Coming to you from the studios at the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum on Route 66. It's the Rock and Roll Chicago podcast Hey, it's Ray the roadie and this is Hollywood Mike Ray, how you doing, man? I'm still freezing. Are you really? It's cold man.

I do these winners anymore going through a heatwave. It was actually colder yesterday wasn't yeah I was but rose a whole two degrees today. That's right.

That's right. I can't do this man The older I get yeah, the cold is just too much. I gotta go to Florida.

Yeah, we're gonna have to do this via zoom No, we can't do a zoom. You'll have to bring me to Florida with you. Then.

How do we get the bands down here? Zoom Yeah, we can zoom them zoom them yeah, we did zoom before it's okay. Yeah quality is not you got to do it live You got to do it live. It's better.

Yeah, so who we got in the studio today. We got high infidelity They brought their fans with them too. All the stage five clingers, but it's all dudes I think at this point in time.

We can't even call you guys a band You guys are a part of musical history in the in the entire city of Chicago. Yeah, the state's really Wow, that's great. No you you absolutely are what what was the actual year that this whole thing started to you guys? For for me it started in 2001, okay I joined, but the band has already been around for about 11 years before that.

Oh, yeah, absolutely Yeah, it started out as a started out as a REO black crows tribute REO and black crows yeah Yeah, I would have never thought black crows, but yeah okay, so the guitar player at the time or that the I guess the the founding member decided that You love the bread black crows and not enough people were playing it so right come combine the two Chicago legends sorry or show area legends REO speedway and then and the black crows so You know it worked for a while Eventually we diversified mm-hmm. I got in the band and we started to do some more journey and Cheap trick in Boston and triumph yeah, yeah, and then And it is what it is today, so and you know it's been it's been a journey 25 years yeah Oh, yeah, four years So there's a phenomenon that's happening right now because I have kids that are both in their early 20s And they went through that whole musical phase where you know high school kids were all listening to that dubstep garbage And everything sounded exactly the same and then one day I think both of my kids woke up where I would hear them blasting stuff like Mott the Hoople and the police you know and triumph and bands like that out of their out of their bedroom number one it made Me feel okay. I did something right as a parent Right, but they're they're enjoying that music so much now That you guys are actually getting a younger crowd because my kids have gone out to see you guys And they brought a bunch of their friends out and they're you know my daughter's just 21 my son is 23 Yeah, and they know who you guys are now because they all know we're gonna go out We're gonna see high infidelity because they're playing the music that we know from guitar player Yeah, yeah, so awesome, so let's do this.

Let's back up a little bit let's back up just a little bit because For the benefit of of those people the early the early 20s to the early 30 year olds, right? Yeah, give them the history lesson of high infidelity Okay That's on you Dave Well we know he wasn't in the band I Was in a band called renegade, okay sticks tribute, but we were sticks Def Leppard and damn Yankees tribute Oh, okay You know was everybody was just trying to be a tribute band But so we did a couple of shows with high infidelity and who was what who was the original founder? Virgil nice, okay, and he um he founded it with Brad Hollens the bass player, right and And they they they took it Well they would they were with us until 2010 okay But before that they you know said they we played Southside shows like Connelly's remember Connelly's. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, we did PJ Flaherty's we did shows with them high infidelity at those show at those facilities Dancing noodles You were the renegades and you were doing shows with high yeah, okay, so they we would we would do coal headlining shows We did some at we did one at Sir Donald's in Downers Grove mm-hmm that was their home turf that area Downers Grove So it was it was years later.

I had left the Band business, and I got married and I I started that was in musical theater I'm a vocalist something so And I did that for you few years and Virgil would call me every year And say hey you want to get back in it we're looking for a singer every year he would call me I said no no no And then that one year I decided I missed it. I miss being in a band, and I he called me and I said Well, tell me give me to read two good reasons. Why I should said we don't rehearse.

I said oh, I'd like that okay And Then he said um he said and we make about 80 bucks a guy a show I said woo 80 bucks How many shows do you play three or four I said oh a couple hundred bucks a month all right? Yeah, I could come down and audition. Yeah So I went down there, and I I I'd practiced for weeks for two three weeks before that Because I hadn't I hadn't sung those songs in so long because I was doing They miss it was doing Godspell. I was doing other songs, and I got spell is my favorite.

It's great It's great music. I've played every character and yeah, yeah I've done it so many times great great musical. That's my favorite musical.

It's absolutely Stephen Schwartz is a genius yeah but I Saw I I practice I practice I pray I went down there, and I sang my ass off. Can I say yes? Yes, you can good. Please yeah, sing your ass the guys in Lounge puppet.

They said ass like every five seconds I was like So I I went down there I sang my ass off and I and they went outside and they said let's talk about it Came outside is a you know we'd like to have to come back down one another time No, you know do it to do it again like fuck the fuck. Yeah, I said fuck You already did yeah, you just can't say fucking ass oh This went south very fast Anyway, so it's so they made me come back a second time, and I was like Hell you know cuz I thought I did great And anyway, so they they came back. I think it came back a second time.

They said when can you start? I said great. I can start tomorrow. They said good next week Next week you know that Saturday was my first show with them and and then we we started to play different Different music different songs, then they then they'd been used to Did a lot of journey we still do a lot of journey we do REO Speedwagon we do, but Boston we do a lot of Boston not a lot of Boston Some some triumph some cheap trick foreigners big one, so we we got away from the REO black crows Model and we diversified then 2005 Bobby came with us we it's funny because we saw him at Bono's Bono's At a jam night at my jam night going yeah, and we saw those fingers He's not gonna play with us.

What were you doing before? What were you doing before that? I was touring with Dave Mason up until 2000-2003 no kidding okay his keyboard player a little over a decade and I heard him sing I heard Dave sing Dave McCalskis, and I was I was like absolutely I've joined this band Wow so I was I was kind of done touring and moving that moving that much and They had a great band that sounded real good You know quite a challenge you think the songs are simple, and you lay down to learn them, and there's quite a bit to learn Oh, yeah, no the keyboard parts. Yeah, but his vocal. I had him in the I had a recording studio, and I had Dave come in We started actually right away working on some songs and and No, no auto-tune.

I didn't need all those little tricks that they sell you at the Guitar Center And I'm like this is he'd hear the mistake before I would if he did make one he'd be like back that up Let's go again So I just I really thought that was great, and we we continued from there 20 years 20 years 20 years and where were you doing your jam night? You said you had a jam night started at the cabaret in Naperville, okay? And it was a like a pro jam, so I'd have Some kind of you know basically Chicago all-star You know great players come in and then people would come in and want to play a song with us or two and right? We'd give them five or ten minutes each. Yeah, and It was really when he says me. He means him and his brother drove was a great great vocalist as well, okay? Great awesome.

Just Camachi Talented family yeah, Italian family Italian see and then it moved to Yeah, it was in Lyle. Yeah in Lyle mm-hmm. That's where we met.

That's where we met right now We should go out and we sound me playing those playing the keyboards. It was like better. That's great We could use that guy That's that's that's where I know you from because I used to go there When my wife, and I first got married we lived right down Ogden Avenue in Lyle Oh, yeah, and I used to go there go to the bonos quite a bit.

Yeah Yeah, that's that's what I was trying to get at Because I was trying to figure out where where we actually met before and then I met Dave and we started working with hi-fi just Very cool from one day to another yeah, well from one great vocalist to another great vocalist I think that's been my secret in in the business is always surround myself with my dad had a rule Don't be on the stage with anybody less than you there either is good or better So I've made some exceptions That happens yeah, so when did you come along I came into the band I'm Danny Danny a bass player um I Came into the band and so three years three years ago almost exactly so um beginning of the year Yeah, 20 20 22 22. Yeah. Yeah, I came into then 2022, but I've been in a bunch of cover bands Original first original bands.

You know I was in seventh heaven all through the 94 to 2001 Wow okay, I was in 16 candles from 2008 to 2019 Something like that 2008 to 2019. Yeah, yeah, I was in candles for yeah about 11 years, okay, so I've opened for you before too I mean, I'm not a whore, but I'm a musician and that's pretty Sensuous Yeah, and then I came into this band through I was actually at a party For one of the roadies in 16 candles. I had already been out of the band I got invited to his party, and we're all up there and so one of the guitar player That's not here Dave uric which the whole world knows because everyone knows Dave you're Was there? Because him and the guitar player in 16 candles are best friends Okay, Dave insulin and Dave York so Dave you're gonna come up to me And he said hey our bass player just quit you have to come join the band, and I was kind of like I Was in the middle of a bunch of things.

I had just bought a bar and a restaurant I was buying another restaurant, and I was like I don't know you know, but then by the end of the party I was like yeah, yeah, let's just do it My wife was staring me down, so you won't bars and restaurants. I do okay the podcast is looking for sponsors What are they what are the bars and restaurants, so I live way up north, so I'm almost in Wisconsin, okay? I'm in McHenry County, okay? My parents live up that way oh they do okay, so I own a DC Cubs He was keeping it a secret, but he's wearing the fucking That's one and then there's a I own a brunch place in Crystal Lake called Benedict's La Strada, okay? It's it's brunch. I own a coffee shop.

That's across the street from that called taste of Benedict's It's kind of a sister store to the Benedict's La Strada. I just opened a gym It's that's a franchise called hot works because after you eat at all those places you got to go burn it all Yeah, so that's an organic one Commons. You work out inside of an infrared sauna.

Yeah, my parents live right over there Oh, they do yeah, they live right over in that area. I bet you they've been to one of those places Yeah, I'll guarantee not the gym I'm just looking at all these sponsorships For stores Sponsors So when do you have time to play with high-five? I always make time for music. Yeah, it doesn't matter.

Yeah, it's I usually Play my guitar pretty much every day. You know I try to and Then and once I played with these guys. It was really easy.

It was just like much like Bobby. It's like I've been fortunate to have good singers in my bands for years And I and that's probably just because I wouldn't join a band that didn't have a good what? What I would qualify as a good singer right? I mean that's subjective, but So I mean singers do Right the singers do make the band every weekend and go listen to a guy. That's you know that's Subpar you know that would be that would be really difficult, but you can say that about everybody Yeah, you know it's you know you can have a great band and a shitty drummer, and the band is gonna sound shitty.

Yeah Yes, yes, you know actually that's another huge key as the drummer. So yeah, we especially in a rock band Yeah, like you said before you don't buy like Bobby said don't don't be on the stage with anybody. There's less than you Yeah, and that's it's it's a great.

It's a great piece of advice because you know I don't feel like that I have been So I've been lucky I 24 years to be able to do this 24 years and have people still come out. I mean it's it's It's it's almost a you know it's a dream Blessing for sure blessing you know and you guys kind of hit the nail on the head I when we first started at this whole thing I said that you know this band is more like a part of the musical history in Chicago. Yeah, thank you.

You know You guys let's I mean let's face. You guys are a cover band, right? We're all right, right, but I think you're like the only cover band where people actually know your names I mean, that's the that's the weird. That's the weird thing.

You know it's like everybody knows Bobby's come on. Yeah Everybody knows that yeah, was that from the band or from the rap sheet You know cuz Scott Evans and I have talked about you before and we're just casually sitting as he and I co-host together We switch back and forth on Thursday nights in an open jam and occasionally He'll come to my night now go to his night We're just talking about music and he'll mention something about your name because he knows you and it's six or seven people come over I mean, so I mean I mean that that that gets you guys to a certain level You know you know all other popular cover bands are here But when people know the individual names of the people that are in the band. I mean, that's a whole that's a whole other Yeah What do you say you know hard question What do you say to the people that say man you everybody knows you guys are and you're so good What are you still doing here? Yeah, maybe not for you because you've toured with Dave Mason right you know he's going on tour But what do you say to people to say why aren't you recording your own music? Why aren't you you know doing other stuff? Why are you just playing festivals people do say that yeah, and when we are we have recorded our own music More That's just the way All the signs I Long time ago, I I was gonna move to LA right to write songs and be you know a singer I didn't go I went I went on I went on a trip on a reconnaissance trip, and I said Yeah I liked it enough, but I mean where I had to live where I would have to live to make it work I didn't want to live there right.

It's just you know so it wasn't so I didn't so I didn't go And I said I said to myself if I can be in a band and I could you know Play to people you know enough people Even if it's 100 people And you know make make a little bit of money doing it. That'd be great right of course. That's what I did Yeah, I decided that it was enough It's enough.

It's I would rather play for I would rather play to a thousand people for for a hundred people for Thousand people for for no money right then to a hundred people for a lot of money right I'd rather be People there for nothing mm-hmm. We do it for nothing if it didn't pay anything. I would still do it right mm-hmm.

You know but So so I like doing a podcast yeah There's a certain point where you have to sit a lot of the bands didn't write their own songs Right right and just the same when I was touring if I played with Dave Mason, or I sat him with Spencer Davis or somebody else It's still a cover band. Yeah I kind of laugh when people are like oh, why don't you try your own thing, and it's like well You know I continually do mm-hmm Have it be whatever we do write songs for the band and we do that really for ourselves Yeah, it's not like we think we have future and no we're not gonna Publish them and then expect to you know get royalties and real money, but you know it's just it's it's a good good for the soul Absolutely And then you still have this cool crowd you go out most of us, you know on occasion bring our girls We stop you know we get early and have a dinner or get our gear set up and do the sound check So it's kind of an outing mm-hmm. Yeah, and and they pay us Yeah, right right, and I didn't ask that you know from up from a negative standpoint No, no, no, I was very I was very interested in hearing the answer from seasoned musicians Yeah, I mean, I think it's I think the answer is we doesn't really matter who you know people come out We're happy right right and we love this music that we play.

Yeah, each song. I'm sure there's a few that They know there's a couple on the set But you know what for the most part you know we like the music, and I think that's important even if you're a cover band To enjoy the music that you're playing yep, whatever it is Somewhat genuine yeah Yes, and there is some real surreal passion behind it so what was the first burger in America? What was the who invented the first burger do we know first burger? Yeah, they're like before McDonald's Around a long time what I'm getting at is okay say it's White Castle 1936 or whatever that right heck it was yeah, then is everybody after that a cover burger, right? Exactly I don't know, but that's gonna be the name of my next Perspective yeah, absolutely and you know I asked that I asked that question because When when when I asked that same question of a bunch of 20 year olds that are just starting out And they're in a cover band, and they've got these dreams and stars in their eyes about okay I'm gonna write my own music And I'm gonna become the next big thing and all but and it doesn't quite work out well for them You know in that regard and then you then you meet them a you know ten years down the road and their answer is so Different it's just like you know I'm just so happy to be doing this right There are you know the the amount of musicians that you've heard of before the famous musician That's less than 1% of the people that actually make a living or make their money Absolutely as a professional musician and and people don't under people don't understand that yeah, I'm not being sustainable At that at a certain I want to do this my whole life not for three years, and you know and then right It's very rare, and then be a has-been yeah Or the one hit wonder or whatever it is and you get that natural progression right that like you know I was in original bands playing the Metro and playing the double door and playing all those places For years and somewhere in there. You just go okay.

This isn't gonna pay any bills for me, right? So there's there's a part of that that makes you pull back right and go Try some cover bands. I think the thing for me because I started out in a band called City Limits And we did half original half cover. Yeah for me that the the Rejection was the was the one thing that made me stop doing it You know that the lack of reaction to the songs that you wrote right? Oh Yeah, people don't know him and it started You know it's hard to get people to get to know them If you don't play enough, or if you don't if they don't hear it enough So you know giving them a CD or a set at the time no CDs That's how old it is You know it just it wasn't but wasn't practical so when you hear when you play a song and you think is good Even at the time and nobody reacts to it.

You just it gets you know you get dejected They're not there for the original We just we just had that conversation, and he came up with a very good point. Thank you. Thank you He came up with a very good point that sometimes.

It's not your fault or your music sometimes It's the person that's listening because it actually takes effort to hear a song. You've never heard. Yeah, that's right Yeah, you can't just sit back and relax and talk to you know your friend No table and hear this this popular famous song in the background right you actually have to pay attention To what's being said what I said was that the audience is lazy.

Yeah They just want to hear what they know they don't want to hear your new stuff, and then oh now I got an analysis do I like this To national bands to like Iron Maiden came back, and they did like their new album and people were pissed off Yeah, like I didn't play any of their fucking songs My buddy went to see Pearl Jam with his kid And he wanted him to play these songs, and I'm like why would they play those songs those are those like off-the-cuff because Well, but they played all their popular songs, but they did it on a Saturday. I went on a Thursday. I'm like They paid something you knew yeah, yeah, well, yeah, but just not the one that I wanted heck Oh, you can see a lackluster reaction.

Just playing a song a cover song. That's not popular. Yeah, right Playing your own original We've done that and all the bands I've been in have done that where you're like you're playing something Okay I would love to see ZZ top go on tour and not play LaGrange Nuts you know they've also played that song about three million Yeah, or Richie Pinkfield not playing Jessie's girl would be awesome, right? But got when when was the last time ZZ top put an album out I don't know, but they played they played in Indianapolis when we played we played a show in um was a group Noblesville Indianapolis, and we went to the hotel after the words you know because we spent the night and It was a ZZ top concert.

There was a ZZ top convention at the hotel About a hundred thousand people walking around with fake beards I Saw their very first concert without Dusty oh, okay, he got sick, and they were in New Lenox here. Oh wow and they played on Saturday night Is it that that's a theater? Yeah, and they played was the first time they played without that Wow so because the guy walked on like That's that's not dusty. You didn't have a beard did he I think he had a fake He wears a costume.

I saw them as like all white comes with a job I saw them at Ravinia in July or August or whatever and I was actually staying on the and up in the North Burbs where my Company was my day job, and I was at the same hotel with Billy Gimmons And I got in very late right after the concert. We went out had a couple of pops He was already back at his hotel. I walk in there's Billy Gimmons wearing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt I had on and no sunglasses.

Oh, man He was getting ready for bed. Just like getting a shave kit or something like that from the front desk Oh wow Yeah, I can't let the five o'clock shadow Doing his legs you got to get the lines and then you get the toothpaste thing and all that So you know what they got their instruments here Yes, you know I had a quick question for you You mentioned that there's the song and the setlist that you play and you're like oh god We got to do this because the crowds gonna love it What is that song for you guys because most bands? They're gonna say something like brown-eyed girl or something like that, but you guys don't do that kind of stuff No, but there's there's a few actually Don't stop believing yeah, don't stop believing Time for me to fly yeah, I could see that yeah I Don't mind playing a million times to there's there's some songs. I would like magic powers.

Yeah, like oh god Yeah, just kills it vocally. Yeah, and it's like it's a great song. That's a great song Yeah, and there's other tunes that we're now playing that I didn't think would be fun to play until you start playing now Yeah, playing the dream police police.

Oh god. Yeah, yeah Hearts yeah, oh, it's a great really on your toes Yeah, different sounds going on everybody's doing that song now because it was one of the big cuts on guitar hero Believe me when guitar hero was a big was a big thing. I would hear that coming out of my son's bedroom dream, please Yeah, oh, yeah, it's and it's like expert level to Great I think it's time to Hear something from that's right.

Why don't we take a little break and take a break and get everything right back? Yeah, you're listening to the rock and roll Chicago podcast. Hey everybody It's Ray the roadie and this is Hollywood Mike of the rock and roll Chicago podcast if you've been joining our weekly program We have great news for you. Just tune in to road to rock radio on Mondays at 7 p.m Central time and you can hear a rebroadcast of one of our past episodes then again on Thursdays at 7 p.m You can hear our most current episode brought to you by the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum on Route 66 So go to road to rock org scroll down and click on radio station That'll bring you to the road to rock radio a station committed entirely to the great music from, Illinois From Chicago blues born on Maxwell Street to today's rock and roll and everything in between 24-7 all music with its roots in, Illinois It is my honor and privilege to introduce high infidelity for the first time tonight Heard it from a friend Heard it from a friend Heard it from another you've been messing around So you got a boyfriend You're out late every weekend Talking about you and it's bringing me down When the story is good and the tales grow taller on down the line But I'm telling you Again the dudes love it Thanks dudes So have you guys I mean Kevin Cronin is actually at this place all the time Seems like every other week Ron's posting a picture with him Have you guys ever met him and is it because he knows who you guys are? Yeah, I mean, he knows the buzz.

I'm pretty sure he has to I don't know. No, I naturally Found it after your band, right? Yeah, he is extremely sure present in the Chicago Museum realities their best-selling album ever Yeah, right. Yeah, right Absolutely, have you guys ever met him if you ever had a chance to say hey man, no, yeah, I'm in high infidelity No, I actually I sort of met him I Jim Peter had the world stage show with Kevin Cronin and it was like to 1995 and I was not in the band Yet, obviously, but I went there I got backstage because my mom Knew the drummer Mike Borch from the eyes of March.

She knew yeah his wife. She worked with his wife okay, so I got backstage to meet Jim and And Kevin was standing right there he was talking with somebody and I just just kind of said hi, you know, that was it I just but I wasn't in the band yet. So I didn't But no not since his sister came out to one of our shows But not not in high infidelity.

It was in another band. We did time for me to fly and she said that it was she was Very complimentary But no never met Kevin Yeah, I wouldn't expect you to see him just like hanging out at a show or no Yeah, but but you know, it's like I've learned over the years that most people, you know The the real bands know of really good versions of themselves, I guess Yeah, the members of Pink Floyd have all given you know their consent to this Australian Pink Floyd that goes on tour in the whole But yeah to pump it. No, I believe no, I believe no, they're actually called something like Australian Yeah, yeah the whole light show and everything yeah the whole thing Yeah, if you if you walked in and sat in the very last row and couldn't see faces you think it was Pink Floyd I mean, it's that right.

It's yeah, it's that good I forget who I seen REO with but it was at the public Greek. Okay long time ago I really dating yourself. Gary was Gary was still on the guitar.

Oh, wow, and it was Really profound like I really hit a chord with me That's So I was 14 when in high infidelity came out the album and I was I was a fan of it I liked it and I so my cousin my cousin was gonna go go with his older brother my other older cousin He was who was 19. He was gonna take us to the to the amphitheater to see REO Speedwagon At the amphitheater my cousin my cousin who's the same age as me We're gonna sit together and he was gonna sit my other cousin was gonna sit with his girlfriend Well the ticket Was given to my mother my mother's purse got stolen. I didn't get to go Yeah, so my cousin my cousin sat there with the one seat empty the whole night Which is my sick mates my ticket and I never got to see them Oh, so man, but it was just it's weird that you know the high infidelity tour Stole the purse and didn't use the ticket.

Yes, right. What a waste one of the money Yeah sold it and somebody would have showed up maybe yeah, but then you tackle that right Yeah, then they get in trouble, right? They you know, that's not your seats But right my family my family moved here like like in 1979 or 1980 and one of the first people that I met was a guy named Jim Lynn. God rest his soul He's no no longer with us, but he was about Five or six years older than me at the time he was like a freshman or freshman in high school or something like that and he went to see REO Speedwagon and He introduced me to their music, okay, cuz he was a guitar player Yeah, no, he was in he was just beating away on a guitar and I think at that particular time They were on tour then the album was was nine lives.

Okay, and he blues bass at that point Yes, and he and he brought me he bought a t-shirt for me from their concert. Oh, wow I never got to see I've never seen REO Speedwagon live in concert really, but then one day I lost that t-shirt I don't know why right and I'm guessing it goes back about 10 years now or so about 10 years now My parents moved to the house that they currently live in in Crystal Lake Mm-hmm, and my mother was cleaning out the crawlspace and she found my old Star Wars action figures Wow, and the t-shirt was in that So I still I mean it would fit one arm But the fact that I still have it and it's on a coat hanger hanging in my closet, you know one day I'll get a grandkid or something. I'm embarrassed to say how many times I have seen them.

Have you really well Wow interesting No, you know I was gonna say that I did see them at once at the the World Theater and Tinley Park they would play with sticks actually, okay So that was it was the only time I got to see them live, but that was years after way way long I was a 2000 maybe 1999 something like that. So yeah, but that was the only time I'd seen them Yeah, what was the band that started it? Well, you know, everybody usually has that one thing You know, I saw this band in concert and I said that's what I want to do. Hmm Deep purple.

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Well as a keyboard player Yeah, it was probably for me.

It was the first concert. I went to the Eagles Eagles at Alpine Valley Well on the long run tour. No kid.

Yeah with Christopher Cross. Yeah I was like 11 and my dad took me and I was like This is the best thing I've ever seen in my life. I never got to see the Eagles.

Yeah Yeah, yeah, it was amazing Yeah, I Wasn't it wasn't a concert for me. It was um, I think it was AM radio WLS Because I would I would go every week I would go by Mary Lou Jack new 45 My mom would give me a couple dollars. I would she would let me go into the store into cruising music actually Here's a music anybody Which one is the one on Archer Archer, California, yeah, I used to go to 179th and play.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, but yeah It's just um, she would give me four or five dollars and I go by three 45s I go home and play the hell out of them and then I would sing to him and I I just I Been singing since I could speak really And for whatever reason I just um, I wanted that's what I wanted to do yeah, and it wasn't until I was 15 where I found a friend of mine who was Head of had two friends that were in a band.

They had they were a bass player and a guitar player and He said um, I said I really like to be in a band to him and I just I just met him He said well, I got two two buddies who have we're looking for a singer. I said, oh So I went over had the drummer come over some kid from the neighborhood we strung a microphone over the Rafters in his garage And they played out of a box Stack four four four tens I think the guitar player and the bass player out of there and the vocal all in the same because it was like a multi-channel head and We and we played she's we played too hot to handle Paranoid of course. Yeah.

Yeah rock and roll the wrong way. Yeah the wrong way And then Foxy lady. Yeah purple haze.

That was it. We just played him over and over again. Was there a favorite in there? For you.

No, I didn't like any of them. Oh, no, no, but that's what they wanted to play and I said, okay but show me how to play it because I would play guitar at that point and It was fun, I mean, you know, we actually had a show like not too long after that a block party And we made $22 in a joint Yeah, yeah $22 in a joint joint, that's great As a keyboard player, you know It was really strange for me because I saw a friend of mine play the organ at a school recital And then I went home and it was a bit I think it was the same day because I was selling I don't remember my father's playing they're listening to Ray Charles But he wasn't playing a piano. He was playing a sound that I mean, you know I love whatever the sound was and I later it was um What I say, right? So he's playing like an electric piano under roads under roads Yeah, so so I said my parents I said I want to I want to I'm gonna whatever that is I want to learn how to play that Well, my parents didn't know what the heck it was but the very next day there was a Wurlitzer organ in our day Wow and The and the only formal music lessons I've ever taken were organ lessons I played the organ took organ lessons for five years.

My mother wanted me to play in church and It didn't it didn't take I I became more of a guitar player and stuff than I am now But I still have that Wurlitzer. Give yourself credit. I still have it.

Wow, that's great I have a 1969 Wurlitzer spinet organ in my basement They used to come out one that is the one that I learned on they used to come around to all the schools and sell Those things those Wurlitzers. Well, this was a student. This wasn't right.

No, it's two-tier this Yeah, this was this wasn't the student. I've got the two-tier. Yeah Wurlitzer It's got the it's got the cloth covered speaker built in and the pedals.

It's got the it's got the pedals It's got the vibrato and the wah pedal and the whole bit. I mean, it's I mean Side of the foot pedal. You got the vibrato, right? Yeah We had that one So I you know, it's got a you know, it's a little bit of repairing, you know Some of the some of the contacts are a little dirty and stuff and I keep saying yeah, which is yeah No, no the keys, you know, sometimes I'll hit the key and it works and sometimes it won't the contact Yeah, yeah, but I keep telling Doc who's the keyboard and Cadillac groove I'm gonna get all that stuff fixed and cleaned out because it's not heavy I mean I can know the whole thing up off the ground with the speaker and everything Yeah, it's not heavy.

It's just awkward. I said all I need is get somebody out of there We'll put it in a truck and you're gonna play this thing during the Cadillac groove show I swear to God II if he plays at one time, he's gonna want it My sisters took organ lessons from the same thing the teacher would come to the house They would go through the book and I would just kind of sit there look back and I'm like, I'm not taking lessons I just watch them take lessons and I went through the book myself and I learned how to play or piano or organ that way Just that's you know, just by just by watching them take their lessons Which is you know, but I know that because you got the different sounds on it. Yeah, you got any two-tier? Yeah, I would say it's the same same sounds in the whole Yeah, I thought we were about it.

I had reverb on it. Have your broader one It's uh, I remember the head those cheesy rhythms on it. You can put a bossa nova With your foot yeah, yeah, I think we should go to your house now Yeah My mouth is watering So I did I played world sir But just the single unit that used for rock and roll one one one plane, right? Yeah, but Dave and I were talking one time cuz he grew up on the south side My dad had a nightclub on 63rd and Cicero.

Yeah, and behind the stage was always a Hammond b3 Oh, yeah, and or the spinet piano remember this place, right? Right, and then there was a Fender Rhodes who came up suitcase model. So no matter what band was in there They weren't using all three so I'd be behind the stage literally playing with every possible band that came through their National and then you know local bands and just the organ was I blew me away just the drawbars the man Yeah, I felt like sort of like the king The world is nothing like a b3. I mean, it's it's not drawbars or anything.

So it's literally buttons oh, yeah a whole bit, but I mean just I Was very instrumental in Me learning how to play the guitar because it literally was okay Your left foot's doing something different from your right foot in your right hand is doing something different from your left hand And you I mean you're literally I'll have to I'll have to send you a picture or something. Yeah, if you want to come over and mess around it. Absolutely.

Yeah So you guys feel like doing another one for us Sure, yeah I don't know what I'm out. We'll figure something out. Yeah.

All right. We'll be right back. All right Okay, you're listening to the rock and roll Chicago podcast And we got high infidelity with more than a feeling Oh So many people Their faces fade as the years go by Yet, I still recall As I wander on You were looking for the female crowd noise The radio edit there used to be female crowd noise on here, but we couldn't I don't know where it went That's that's that's my vocal effects So you guys never did that before Well, you know, it's all about having redundancy in the band, right Right, right.

Oh There you go, yeah, no one nobody could hear me. I'm just talking to myself So I feel like this is tell your mic I feel like this is kind of weird to ask you guys this but so how can people find you? Bobby's in way out West in West Oh Danny's in McHenry. I'm in Wheaton.

Okay, Dave. York is in displays and Jeff Kissel's our new drummer. He's in West Aurora.

Okay, so Facebook high infidelity hi infidelity. Yep Facebook we have a website high infidelity calm. We're on Twitter or X Can find us there and Instagram excellent.

Excellent. And you guys must have a million shows coming up, huh? We've got a few coming up was it's gonna be posted to February 4th some may believe it's February 4th Yeah, okay. So then after that we've got Boy, he's got a number.

Oh, we've got a 14th at the even flow gene with Geneva Yeah, it's Valentine's Day and the day after that. Is that 28 28 mile in Highwood? And then 22nd at the Gary Gary, Indiana the Hardrock casino. Oh, yeah.

Okay, which is a great venue and oh, yeah 28th of February explains always it's a plane theater. This plane's theater. Okay.

Yep Oh, I'll have another band playing with us. I mean, we're not sure who that is yet cool, and I guess what we could do is just maybe let the guys know if any of the fans from the Podcast want to come to the show that we can yeah. Yeah, we'll take care of it.

We'll take care of them They're excellent You know man and get a few you know Pick about five people right first five people that I mentioned it so we can come to a show and for free. Oh cool Yeah, excellent. Yeah, and then we'll talk to them about sponsorships for the radio.

Yeah, right, right Yeah, make an announcement about business owners. I'll come to the stage Restaurants brunch places Yeah, for sure Well, all right guys awesome, well, thanks for coming out this is a lot of fun Keep on rockin appreciate it. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you everybody Well there you have it what a long-running band high infidelity high infidelity. How are you? I didn't know what the I didn't know what to say when when they first walked in because they literally are almost kind of like Royalty yeah, yeah at first.

I thought that they were like a bunch of cheaters that were like into high infidelity No, no, you know we don't we don't just cheat man man. No no no we go to our high We do it we go to the limit when we are cheating damn it. We are at you ain't gonna cheat better than us so well, I Tried to call them royalty.

I guess we've reduced them down to a bunch of You can ask anybody you know high infidelity they know I am they absolutely do they do these guys around on time still rocking Honor having them in the studio as it was Yeah, I've tried for a while to get them in and we finally got them. We got them in Wow yeah I got the right lure suckers Now yeah forever you're gonna be on this podcast yes, so already as always Thank you for listening, and don't forget to go to our website to rock and roll Chicago podcast calm Look up in the upper right hand corner and click on that support button and support your favorite podcast See you next week The rock and roll Chicago podcast is edited by Paul Martin theme song courtesy of M&R Rush the rock and roll Chicago podcast does not own the rights to any of the music heard on the show the music is used to promote the guests that are featured