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"Patience with others is Love"
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Welcome To My Home Page!!!
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Follow the Quick
Links to the left to get info about some of the bands I am
currently performing with, or to download or buy some of the
music I am featured on.
To see where and
with whom I will be performing in the next few weeks, you can
jump to the
Calendar page. If you want to learn more about me
and/or my music, jump to my
FAQ page. And to see some of
the other web sites that feature me, as well as some of my
favorite sites, jump to my
Links page.
New! Al-Vis is on MySpace:
www.MySpace.com/AlvisRocks.
If anyone
has any questions or comments about this site, please feel free
to
contact me.
9/30/2008 Not much going on Musically for
Al-Vis for a couple of weeks. My Neptune Senior High Class of
'76 Reunion is coming
up Oct 10 and 11 (and I'll be sure to report on THAT!!!). And
then The Boathouse in Belmar with Chik-A-Boom on Friday Oct 17
and The Garden Bar in Neptune w/ Mike and Al-Vis on Saturday Oct
18. Then a few private functions fill out the rest of the month,
including a wedding with Chik-A-Boom and a halloween party or
two with Mike and Al-Vis.
In the meantime, there's LOTS going on at my
MySpace site: New blog series
"What Dreams Are Made Of: Asbury Park's Stone Pony"
(also available
here in its entirety), LOTS of
exclusive, never-before seen pics, and all my new MySpace
friends!
You don't need to have an account to see the site, and once
you're there you'll find links to lots of other interesting
MySoace sites like Pete Seeger's, The Boathouse's, The Wonder
Bar's, Billy's Fault's and even Scott "The Beast From The
East" Bigelow's Tribute Site!
Just sure to type in AlvisRocks at the Search box (or click on
any of the links on this page) to get there.
And if you DO sign up don't forget to "Friend" me!!!
See you soon.
9/21/2008 Another GREAT weekend of music,
thanks to Cook's Traveling Open Mic Show, Cats On A Smooth
Surface and the Belmar Fishing Club!
I had been promising my old pal from my Quack Quack days,
Leonard "Cook" Smith, that I would pay him a visit for while
now- he has been doing a show call The Traveling Open Mic Show
for a few years now. Currently it is being held at the old Mike
And Al-Vis haunt, Brewster's at Bradley Lanes in Bradley Beach.
So I got there in time to watch Cook jam with blues
singer-guitarist Gary Cavico and a small backup group. Then
Dominick Riccio (brother of Cats On A Smoother Surface drummer
Paul Riccio, more about them later!) did a few of his originals,
followed by the up-and-coming Shanna Nolan, strong-voiced singer
who did a great version of "Over The Rainbow" as well as some
other fine originals.
Then I hung out for a while and had a great time jamming with
Cook and the gang. We did almost an hour set- felt so good to be
up there with such talented people!
After that Cook and I headed over to the Lake House to see Cats
and they were on fire!!! Drummer Paul was burning up his
drumheads with his energy, and lead singer Vinny Daniele's voice
NEVER sounded better than it did on "Maybe I Amazed"
I'll tell you what amazes me. These guys have been doing this
for over 30 years now, and they sound better than ever!!! Cats
On A Smooth Surface are one of (if not THE) longest-lived bands
around now, and their age only shows in the tightness of their
sound.
Vinny called me onstage to do "Sunshine Of Your Love", and I had
a blast soloing over Paul's "Ginger Baker" rolls and keyboard
player Peter Schule trading off lines with me.
Then Saturday night Mike and Al-Vis performed at the 100th
anniversary celebration of the Belmar Fishing Club. Both Chik-A-Boom
and Mike and Al-Vis have had a blast performing at the fishing
club for many years, and Mike and Al-Vis also did New Years Eve
there for a few years. Plenty of great food, drink and GREAT
service was matched by a spirited crowd who were dancing up a
nor'easter during
our Righteous Brothers and Everly Brothers medley!
If you haven't been to my
MySpace page yet then here are
two more reasons to check it out: 1) I just uploaded a whole
bunch of rarely seen Gotrock, Chik-A-Boom and Big Danny Pics
into my Deep History album and 2) I just started posting a new
blog series, What Dreams Are Made Of: Asbury Park's Stone Pony,
which is a decidedly subjective look at our local rock mecca.
And if you haven't made it out to see ME perform lately, see if
you can make to Sprengel's Garden Bar in Neptune this Saturday
September 27, for my ONLY scheduled public performance
with Mike and Al-Vis. But watch these pages for more Mike and
Al-Vis and Chik-A-Boom dates to come... and I'll see you at at
least some of them!
9/2/2008 To those who showed, sorry about
the double-booking at Sallee Tees on Saturday night! I have
started to hyperlink the venues on my schedule so that you can
confirm for yourselves before making the trek out to any of our
performances.
Other then THAT MISADVENTURE, it was another great weekend of
Music- thanks to Mark and Sue Regan for a great EOS bash in
Eatontown Sunday night! Sitting in with Chik-A-Boom was Asbury
area legendary drummer Danny Colangelo. Danny played in Lord
Gunner many years ago, along with JP Gotrock at the Stone Pony
on Tuesday nights, and has played in many other bands through
the years.
Friday night went down the Convention Hall in AP to see
Christine Martucci do a solo stint at O'Toole's and she was
awesome as usual, then over to the Wonder Bar to wish Billy
Hector a happy Birthday.
You can see me perform with John this Saturday night at the
Dockside in Sea Bright (duo) beginning about 6 PM. Then next
week we will be at the Boathouse in Belmar on Friday September
12.
And don't forget to check out my new
MySpace page at AlvisRocks. I
have posted some interesting blogs entries and other stuff- also
feel free to "friend" me. "Single women in the Eatontown area
want to meet"...me?!!!
8/25/2008 What a great weekend of music it
was! John and I just finished up a 3 week engagement at the Deal
Country Club this past Friday. The we ran over to 507 Main
in Belmar and ROCKED the rafters there with Chik-A-Boom. The
normally not-too-sedate Belmar crowd was even more wound up than
normal, jumping up and down to White Room, Laid, Beverly Hills
etc.
Sitting in with us was our old friend Kevin Kavanaugh, who not
only performed with us for many years in our early days, but is
also a veteran of the Asbury Jukes, having played on the
original versions of such classics as Little By Little and I
Don't Want To Go Home.
With drummer Joey Belia, that made the night a sort of "Chik-A-Jukes"
night, since half of the band plays with Southside.
Saturday the fun continued at a private party in Wall, where we
were the auctioned prize of a fundraiser for an addition to the
Allenwood School. Our hosts Nina and John made the night fun and
enjoyable, and we even got to do a little overtime until the
noise complaints shut us down, well after midnight, I should
add. And my old Neptune childhood buddy Chef Rick Piancone kept
the barbecue going long into the night.
If you would like to hire Chik-A-Boom or Mike and Al-Vis for
your private (or public) affair, see the contact info to the
right.
Sunday night was the weekend capper at the Columns in Avon where
Bobby Bandiera was backed by both Kevin and Joey Belia. Had a
great time seeing off the last regular weekend of the summer,
saying hi to my Mike and Al-Vis and Chik-A- Boom friends and
fans and rocking the night away.
I have just added some more pics from this year's Clearwater
Festival to my
Clearwater Page. Hope you enjoy!
And I want to thank Maryellen Healy for taping my remarks at
the start of this years festival, and posting them
here at YouTube. Since so many
Clearwater people were busy at that point trying to get the
festival underway I especially want to thank Maryellen for her
thoughtfulness in taping this set.
Mike and I will be performing at Sallee Tees in Monmouth Beach
this Saturday August 30, and the John and I will be doing Ross'
Dockside the following Saturday. Look for Chik-A-Boom later on
in the month at the Boathouse and 507 Main in Belmar, and both
bands are booked privately throughout the month.
And that's about it for now but I do want to mention that the
Christine Martucci Band will be performing at the Starland
Ballroom on September 20. Since I can't be there (doing a
private affair with Mike and Al-Vis) PLEASE try to make it to
see this band there or sometime soon, before the music biz
swallows them up and you won't be able to see them for under
200.00 a seat!
8/20/2008 Please see
my remarks at the start of this year's
33rd Annual Clearwater Festival at Asbury Park.
Thanks to ALL of the great people who participated in another
great year for us!!!
Thanks to the musicians- Mel and Vinnie and Mike Meade and
Christine and Mimi and J and Pat Guadagno and Glen and all the
rest. Thanks to the organizers- Joellen, Jeff, Cathy, Chrissie,
Tim, Jack, Barb, Ben, Ed. Thanks to Joan and Steve at the East
stage. Thanks to you, Lisa. Thanks to the media who gave us so
much coverage this year. And thanks mostly to the festival-goers
who continue to support us year after year, making this one of
the most worthwhile and longest-lasting musical endeavors of my
career.
I have posted a new picture on my
Clearwater page, and will have
more to post as they come in.
And summers not over yet! This Friday August 22 you can see me
with Chik-A-Boom at 507 Main in Belmar, then next Saturday I
will be at Sallee Tees in Monmouth Beach with Mike and Al-Vis.
8/10/2008
The
33rd Annual Clearwater Festival At Asbury Park,
August 16 and 17
After months of preparation the big weekend had finally arrived!
The
2008 Clearwater Festival is upon us!
As some of you know, my involvement with this great organization
goes back to the 1980's, and I have been proud to help with
running the entertainment, performing, etc for all these years.
I will be opening the festival at the East Stage by saying a few
words and singing a song or two in tribute to some of the people
I have worked with during my involvement. I will also be
performing with Chik-A-Boom on Sunday.
Our headliners this year are Glen Burtnik and The Sensational
Soul Cruisers. But don't just come for them, or for me! There
will be three stages of some of the greatest music you will ever
hear: The Christine Martucci Band, Mimi Cross, Mean Venus,
Quincy Mumford, my own JP Gotrock alumnus Vini Lopez with Steel
Mill, Pat Guadagno, Mel & Vinnie, Rik Palieri, the Hudson River
Sloop Singers Reunion, childrens acts, not to mention a
full slate at our ever-popular Circle Of Song. In addition,
activist Lois Marie Gibbs of the Love Canal debacle will be
giving a special keynote address.
We did raise our price this year, but even at 10.00 I think it
is great bargain, considering the enormous variety and quality
of the entertainment you will see. In fact, in my 20+ years with
Clearwater I can't remember a time when I was more excited about
the lineup we have assenbled!
I especially want to thank Lisa Roland, Mike Meade and Mel Healy
for all their work on the Entertainment Committee with me, and
also give thanks to festival director Chrissie Goedkoop, Ed
Dlugosz, Ben Forest, Jack Charlton, Joellen Lundy and all the
others on the Festival Committee.
Thanks also to all the local media for running articles, PSAs
and interviews about the event- thanks Ellen!!!!
Please come out an support this great musical event! You won't
be disappointed.
See
www.mcclearwater.org
for full details, and remember to visit my Clearwater page
especially after the festival for some new pics of this years
historic festival.
As a special tribute to my dear late friend Danny Gallagher,
with whom I performed at several festivals beginning exactly 20
years ago at the 1988 Clearwater Festival At Sandy Hook, I am
re-posting a
recording that was made 21 years ago in Brewster, NY.
The personnel on the recording are:
- Danny vocals
- Don Erdeman harmonica
- David Shearn piano
- Vini Lopez drums
- Al-Vis guitars
I have some other recordings I did with Danny that I will be
posting from time to time, so watch this site- and hope you
enjoy!
7/28/2008 Hope everyone can make it to the
Neptune City Day celebration on
Riverview Ave in Neptune City this Saturday! I will be giving
a special performance with "Timmy And the Tangorays" at 7 PM
just before the fireworks.
Timmy, of course, is Tim Cusack of JP Gotrock fame, and it will
be great to be performing with him once again! See my
pix
pages for some great shots of Timmy and
yours truly back in our "Hot Dog House" days. Tim's cuz Mike
tells me he will also be making a special appearance, so come on
out and enjoy the fireworks AND the music!
Later this month I will be performing (as well as volunteering
at) the
33rd Clearwater Festival at Asbury Park.
I will be starting off the festival on Saturday August 16 with a
brief tribute set in honor of my friend Helyn, who pass away
last year. I will also be performing with Chik-A-Boom at the
festival on Sunday August 17, at around 1:45 PM.
We have a lot of other great acts lined up - I am especially
excited about The Christine Martucci Band, Mimi Cross and Mean
Venus, as well as our headliners Glen Burtnik and The
Sensational Soul Cruisers. My friend Lisa has lined up local
sensation Quincy Mumford, Bob Burger, Almost There, Pat Guadagno and Chris Morrisy, and Mike Meade has a stellar lineup of folk acts down
from the Hudson River and elsewhere on the Circle Of Song and
East stages. For all the info just check out the
MCFC web site.
The festival runs from 11 AM to 7 PM Saturday August 16 and
Sunday August 17.
See you there!
7/4/2008 Happy Fourth, everyone!
Mike and Al-Vis and
Chik-A-Boom are having a blast
of a summer, with private parties, weddings and a limited number
of public performances.
Next weekend I will be at
507 Main with
Chik-A-Boom on Friday July 11,
and making a special appearance at a benefit for the family of
Randy Marks at the Spring Lake Manor on Sunday July 13 AT 4:30
pm. Randy passed away suddenly this past spring, leaving behind
a wife and six children. A number of local musicians will be
gathered to raise $ for his family, and there will be door
prizes and raffles, so please find time to support this great
cause. The Spring Lake Manor is located on Route 71 just a few
lights south of Belmar.
And don't forget the
Clearwater Festival coming up
in just a few short weeks, on August 16 and 17! We will be
making an announcement about the headliner for Saturday, but
have already lined up a stellar assortment of great acts, which
you can see posted on the
festival's web site.
6/10/2008 Sorry folks, unless you're a lucky attendee of one the
private functions Chik-A-Boom and Mike And Al-Vis will be
performing at, I am limited to just three public performances in
June: June 20 at the Lake House in Loch Arbour (right next to
Asbury Park on Main Street), June 21 at Sprengel's Sports Bar at
the corner of Wayside Road and Route 33 in Neptune, and the
Sunday June 29 at the one-year anniversary of the opening of
Casey's in Neptune City.
If you have anyone graduating, getting married or Bar Mitzvahed,
etc, please feel free to contact either Mike or John at the
email and phone numbers at the left. July should be just as
hectic so try to make it (early if possible, both bands have
been drawing SRO crowds!) to at least one of those venues, hope
to see you there!
5/27/2008 Was at the re-opening of the
Wonder Bar in Asbury
Park this past weekend- had a great time listening to
The Billy Hector Band, seeing famed bass player John
Luraschi out and about, and saying hi to Debbie and all
the regulars! Check this place out if you're in Asbury-
with new owners but the same Rockin' Asbury atmosphere
its sure to be a great place to hang this summer.
My lone public performance (sorry, gotta do those
graduation parties and weddings, Chloe's gotta eat!)
will be at
507 Main in Belmar this
Friday May 30 with
Chik-A-Boom starting
around 10:30.
Since the public performances will be a little scarce, I
figured I re-post some mp3s for those who might have
missed. There is a
Mike And Al-Vis demo which features yours
truly on Van Morrison's "Domino" among other clips, an
Andy
Hughes preview clip from his CD
Seven Long Years, and
once again I am posting the
first-ever Chik-A-Boom performance
from summer of 1990.
Hope you enjoy and I'll see you at 507 Main, or maybe
even a party or wedding if your one of the lucky
attendees!
5/18/2008 Had a GREAT time tonight at Sprengels Sports
Bar in Neptune. They held their annual golf outing and
Mike and I had a great time performing for everyone
afterwards. Congratulations to all who won prizes.
Mike And Al-Vis and
Chik-A-Boom are both
going to be performing at a lot of private functions
from now and throughout the summer. I am making one
public appearance in the next few weeks, with Chik-A-Boom
at 507 Main in Belmar on Friday May 30.
I was down in Asbury Park today
and saw that, just as the news reports say, they are
working feverishly to try to get some of the boardwalk
attractions up and running within the next few weeks.
Also, my friend Ellen from
The Coaster
tells me that the Wonder Bar is scheduled to be
re-opened next
weekend, with Lance and Debbie running it as they did
before but new owners.
Mike And Al-Vis and Chik-A-Boom
performed at the Wonder Bar quite regularly under the
previous owners (see pic at left) and had a great
time doing the Friday happy hour for many months. The
Wonder Bar holds a special place in the history of
Al-Vis, being my first regular gig back in 1973, so
watch the news and this site for any updates about this
great rock venue.
Have a great Memorial Day and I'll see you at the gigs
(or parties).
5/4/2008 The Wear Yellow bash scheduled for May 9 later
this week has been postponed, but will take place again
this year. Last year this event, which is a
Lance Armstrong Foundation
fundraiser, raised a lot of $ for this great cause and I
have to say that I am very proud to have performed there
over the years.
In other news, I can announce that the
Clearwater Festival at Asbury Park
(August 16 and 17) is well on its way to being fully
booked. I want to thank new Entertainment Committee
member Lisa as well as Mike Meade for putting us way
ahead of schedule from last year.
The full lineup will be announced shortly but I can tell
you that
Glen Burtnik will be
back this year, this time with his full band and
hopefully much drier. My latest heartthrob and current
red-hot Asbury area up and comers the
Christine Martucci Band
will be there, and there will be many familiar names
from festivals past, such as the Sloop Singers and
Mimi Cross. I plan on
doing a short acoustic set dedicated to Helyn and other
friends I have lost this past year, to open the festival
on Saturday August 16. This is all only about 3 months
away (time flies!) so you'll be hearing much more about
it in the weeks to come.
In the next few weeks leading up to and after July 4 I
will be performing at many private affairs- several
weddings, graduation parties etc. But there will still
be plenty of chances to see me with
Chik-A-Boom and
Mike And Al-Vis, and
keep your eyes on my
Calendar page for some
new venues.
Stay warm everyone - summer will be here in no time!!!!
4/20/2008 First of all, I want to offer my sympathy to
my dear friend Vini Lopez. Vini not only lost his dad a
few days ago, but as everyone knows, Danny Federici, who
was with Vini when Bruce Springsteen joined their band,
also passed away.
Vini, myself and the entire Shore musical community have
lost so many this past year or so: Bernie, Big Danny,
Helyn, Bobby Alfano, Bill Chinook, etc etc. Vini also
lost his Aunt Anne last year. A while back Vini's wife
Laurel also passed away, and even further back we both
were stung when David Shearn, our keyboard player in JP
Gotrock, passed away so young. For those of us who are
still "above ground" just keep reminding ourselves that
"everyday is a good day" as long as we still are here!
But as the Circle Turns, I am have just been informed of
the arrival of Mike Cusack's granddaughter into this
world, one Addison Rose! Born April 19. 2008 and 7 lbs
and 12 ounces. Congratulations to Candace and her hubby,
as well as "gramps" and "granny" Cusack (Mike and
Barbara)- I'm sure Mike will have plenty of cigars to
pass out when we perform at the Garden Bar next month!
Went to see Lez Zeppelin tonight in Asbury Park- be sure
to catch this fine tribute band if you're a fan. They
really had all the stuff down to the violin bowing and
echoplexes on "Dazed And Confused"! Was also blown
totally away by the Christine Martucci Band. One of the
greatest blues-rock vocalists you will EVER hear, and
her band is killer too.
My friends Maire and Amy of
Virago opened the show
and if you haven't seen these guys yet, please do! Catch
them while they are still local, before some record
company snatches them away and you'll need binoculars.
By the way, last week I had the honor of performing with
Chik-A-Boom at the
Barry's Ford grand
opening, warming up for La Bamba from the Conan O'Brien
Show. La Bamba AKA Rich Rosenberg actually say in with
us (great keys on "Thunder Road"!) before doing a
two-hour set with his own band, which featured Mike
Pender and several other of his bandmates from
Conan. Congrats also to Barry Pollack, hope your
business CHIK-A-BOOMS.
Anyways, you probably want to know where I am performing
in the next few weeks. As usual, Mike and I will be at
the Garden Bar in Neptune on the first Saturday in May,
which is May 3. Later in the month I'll be performing
with Chik-A-Boom at the Lake House and in Belmar at 507
Main and the Boat House. I am also performing at the
annual Lance Armstrong Wear Yellow bash, to be held in
Spring Lake on May 9 with Chik-A-Boom, which is a
fundraiser for cancer research and open to the public
(though the tix are understandably pricey). And both
acts have several private functions booked - remember,
if anyone needs a band for a Bar Mitzvah, wedding,
funeral, whatever, see the contact info to the left on
this page.
And I'll see you at the gigs!
3/27/2008 Looks like we made it thru another long hard
winter here at the shore. Mike and John and I look
forward to another great season of private parties,
outdoor concerts and the usual bar gigs.
In another matter, one of our favorite current venues,
The Garden Bar in Neptune, is featured on page 25 of the
current issue of the
National Enquirer. In a
story about the Elliot Spitzer call girl scandal, it
turns out that Ashley Dupree has been a frequent
customer at this fine neighborhood tavern for a while.
Mike and I are honored that such a talented singer and
obvious lover of fine music has picked this great little
place for recreation and artistic stimulation.
Mike and I will be
performing there on Saturday April 5, and on the first
Saturday of each month thru the summer. Hope to see you
there - and don't worry about bringing your VIP cards-
Mike and I are not in THAT income bracket so you can
enjoy our music not matter WHAT the size of your, um,
back account is!
3/11/2008 In the the new, out with the old! If you're
reading this you got the message that my URL has
changed. I am trying to re-do my site (in between
Clearwater
Meetings, my day job as lead programmer for
a
major software product,
rehearsals, gigs and moving into a new house). Hopefully
the new site will be available by the summer 2008
season. I am working on a new look and feel and some
other new concepts, so hopefully you will all be
impressed!
This month you can see me with Chik-A- Boom at the
Boathouse in Belmar Friday March 14, and at the Lake
House in Loch Arbour on Saturday March 22.
Then Mike and I will be at the Garden Bar in Neptune
again on Saturday April 5. Hope to see you all around!
2/28/2008 As many of you know, I have been involved with
the
Clearwater organization
for many years and this year I have the honor once more
of being one of organizers of the
Monmouth County Friends Of
Clearwater's Clearwater Festival At Asbury
Park.
If you get a chance, check out PBS's American Masters.
There is a show about Pete Seeger that includes
interviews with some of Clearwater's members and shots
of the main festival up in New York State. Pete is
the founder of
Clearwater.
Pete was last at our local festival in 1998 and did a
great set that year. In fact, Bruce himself showed up
that year and saw the whole set- probably taking notes
for his tribute recording which cam out years later!
Belmar is having its St. Patrick's Day parade this
Sunday March 2. As a warm-up, why not come down to the
Garden Bar in Neptune this Saturday, where you can have
fun with
Mike And Al-Vis. This is
a great, friendly venue, with a lot of locals and a fun
crowd. We start at around 7:30. And I have just added
507 Main in Belmar to the calendar for tomorrow night,
Feb 29.
Later in March you can see me with
Chik-A-Boom at the Lake
House in Loch Arbour on March 15 and March 22. In
between we have a few private functions that will be
keeping me busy.
Watch these pages for lots more performances as the
weather warms, and more recordings. See you soon!
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