Monday, January 31, 2011

Spotlight Artist: Full House

Our next Spotlight artist is Full House, "the ultimate cover band". Lead vocalist & guitarist Joe Scollo answers our questions below.

Lineup:
Joe Scollo (Lead vocal & guitar)
Keith Hill (keyboards & vocals)
Angus McEachern (bass & vocals)
Joey Anderson (drums & vocals)

How long have you been performing?
35 years.

Past lives (i.e., previous bands, your early years, etc.):
Teen bands: 1971-75 - "The Inner Feeling", "Salvation"; 1976 -"Disciple" (These 3 were my bands)
1976- "The Rhythm Jesters" (Not my band)
1977- to 2011 "Full House" (My band)

Favorite venues to play:
Madison Square Garden (in Billy Joel's Band) Oct 20 & 21, 1991
Overlook Beach (Town Of Babylon Summer Concert Series)
Mulcahy's in Wantagh
Tuxedo Junction in Stamford, Ct.

Musical influences:
Beatles, Stones, Doobie Brothers, Allman Brothers, Clapton, Jeff Beck, Paul Rogers

Blatant self-promotion: What would you like to plug?
Our "Great American Classic Rock Show": GACrockshow.com

Linkage:
website: FullHouseMusic.com
facebook: fullhouseband
Youtube: fullhouseband
Other: gacrockshow.com

Where can we buy your music?
Anywhere if you hire us for a wedding, corporate or private event, concert, nightclub, restaurant, etc.

MurphGuide.com is mostly focused on NYC. Do you ever perform in the city? If so, where?
We're pursuing bookings in NYC as of the date of this interview.

Tell us a story or anecdote about performing live.
Again my personal story is when I had the opportunity to perform in Billy Joel's band at MSG for two nights in October, 1991 with Sting & Don Henley- on the same bill! The concert was for Henley's "Walden Woods" Benefit shows. With Full House, my fondest memory is probably opening for The Ramones at Hammerheads (a very popular nightclub at the time) in West Islip in the late '70s.

You also play weddings. Any funny stories? You don't have to name names.
After the weekend rehearsals (Saturday & Sunday) for the Billy Joel shows, I had Full House weddings on those nights. But I decided to go out with my friend Tommy Byrnes (the guitarist with Billy since 1990 & the one who recommended me for the gigs). I had about 15 too many & was about 90 minutes late for both weddings. On the Saturday I rammed into the back of a car on the LIE (no one was hurt except me), totaling my brand new vehicle & having to be brought by police to to nearest station. They held me for a 1/2 hour before letting me go when I told them I was rehearsing with BJ & had to get to performing at a wedding to which I was already more than an hour late. The climax was when I got back to St. Regis Hotel in NYC (at about 2am), where the band was staying. The first encounter I had was an unspoken one with Don Henley at the elevator. When he saw my disheveled look and blood stained white shirt he decided to take a different elevator. There you go! Pretty good, huh!

Any advice to someone just starting out?
Keep practicing & find musicians who are good & you like. Band chemistry is key!

Below is a promo clip for Joe's Great American Classic Rock Show:

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