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WEHM All Access - Sag Harbor American Music Festival - Gene Casey · WEHM All Access

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's EHM All Access, the Stag Harbor American Music Festival.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_01: Back this year, Sunday, September 27th, is Gene Casey and the Lone Sharks performing at noon at the Marine Park stage.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_01: And Gene uh joining me right now.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: How are you?
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm great, and thank you for that information.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: I wasn't really sure where we were.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Marine Park's a good gig.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: Well, it's funny because you've done it numerous years, but uh, I'd imagine uh you you do so many different gigs.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: You have to keep up with all of this.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: Who does your scheduling?
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: I I'm so impressed.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's me, and it's it it's in shambles, really.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: I I managed just to keep the the calendar up to date.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you do you do a great job.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: I was curious because we are coming off the summer here.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: What is is there has there been any differences or things you've noticed?
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: What's changed?
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: Because you've seen the summer crowds um North and South Fork and really on Long Island over the years.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: I'm curious if you've noticed a difference at all.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Well, uh yeah, in the grand scheme of it, yes.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the North Fork used to be, it might as well have been uh Nova Scotia, as far as people on South Fork were concerned.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: And now the the festive season, shall we say, continues well into October.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: And and people complain about the traffic and all, but it's great business, and it is a beautiful time of year.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: And uh so uh the season is now uh much longer than it used to be.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: For musicians and restaurants and such, hey, for all of us, really.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's it's a good thing.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it's nice to see it.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's amazing how it has exploded up on the North Fork for sure.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: I blame myself, you see.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: When we started the group in Sag Harbor, you know, there was a lot of a lot of things going on, but you know, Sag Harbor eventually became the Hamptons and exploded.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: And so we we went to the North Fork uh about 20 something years ago, and uh all that fame just followed us.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: Now it's on the North Fork.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm sorry, folks.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_01: Well, it it's funny because uh you I mean I'm curious, um, you moved out uh from the city, I guess, too Sag Harbor, the East End.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: What how long ago was that?
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: And and what kind of precipitated that?
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: What made made you move out to this this area?
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'll answer the second part.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: It was uh it was supposed to be a summer job uh helping someone out.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: And uh my dear sister got me a gig help the famous author, John Irving, had a house in Sacaponic, and he needed someone to look after it and run some errands and cut the loans.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: So that was my job for a summer, thinking I would go back to Manhattan, you know, in the fall, uh, where I supposedly had a career, but I really didn't.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I decided to stay on the East End uh that that year and within a few months put together a band.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: What did the uh the East End music scene look like then?
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_01: Uh because I'm I'm curious, because it it was it was very different, I'd imagine.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: It was different.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: Uh now I'll point out the drinking age back then was 18, and all the the attendant problems of you know of that, it was slow to respond and and and became you know a real reality of of concern.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: But there was also a nice outlaw element to a lot of a lot of bars that would happily throw a little band in the corner and have a lot of music.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: And uh there were a whole bunch, you know, you didn't have festivals then, and you didn't have uh the theaters that we have now.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: So it was pretty uh it's like a renegade scene back then.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: What do you remember about the forming the band, the Lone Sharks?
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: It was that that was the late 80s, uh right?
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: What was what was that like?
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: How did you how do you meet these guys?
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: How did the band kind of come about?
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I kind of imported the guys.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the original lineup was uh a friend from college, Phil Giuliano, uh, his brother-in-law, Dave, and my brother, Vincent, was the bass player.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: So I didn't uh you know I didn't form the band with locals, although eventually that happened.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but I looked around and I saw I I'd been used to playing the Mud Club CBGBs and all these new wave kind of dives of Manhattan where uh four guys would split up$60 at the end of the night, you know.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: But out here, they were paying much better because you were the entertainment.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: So uh I decided uh I gotta put together a band just to play these bars because this is fun.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I got to play all my fate you know, favorite rockabilly and blues tunes, and uh it was purely for fun and and a little bit of money.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: When did you start getting involved?
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: And going way back, I'd imagine, to uh at an earlier age, when did you start uh becoming interested in rockabilly and that sound?
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: I was into it without knowing what it was.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: I loved uh the Beatles versions of the Carl Perkins tunes like Honey Don't and the Book Owens, and uh uh I always liked that sound, didn't realize that was kind of rockabilly music.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but I was aware eventually, you know, as a young boy, of at one point Elvis Presley was really, really cool, as opposed to what I was put off by originally, the Vegas Elvis, you know.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: But you heard oh, Elvis influenced the Beatles, and suddenly uh dots were starting to connect.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: And then curiously, in the punk new wave scene, that's unfortunately when Elvis passed away, which begat this huge kind of uh industry of uh revision and retro and uh regard for early rock and roll and Elvis, and it brought it all back.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: The straight cats happened.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: And so uh it was a gradual thing, and again, I didn't I just thought it was kind of twangy rock and roll, which it really is.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: But no one really used the term rockabilly not that often back then.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: That's interesting.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: You uh you started off as a as a drummer, I read that um, and I think it was in your your older brother's band.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: What was that like for you?
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: And uh what do you remember about that band?
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's a very, very fond memory.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it was really a truly a garage band and a basement band.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: My brother was a few years older than me.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: They had a band that uh played mostly original music, they were really pretty creative.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: They kind of had a stonesy velvet underground rough uh but melodic sound.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: And anyway, I was a little kid just watching and learning and helping out, and the drummer would leave his drum set at in our basement, you know, because it was a hassle to load up, and that set me turned me loose, and I was drumming every for hours every day, driving everybody crazy.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: A little Keith Moon in the basement, you know.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: But I'd I I contend and that having that experience as a drummer early on was was really fortuitous for playing any other instrument.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: That's interesting.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: How when did you pick up the your first guitar after that?
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: Well, there always seemed to be uh some kind of battered acoustic guitar in the house that would last a few years.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: But uh I I was around 11 years old when I started to okay, this is a C chord, okay, you know, learning chords.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: But it was a very slow process.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: When did you start writing songs?
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I'm I'm curious because it I it seems like you really you picked it up the the drums and your brother's band, but what kind of drew you towards songwriting and kind of taking the next step, not just playing in a band?
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: I think it had to do with loving the Beatles so much, because being that for the most part they were doing their own songs and increasingly as time went on, that was a a a very well-known fact.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: You love the Beatles, and they they wrote these songs, and that made them really special.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: And that to me was the same as playing music, was to write your own songs as well.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: That was equal to me and equally important, and uh I didn't make a distinction of who wrote this.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: It was write your own song and imitate the Beatles if you want to, but uh that's how you learn.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: What was the um the New York City scene like?
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_01: You mentioned the uh the thing punk scene before you moved out here.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what was that like for you when you were kind of just starting as a young musician?
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: Well, in my high school years, uh was really when it became there was the disco explosion for the kids.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: There was uh southern rock, and but then there was this new thing happening that you would read about in the village voice.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: You know, my brother would bring the voice home and all these magazines, and uh the punk scene was happening like 75, 76, and and uh CBGB's and all that.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: And that was uh I found that to be encouraging because it was usually small bands, uh simpler music, a lot of energy, and it reminded me of early rock and roll, which I was totally immersed in.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so but when I actually got to into the scene, its glory days had passed.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: It was like more new wavy, and uh it was less less dangerous punk.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it was more just kind of putting together a little band.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I I never was a punk rocker, but I always uh I always was inspired by the energy of it, which to me was simpatico with early rock and roll.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_01: You've had some uh some records over the past uh decade or so, and um and I'm curious uh what your what your mindset is towards recording an album or or releasing new songs.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_01: Are you currently writing or what are you kind of looking to to do with the near future with the band?
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: Well, uh that's a great question, and this is something that we uh every musician and songwriter talks about, how the industry has changed drastically to the point where you really have to reboot your whole approach to making music and why you're making music, because it's you know, we used to press up 500 copies or a thousand if we were ambitious of a CD and we would mail them out and we would sell them at gigs, like five, ten, and that was your gas money right there.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: It was, and these folks now have your music.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: And to me, I I don't want to be one of these uh the good old days, but they made sense to us.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I I do mourn their passing because the whole streaming thing, and I I don't quite I don't emotionally respond to it, I don't get excited by it.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: However, being that I am a songwriter, I for some reason I write songs, and uh it's important to get a good recording of them.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: And uh yeah, I still think in terms of albums, and I think I I will put out an album, but whatever that means, singles seem to be the best way.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: But it's not uh not to be a downer, but I'm not very encouraged by progress.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_01: No, I I think you I think you do hear that a lot because it's a it's a completely different game um these days, for especially for younger artists and social media and just getting um them out there, and it's it's it's something that's completely different, and not in a way, not why you got into this.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: You've managed, though, to really to make a career and make a living on this on and basically just doing gigs.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_01: So, what's that been like as far as kind of committing to that process?
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: Well, there were there was always the notion that no matter what happens with the crazy record and record industry, music industry, there'll always be live performances.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, that was comforting, and then came COVID, the pandemic, and that was gone.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: And that really did a number on a lot of people, uh just in general.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: But the the self-pitying musician sitting on the couch, when am I gonna play music for people?
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: When am I gonna play music with other band members?
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: It was it was something uh almost too bizarre to imagine.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but when that lifted and we got out to playing music in front of people, there was a uh surge and renewal of passion and appreciation for live music.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what the the the good thing that's emerged is people I think value it more.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it's they really want to see music and they want to dance, they'll go to a theater, and you know, maybe the hours have been moved down where we don't do two o'clock in the morning sets anymore, thank God.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: But uh I find there's uh an increased appreciation for live music, and uh I've been able to live within that.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: That's really interesting because you've been doing this for for so long with the band over three decades.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: And I was curious, because like what still excites you about stepping on the stage where it's just more than more than that gig, and it it feels like you the passion really has reignited in the past few years.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: The the passion will never go away, and you know, as much as a musician may complain about this and that, the fact that we're getting into a uh getting on stage and we're playing music and people are responsible.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: How many jobs do you know of where people applaud applaud you?
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_01: And uh a pilot and a band, that's about it.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: And a groom.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: No, but uh it's it's a it's a wonderful thing.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: Hearing your song on the radio is even it's just as good.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: And we thank you.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: We thank.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_01: No, it's our it's our pleasure, and we we we love you.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: You're you're you are synonymous uh with the East End uh and the and the Long Island music scene.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh curious, uh, do you're doing a couple different festivals, uh the Harbor Fest and then Sag Harbor Music Festival.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, how do you how do you look at the set lists and kind of differentiate them a little bit?
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: I imagine you want them to be a little different.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, slightly.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you know, I have to consider you know the slot and location.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um the I I I am putting together a set for the American Music Festival, Sag Harbor, uh, that's largely original songs.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, because I feel uh the people there they're familiar with us, or they maybe they're not.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I I don't want to just uh play familiar things to everybody.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh though there'll be plenty of familiar things as well.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: But so that's how I look at it, and I look at the other festival of the week before as just a pardon and you know, whatever.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_01: Well, that that makes a lot of sense.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you very much for your time.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate it.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: Uh coming to the Sag Harbor Music Festival, Gene Casey and the Lone Sharks, Marine Park Stage, Sunday, September 27th, uh at noon.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I look forward to uh whatever comes new in the future.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: Not too early, you think?
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: Noon?
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: It'll be great out there.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_01: People it's a beautiful day.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_01: Fingers crossed for nice weather.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: That's the key, I feel like.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because I I've had some great weekends out in Sag Harbor uh for this festival.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_01: And it's it's uh it depends on the weather.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_01: So fingers crossed, but we should be good.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_01: And Jean, thank you very much for your time.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_01: I really appreciate it.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for being a friend of the station.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: You got it.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.