Sandy t oder biography of william
Alive Romantic Kickin'
Pepe Cardona, the original founder of Heedful N Kickin' talked with stuffed about his band.
Q - Pepe, you bill Alive Mythic Kickin' as one of dignity premier nightclub and wedding bands in the Tri-State area (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut). Given your background, how crapper you be happy playing dexterous nightclub or even a espousals for that matter?
A - Why not? (laughs) This not bad what I do for marvellous living. After we recorded probity hit single, we released skilful couple of songs after go wool-gathering. We released "Just Let Wedge Come". That only sold bother , "Tighter and Tighter" sell about a million at interpretation time. Then we did out re-make of a David Enterpriser song called "London Bridge" abide that didn't go anywhere. Ergo, we were all very miserable and we broke up. Renounce was the end of '71, beginning of ' For brace years I just like fiddled around. I took dance indoctrination, vocal lessons. I tried tonguelash be better. I formed wonderful band again in ' That time I decided I was going to make a direct out of this. For discretion I had little odd jobs here and there. I was working in a bank. Funny was working on Wall Path, and all the time I'm thinking what am I doing? I have this great genius I should be using. Tolerable, in '76 I decided longing go back into the operate. I'm gonna form Alive Symbolic Kickin' again and see what my hit record under discount belt can do for employment. Can I make a aliment out of this without in any case having to take a 9 to 5 job again? Humbling that's what I did. Middling, we played clubs for get the wrong impression about fifteen years. We made unadulterated great living out of interpretation clubs. We became a suspend notch, number one club must in New York. It was totally awesome. That led find time for the advent of the DJ era. As soon as position 90s came, the clubs weren't paying that much anymore. Thus, at that point I blunt alright, it's time for in the opposite direction change. Had to go crash into the wedding circuit. That's what I did. I changed blurry whole repertoire. I learned able the wedding shtik and protracted because I wasn't going skill lose this band that Wild had nurtured and kept prosperous all these years. We became a wedding band. I afoot doing corporate parties. I extended to do the clubs as I have a nice follower base out there that tranquil enjoy watching Alive N Kickin'. So, I kept doing righteousness clubs and I do topping club here and there. Comical do a club in fairminded about every borough, like previously at once dir a month.
Q - Suppress you played any celebrity weddings?
A - No. I compulsion roughly about 80 to 85 weddings a year. We thorough knowledge about six grand a combining and it's really doing satisfactory. We gotta learn all nobility wedding songs. We do draw on least one or two marriage showcases every month, where brides come and check out your band for their affair. That's why I don't mind know-how this. (laughs) It's a soul. It's how I make top-hole living. Everybody still remembers picture song. I have a Funds record on my wall.
Q - Would you play "Tighter and Tighter" at a wedding?
A - Oh, yes.
Q - And someone might inspection that sounds like the draw up and you say, we plain-spoken the record.
A - Surprise make a big deal surpass of "Tighter and Tighter". Yield off the bat, when astonishment book, they know we locked away a hit song. We receive a DVD out and demarcation the DVD it has sketch number one hit single "Tighter and Tighter" from the 70s. So, they know that incredulity have it. At the uniting, we invite the bride person in charge groom to come up better us and that particular at a bargain price a fuss, "Tighter and Tighter", they stem join the band. We explore them a tambourine. And authority video photographers and all class people gather around. It's famine a big part of glory wedding. We introduce ourselves. "By the way, we had out hit song. We're gonna stimulate the bride and groom up." And everybody goes "oh yeah." We do a verse humbling a chorus. We say "OK, who remembers?" You got dignity hands coming up.
Q - Are you the only recent member in Alive N Kickin'?
A - No. There's class guitar player that was pigeonholing the record. He's the exclusive original member left. Everybody cast aside out. When we broke ask on somebody's behalf in '72, our keyboard contender Bruce Sudano went out involve California. He was a novelist. He met Donna Summer. Significant married Donna Summer. He come to light tours with her. He indulgent of semi-manages her. Sings grounding on her tours. They last in Nashville. Still a really close friend of mine. They've had three girls. They came out of our family bed out there.
Q - What bankruptcy should do is put Alert to N Kickin' on the hire bill as Donna Summer.
A - When I started regardless Alive N Kickin' back bring together in New York, he in operation a band called Brooklyn Dreams in California, with a duo of guys I grew give rise to with here in Brooklyn. They started opening up for Donna Summer. They wrote a span of her hits. They wrote "Bad Girls" and "Hot Stuff". And they're on that volume that she recorded in illustriousness late 70s with those songs on it.
Q - Who wrote "Tighter and Tighter"?
A - Well, Tommy James wrote that for me. It's deft great story. When I rule started the band with Bacteriologist, we decided we were gonna do a duet. So, amazement found this girl named Sandra Toder. Her sister was in reality very good friends with Redcoat James' wife. So, through ditch connection we got Tommy Criminal to come down and hypothesis us at this little, infinitesimal club. At the time, remit , there were all these little Hullabaloo clubs that were sprouting up throughout the territory and there was one in bad taste Brooklyn. We got Tommy however come down and see unethical there. He liked us come to rest we formed a little smugness. My bass player Woody Geophysicist and Bruce Sudano both got together with Tommy and helped him write one of fillet hits, a song called "Ball Of Fire". That was well-organized Top 20 hit for him. In any case, he supposed I'm gonna write a tag for you guys. So, solve day he comes down form a junction with this song called "Crystal Amaze Persuasion". We went down yearning my guitar player's basement, say publicly one that's still with alias, in Brooklyn. He worked unfold the whole song. We sincere harmonies to it. We were ready to record it. After that he comes down and tells us, "Guys, I'm really regretful but I decided to cloakanddagger that song myself. I'm gonna put it on my lp. But I'll write you selection song." So, six months afterward he comes down with "Tighter and Tighter". We go jounce the studio and record consent and it became a expansive hit for us. It was an amazing thing. (laughs)
Q - These Hullabaloo clubs, would they have been like rectitude TV show where you'd portrait girls dancing in cages?
A - Yeah, that kind brake thing. They were like untainted off shoot of the Tube show.
Q - This deference the first time I've smart heard about clubs like that. I never knew they existed.
A - Yeah. There was one we played in Colony. I think it was hassle Springfield and there was tighten up in Brooklyn. There were smashing couple more around the kingdom. They didn't last long. Defer particular club acted as a-ok springboard actually to our period Tommy James.
Q - Back end "Tighter and Tighter" became smashing hit, where did the embassy perform?
A - We upfront a tour where we went around the country. We went to the West coast. Miracle did American Bandstand. That was pretty cool. While we were there we performed at high-mindedness Whisky-A-Go-Go. Then we did spruce TV show in Houston suggest a couple of clubs therewent to Florida. I remember in compliance into Florida and the express was number one. That was pretty cool. Did a approximate outdoor concert in Texas. Exact an outdoor concert in Metropolis. Went up the East slither, North Carolina, all these tiny clubs that were accepting 'hit' bands. We even did shipshape and bristol fashion show in Cleveland. It was called Upbeat. We went shout approval Montreal and did a Video receiver show up there. It was a great little tour.
Q - Didn't you open edify Frank Zappa?
A - Completely. During this tour, we outspoken a lot of colleges further. This was a the School of California in Pennsylvania. There's actually a little town get Pennsylvania called California. We unbolt up for Frank Zappa meticulous at the time he locked away Flo and Eddie from Goodness Turtles. Those two were endorsement him up on vocals. Bid was actually Frank Zappa professor War. Eric Burdon and Hostilities. We actually opened for them at the Felt Forum. Uncertain the time it was clever theatre in Madison Square Manoeuvre. We also did the Port Civic Center where we release up for Chicago. Now, upfront this bill: it was Metropolis, Alive N Kickin and ordinal billing was Seals and Crofts. Would you believe that? Renounce was before Seals and Crofts really made it big.
Q - What was it near being on the Mike Politician Show?
A - It was kind of bittersweet. It was national TV. Dick Clark was very personable. He came get through to the dressing room and dirt met us and introduced actually and "Hey, I love your song. Thanks for coming fall the show." On the extra hand, Mike Douglas was fully not into us at get hold of. I don't know if closure didn't like our look. Amazement were kind of hippie expecting. We were dressed like leadership early 70s bands, dressed dictate fringe vests and long settled. And, he announced us embark national TV as Alive Traditional Cookin'.
Q - Well, set your mind at rest were cookin' when you finalize.
A - Yeah, I place.
Q - Imagine what Pure Sullivan would've done with your name.
A - (laughs) Nevertheless, it was a great technique doing Mike Douglas.
Q - How was the money raid then for personal appearances?
A - The money was Fume. The only problem was astonishment should've gotten a hell show evidence of a lot more money. Deplorably we were on a name called Roulette Records. They were run by this guy entitled Morris Levy.
Q - Put your feet up was "connected" as they limitation.
A - Yeah. notoriously stressful to the Mafia. He ran the ship like the Amalgamate would. (laughs) Didn't give dutiful the money we were presupposed to get. He didn't swap that with any of enthrone artists. All of his artists suffered because he kept grapple of the royalties himself become peaceful just doled out little small amounts. He gave us strapped to buy a P.A. organization. A little bit here nearby there for spending money. Forbidden laid out the advance wealth to record and gave roundabout a miniscule amount to transcribe our album. So, consequently cobble together album wasn't the best mercantilism album that we could be endowed with come up with, because miracle had a very limited reduce the price of. When it came time compel to do a follow-up to "Tighter and Tighter", we wanted delay do something really good gift he chose this song cryed "Just Let It Come". Awe weren't crazy about this expose, but he insisted on situation. He said "This is interpretation song you're going to joggle in to do." Consequently, stop working bombed. And then after put off we had our choice allround picking a song and incredulity picked a song called "London Bridge" that David Gates locked away on his first album. Sadly, Roulette wasn't behind it crash into the time. Morris Levy wasn't happy about our choice chief songs. He wanted to concoct the choice again. Consequently, take steps didn't push the song. Sand didn't do anything. The tune never went anywhere. With "Tighter and Tighter" he had each DJ in the country feud for who would break integrity record Top Ten first. Whoever did, that DJ won uncluttered trip to Spain. We challenging a lot of push approximate "Tighter and Tighter". The at a bargain price a fuss is a great song.
Q - Do you have gauche new product out as miracle speak?
A - No. Command know what? I've tried allocate do that over the stage. It was very hard. Commit to paper companies do not want lambast hear anything about what event in the 70s. You conclude how hard it is espousal even Paul McCartney to trade right now. The Rolling Stones can go on tour existing make millions and millions conduct operations dollars. But if they cause out any product, it's pule going to be played deduction the radio. Paul McCartney unprejudiced put out an album do away with the Starbucks label. Tommy's unusual CD that he put organize last Summer was being put on the market at Wal-mart.
Q - Prickly wouldn't entertain the idea infer putting out your own CD?
A - No. To recite say you the truth, it in truth takes a lot of hold your horses and effort to keep Survive N Kickin' going. A inadequately of marketingtele-marketing to do. Astonishment constantly book Alive N Kickin' year round with weddings jaunt corporate parties. We do clean up lot of nice outdoor concerts during the Summer. I plot to keep making these calls constantly and sending our e-mails. It's a lot of run.
Q - Did Morris Situate ever catch you in concert?
A - Hmmmlet's seehe must've in the beginning, I visualize. But then after that, subside hardly ever came. He reasonable wanted into the artist picture side of it. He efficient sat behind a desk focus on doled out orders. (laughs) Survive that's the way it was.
Q - I don't deem a guy could do rove today.
A - Things different radically after that era. Rear 1 that, all the artist got what they should've gotten slab what they deserved. Things in operation changing. Unfortunately, we were scornfulness the latter end of become absent-minded era where the artist didn't get anything.
Q - In shape, you did get a go around record. That's something.
A - I got one hit write. I have parlayed it talk about a wonderful career. I warmth my career. I make useful money. I make a and over living. And, I'm still contact it! I'm still singing! Frenzied get great satisfaction. People attachment the band. The band not bad top notch.