Chris Remy
"R & B Master" Chris Remy Interview
Twitter.com/ChrisRemyMusic
Interview by Roger Zee (05/28/19)
Roger Zee: Who inspired you to sing and play guitar?
Chris Remy: My parents inspired me first and foremost. They loved music and always had it playing in the house. My father listened to Ellington, Basie, Goodman, Ella Fitzgerald, Gene Krupa, Lionel Hampton, Illinois Jacquet, Stan Getz, Jim Hall, Herb Ellis, and Charlie Byrd to name more than a few. My mother loved the crooners, Billy Eckstine and Johnny Mathis most of all. As the youngest of three boys, I had an older brother at that perfect age when the Beatles came to the US and that helped me experience the music of the Sixties. We watched the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show in February of 1964 and that started me singing and playing the drums. After that, I jumped on the Dave Clark Five and then the Rascals. The voices of McCartney, Lennon, Harrison, Cavaliere, and Brigati influenced my singing while Ringo, Dino Danelli, and Gene Krupa inspired my drumming. I didn’t start playing guitar until about sixteen when Clapton and Hendrix pushed me. I always listened to a lot of jazz, particularly the guitarists that my father turned me on to. I soon discovered George Benson who remains a favorite as well as the late great Joe Pass.
RZ: Tell me about your various Reggae bands.
CR: Eric Clapton’s version of Bob Marley’s “I Shot The Sheriff” introduced me to Reggae. I later read in Guitar Player magazine about Blues guitarist Donald Kinsey who played in Marley’s band. I could definitely “see” the connection between the two music genres. I used to teach guitar at the West Manor Music Store on Gun Hill Road in the Bronx. One adult student from Barbados wanted to learn all of these Reggae songs so I taught them to him. One day he told me that a Caribbean club where he hung out needed a new lead guitarist for the house band, The Realistics, and asked if I'd like to try out. I immediately said yes, wanting to be the Donald Kinsey to their Wailers. I auditioned, and the alto sax player, PeeWee Walters, also the band’s musical director, came up to me and said “Ya cool mon, wanna play wit us?” I chuckled and said “absolutely, that’s why I’m here.” And that was it. PeeWee and I remain friends today as well as other former members of the band including rhythm guitarist Lenny Hines and tenor saxophonist Glen DaCosta, better known for his work as a member of The Wailers.
RZ: Talk about your hit YouTube video "Presence of the Lord."
CR:
During the time that I played Reggae with The Realistics, I also performed Gospel and Soul music with an amazing singer named Everett Jenkins. Every year, beginning in 1982, Everett would tour Italy with a Gospel revue and in 1987 he asked me to join him. Of course I said yes! We planned to record an album when we got back from Italy and Everett wanted me to sing one track. I really didn’t think it appropriate for me to sing a genuine gospel tune. So instead I thought about spiritual songs that meant something to me. "Presence of the Lord" by Eric Clapton first came to mind. The original Blind Faith version's slow and solemn but I wanted something more uplifting like the songs we performed at our Gospel shows. I guess the fact that I played Reggae all the time added that flavor to the mix. Unfortunately, but common in our business, they cut the budget at the last minute and I didn’t get to go on the Italian tour. Of course, when it rains it pours. The funding for the album fell through and so my version of "Presence of the Lord" remained unrecorded.
Fast forward twenty years when the now Reverend Everett Jenkins, the Choirmaster at the Bethany Baptist Church in Brooklyn, and I re-connected thanks to the Internet. The Reverend and I began playing shows again and in 2011 he called me up to accompany him and his special guest, the legendary Mr. Eddie Floyd, on that years Gospel/Soul Revue tour of Italy. It went fantastic and once again we spoke of recording an album and touring again in 2012. Well, as Yogi said, "It was déjà vu all over again." They cut the budget and I didn’t get to go on the tour. But this time it ended far more tragically. Two days after Everett returned from Italy, he suffered a massive heart attack and died. At that point, I thought I might never play or record the song. But I couldn’t get the tune out of my head. I decided that I needed to find a way to cut it. It finally happened in January of 2017 with the help of many friends who lent their unique talent to recording the song and video. I dedicated the sessions to my friend Everett because it all began with him thirty years earlier.
RZ: Tell me about your corporate, private party, and solo work.
CR: After a year of teaching myself how to play, I began taking lessons from Fred Covino, an excellent musician who also taught several of my friends. Primarily a bassist, he also played guitar very well. Fred performed on what's known as the “club-date” circuit. The term originated from the time where high-level social events took place in country clubs. Back then, they referred to what we now call clubs as cabarets and bars or saloons. Fred made a living teaching private lessons during the day and playing as many as five club-dates a weekend. I wanted to do that too so Fred taught me the repertoire. I attended Lehman High School and performed in the Jazz band as well as the Junior and Senior orchestras. One of the pianists in the Jazz band, Vito DelRey, told me that he had just joined an Italian wedding/dance band and they needed a guitarist. So I auditioned. As it turned out, I knew the band because the drummer, Nunzio Falciano, sat in my social studies class and I'd seen him play at a couple of school dances. They called the group Era 2000. I performed with them off and on for thirty years! One of the music teachers at Lehman owned an agency that booked bands for weddings and other social functions and we worked for them for a while. In addition, I worked for the office on nights when my band didn't. I also worked during the week as a sales representative for them. It turned out both a good and bad choice. While I worked a lot, it wasn’t really the music business but rather more the entertainment division of the social event industry. I always wanted to perform my original compositions. But since that didn’t pay well, or at all, I went with the more lucrative gigs.
RZ: You run the Bar'Lees' Open Mic in Mamaroneck with 25 Main. How's that going?
CR: The open mic's doing well and we strive to keep it going and growing. It’s an acoustic event with no keyboards or drum kit. That keeps the volume down and the vibe very cool. Bar’Lees feels more like a Manhattan club than a bar so this musical choice suits the venue.
RZ: How did you enjoy working with Eddie Floyd?
CR:
One of the highlights of my career. So thrilling To play songs that I had done with so many copy bands but now got to play with the man who wrote them! Eddie's a true professional and expects that from his sidemen. He and I sat next to each other on the tour bus for every ride. He played me new tracks in progress including a song that wound up on the latest release from the Blues Brothers titled “Don’t Forget About James.” He even had the lead singer from the Blues Brothers, Tommy “Pipes” McDonnell who's an old friend of mine, call and invite me down to the studio. I got to meet the whole band and watch them record several tracks for the album. As the session ended, Lou Marini, knowing that Eddie and I were heading into Manhattan for dinner, asked me to take Steve Cropper back to his hotel. So I ended up driving from New Jersey to Manhattan with Eddie Floyd in my passenger seat and “The Colonel” Steve Cropper in the back seat!
RZ: Describe your most notable and/or unusual gig.
CR:
I got a call from my friend John Micalizzi from the band Oasis asking about my availability to play a show at the Mohegan Sun Arena celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the film Saturday Night Fever. It featured The Trammps ("Disco Inferno"), Tavares ("Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel," "It Only Takes A Minute," "More Than A Woman"), France Joli ("Come To Me"), the original singers of Chic, Lucille and Norma Jean, ("Le Freak," "I Want Your Love," "Good Times"), Rochelle Fleming ("Dr. Love"), and Lime ("Your Love," "Babe We’re Gonna Love Tonight"). What a pleasure to back all of them! But for me, the biggest thrill came playing with Tavares. When we sound checked, they sang a small bit of two or three songs and signaled to the sound man they were good. Then Butch Tavares turns to me and asks if we’d like them to do more so we could work on the set. I just smiled and said to him something like, “Man I’ve played your music my whole life so I’m fine.” He really liked what I did with the wah wah pedal on "Heaven." He turned to me in the middle of the song, smiled and gave me a thumbs up. But the best came at the end of their set. Just before they left the stage, Ralph Tavares turned to me and bowed before exiting. It shocked my girlfriend and family sitting in the audience. It shocked me too!
RZ: What advice do you give up and coming musicians?
CR: Make sure you leave time to make the kind of music you really want to. The strong allure of making more money playing private parties can pull you away from making the music you love… Find a balance. If you want to work in the music business, learn about it. Read a book, take a course. Playing music's only a part of it. Check out Donald Passman’s book “All You Need to Know About the Music Business.”
RZ: How do you see the future of the music business?
CR: The music business has never been easy and today's no different. While the Internet offers great opportunity to put your tunes out, the volume of available content's overwhelming! Sales of your recorded music today won't match that of past iconic artists such as The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Steely Dan, and Bon Jovi. They sold tangible product. Your recorded music's more of a tool to create awareness and interest in you as a performing artist. When you play out, prepare to sell merchandise including CDs. The merch will serve as an ancillary revenue stream, not the primary revenue generator.
YouTube - Chris Remy Project - Presence of the Lord
©2019 Roger Zee