Mor-Cunnin
My first original band was Mor-Cunnin’ with TC (the name a play on our last names Morin/Cunningham) on the piano that started in the late 80’s. Such a great time for original music in Boston - so many bands broke out out into the national scene. TC and I wrote many songs together mixed with whiskey, weed and anything else we were doing around that time, but some of our work we recorded onto three EPs:
Make Holiday was my first semi-professional recording. It consisted of the songs “Make Holiday”, “Power Within” and “Symphony”, and was recorded in the late 80’s at Colossal Studios in Acton, MA. It was a very raw recording; I had done a recording project in college but was still a novice at being a recording artist. I listen now and hear innocence and excitement, but to be honest the engineer/producer was strung out; nodding, the drummer was adorable but drunk at 2 in the afternoon, couldn’t get the guitar. God bless him, I loved Jimmy but couldn’t get him to sound like anything but Jerry Garcia. TC couldn’t be around for “basic” tracks, so drums and bass were laid (the cute drunk drummer, Diogo, played too fast, and I didn’t catch it). So TC had to play really fast and he did a great job, making it an exciting performance. With all that said, it was my first experience as a recording artist and I loved playing for people. We got some airplay on Boston University College radio – they even compared us to Little Feat. I wasn’t looking for that but we took it, put us on the map so to speak. Even though it’s a mediocre recording at best, I’ll never forget my best friend Tim playing the tracks at his annual music party. Everyone danced outside to my music, such an amazing memory!
The Game was recorded at Bristol Studios in Boston and was much more professional. My friend Brian Craig played violin so beautifully and the engineering was better. TC and I still did our own production and I still did all my Vox tracks in one take, (although that would be the last time I did that). Some moments were cringeworthy but we were mostly happy with this production. It was a step up, better songs, better recording, moving on up… I really appreciated the dedication of the studio. We recorded “The Game”, a little pop ditty “Muse Essence” which was later re-recorded on my album “Chi In A Tailspin” and the very theatrical “Golden City”, a song about the homeless in Boston that I wrote after meeting a homeless mother with three children at a rally at the state house. “The Game” got some airplay on Emerson College Radio - it is a fun song. But “Golden City” was mine and friends’ favorite, it speaks also to these times.
The 3rd and last EP was Deep Dark Night, done at Wellspring Studios with Seth Blaine as producer and guitarist/flautist. They were amazing there and I learned how to really record music. The musicianship and engineering were all a clear step up. Friends of Lori came and Seth produced and mixed. We recorded “Deep Dark Night”, still one of my favorite songs/recordings, and “Sister” which still remains a fan favorite. Seth starts the song on the flute, very beautiful. TC’s performance was stunning, and I was crooning about my anxious 20’s. “Deep Dark Night” got airplay on real radio-WBCN. Shred, an infamous radio booking agent and critic in Boston, personally liked it. We went on to work with Shred on other projects for many years (years later he hosted the Jeannie’s Bloomin’ release party). We also received a good review in Soundcheck, a local music magazine, and I’m still very happy with the material and production till this day.
My next EP was with Jenny Can’t Stop (my favorite of all my original band names) in the mid to late 90s. Oh what fun! An all girl band with me as front man; we are all still friends to this day. The band consisted of Joannie, who was a writer/critic for The Noise, a local music rag, Jen “Jenny” on guitar, and sister Maria on drums. We recorded two EPs: “Steamy Summer”, a song TC and I had written years before and ended up recording three times with a different incarnation each time; and “Gonna Make Me Late”, one of my favorite songs from the era, with a pop/funk sound. Interesting history of the studio that we recorded in – it had been closed for about 25 years (George Thorogood laid down some tracks for his iconic Bad to the Bone album and was the last session there), and we were the first band to re-christen the place when it opened back up. I would later go on to record my first full length album Jeannie’s Bloomin’ there. This was also my first production with my producer for both Flash in Blue albums, the amazing Joel Simchez. I don’t think we received any airplay but we thoroughly enjoyed being in the scene and doing shows!
Jenny Can’t Stop
On a side note… as with many bands, there is often drama. Without going into too much detail (but felt it should be mentioned), I had a incarnation at one point after Jenny Can’t Stop called Wild Card, at the turn of the millennium. Some of the members that I hired for the band ended up having issues with my sexuality, which caused major problems and lack of cohesiveness within the group. I felt that moving on was my only option. It was a difficult time for me, but with the support of my friends and the help of the Boston rock community and local music publications (all of who thought the band’s behavior was outrageous), I found new better musical talent without any drama or homophobic tendencies. During this time, I was also invited to sing back up for other original bands which made me feel so supported in the community. Maya Angelou said there’s a rainbow in every cloud.. well I was about to find mine!
The next part of my music journey was Flash in Blue which ended up lasting 12 years. In our bio our self described sound was “guitar driven original alternative rock, with tinges of glam, a touch of heavy, and tones of home”. I already had studio time in motion with the last project, and was eager to record a full album and book some shows, I just needed a new band! It all started with Tony who was playing in a heavy metal band called Voodoo Screw Machine, well known for their theatric live shows. (Tony had been a child prodigy attending the BCOM for violin when at 13 he discovered Ozzy and the electric guitar, which changed the game for him!) Once I met him, I asked him to audition players for me. We found guitarist Rob, a young man studying music at Northeastern, who ended up being an amazing talent and very responsible. He would go on to gain national attention with his future original work. Next came the great Johnny K on drums. He had a wonderful sense of humor and you can hear his laugh at the very beginning on one of our tracks. We couldn’t find a bassist at first so Tony filled in. I didn’t actually think he would stay in the band, but we hit it off very quickly. I loved writing with him on acoustic tracks, and he really brought the “rock” part of the band up a notch. Tony, Johnny K, Rob and I had such fantastic times throughout those years. Tony had a great saying, “play for yourself first; if you’re having fun, the audience will too”. Later on after some local success with good reviews and many shows, we acquired Jay on bass. He was a perfect addition to the band, and he and I wrote a song together that was featured as a live radio performance on WBCN. Rob and Tony alternated on lead guitarist on our album. We also had “Flash in Blue Girls” - they would sometimes sing back up and wear blue wigs to the shows, everyone always had a good time!
Flash in Blue recorded two full length albums: Jeannie’s Bloomin’ (2000) which was definitely a singer/songwriter type of album and contained songs that reflected many different collaborations I had through the years. Chi in a Tailspin (2005) was in essence 90% Tony and me, a real band album that was more guitar driven. This band had the most air play, live radio performances, best reviews and sold out shows than my other projects. My favorite tracks to take note of are “New Soil”, which made it onto the local top 40 radio list, “Angie Baby” a Helen Reddy cover, “Girl on B4” and “Psychic Dreamer” all got local radio play. Other songs of mention are “Rule of the Fathers”, “Consciousness”, “Captured Data”, “Cheerleader” and of course: “I Win” (eat my dust Wild Card..).
Flash in Blue
Jeannie’s Bloomin was my first full length album. My project, yes, but Joel owns the production. He believed in my message and my vision and I’ll always be grateful to him for that. There are four songs that stand the test of time on that album in my opinion. The first is “Angie Baby”, my only cover song. When I first met Joel he was just coming off of a tour drumming for his band “ Splashdown”, that had received some national attention in the 90’s. One day in rehearsal space for JCS- before anyone else showed up, Joel and I were alone and I started singing “Angie Baby” by Helen Ready, a big hit from the 70’s that created so many memories for me. Joel remembered the song and created the bass line you hear on the album - my first and most memorable jam with Joel. I bow to him for that bass line! The song ended up becoming what I had envisioned (a rock version), and years later I asked Tony to play lead guitar on. It actually got a lot of attention and was played locally on WBCN. “New Soil”, another song from the album, charted on a local Top 40 for original bands. The band and I never really sent much material to local stations, we were never really that good at promoting ourselves; we just wanted to write and record - even live performances sometimes felt like a chore, but it was nice to get the recognition. “Consciousness” is the last song on the album. Many years before I had wanted to try doing my own back up on the song, so one day I finally tried it out with my good friend Tim in my old apartment on Beacon Hill. I had him sit on one side of the long railroad hallway, and I sat on the other side, and I played the tape of me singing and doing the back up at the same time. He was so moved by it that I knew it would work. During the actual recording of the track, I was so nervous I couldn’t have anyone else there other than Joel (even TC who cowrote the song with me). “Rule of the Fathers”, another track on the album is one I considered my only “country” song. TC was going to do the back up on that one but it really ended up being more of a duet, it’s such a beautiful song…
Chi in A Tailspin, my next album, was produced by Joel and commissioned by Land Mark Sound. Andrew, a brilliant sound engineer and great bassist and saxophonist, stepped in on bass and can be heard on this album. He also started Land Mark Sound to fund the album, which was recorded at the best studio at the time, Kissy Pig. It was definitely our best production. The songs “Girl On Before”, “Cheerleader”, “Don’t Care” and “I Win” all got the most local airplay of any of my songs, and we sold out our release party. We went on to play at some of the great clubs at the time - the Middle East, TT the Bear’s, etc.
Flash in Blue never really broke up; after our 10th anniversary party at the Middle East Club in Boston we tried to get backing for our third album - the material was heavier, an exciting new direction for me but then life happened. Both of my parents passed away over the few years, Johnny K the drummer was starting his family, Tony and Jay started making money in cover bands (where most of the money can be found). We had a few shows but after 12 years we just fizzled out although we are still good friends to this day. I went on to live my life also. After usually having some kind of music project going on most of my life, I missed it a bit but was also happy with some extra time on my hands, cooking, tai chi classes. I thought maybe my music/band life was behind me, and I was actually okay with it. But the music finds you…my new muse found me. Halloween of 2013 I met Jamie at a party. He was a young novice guitarist, had heard my music through a friend, and wanted to jam with me. Even though he was just starting out, he had great instinct, song writing skills, and tenacity to eventually become a great guitarist. He always said I helped develop him and he helped re-developing me. And he did, I wrote some my best songs with Jamie in Tryst, my piano driven pop-rock next band project. A couple of years later, TC came on board; it was so great to work with him again. He came to one of my annual Christmas parties and we started jamming together with Jamie and his friends. After that, TC wanted in on the project, and of course I wanted him to also! He was finally ready to perform live and we all wrote and arranged some of my best work. The band never went into the studio, but times had changed - you could bring the studio to you, thanks to the amazing skills of Zac Petti. He was very much like Joel was in the era before - an incredible musician, producer, sound engineer, recording artist, bassist, and guitarist. When I met Zac, he was in a heavy metal band called Bruvs, with just him and his drummer/brother Dave. (We ended up working with Dave later when we were transitioning to a cabaret band. He went on to national acclaim with a reggae band.)
We put some great recordings together with Tryst. “Winters Winds” is probably one of my favorite of the originals. Simple blues, but Zac really captures me at my best. Tryst was involved in my transition to cabaret shows in 2014. Zac is the original member and was there for my very first performance. Some of my favorite music came from Tryst. Radio had changed by then in Boston, and I had aged out of contacts but we had some great shows at my still in-place clubs, but unfortunately never received any airplay or live radio performances during this time.
Tryst
I’m a songwriter first and foremost, but through that morphed into a performer. When you’re a story teller you look for any mode to relay that narrative. Through music you can tell the story through emotion. Now I’m telling other people’s stories through this emotive process. So when I was asked if I could do a cabaret style show in 2014, I accepted the challenge. You may remember in the beginning I was doing a lot of these songs like “Sentimental Journey” since my Tiverton Allegro Glee Club days, and “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” in my piano bar days - so basically I’ve gone back to my childhood and young adult days. My original band Tryst started the shows with me, but after a couple of years it wasn’t the music they wanted to do, which is understandable, so they moved on. I found some other players and here I am currently with Topher’s Trio. My present line up is Andrew Hickman on sax, clarinet and flute. He’s an amazing talent that I have been working with for about six years. Andrew also works full time performing and teaching music to children, what a wonderful gift! Then I have the very talented Mark Davis on the “old 88s”. I had a pianist I worked with after TC, Dan, whom I worked with for about three years. He was a great jazz pianist, and we had many performances together, and eventually he went on to get a teaching position at Berkeley School of Music. I’ve learned through the years that great musicians always move on, and in the meantime when you need a pianist quickly for a show, you get this one or that one, they’re good but so high maintenance. I say now I have a high tolerance for eccentricity because when you “herd” musicians for 30 plus years, it’s a skill you acquire. My friend Breda, who is a great supporter of my music, suggested Mark. When I told her I was done with the drama and the maintenance, she said “oh no, you can’t give up now, call this guy, he’ll be perfect for you". I reluctantly said ok. Mark came over and it was an instant fit; he was an awesome talent with no drama, and we grew up in the same era so knew the same songs. Mark works full time as a pianist and you can definitely tell. He and I worked together with Andrew for two years, but I still wasn’t completely happy with the project as a whole. We needed bass and a deeper sound, so I thought who better than Zac Petti who had helped me out so much with my original band! Now I have a cabaret show I can be proud of - that we are all proud of.
This project from day one has been a bonus track in my musical career. It’s not the “rock star” career that I thought I was heading for at the beginning of my story, but dreams shift as you get older. I am so grateful to have had music play such a huge role in my life; it certainly has been a tenacious, ever evolving career with longevity. Writing all this makes me realize, I’ve had a band or project always going for over 30 years. It’s not about the places you go, it’s the people you meet along the way, said Dorothy in Oz, and she was so right. I have met so many great friends along this journey. Performance is now a priority for me, still spinning stories through these wonderful classics rather than my own original songs. In my earlier rock bands, we would have shows at midnight, with plastic cups and a bag of chips in a dank smelly bar. Now I have 6:30pm performances where you can get a dry martini and a great steak and listen to me croon the classics and be in bed by ten!
I want to give a few shout outs: Thank you, Kristie, for your generosity in giving me my first of many cabaret shows at Marina Bay. Thank you Greg and Michael for giving and supporting my residency at Maggiano’s, I’m in my third season there now! Also to Colleen for all your support throughout the years, fan, videographer, now editor. Thanks to Kerri Aubin for all the creative work you’ve done as a designer, photographer, and video actress. To my faithful friends and fans who’ve been coming to my shows for over 30 years, especially Tim and John, Linda, Carol, Tracy, Eric, and Joanna, thank you all for your endless support. TC - thank you for everything, and of course Joel for bringing my work to life. To all of the folks that had me on your radio shows so many times. So many countless others to thank!
Speaking of support and saving me, as I mentioned earlier, I had played some on the electric organ, and at church. I would play on different pianos from time to time and one day while I was playing in college, a fellow student and pianist came in and took over - he said it’s better that you sing instead. After that, I didn’t play much; of course I was busy with guitar driven projects most of the time. In 2012, TC was looking to buy an electric piano for performing but he wouldn’t take the leap until I agreed to take the piano that his mother had given him as a child. I gladly accepted and used it from time to time for parties and to rehearse. When I had to move to a smaller apartment, I almost didn’t take it - I was hardly playing and so expensive to move it, but my friend Joanna talked me into taking it with me. I will always be so grateful to her for that! Music and the piano saved me yet again in 2020 when my roommate and I both contracted coronavirus. I was very ill but survived, but my good friend and roommate did not. A short time later, still weak and in mourning, I woke up one day and realized I had had no music playing in my house for weeks. I turned on a 70s station (was always my go to for Vox practice) and James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain” came on. I started wondering what the chords were - back in the day you had to get sheet music but realizing that everything is on the internet now, I found easy chords that I was comfortable with. I relearned the keyboard and in doing so provided a daily escape from the grim reality of that time; it helped save my sanity. I did play a few times on the electric piano at my cabarets, but the feel is so different. I have read that the tactile aspect of playing an instrument and singing is so rewarding, it resonates through the body. Thank you again TC for sharing one of your biggest gifts, now one of mine - I love my piano! and who knows, maybe one day I’ll have a one man show, my next journey perhaps…
As I put a button on this narrative, I don’t want to be pollyannish in my truth. I left out a lot of frustration and difficulties on this journey, and with so much time spent on music there have been other areas of my life passed over. But all in all, it’s been a wild ride and a fantastic journey; to quote Nietzsche “without music, life would be a mistake”…