How'd you get started in music?
My first creative outlet was visual art. From a very young age I was completely absorbed by the world of
It did not take long after my proper exposure to rock n roll until I HAD to have an electric guitar. I could not sit through lessons so I taught myself with the help of whatever pointers I could glom from the older kids in school that could actually play real songs and had their own amplifiers and everything! Interesting thing is that, through comic books I had met the three Del Favero brothers- the youngest was in my class- and we all were bit by the same bug and made the transition from comics to rock n roll together. None of us could really play so we were a band before there was any music! The middle brother, Tom, was the one that stuck with it after college and the two of us had recruited a new 2nd guitar and a bass player to play hundreds of shows throughout NY, NJ, PA, and all up and down the East Coast for years. Tom and I also formed the nucleus of Sons Of Morning and save for some harmony work and bass on Didn't See The Man (which duties were performed by Randy Velez, our bass player and back up vocalist with us for many years), and keys on Hard Living' (by Howard Gorr, who interestingly enough was oe of those older fellows that were so patient with me in high school), the two of us played every instrument on the album and soon-to-be-released Not For Sale EP. That's one of the reasons why the album took three years of hard work to bring across the finish line! The other reason is that we did everything else too, including photography, cover art, etc. All but the final mastering!
Aside from the Beatles and early Stones, there are many influences that went into the sound of SOM. When we became interested in a band, we never set out to sound like them, but soaked up what they were doing, and just as important, we would check out their influences. So from the Stones we were turned onto Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Little Walter,
Make music-or noise- and be persistent. Your energy, enthusiasm, and talent will push you along and things will happen. If you don't push yourself and reach out to others, no one is even going to know that you want to make music. This is even more important now than it ever has been. Too many kids that would have years ago would have formed a garage band are isolating themselves and letting the world of the internet supplant the real world. The other thing is to not get hung up on anything when writing. Don't spend time worrying whether or not something sounds too much like another song. You shouldn't be TRYING to sound likeother bands, but there are only so many chord progressions and clever phrases. just write from the heart and you'll find that you're gonna sound like yourself. Other folks might hear influences, but thats a lot different from sounding like a rip-off!
Any new gigs or albums in the future?
Personally, I am always coming up with cool little licks and bits of lyrics that I like and I try to save them all. Some I'll come back to when the inspiration is happening and some are better off forgotten! This said, when there's enough new stuff happening there will be new Sons Of Morning released. As of now, the debut album has been out for a while and I've been pleasantly surprised with its staying power and the airplay we've received all over the world. The release of of our first official cover (Baby Whats Wrong?) on Detour Records' Glory Boy Mod Radio Show Compilation, our independent release of I Just Don't Understand, and most recently Cold and Blue/Evangeline as part of the Big Stir digital single series has kept things fresh while new material is explored.
Just follow Sons Of Morning on FB, and hit us up on Twitter for updates. In the meantime, sonsofmorning.com is full of cool SOM stuff and even has an Indie Scene page, where we pay homage to the cool folks that work their tails off keeping the Indie Scene
comic books. Remember, and I am going to expose my age here, folks, this was time when there was no internet, no cell phones, and TV consisted of what could be pulled in by an aerial antenna on the top of our house. When I was 7 years old we moved from Long Island to upstate NY. Our house was situated between two mountains, which was not exactly ideal for reception! This meant three, sometimes four stations, and in the summer, when the leaves covered the trees, we were lucky to have two watchable stations. This left the
door wide open for SOME KIND of entertainment to take root! I still had all of my brain cells at the time and
was a 'good reader' as they would say. So, a comic book was not a chore to read. It was like watching a video
and all encompassing. Aside from a few DC war titles like the Haunted Tank and Sgt. Rock, the classic
Marvel titles were my mainstay.
That meant the original Iron Man, Captain America, the REAL X-Men- all deserved classics by the masters of this art form- Kirby, Lee, Ditko, etc. I was always creative so it was only natural for me to make my own comics. This, very early on, put me in the mindset of someone that would set out to create something from beginning to end for others to enjoy- hopefully...….On the 10th anniversary of the Beatles arriving in the States there were a few special segments on some of the TV shows of the time. Not sure if I was home from school, or if it was the weekend or what, but I did catch one of these segments- could have been on the Mike Douglas Show- and I was instantly captivated. Up to that point my musical background had been restricted to what I heard in the car when my parents had the AM on, what I caught at breakfast- usually in the winter when the local station was tuned in to catch a possible school delay due to snow, or the occasional snippet on TV. I was too young to stay up and watch Don Kirschner's Rock Concert, so this was VERY limited. So on this day they spoke to some folks- mostly women- that had seen the Beatles when they came to our shores. This would have been those lucky enough to get concert tickets, or maybe part of the huge TV audience that caught them on the Ed Sullivan Show, or maybe even people who had been present at one of their unprecedented airport arrivals. The insistent undertone of all of these happenings was created by thousands of very young, mostly female audiences screaming. It created a sound like I had never heard before and the excitement was infectious- even so many years later
Who are your inspirations or influences?
That meant the original Iron Man, Captain America, the REAL X-Men- all deserved classics by the masters of this art form- Kirby, Lee, Ditko, etc. I was always creative so it was only natural for me to make my own comics. This, very early on, put me in the mindset of someone that would set out to create something from beginning to end for others to enjoy- hopefully...….On the 10th anniversary of the Beatles arriving in the States there were a few special segments on some of the TV shows of the time. Not sure if I was home from school, or if it was the weekend or what, but I did catch one of these segments- could have been on the Mike Douglas Show- and I was instantly captivated. Up to that point my musical background had been restricted to what I heard in the car when my parents had the AM on, what I caught at breakfast- usually in the winter when the local station was tuned in to catch a possible school delay due to snow, or the occasional snippet on TV. I was too young to stay up and watch Don Kirschner's Rock Concert, so this was VERY limited. So on this day they spoke to some folks- mostly women- that had seen the Beatles when they came to our shores. This would have been those lucky enough to get concert tickets, or maybe part of the huge TV audience that caught them on the Ed Sullivan Show, or maybe even people who had been present at one of their unprecedented airport arrivals. The insistent undertone of all of these happenings was created by thousands of very young, mostly female audiences screaming. It created a sound like I had never heard before and the excitement was infectious- even so many years later
Who are your inspirations or influences?
So my first stirrings of the passion for music and the world of music was stoked by the very early Beatles. Dollars were dear so I did not exactly run out to Record World (an hour drive from our rural location) or the local dep't. store and stock up on albums. While I very slowly built up a small collection of vinyl I read everything I could about the Beatles. I must stress that my interest was in the EARLY Beatles. Eventually I got a hold of a copy of The Man Who Gave The Beatles Away' by Alan Williams, which has a very absorbing account of the pre-fame days, specifically their days in Hamburg. It was all there with two guitars, bass, and drums. Later on I 'discovered' the Rolling Stones and I was off and running. These guys were cool in a different way and although I still loved the Merseybeat sound, the London R&B scene was just too cool.
It did not take long after my proper exposure to rock n roll until I HAD to have an electric guitar. I could not sit through lessons so I taught myself with the help of whatever pointers I could glom from the older kids in school that could actually play real songs and had their own amplifiers and everything! Interesting thing is that, through comic books I had met the three Del Favero brothers- the youngest was in my class- and we all were bit by the same bug and made the transition from comics to rock n roll together. None of us could really play so we were a band before there was any music! The middle brother, Tom, was the one that stuck with it after college and the two of us had recruited a new 2nd guitar and a bass player to play hundreds of shows throughout NY, NJ, PA, and all up and down the East Coast for years. Tom and I also formed the nucleus of Sons Of Morning and save for some harmony work and bass on Didn't See The Man (which duties were performed by Randy Velez, our bass player and back up vocalist with us for many years), and keys on Hard Living' (by Howard Gorr, who interestingly enough was oe of those older fellows that were so patient with me in high school), the two of us played every instrument on the album and soon-to-be-released Not For Sale EP. That's one of the reasons why the album took three years of hard work to bring across the finish line! The other reason is that we did everything else too, including photography, cover art, etc. All but the final mastering!
Aside from the Beatles and early Stones, there are many influences that went into the sound of SOM. When we became interested in a band, we never set out to sound like them, but soaked up what they were doing, and just as important, we would check out their influences. So from the Stones we were turned onto Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Little Walter,
and so on. Of course, being into the two biggest bands of the 60's, we also would check out all the other bands that made up the scene of the time. Not living in a vacuum, we were of course aware of what was happening in the present time.The Sex Pistols were huge for us, as were the Damned, Buzzcocks, the Clash and many others in the UK punk scene. I would say the attitude of punk was more important than the actual sound, although that was soaked up too! When the UK scene was all over the media of the time, mentions of the punk forefathers turned us onto the NY Dolls, Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers, Iggy and the Stooges, the MC5 and so forth.
When you listen to the Sons Of Morning album, you will hear R&B, straight rock n roll, country, pop, and a bit of grunge (Judy Judy). Like the albums of the '60's, it is meant to be a full listening experience that captures you from beginning to end without getting 'old' after a few cuts. And although the pallet is varied, each song is definitively Sons Of Morning. In terms of offering advice to aspiring performers, my personal advice is simple but all important. The advice is DO SOMETHING.
What advice would you offer to aspiring performers?
Thinking about making music and performing is not going to accomplish anything if you don't have action. If you are just thinking and talking about it, waiting for everything to fall into place, forget it. If you are ever going to be on stage or in the studio, waiting until you have the perfect guitar (or drums, bass, whatever), or until you find the perfect partners in crime will only hinder you. If its in you, you will create because you HAVE TO. You'll get something done if you have to play a crappy $50 guitar or start recording songs, or even song ideas, on a handheld device- even a phone- just to get it out.
How do you set yourselves apart from other bands or singers?
When you listen to the Sons Of Morning album, you will hear R&B, straight rock n roll, country, pop, and a bit of grunge (Judy Judy). Like the albums of the '60's, it is meant to be a full listening experience that captures you from beginning to end without getting 'old' after a few cuts. And although the pallet is varied, each song is definitively Sons Of Morning. In terms of offering advice to aspiring performers, my personal advice is simple but all important. The advice is DO SOMETHING.
What advice would you offer to aspiring performers?
Thinking about making music and performing is not going to accomplish anything if you don't have action. If you are just thinking and talking about it, waiting for everything to fall into place, forget it. If you are ever going to be on stage or in the studio, waiting until you have the perfect guitar (or drums, bass, whatever), or until you find the perfect partners in crime will only hinder you. If its in you, you will create because you HAVE TO. You'll get something done if you have to play a crappy $50 guitar or start recording songs, or even song ideas, on a handheld device- even a phone- just to get it out.
Make music-or noise- and be persistent. Your energy, enthusiasm, and talent will push you along and things will happen. If you don't push yourself and reach out to others, no one is even going to know that you want to make music. This is even more important now than it ever has been. Too many kids that would have years ago would have formed a garage band are isolating themselves and letting the world of the internet supplant the real world. The other thing is to not get hung up on anything when writing. Don't spend time worrying whether or not something sounds too much like another song. You shouldn't be TRYING to sound likeother bands, but there are only so many chord progressions and clever phrases. just write from the heart and you'll find that you're gonna sound like yourself. Other folks might hear influences, but thats a lot different from sounding like a rip-off!
Any new gigs or albums in the future?
Personally, I am always coming up with cool little licks and bits of lyrics that I like and I try to save them all. Some I'll come back to when the inspiration is happening and some are better off forgotten! This said, when there's enough new stuff happening there will be new Sons Of Morning released. As of now, the debut album has been out for a while and I've been pleasantly surprised with its staying power and the airplay we've received all over the world. The release of of our first official cover (Baby Whats Wrong?) on Detour Records' Glory Boy Mod Radio Show Compilation, our independent release of I Just Don't Understand, and most recently Cold and Blue/Evangeline as part of the Big Stir digital single series has kept things fresh while new material is explored.
Just follow Sons Of Morning on FB, and hit us up on Twitter for updates. In the meantime, sonsofmorning.com is full of cool SOM stuff and even has an Indie Scene page, where we pay homage to the cool folks that work their tails off keeping the Indie Scene
alive and fun!
Special thanks to them for this interview & I wish them luck in their career so until then I'll catch you on the flipside! Stay awesome & rock n roll!
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