the show.  I was on 2nd Keyboards and was one of the thrills of my life  to sing the Eddie Brigatti parts. We had a chance to hang out with Felix during downtime, he talked about how supportive everyone at Atlantic Records was to the Rascals,

Thanks so Much!

John Lee Sanders

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In 1972 Dino and Gene stole our guitar player Eric Thorngren to play in Bulldog.

One of their first gigs was in Utica, and at the afterparty I sat on the floor with

Dino for about an hour, smoking tons of dope and talking drumming – he even

showed me some of the nuances of his stick-twirling. Best drum lesson I ever had!

Best regards,

Darryl Mattison

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Hey Bob,

Dino and the Rascals are my heroes.

Dino had the skill and style of a big band drummer.

I saw the Rascals twice in NYC in 2013 at the “Once Upon a Dream” show.

Beautiful band, beautiful body of songs.

Felix, Eddie, Gene and Dino.

Thank you guys!!

Rick Nowels

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Wow, I’ll say! I saw them twenty some odd times, mostly in NYC clubs at The Phone Booth, Steve Paul’s The Scene and concert venues around the country when our paths would cross. I first saw them at a school dance in November of 1965 at the Greenwich, CT Civic Center where Good Lovin’ was unveiled. I had never seen anything like the force of those four and have not since. They took the roof off where ever they played with every song re-invented each set and, remarkably for the time, every show ending with the 17 minute instrumental “Cute” which is on the second disc of Freedom Suite. Sadly, there is no live footage of the band that I have ever seen except for TV appearances (Ed Sullivan, Hullabaloo, Shindig). The best filmed is “Glory, Glory” and “People Got to be Free” leading into “Oh, Happy Days” with Barbara McNair on her TV show from 1970 with Dino Danelli and the boys at full throttle. To have heard them play “People Get Ready” by the Impressions taking-off into a medley “picking-up passengers from coast to coast” was to be awakened. How fitting then, that the last song on the last Atlantic album (Search and Nearness) was the imploring “Glory, Glory”. The 2013 Broadway revival was great fun for devotees like myself to crest once more upon a dream.

Robbo Coleman

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One hell of a band up there.

Dino was a favorite of mine.  I’m 75, still playing my kit but with headphones now and dreaming about old memories-
We still all keep in touch but on FB.
Dino was my idol- so tight, so cool.
Oh the memories; and yes, we saw them live- we lived and enjoyed the great groups and lucky us got to play on the same stage with them sometimes.
Love the late 60’s

Steve Hass

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Bob…Dino’s playing on the fade-out of “What Is The Reason” was/is mind-blowing…growing up in the Bronx in the mid-60s, it was either the Rascals or the Spoonful (you dug the Blues Project for the “hipness factor”)…I was firmly entrenched in the latter’s camp but in my mind, I always felt a true New York City super group would’ve been made up of Dino on drums, Felix on organ/vocals, Sebastian on guitar/harmonica/vocals and Yanovsky (my hero) on lead guitar…Dino and Zal were the secret weapons of their respective groups — Matt Auerbach

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Being a young drummer during the 1960’s and 1970’s, I was fortunate to see and hear some of the most talented drummers of all time including Dino Danelli. Your post reminded me of another show at Fairfield University billed as “Sounds From England” on April 17, 1970. The bill included The Nice, Savoy Brown and Family. It was general seating so we got there early and sat in the front row. Unfortunately, The Nice cancelled at the last minute and were replaced by Troyka, a Canadian band. Despite this setback, Savoy Brown and Family delivered blistering sets featuring two more great drummers, Roger Earl and Rob Townsend. And this week, we lost Kim Simmonds, Savoy Brown founder / guitarist at age 75, along with Dino. We’re losing the legends.

Bob Anderson
WPKN.org
Bridgeport, CT

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Thanks so much for your wonderful piece on Dino Danelli.  Like you, I was there, and you expressed this Jersey boy’s sentiments perfectly.  Thank you Bob, because if you didn’t write this, one of the greatest rock and roll drummers would quietly pass into the night.

Not only could Dino showboat and twirl his sticks like a magician, he was a drummer’s drummer (I’m a drummer). Correct they didn’t have click tracks then, but Dino was a human click track.  Even some of the great rock drummers like Ginger & Keith had issues with timing (speeding up).  Dino was like a metronome, absolutely perfect timing.  Listen to his precision work and perfect fill on the tune you mentioned, “Love is a Beautiful Thing” or the precise, crisp, clean, exacting eight count break on “Good Lovin” Just great stuff.

My dad, a pit musician on Broadway always told me about the little known musical greats of his day.  I always told my son about hidden artists like Dino, my son Zander, a Jimmy Iovine Interscope Artist and now lead singer with Mojave Grey turned me on to you.  And like you, I was there, and weren’t we lucky!

Tom Z. Bleck

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having spent a lot of time w dino and the band,

gene, eddie, felix in 2012-2013, when stevie van zandt

decided to make his dream come true,

we produced a show that made it to broadway.

‘dino and the band were my heroes also.. meeting your heroes sometimes,

doesnt work out.. this time is was BETTER THAN EVER!!!

the rascals touched everyone, i learned.

that deep connection w music is missing today.

we will never recover those times.

as stevie always said,

“we were lucky,

we lived in the golden age,

the renaissance”

i know we all leave at some time,

but the moments we are here,

is the golden time, always.

without negative thoughts or fear!

i will miss dino, HE WAS THE GREATEST,

and all my other friends, family,

that have walked the path with me.

love,

marc brickman

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Thanks Bob, for those words about Dino. He WAS special. His drum tracks, groove and live performances were what inspired many drummers. My friend Corky Laing and I in Montreal late 60s watching Dino on Sullivan were  amazed at his confidence and showmanship. Couldn’t  take our eyes off him!

Marty Simon
Toronto

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Thanks for the great write up on Dino Danelli. I first saw The Rascals in July of 67. Fantastic live band, but it was Dino who really blew me away. I had never really noticed a drummer before, but he was amazing. Twirled those stix yet never missed a beat. The Rascals were my favorite band for a long time and Dino was the glue that held it all together….

Jay Rosenberg

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Great column. Loved the Rascals, they played my older sisters senior prom in ‘66, can you imagine  I hung outside the gym just to listen.

Peter Roaman

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Thanks for that.

Dino was an automaton you couldn’t take your eyes off.

Loved what you wrote. My paleolithic band opened for them twice, a fond memory.

They were the most amazing live 4 piece imaginable.  Wow.

Rik Shafer

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On the Underground Garage, Little Steven did a testimonial to the music event that changed his life and opened his eyes, the Rascals playing a gig in NYC back in the beginning.  He described what he saw and felt in such a personal and powerful way, it made me long for the chance to have done the same.

John Brodey

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Dino Danelli was the turbine in the engine that was the Rascals (especially the Young Rascals). His feel was always right on the front edge of the groove and he made everything just lean forward – but not enough to make the groove fall off the cliff, i.e. “Love is a Beautiful Thing”.   With his head bobbin’ on every beat and his sticks spinnin’ in between, he was the man.

Rick Neigher

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Saw Dino twirl those sticks of his as he drove the rockin’ soul of Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul live onstage. Always cognizant of and respectful of his forebears, Steven did audiences around the world a real service in providing them the opportunity to experience the second act of this talented artist. I count myself fortunate to have been amongst those who bore witness.

Rick Alexander

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It was even special when I saw Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul in Nov. 1983 at the Palladium (former Academy of Music) that Dino played the Drums.

You focused on him!

Corey Bearak

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This news hit hard. I suppose every music lover in the tri-state area
considered the Young Rascals THEIR band. Early on, they played at tiny
Eckman Center in Old Greenwich, CT twice a summer, at local after prom
afterglow dances, at high schools and colleges. Like The Beatles, they
were mature, professional and had honed their craft playing hard work
gigs. I¹ve seen most every band of their era excluding The Beatles and
Elvis and they had an energy that I¹ve never seen surpassed. Long before I
started hitting the Fillmore East regularly, they began my musical
education. The Hammond B3 and Dino were the centerpiece but Gene¹s comping
and Eddie¹s tambourine and maracas workouts drove them to a maniacal pace.
Without a bass player other than Felix¹s foot pedals. The soulful voices,
the loose dance steps and most of all Dino made them a visual experience
unlike any other. Ringo, Dino and Keith Moon were something to see and
Dino was my favorite of them all. RIP.

William Nollman
Silvermine, CT

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My first concert was definitely the Rascals, at Westchester Country Center, in White Plains, NY. I was a pre-teen and my mom drove me there.

They were thrilling. Full of moxie, musicality, unstoppable energy and joy.

Dino was not only a fantastic drummer, both flashy and supremely funky, but also a dead ringer for Paul McCartney, albeit filtered through an Italian/American lens. Several of the girls in my grade school class got a hold of his home number in Manhattan. All had mad crushes on him. When he’d answer, which he often did, they’d squeal, hyperventilate or just breathe over the phone line. He was patient and cool with them, asking their names and engaging with them, though they barely had the oxygen to converse with the man.

Along with many friends, I saw their reunion show at the Greek, in 2013. They played & sang their asses off, especially Dino, Felix & Gene. Felix’s distinctive, soulful voice was undiminished, and Gene & Dino rocked hard. Dino still had all his twirling the sticks tricks and flash in abundance, but never lost the strong feel and engine for the songs. The Cavaliere/Brigati songwriting team has a rich & prolific catalogue and those songs hold up beautifully. You’d Better Run. Lonely Too Long, How Can I Be Sure, People Got To Be Free, on and on. Super writing, performed with maximum gusto.

I’ll always deeply love the Rascals, and Dino held the hold shebang together. Much love and respect to Mr. Danelli upon his departure.

Fuzzbee Morse

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Thank you Bob….I so loved The Rascals or the Young Rascals as they were known…Felix,Dino,Eddie and Gene…..having grown up in the Northeast I was able to see them play several times back in 66-67 in NYC

and most exciting they were the band that played my High School Prom…being so up close to them in the gym was magical..as you say the bands were everything then… like being in front of royalty…RIP Dino…

Peter Wassyng

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You’re correct, as you get older you wonder how the end will come. I try not to think about it too much.

Meanwhile, The Rascals. They had it all. Collections was probably my favorite. “Lonely Too Long” was so incredibly recorded. The pre delay on the lush echo chambers with the kick and the ghost hits on the snare SO FUCKING IN THE POCKET! And was that a French horn also soaked in reverb, or just the perfect drawbar setting on Felix’s Hammond?

On the flip side when you cue up “Land of a Thousand Dances, you’d think every mic preamp was set to stun and record head on the tape machine was melting.

When I saw them live back in the 60s at the Capitol Theater in Bergenfield, NJ, I swear I had a hard time even seeing Dino behind what I thought was a 28” kick drum!

Too much!

And we all waited for the next Rascals album to come out. They went through a whole lot of changes. That’s what the record companies wanted. The never disappointed until they just couldn’t compete anymore.

What a rush 15 or 20 years ago when I was flying back to Boston from Nashville and there was Felix sitting in coach on a near empty plane. I had to ask…..

And he didn’t let me down.

Neither did Dino.

Rest in Peace.

Will Eggleston

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I loved Dino so much as a kid. And later, when they got the band back together one more time on the Once Upon a Dream tour. Seeing them together as an adult was a dream come true to this kid. Felix still has the chops, singing better than ever with all his peaceful but firm bravado. Eddie and Gene were in great form too.

The serious but beautiful face that belonged to Dino, twirling sticks, always  in the pocket! He never missed.

Those early Rascals albums were and still are  my favourites. Those records taught me composition and drumming and how they worked together.

Dino was a lead instrument player like Ringo, Ginger, Bonzo and the great Danny Seraphine with Chicago. Not just drummers.

I am sad that he had such a rough time at the end of his life. He deserved better. He made so many people happy, but life and death just don’t care. It just happens. The great equalizer at work again.

Take care of your health, Hug your family and friends this Christmas and listen to some Rascals music.

It’s Wonderful.

Danny Zelisko

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Hi Bob,

I love this so much. Thank you for this beautiful tribute to Dino Danelli.

The Rascals were slightly before my time but I adored their songs, and one day years later I met Eddie Brigati at a songwriter’s conference in the Bay Area. It was around 1990 I think.
He presented a class where he described having to go to the Library Of Congress after not being paid by the record company, and having to make copies of copyright forms showing he (they) had written those songs so he could get paid.

It was shocking.

After that class I was in the big room where I had my (first) CD for sale; where no one was biting or interested.

Eddie saw me and we started talking. After he heard that I was a Buddhist, he shared another story with me. He said when he was so down, he decided to end it all, and a friend asked him to please try one last thing, chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo…

He did this and came back to fight for his life and came back with his career, thank goodness. Bringing us to where we were then.

And then he picked up my CDs, handed me a pile of cash, and bought all of them. After that, he invited me to the after party for the “pros”. And when I got there by his invitation they wouldn’t let me in, cause I wasn’t on the “pro” list.

And then Eddie saw this, and he left that goddamn party – what a great guy.

A real person. He also told me more of the history of the band. It was great.

And no, I didn’t leave with him, and no, I didn’t sleep with him. Just two musicians, sharing stories.
Thank you, Eddie, for encouraging a young songwriter, which I certainly was at that time.
I’m forever grateful to him and everyone who came up to fight another day as an artist.

(ps- my new album is #35 on the jazz charts this week). I’m very grateful.

Peace, Love & Blessings,
Roberta Donnay
Singer/Composer/Producer
robertadonnay.com

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Bob – The Young Rascals were my first concert. Bushnell Memorial Auditorium in Hartford, CT. I was mesmerized by Dino. Everyone was. He put on an amazing show. The backbone of the band. They were so good!

 

A few years ago I ran into Felix after his show in Stamford. I told him they were my first concert. We chatted a bit then he said, “I remember Hartford because the show was running long and the promoter was worried about union overtime. He dropped the curtain on us in the middle of a song. We thought we were big shots. We learned.”

 

I still remember hearing Eddie’s voice from behind the curtain saying, “Goodnight everybody,” after the curtain fell on them. Quite a way to end my first concert experience.

 

RIP, Dino! What a showman! – t

 

Tony D’Amelio

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The Young Rascals … great songs, great band … Felix, Gene, Eddie and Dino true earliest of the “rock stars” that were the American dream. And they had Dino twirling those sticks the epitome of cool.
RIP Dino Danelli
Charlie Brusco

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Well Bob, if you saw them live, you know they were far more powerful in person than the records ever indicated. We opened for them in Atlantic City. Until then I’d thought of the Rascals as a pop act, but live, they had power and authority. Not at all lightweights. (I’d put Procol Harum in the same category – no recording ever conveyed the depth of what they presented live.)

Once in New York, after a gig I ended up in the same restaurant/bar as Eddie. He had a fake moustache and with his different look, was intent on not being “Eddie Brigati.” I didn’t go over and say “hi” to avoid drawing attention to him. It was the first time I saw a musician having to wear a disguise in public…that made me think.

Anyway, what made the Rascals special to me was the evenness of the band. Dino, of course, you know what he was about. Eddie was a frontman who didn’t act like the world owed him something, it seemed he always thought he owed the fans something. Gene Cornish didn’t do the guitarist-hogging-the-spotlight thing, but contributed to solid arrangements. Felix Cavailere – can’t say enough about him. A band without a bass player?!? C’mon! That held note in “Lonely too Long,” followed by the bass slide, was an epic moment in recording history. Well, at least to me. He sure knew how to massage that Hammond, and how to lay a powerful, soulful voice on top of it all.

You’re right, the era is over, everyone will be dead soon. But their music lives on, however imperfect the recordings. Worked for Beethoven, right? And all he had for his legacy was sheet music. We’re here to contribute as best we can, and move on, hopefully leaving the world a better place than we found it.

Craig Anderton

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A sad loss.

My band auditioned for Sid Bernstein and though he didn’t sign us, he told us we should go see the Rascals. We went to see them at the Phone Booth in NY. This was before they had any hits. They were amazing. Dino was so serious and so solid and the stick spinning thing was amazing. What knocked me out the most, though, was Felix. He was mesmerizing. At the time I was playing a Wurlitzer in my band (because I loved Rod Argent in the Zombies) and I immediately traded it in for a Hammond B-3.

–albhy galuten

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