Here's Paul Martin and Ray the Roadie for the Rock and Roll Chicago podcast. How are you doing today, Ray? I'm freezing, man. I know.

I know. What's with this weather? I can't. I don't know.

I mean, I really need something warm, and I'm digging our July and January setup we're doing here. Supposed to be this cold in January? I think so. It's like the frozen tundra here, man.

Well, we've been pretty lucky, though. Yes, we have. Pretty lucky.

And we're getting lucky today, I think. We are. Yeah, we're getting lucky today.

Yes, we are. We're getting lucky with the EZFM band. We're talking with Terry Geraci, the keyboard player.

One of the hottest yacht rock bands out there. Yes, they are. They're an excellent band.

I've had the opportunity to work with them a couple of times, and they're a lot of fun. You know, listening to their music, that'll warm your cockles. I'm sure it will.

It'll warm something. It'll warm something, anyway. That's right.

That's right. Well, let's go see what Terry has to say. Let's do it.

All right. What you gonna do when she says goodbye? What you gonna do when she is gone? What you gonna do when she says goodbye? What you gonna do when she is gone? All at once, you're ready to hang it up. Hey, everybody.

We're meeting today with Terry Geraci from the band EZFM. How you doing, Terry? Good. Thanks for having me on.

Really appreciate it. Hey, thanks for joining us on this cold, frigid day. You're in our continuing series of trying to get some nice, warm music on a cold day.

Well, you picked the right genre. Yacht rock is about as hot as it gets right now. Yes, it is.

So, tell us a little bit about the band. How did the band first get together? Well, this band is actually a spinoff of another group I happen to be in, which is called Chicago Tribute Anthology. The original five guys that I picked were basically the rhythm section from CTA.

And we started this back up in, I want to say, September of 2015. And so we're in our fifth year now. And we had one personnel change since then.

Our original guitar player, Dave Jens, who left us for a couple of years, we had to replace him with Adam Schoenwald on guitar and vocals. And Adam has done a phenomenal job. And as luck would have it, Dave came back to us about a year ago.

So now we have the services of two great guitar players, Adam and Dave. We actually have three incarnations of the band. We have a five-piece version, a six-piece version with two guitarists.

And we now have just started an eight-piece version theater group featuring Diva Montal on lead vocal and Mike Knopf on saxophone. So we can now venture into the theater and bigger fish type gigs. I see.

Now, who did I see playing guitar with you at Blue Chip on New Year's Eve? That was Adam Schoenwald. That was our basic five-piece rendition of Easy FM that you saw there. Okay, I see.

So now you're adding another vocalist, you said, and a sax player too, huh? Yeah, well, that's an eight-piece version of the group. And that's not going to be an everyday lineup. That's going to be a specialty lineup for when we get off for theater gigs or higher profile type venues where we can really go all out with a phenomenal female vocalist and a terrific saxophonist that we don't employ with the five and six-piece version of Easy FM.

Now, why the Yacht Rock, if you don't mind me asking? Well, you know, like I said, we started this about five years ago and the idea popped into my head at the time. There were really no Yacht Rock cover bands at that time. And, you know, I got the guys there and I told them, Hey, what do you guys think of putting this soft rock, Yacht Rock tribute band together? And thankfully they were all on board with it.

And, you know, it took off pretty quickly. I mean, people really started latching on to the genre, you know, because they were really songs that you and I and all of us really grew up with as youths. And we're probably ashamed to admit that we even liked these songs when we were kids.

You know, but truth be told, they really are gems. You know, looking back, they're kind of like the soundtrack of our lives, you know. If you listen to the lyrics closely, you know, it's kind of a microcosm of our own lives.

Right, right. So now, tell us about your history. Where did you, when did you start playing and how did you get into the music business? Well, I originally started out as a saxophonist.

I was a trained saxophonist, flautist and just general woodwind player. I didn't finish college, but I did go to the American Conservatory of Music and I studied under, I minored in piano there. And I studied under some real top-notch saxophonists, such as Bill Sears.

And then I also studied under Shelly Yolen at Triton College. And they really kind of opened the door for me in terms of opening my vocabulary as a musician. But then as time went on, I kind of developed a real affinity for keyboards.

I won't say that I quit saxophone playing, but I certainly found a niche with keyboards where I was able to get more work and get out there and play with a wider variety of groups and ultimately make more money playing the keyboard. So I just, over the last, I would say about 30 years now, I've been playing keyboards exclusively with saxophone kind of being the secondary instrument now. So it was kind of a flip-flop there for me.

So what are some of the groups you've played with? Well, recently, besides EZFM, like I said before, I'm currently with Chicago Tribute Anthology. And then I do sub-work with various groups throughout the Chicago metro area. I've played with a lot of classical groups in the past.

Adam and I go back, I played with his group, Dawn Patrol, back in the late, I guess early 2000s. I had a couple of my own groups. I had one group called Mysteries and Mayhem, which was a classic rock tribute.

We did a lot of sticks, Boston, Kansas, stuff you would hear on the loop back in the day. And then I've played in various Motown funk groups. So I mean, I've kind of run the gamut from rock to funk to disco to big pop power horn rock.

So I've kind of dipped into a little bit of everything. I see. I see.

So now you mentioned American Conservatory. Is that downtown Chicago there in the Fine Arts Building? Yeah, from what I can glean, I believe they are no longer there. I think they've moved.

I want to say to Indianapolis, they moved the entire school out of state, out of Chicago. But that was back in the, I want to say like 1986, 87 is when I went there. I think shortly after, or at least not too shortly after, they folded shop there on Michigan Avenue.

And I believe they moved to, I want to say the Indianapolis area. Yeah, the reason I bring that up is because back in the early 70s, I went to Chicago Conservatory of Music, which I think was on the seventh floor. And the American Conservatory was on the fifth floor or something.

Right. Right. Okay.

Yeah. Is that still there? Is the Chicago Conservatory still there? I couldn't tell you. I have no clue.

I went there about a year and kind of gave it up to start playing and working. Yeah. Well, you know, that was a good couple of years for me because I really met some top-notch players and some that I still keep in touch with to this day.

So, you know, it certainly wasn't a waste of time. You know, there's always something to be learned, you know, no matter where you go, you know, through your education. So that worked out well for me.

So let's go through some of the guys in the band and tell us what their history is and where they've come. How about Gino? Gino, I met Gino with a group called Batty that him and I were in. It was a rock group about five, six years ago.

That's when I first met Gino. Gino Perez, correct? Gino Perez. Yeah.

Yeah. He's a great guy. He's a great, great vocalist.

And he's kind of like what I would say like a chameleon. You know, he can kind of adapt to many, many different voices. And that plus the fact he's a really good front man.

He knows how to engage the audience. He's really a perfect fit for what we're doing with Easy FM. So we're lucky to have him.

I thought he had told me that he had some history with some metal bands or some heavier rock. Didn't he? Oh, yeah. Gino's got a rougher side to him.

You know, don't be fooled. He could bring the house down with, you know, he does Black Sabbath. He does Iron Maiden.

He does all that hard stuff from the 70s. He's in another group actually called Doghouse Society that plays that genre of music. And they're a terrific band in what they do.

And, yeah, Gino's, like I said, he's a chameleon. He can go soft or he can go the other end of the spectrum on you and rock your socks off. So we're lucky to have him.

That's cool. All right, who else have we got in the band? Well, we've got Reid Foley on bass, guitar. And Reid and I met when I joined Chicago Tribute Anthology back in 2009.

And Reid has been a mainstay in Easy FM from day one. And not only is he a terrific bass player, but he's a fantastic vocalist. He lends invaluable harmonies to our Easy FM as well as some real good lead vocals.

And he's also a great guitarist. A lot of people probably don't know that. Oh, really? He's in a couple of other groups where he's featured on guitar actually.

But he's really an invaluable tool for us. And, you know, much like Gino, we're very fortunate to have him on board. Very good.

And now you've got Paul on drums. Paul. Yeah, Paul.

Paul and I, we go back. Paul Bata is his name? Paul Bata is the drummer. And Paul and I have the richest history together.

Him and I go back to high school back when we were 14 years old at the Holy Cross High School. We first met in the band program there. And I can honestly say we've been playing in bands since we were probably 15 years old.

And here we are, you know, 51, 52 now. So we've been together playing in bands nonstop for 36 years almost, you know, together. Paul's just a one-of-a-kind drummer.

He's a fantastic drummer, fantastic piano player. He actually teaches piano as well as drums privately. Does he really? Wow, that's interesting.

Yeah. Paul not only went to the American Conservatory, but he also graduated from DePaul University. And I believe he's got a bachelor's in music from DePaul.

And Paul, he's a first-call drummer, not just for Easy FM, but for many situations, whether it be rock, jazz, polka, you name it, Paul plays it. Yeah, I know you mentioned that he had another gig that night, I think, at New Year's Eve. You guys played during the day.

I worked with you during the day running sound for you at Blue Chip. Yeah, he had a big band gig that night with a 16-piece jazz orchestra. Wow.

Again, that just goes to show you his versatility. He could go from playing rock to playing Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey. That's awesome.

Yeah, he's terrific. And then now you said David is back with you, right? Yeah, Dave Gans has returned to us, yeah. And what's Dave's story? Well, Dave, he first joined us, like I said, five years ago.

And then he departed for a couple of years to play with the Hillbilly Rockstars. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, sure, I know them. Yeah, okay.

Yeah, they're a well-known country cover group throughout Chicago. And he played a couple of years with them and then decided to come back to us again. And, you know, like I said, we had Adam Schoenwald come in to take over Dave's spot.

And when Dave came back, we figured, hey, let's just add him to the mix. And instead of one guitar, now we've got dual guitars, an EZFM, and it adds to the richness of the sound and the dynamic, the overall dynamic of the sound of the group. So we're lucky to have Dave back.

And Adam? Yeah, Adam and I, we go back, like I said, I joined his group in early 2000. We had a group called Dawn Patrol, which was like an 80s hairband rock group. And I had joined for about a year.

And, you know, after I left Dawn Patrol, Adam and I continued to play in groups, like I said, Mysteries of Mayhem, Arena. We were in another group called Deja Groove, which was a funk, all-town group. And, you know, I've been playing with Adam for probably almost 20 years now, on and off.

And, you know, when Dave left, I approached Adam and asked him if he would be interested in joining EZFM. And he was all over it, you know, luckily for us. And he came in and he just, he kicked butt.

He came in and learned the parts and picked up the armory parts. And really, we didn't miss a beat, you know, when Adam came in. So we've really flourished since he was added to the mix.

So in the five years that you guys have been together now, have you done any writing, original writing or anything of any music? No. No, this group doesn't do any original material. We construct the covers and we try to stay within the Yacht-Rack genre.

So, yeah, we don't do any original material. Have you recorded any of the covers or anything? Yeah. Oh, yeah.

We've got video links all over YouTube. If you search QZFM, you'll see our promotional video that we recorded about two years ago. And you'll see other live clips on YouTube, as well as Facebook.

We've got a Facebook page that has tons of pictures and videos and testimonials from our awesome fan base. We're one of the luckiest bands. We have some of the greatest fans and followers a band could ever ask for.

They're just loyal to the core and we're just real fortunate to have them. But, yeah, you could find a lot of media of us on Facebook and YouTube and our website, which is www.QZFMBand.net. You'll see more videos and pictures there as well. So what are some of your favorite songs of the Yacht-Rack genre? Oh, boy, that's a tough one.

You know, if I had to pick one or two of my favorite bands in that genre, I would probably have to go with groups like Little River Band or Ambrosia or Players. You can let it all go away. I was wrong and I just can't live without you.

I was wrong and I just can't live. And then, of course, you get the kings of Yacht-Rack. You get Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald, who really were credited with starting the Yacht-Rack genre in California back in the mid-70s.

That's where that genre was born out of, out of the California area, which is why it was termed Yacht-Rack ultimately, because of the nature of water and the boats out there. I was going to ask you how Yacht-Rack came about, but... He just answered your question. I guess he did, yes.

That's why I'm sure a lot of people are wondering where that came from, you know? Yeah, it's been nationwide, it's been international for that matter, for years. But the two guys that are the kings and the, I guess you could call them co-founders of the genre, are Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald. They've been credited with giving birth to that genre.

They're on thousands of recordings, whether it be their own material or as backup artists on other artists' albums. You'll find them many times over. Thousands of recordings of those two guys.

What songs do you do by Kenny Loggins or Michael McDonald? Right now, our theater version of the group is going to be performing a song that featured Kenny Loggins and Stevie Nicks, Whenever I Call You Friend, that was popular back in the late 70s, it came out. And then Michael McDonald, every once in a while we'll pull out Waterfall Believes from him. We also used to play This Is It from Kenny Loggins.

We should probably bring it back. We haven't played it in a while, actually. Like I said, people love those two guys.

The more of them you play, the better. People love those two artists, and for good reason. I'm sure that summertime keeps you guys pretty busy doing a lot of the festivals and things that are going on.

Are you playing anywhere at this time? We are kind of still in the booking season for the 2020 summer festival season. If it's anything like it's been the last four years, we'll be busy throughout the whole summer. Do you do the booking? I do the booking through various agencies.

I do some independent booking where we get the jobs without the help of an agent. A good bulk of our work comes through various agencies. We play not only in the Chicago area, but you'll find us in southeast Wisconsin, northwest Indiana.

We even have a private gig coming up the 4th of July this year in Michigan. You'll find us over a four or five state area. We play everywhere.

Do you have anything coming up in the near future? We've got a show this Friday night coming up at Docks in Wakanda. That was actually the first gig we ever played was at Docks. They gave us our first live opportunity there.

It's snowballed on us ever since that first gig. You'll find us at various festivals. Like I said, we're in the middle of booking season right now.

You'll have to come back and check our Facebook page and our website to catch those dates. We're still in the winter club scene right now. We will be booking the outdoor festivals throughout the month of January, February, and probably in the March as well.

The best bet would be to come back and visit our Facebook page over the next month or two to check out our events. You said that Docks gave you your first gig. Was that something that you guys put the band together with the intentions of continuing going? Or was it one of those things where you said, let's just try it and see what happens and take it from there? When we formed this band, we wanted to make this a 12 month out of the year deal.

Docks, like I said, was our first opportunity to play out live. We wanted to do more and more live playing because we were really eager to get out and see how this genre would stick with the public. When I first had the idea for this group, I knew the music was popular.

But knowing that there were no cover bands out there playing this stuff, I wasn't sure if it was going to stick or not. Once we started rolling with the live gigs, people really started latching on to the nostalgia that this genre brings. Like I said earlier, there's such a nostalgia factor with this genre.

It just brings you back to your childhood. It rivets people and it makes them want to come back more and more. We get a lot of repeat customers from gig to gig.

We've built up quite a nice following for ourselves. It's worked out nicely for us. I was going to say, you get a lot of people dancing too, obviously, with this kind of music too.

The dance floors are flooded. You go to an EZFM show and you'll be hard pressed to see an empty dance floor. People are out there dancing, screaming, fist pumping.

We even see guys wearing Harley jackets and Harley bandanas. They're in the back of the room singing. Like you said, it's some guilty pleasure.

It's a total guilty pleasure. Like I said, we've got guys that are dressed up in their heavy metal garb and they're in the back of the room. They don't want to be seen, but they're singing back there.

We see them. They don't know we see them, but we see them. Now, I've got a guilty pleasure for you.

The Night Chicago Died. Oh, Paper Lace, that's a great tune. Yeah, Paper Lace was the group that did that tune.

That's a great song. Paper Lace is the name of the band, that's right. That wouldn't be a bad song for us to learn and put out there.

I'm sure that would flood the dance floor. Yeah, that's kind of been a guilty pleasure. Every time I hear it, I go, oh my gosh.

I don't know if I want to turn it off or listen to it. Right, right. Well, we do a lot of one-hit wonder stuff, too, in addition to the rock.

People really eat up those one-hit wonder tunes. That's what they were listening to. It kind of sticks in their head.

You bring it back once in a while, and they're like, whoa. Oh, yeah. The nostalgia factor is off the charts when you play these tunes.

So, now what are you going to do when you play some of the theater gigs, and you've got people sitting there now. Are they going to get up and dance in the aisles? Well, you know, our theater debut is coming up on February 29th at the Palace Theater in the Wisconsin Dells. So, to answer that question, we're going to find out.

Come on out on February 29th, and we're going to find out the answer to that question. I see, at the Palace in Wisconsin Dells. Correct, yes, February 29th.

And that's the full eight-piece band? Right. Yep, that'll feature Diva Montal on lead vocal and Mike Knopf on saxophone. And then add the other six original players from the group, and it's just a phenomenal eight-piece ensemble.

You've got to hear it and see it to believe it. I mean, these musicians in this band are just the Chicago's best musicians, and I'm beyond blessed to have these people in this group with me. It's just really fun playing with musicians of this caliber.

Well, it's great when everything meshes together, you know, and it's fun and it feels good. Oh, God, yeah, it feels good. Without saying, it puts a smile on our face while we're playing, you know? Definitely.

It's hard not to smile, you know, as a musician. For sure. So tell us, where'd you find the girl singer? Her name is Diva Montal? Diva is, she is a staple throughout the Chicago area as a female lead vocalist.

She does solo acts, she does duo acts, she's in other groups such as Heart to Heartbreaker, which is a tribute to Heart and Pat Benatar. I mean, you close your eyes and you go watch that group and you think you're listening to the real Heart and the real Heart to Heartbreaker. Diva's sister, Jerry, is also the other lead vocalist in that group, and she does the Pat Benatar voice.

And Jerry, she's phenomenal, too. I mean, she knocks it out of the park. Those are two of the most talented young ladies you'll ever hear.

They're beautiful, they're talented, and that's another group. You know, go watch Heart to Heartbreaker if you get a chance. They're just off the charts.

Well, being a sound guy, I've heard a lot of female vocalists trying to do Heart and not do it justice, but it'll be interesting to see them. Oh, yeah. I highly recommend it, Paul and Ray.

Go see Heart to Heartbreaker. You will not be sorry. I mean, they have it right down to the costumes that they wear.

It's mind-blowing. You won't believe it. And so tell us, too, about the sax player.

Mike Knopf, he's a first-call sax player throughout the metro Chicago area. He does everything from rock to jazz. He does German music.

He's in a German group. Where they wear all the German garb. The leading roles, that's right.

Yeah, yeah. He's well-rounded. There's nothing Mike can't play.

He plays rock, he'll play jazz, he'll play polkas. Whatever you need, he'll play it, and he'll play it as good as anybody. Like I said, he's a first-call player, and we're lucky to have him on board with us with EZFM in this theater group setting.

Well, that sounds like you've got a great line-up there, Terry. Tell us once again, where can people find you to find out where the band's playing? Okay, well, I'll give you all the media that we appear on. We're on Facebook.

If you just type in the four letters EZFM, you'll find us on Facebook. If you go to our website, which is www.ezfmband.net, that's our website, you'll find all our upcoming shows there. And then if you want to watch any other media of us, you go to YouTube, and again, just in the search engine, type in EZFM, just the four letters, and there's all kinds of promotional videos and other live clips of us there.

And if anybody is interested in booking us, feel free to hit us up either through Facebook or through our website, and we'd be happy to talk to you about potential bookings. Well, I can tell you that I certainly enjoyed the band from the moment I heard you several years ago, about three or four years ago, the first time I had a chance, the opportunity to work with you and run sound for you. And I definitely enjoyed the band and love the band.

Oh, you do a great job, Paul. We know we're getting a good mix when you're behind that board. Thank you.

Thank you. But I couldn't do it without you. Yeah, well, we're a good team.

We make a good team. Well, thank you. Thanks for meeting with us today, Terry, and bringing some of that warm, yet rock music to this cold January day.

Well, thank you, Paul. Thank you, Ray. It was my pleasure.

Thank you, Terry. And we hope to see you guys out at a show, and again, thank you very much. No problem.

Thank you. Have a great day. You too, guys.

Take care. Thank you. That was great talking to Terry.

Some great insight into the yet rock genre. Yes, I didn't know that Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins kind of started that old yet rock thing. I wasn't aware of that myself, and I really didn't realize it's been around since the late 70s.

Yeah, it's been around for a while, I guess, but it's really coming to a head. Fruition? Fruition, that's the word I'm looking for. That was my word of the day on my calendar.

Was it? Oh, cool. So I had to use it. You have a word of the day? I do.

What's the word for tomorrow? I can't check until tomorrow. Oh, okay. That would be cheating.

All right. Well, fruition. Yes.

It's come to fruition. Yes, it has. Yes, it has.

Okay. How do you spell that? It's kind of like the fruition of the loom. Oh, okay.

So it's like an F, not a PH? No, no. It could be a PH, but yeah, I believe it's an F. Okay. Well, you read it.

I did read it. It was your word of the day. It's my word of the day.

You know, the mind is a terrible thing to waste. Yes, it is. Yes.

And apparently you've wasted some of yours, I guess. Did you hear they legalized marijuana in Illinois as of January 1st? Oh, wow. Yeah.

Yeah. That's cool, dude. Do be a don't be, man.

Okay. Okay. We're going to have a lot of editing in this one.

Enough of the silliness. Looks like they're going to be really busy this summer, and you even got that eight-piece near orchestra-like ensemble there. That's right.

Well, like you said, it was great talking to Terry and hearing about the band and bringing some warmth to a cold January day. That's right. I want to thank everybody for joining us for July and January with us, trying to keep everybody warm.

July in January. In January. That's right.

That's coming to fruition. Yes, it is. So make sure everybody keeps checking us out.

Don't forget, Road to Rock radio every Monday, 6 p.m. They feature one of our podcasts. That's per the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum on Route 66. Make sure you check them out.

And while you're there, why don't you sign up to be a charter member? A lot of great benefits. Sure. Sure.

Sounds like fun. As a matter of fact, they're doing some work in here today as we speak. They are.

Ron Romero is right there in the corner. He looks like he's got a hammer in his hand. I hope he's not going to, whoa, whoa, whoa.

I think he's going to throw that hammer at me. Hi, Ron. Look out, duck.

Duck. All right, thanks for listening, everybody. Talk soon.

Bye. Bye. Bye.

Bye. Bye. Bye.

Bye. Bye.