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Post by kit on Nov 19, 2012 21:41:40 GMT -5
I didn't know Gates very well, but the last I knew Jimmy Hanna was running a print shop in Maine. I see the house where Jimmy used to live on Genesee St in New Hartford is for sale.
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Post by dave on Nov 19, 2012 23:01:27 GMT -5
I remember the Excelsior. Jimmy took lessons there from the fellow who ran it and then from Gates. We sometimes stopped there on Saturday afternoons after we finished printing. Didn't Rocco M. the drummer buy it some years later?
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Post by dave on Nov 19, 2012 23:07:08 GMT -5
I didn't know Gates very well, but the last I knew Jimmy Hanna was running a print shop in Maine. I see the house where Jimmy used to live on Genesee St in New Hartford is for sale. Yup. www.printscharmingprinters.com/about_us.htmHe used to do his one-man-band deal in Boothbay and Bath and other towns along the coast. A one time he would go to Nashville for studio work in the winter. But I don't think he's doing any music professionally lately. |
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Post by kit on Nov 20, 2012 16:24:30 GMT -5
Just a little reminscing:
Jimmy's partner (other than Janet Brisinski) was Bob O'Donnell in the folk group The Wingate Singers many years ago. Bob and I went to high school together and he left the area and moved to Nashville after the group broke up. I'm more familiar with George O'Dell and the Dell Music Studio where the unbelievable Gene Rice was the head instructor and later the recording engineer.
After George died, Gene moved to Nashville and became a very sought after recording engineer doing recordings for several well known national groups like Alabama and occasionally Johnny Cash. Sadly, both Bob and Gene have passed away but I fondly remember our schmoozing back in the late 50s and early 60s.
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Post by dave on Nov 20, 2012 23:22:37 GMT -5
Kit, that brings back memories. I remember Jimmy bringing me up to Bob's house one evening when the group was just forming. I think that would have been in '61 or '62. Jimmy had quit the BelAires to go to Rochester, (or was just back from his year at RIT, I don't remember which) and felt folk music was what he wanted to do at that point. Was it "Old Sam?" Was that the name of the record they made?
The problem with folk music was that you couldn't make a living (part or full time) because you couldn't do a dance with just folk music. Jimmy wanted to (or I suggested, I can't remember which) forming a band that would play the standard stuff for dancing, but have special times during the evening for the folk stuff to be played. Problem was that of the three members of the Wingates only Jimmy was really proficient on an instrument in a way necessary to play dances. (I think Bob strummed a few chords.) Maybe you can fill me in with how long the Wingate Singers were a viable group.
Ah, Gene Rice. From Leah Street, if I remember correctly. Damn he could play. When Jimmy left for Rochester, Jon and Dick and Guy and myself used Gene once or twice. He was a marvel, but we just weren't used to each other's music ... selection or style. And then Jimmy came back. And then I left for New York, etc. etc., etc. All that many years ago.
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Post by kit on Nov 21, 2012 8:57:24 GMT -5
Dave... at the risk of getting hollered at by Clipper for posting a musical-type response 'out-of-thread,' I'm answering your post both here and also on the "After Be-Bop" thread where this discussion might be better placed. Perhaps we could move it there.
The Wingate Singers originally had a bass player. His name was Terry Mellert (from New Hartford). The Wingates had a TV show on WKTV and used Terry for that, but usually performed as a trio when they did gigs. Yes, Jimmy was the musician, but Bob O'Donnell had a voice that would knock your socks off. I have a proprietary recording of some of Bob's songs that he recorded in Nashville at the studio where Gene Rice worked. All original songs using some unbelievable pick-up musicians that Gene knew.
Yes, Gene was an outstanding musician and loved to play finger-style lead guitar and his talent and knowledge was way above my head. Kenny Aikin was the guitar player in our band, The Nitecaps, back in the early 60s and was one of Gene's students. It's now 50 years later and Kenny still plays the guitar (in Charleston SC) and is without a doubt the best finger-style lead guitar player I've ever worked with. By the way, our drummer and lead singer was Jim Gaylord who is Clipper's uncle.
Another outstanding guitar player of the day was Bill LePara (spelling ?). He was considering joining The Nitecaps, but his style was mostly commercial music rather than the Rock-n-Roll that we played. He joined up with Fran Loucks and Tony Caro and formed a trio (I can't remember the name of the group) that did mostly commercial stuff. Interesting story there as well, but I've rambled on too much already. That will have to wait until another time.
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Post by chris on Jun 29, 2014 10:48:11 GMT -5
This Nov 16,2014 he'll be back here (Rochester, NY) playing again for us. Yeah!!!!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2014 12:06:22 GMT -5
This is great also.
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