Posted December 13, 2006 at 3:54 am | No comments
by Rick Landers.
Cliches sometimes ring or twang true it seems, as the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree when talking about the leader of the Jay Kaye Band. The son of legendary Hawaiian First Lady of Rock ‘n’ Roll guitarist Mary Kaye (Mary Kaaihuei) and grandson of Johnny Ukulele, Jay Kaye’s musical heritage is close to the bone when he roams the stage with his black Strat and a swagger. Jay told Guitar International that he grew up on the road, sleeping in the back of his parents’ car as they toured the U.S., surrounded by some of the hottest musicians on the planet. More often than not, he watched his mom wow the crowds with her “White Beauty”, a white Stratocaster with gold hardware that would later be known as the “Mary Kaye” Strat by Fender fans around the world. Mom was also named one of the outstanding jazz artists of the year (1957/1962) by Playboy magazine…
Posted in: Interviews
Posted December 4, 2006 at 8:11 am | No comments
by Mary Ellen Gustafson.
I’ve known the people involved in creating what has become this massive entity called Trans-Siberian Orchestra and the core rock band they started with, Savatage, almost since they started in 1996. Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to have conversations and interviews with Paul O’Neill, Bob Kinkel, Jon Oliva, Chris Caffery, meet John Lee Middleton and Jeff Plate and at least see Al Pitrelli play live with both bands. And, after all these years of attending the TSO’s West Tour and feeling like I know Al as well as all the others involved, I’ve never actually met or talked to him. When I hooked up with the guys in Savatage in 1998, he wasn’t around at the moment, but I still remember him and Chris playing off each other to the songs on the Wake Of Magellan Tour and thinking it was one of the most awesome guitar duos I’d ever seen. Actually, it’s still right up there at the top to this day. Bottom line; I’ve got a lot of history with and respect for Al Pitrelli and I finally got a chance to meet him…
Posted in: Uncategorized
