History

The Confetti Clatter – July 2020

Posted on by John Giotto

Show postponed

The performance at Dairy Queen Greece set initially for Sunday, July 5, is cancelled. The Town of Greece is not issuing entertainment permits at this time. Both the owner of Dairy Queen and I are hoping to reschedule this event sometime in August when restrictions may relax. It appears that the group will not be performing at all this July.

Group look-back: 1987

1987 was both a transitional and successful year for the band. The following recollections come from the recently-discovered wall calendar for It’s My Party 1987, and the elephant memory of Paul Kanack, whom I leaned on more than once to create this article.

At the turn of the new year, the members of the band included Kelly, Patty, and Charlene on vocals, along with musicians Ken, Paul, Terry, and myself. This formation of the group had yet to perform and included newcomers Patty, Charlene, Terry, and Paul. An interesting note on the calendar from January 15 states, “20 songs.”  I’m not sure if that stood for a goal or an achievement, but to play bars, a band needed in the neighborhood of 35 to 40 tunes. Our first show was on January 24 at Short’s Bar, and here Paul reminded me that we shared the night with the house-band, the Earthlings since we did not have enough songs to cover a full night. Short’s was always welcoming to us, and we would end up performing five more times there in 1987.

In March, we performed for the first time at Rumours in Rochester’s South Wedge neighborhood, an area known for its Bohemian flavor. This show, on March 7, also featured the band Slightly Psychedelic, a great group of guys with whom we formed long-lasting friendships. Bob, Tom, and George were undoubtedly talented. George, the bassist, made a guest appearance with It’s My Party on trumpet that night. We performed four more times at Rumours throughout 1987.

Paul, Charlene (in motion), Patty, Terry, Kelly, and Ken at Rumours

George looks on as Paul takes a rare vocal at Rumours. From L-R: George, Paul, Charlene, John, Patty & Terry

The next venue we returned to often was Shnozz’s in the East Avenue & Goodman area of Rochester. On April 18, we shared the stage with The Swingset, a group featuring Walt O’Brien, who could play British Invasion like it was nobody’s business. We were invited back on May 1, this time performing with The Earthlings in what was billed as “All ’50s & ’60s” night. Schnozz’s guaranteed us an astonishing $115 versus the door! The following video is Patty singing at one of our Schnozz’s shows in 1987.

Well, in between the two shows at Schnozz’s was the infamous show at Scoops on Lyell Ave, directly across the street from the old AC Delco plant. With some performances under our belts and feeling confident, we decided to invite Jerry Falzone, former bassist with the successful band Pearl and now a talent agent to watch us. While Jerry had plenty of positive reflections, let’s say his revue was mixed. Jerry knew what it took to get to the level Pearl had accomplished, and yes, we were far from that point. Regarding our cover of The Shirelles’ classic, he stated, “Baby, it’s not you.” This critique marked a turning point, up until this gig the band had always been about fun, now I started to question whether this formation was a step back from the successful original group. Paul and I were driven by the thought that we could not only make music our vocation but that eventually our group could make waves in the industry. To a lesser degree, perhaps Ken held those dreams too. I can not speak for the others, but I would think they had more sense than Paul and I had. For one guy fresh out of college and another working at a pizza parlor, what would you expect?

One of the best memories of being a part of It’s My Party was our May 22 performance at the Renaissance Theater Club on Liberty Pole Way as part of the Lilac Festival. It’s My Party, and two other local groups opened for Danny and the Juniors and The Regents. If you are not familiar with these acts, Danny and the Juniors are famous for “At the Hop,” which was the name the Lilac Festival used to bill the event. The Regents performed the original version of “Barbara Ann,” which earned a spot on the soundtrack of American Grafitti. These groups were consummate professionals and lent us some good advice. Joe Terry, then lead singer for Danny and the Juniors, wondered why we played “The Boy Next Door” sung by The Secrets and co-written by David White, an original member of Danny and the Juniors. Terry called it a good tune, but a marginal hit. The way he saw it, our road to success was playing recognizable hits exclusively. My thought at the time, and by now Paul had also become a ’60s girl group enthusiast, was that there were so many great songs that didn’t necessarily break the top 20, why not play them as well? Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the band has never supported a principal ’60s act since in the Rochester area. Sad, so sad, we have so much to give!

In the last issue of the Confetti Clatter, I mentioned that Kelly discussed joining the group with her husband in 1986; looking over the 1987 calendar, I was wrong. Kelly went on her honeymoon from June 10 to June 20 in 1987. After Kelly came home, we returned to Rumours, Schnozz’z, and Shorts in July, all successful shows.

With seeds of doubt sewn in my mind, I reached out to our then manager, Ron Stein, and asked him what the band was missing. Ron replied, “To make this sound work correctly, you need teenaged singers interpreting the music. The women on your band are not living the lyrics like the teenagers who sang them in the sixties. Teenaged singers would give the group the ring of authenticity.” To which I replied, “Where do we find teenaged singers?” Ron’s response was to go to the local high school musicals.  It just so happened that the Irondequoit Summer Theatre was putting on Leader of the Pack, the Ellie Greenwich Musical from August 6 through 8 – perfect! Ron and I made a point of attending one of those shows. Irondequoit Summer Theatre was a vehicle for high school students to perform over the summer, and at this show, we heard one girl group song after another sung by some very talented teens. When the play broke into “Wait ’til My Bobby Comes Home,” Ron turned to me and said, “There’s your singer!”

Going through the proper channels, we spoke to both that girl, Tricia, and her mother after the performance. She seemed both flattered and interested in seeing our group, so we invited her to attend our afternoon Panorama Plaza show on August 15.

On August 7, we performed at Idols, one of downtown Rochester’s college radio clubs. This show turned out to be a disaster. The crowd was not into our music, and we received a cold reception. I was volunteering as a DJ at RIT’s WITR radio and this time, and that is how most likely we got the show. There was, frankly, a ton of college radio snobbery at that time. DJs and listeners tended to look down on any music that didn’t fit their mold. Not to lump everyone into that category, there were many great and open-minded DJs at WITR, and I enjoyed my time there. I would like to especially like to recognize Bart, the program director at the time, for his open-mindedness and how he smoothly ran that station. Back to the story, enter Terry with some quick thinking to cut the tension of the night. Reaching into one of our gig bags, Terry found a beachball, inflated it, and tossed it out into the audience. People started punching it around and having a good time, so we were able to leave with some sense of dignity. As a Parthian shot, the house DJ played a song I believe by the Cure that had something to the effect of “Never again” in the lyrics as we exited with our gear, touche!

Tricia and her mother attended the Panorama show, a beautiful day for an outside event, as I recall. She was very impressed and expressed her interest in joining the group. On August 25, Kelly parted ways with the band, and two days later, Tricia joined.

Tricia’s first gig with the band was on October 3 at Schnozz’s. Her energy was palpable, everything that Ron said we needed. Some of Tricia’s signature songs were “Kids in America” by Kim Wilde, the aforementioned “The Boy Next Door,” and her lead from the musical “Wait ‘Til My Bobby Comes Home.” However, Halloween night ended up being our second and final performance for this lineup at Short’s bar. Terry moved to New York City, and Patty decided to leave the band.  She spoke with me soon after that show and said, “I see where you are taking this band, and I don’t feel I fit in.” Her words were a crushing blow to me; I wanted her to stay so badly. We all liked Patty very much and loved what she brought to the table. She was referring to Tricia and a younger look and sound.

By November 17, we recruited two new members to replace Terry and Patty. Josh Winston was a friend of Paul Kanack’s. A talented multi-instrumentalist, Josh played not only keyboards but brought the saxophone to the table, something ubiquitous to the ’60s sound. Jennie was a high school friend of Tricia’s. A talented singer who could cover the middle and low parts of the vocal ensemble, Jennie’s sound was complementary to Tricia and Charlene’s voices. 

This new lineup would not perform until early 1988. There were some cool events in store for It’s My Party in that year. I will reminisce about 1988 in the August edition of the Confetti Clatter. 

 

 

The Confetti Clatter – June 2020

Posted on by John Giotto

2020 performance season update

Following a successful 2019 performance season was a hard act to follow this year. I did not hear back from numerous venues from last year regarding this year for whatever reason. There was the golden anniversary for Marge’s Lakeside performance talked about two years ago that never materialized. And Joan from Lyons, NY decided to retire, passing the baton to someone unfamiliar with the group. Everything felt a bit off right from the getgo. And then things came to a screeching halt in February, which is usually the time the last-minute shows materialize.  When all was said and done, we ended up with a half-dozen events, three of which event organizers have subsequently cancelled. Although I do not possess a crystal ball, I predict that we will play live for you this summer. Alternative ideas are in the works, and more details will follow. Please refer to our events section for cancellations and possible additions.

Group history – 1986

I will go on record as admitting that I have a sweet spot for nostalgia. With uncanny foresight, I know what to save and what to chuck. Most rational people would throw everything out. However, if, for any reason, I feel an artifact chronicles my life, I keep it for future reference. The problem is my organization of said artifacts leads something to be desired. While digging around in the garage loft — for something else of course — I stumbled upon a motherload of group artifacts: photos, recordings, flyers, banners, posters, setlists, and yearly calendars.

It was one of the yearly calendars from 1986 that will form the basis of this article. Let me begin by telling you that these calendars were incredibly detailed, much to the delight of my 2020 eyes! They record performance dates, some of which document the fee we agreed to, practice days, when band members came and left, sometimes with the reason, and vacation times for specific bandmates. I will use the term band for It’s My Party at this stage. To my way of thinking, a band is a self-contained entity, with the same performers at every show, think the Beatles. A group is a vocal ensemble backed by varying musicians from show to show. For our history, we were a band from 1985 through 1988, and then again from the early ’90s through 2003. 2004 started our group era with more complex and elaborate orchestration by various musicians. 

1986 saw three incarnations of the band. January 1 through May 4 was the original band, June 30 through August 4 was a short-lived second formation, and October 23 to the end of the year marked the beginning of the third iteration of It’s My Party, the beginning of the Paul Kanack Era.

Without going into too much detail, the original band performed seven times in 1986, once at Shnozz’s, three times at the Casablanca, twice at Red Creek, and once at the Island Cottage. All of these venues are now defunct. My memory must be slipping because I had no idea the original band played at Shnozz’s, or Red Creek more than once. I do not remember the third show at Casablanca on May 3, which turned out to be the last for the original It’s My Party. The following day Gary Skinner, Dave Carroll, and Liz Collins departed.

Liz, Sonia & Sharon perform at Red Creek on April 19, 1986. The building is now a MacGregor’s

On June 30, we put the band back together. I give Jim Basile, our bassist, and Sharon and Sonia, our remaining singers, all kinds of credit for sticking it out, the original band had incredible esprit de corps. It took a lot of fortitude to persevere. Without those members sticktoitiveness, It’s My Party would have folded. Vocalist Kelly Donovan and Guitarists Ken Peters and Larry Goss joined Sharon, Sonia, Jim, and me on that final day of June in 1986. We were ready to embark on a new adventure.

Just a quick background on Ken and Kelly, Ken was a fan and follower of the group. He would always approach the stage at the end of the show and thank us. One time he mentioned that he played bass as his primary instrument, but that he also played guitar, and that if we ever needed one or the other in the band to look him up. So, sure enough, I did, and Ken was thrilled to join us. Ken brought a degree of enthusiasm and original material that he had crafted through the years. He was also an advocate of Brodesser Guitars, custom-built guitars and basses by Ryan Brodesser in nearby Brockport, NY.

Kelly was known to me from the girl group Girl Talk, an act that also included Liz Collins at one time before Liz moved on to Transistor Sister. After talking it over with her husband, Kelly joined the group. Kelly brought a sense of theater and professionalism that were not a part of the original band. The original It’s My Party ran on pure adrenaline, spontaneity, and talent, with fun being the prime objective. 

Larry Goss

Larry is doubling on maracas at the MDC performance during the song, “I Want Candy.”

Larry Goss, to my knowledge, had never been in a band before, nor do I think he had performed live. Larry is someone I have stayed in touch with through these years, just a great guy, and he still follows IMP. Larry and I go way back to the days of the band Montage. I played drums in Montage beginning in 1974, and Larry, being from East Penfield and knowing some of the band members, started following us. Larry was also a fan of my band Tempest in the late ’70s. Larry most likely also followed It’s My Party, as he was a big fan of Dave Carroll’s guitar playing. Dave also played in Montage and Tempest before It’s My Party. Larry cites Dave Carroll and Bud Covert, a Penfield guitar legend, as two of his early inspirations. Since Larry is a humble guy, I think that I approached him to join the group, and I am so glad I did! I must have been pretty convincing because Larry was getting married just six days later on July 6 and honeymooned through July 20, leaving only six days after his return before our first performance.

Version two of It’ My Party performed twice. The first show was on July 26 at 2 PM at Panorama Plaza off Penfield Road under a festival-style tent. I remember it set up somewhere near where the AutoZone now stands. Then on August 3 from 1 to 5 PM, we played at the Monroe Developmental Center on Westfall Road in Rochester. Sharon worked at MDC and arranged the gig for us. I remember it being a successful show all the way around with organizers, band members, and attendees, albeit a hot and humid August afternoon with a few sprinkles.

Monroe Development Center Performance August 3, 1986

Monroe Development Center Performance, August 3, 1986. From L-R Ken, John, Kelly, Sonia, Jim, Sharon & Larry

Sadly as quickly as IMP 2.0 came together, it split up. On August 4, the day after the MDC gig, Larry moved out-of-state while Sharon, Sonia, and Jim decided to depart. I remember speaking with Sharon at our practice facility that day, we had gone through a lot over the past year, and I was upset by her departure.

Now I practically stood alone, for the first time since the idea for this band hatched with then Lakeshore Record Exchange owner, Ron Stein back in 1984.  Fortunately, Ken Peters and Kelly Donovan decided to stick with the band, and again, without there support and belief, I don’t think I would have pursued another attempt at reforming the project. I should also note the Ron Stein was still supportive and, at this point, took on a more active, managerial role. It’s astonishing that when you need people most, they are there for you.

On October 23, singers Patty Angie and Charlene Scarpula joined the band. I remember Patty being at our Island Cottage show on May 5. She approached me, much like Ken, and said that if I ever needed a singer, she was interested. She also confidently stated that she could bring a different twist to the band. Previously, Patty had acted in one of the Frank LaLoggia directed movies filmed locally. Answering an advertisement in the Freetime Magazine, our one-time local entertainment staple, Charlene impressed with a strong audition. 

Now we needed to round out the instrumental ensemble, again relying on Freetime Magazine we placed an ad for a keyboardist and bassist. Terry Farrow, having just been a part of the pit orchestra for the play Pippin, answered our ad and convinced the bass player in that show, Paul Kanack, to tag along to the audition. We immediately got a good vibe from Terry, a gregarious guy. And although Paul was somewhat reserved, his talent was undeniable. Terry and Paul joined the group on November 11 of 1986.

IMP 3.0

IMP 3.0 From L-R Charlene, Terry, Patti, Ken, Kelly

Although the new incarnation of the band did not perform in 1986, I will pick up their history with details from the 1987 calendar. I hope you enjoyed this look back at our history. Please leave a comment or question, and I will follow up with a reply.

 

The Confetti Clatter – May 2020 Newsletter

Posted on by John Giotto

A look back at the making of “Dear Michelle (the Fighting’s Begun)”

I rarely seek out my music for pure listening pleasure. The reason is a cross between being too critical of everything I could have done better and a good dose of humble pie that prohibits me from falling in love with my efforts or appearing like a self-serving egomaniac. Besides, I know what I have done; I seek enjoyment out of what others have accomplished musically. Music is a fabulous medium that isn’t a zero-sum game. In other words, someone else’s achievement does not diminish my efforts one bit. With no winner and loser, it makes it very easy to “cheer” for someone else in the music business. All this said, occasionally I have an It’s My Party tune thrust upon me while traveling with one of my friends who just so happens to have our stuff on their playlist. 

Out of nowhere, “Dear Michelle (the Fighting’s Begun)” came cranking out of the car speakers while I was the passenger. It had been eight years since I last heard that song, and to my ears, it sounded great! I wasn’t listening intently at a mix-down session in 2012; instead, I was enjoying a fresh sound in 2020. The complexity of the arrangement bedazzled me since I know it was recorded totally in my living room on a portable system without the benefit of a control room. Yes, the engineer, a brilliant musician in his own right by the name of Richard Wattie, was in the room with the performers. 

Any story about this song must begin with its writing and inspiration. “Dear Michelle (the Fighting’s Begun)” is a Paul Kanack composition. Paul has been a part of the It’s My Party team in some capacity since 1986. In 1988 Paul cut his songwriting teeth, composing several songs for the group, including “Walking With Me,” which piqued the interest of Richard Gotterher, who had worked with the Angels, Blondie, and the Go Gos. Paul had always admired the Shangri-las, specifically Mary Weiss, the lead singer, and wanted to create a sound-alike record. Taking inspiration from two songs, “I Can Never Go Home Anymore, and “Long Live Our Love,” Paul fashioned “Dear Michelle (the Fighting’s Begun).” This song is track two on the Wanna Make Him Mine EP, a three-song effort that diplomatically parsed out one lead vocal per singer. Shelbie sang the opening title track. Kylie sang the last song, “Bus Driver,” while Michelle sang the song that is her namesake. The premise of the song is a young couple separated by a foreign war that takes a girl’s boyfriend far from home.

As particular as Paul is when it comes to keeping with the vision he sees for his songs, he was remarkably open to my suggestions. Rich Wattie also provided useful feedback as well during the recording. We pulled all the stops on this song, using symphonic chimes, tympani, viola, violin, trumpet, and oboe, along with the typical bass, guitar, piano, drums, and hand percussion. Rich mixed the song at the Eastman School of Music’s control room, and Matt Guarnere of What’s Real Unlimited mastered the EP.

The musicianship on this recording is top-shelf. The mother and daughter team of Alice Kanack and Daphne Pickens handled the string instruments. Alice trained under Shinichi Suzuki in Japan, and her daughter gets her musical abilities from both her mother and father, Ray Pickens. Mark Viavattine handled the oboe part, the first time we had ever used one on a track. Although Mark had never played the oboe before, his saxophone skills came in handy, and he picked up the instrument with aplomb. Rich politely pushed me aside and played all of the mallet percussion, as that was one of his majors at the Eastman School of Music, and boy did he do the song some favors. Michelle did her usual outstanding job, interpreting the song with the expression that Paul demands. I especially like the ending monologue, where Michelle moves from trepidation, to hope, to affirmation. As a final twist in the arrangement, the song resolves on a major chord to drive Michelle’s optimism home. You can listen to the song here on Spotify. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

 

The Confetti Clatter – April 2020 Newsletter

Posted on by John Giotto

IT’S MY PARTY! Performance at Media Play

We had a ton of good feedback from our last post, People seemed to dig the Short’s performance from 1988, and some were asking me to look for more vintage performances. So, I searched here and there. Much to my surprise, I found a mother-load of audio and video of the group from yesteryear. The media included cassette tapes (two and four-track), VHS tapes, 8mm, DVD and MiniDV. Fortunately, I found a player for each type of media. I was ready to start watching and listening!

My next step was purchasing some type of interface so that I could transfer these performances to files on my computer. I went online and noticed that BestBuy had Roxio VHS to DVD on sale, so I picked up a copy, loaded it on my desktop, and with some old 8mms in hand, I was ready to start transferring. And then it all broke down, my 8mm playback and record camera made weird noises, so I popped open the door to find it had eaten my tape – no! I removed the cassette and carefully rewound it by hand. Only the first 10 seconds were damaged, but still. I courageously tried another tape from our April 4, 1999 performance at Border’s Books, the performance I had intended to use as the source for a new video. It played okay for a while, and then the audio became distorted. That was the end of the experiment, for now.

So, pressed with something to go along with our 35th-year theme, I decided to use an already available performance from our YouTube page. This performance is a song from our February 21, 1999 engagement at Media Play. Yes, that right, a media store. You bought physical copies of music, movies, and books at Media Play. I believe Rochester had two or three outlets at one time. This show took place at the Greece store. 

The song here is a cover of The Shangi-las, “Give Him a Great Big Kiss.” Cara Rhain and Vanessa do a fantastic job interpreting this one, no small feat as the Shangri-Las a virtually untouchable. They were one of the “tough” girl groups, famous for their death records like “I Can Never Go Home Anymore.” Mary Weiss, the lead singer on the original recording, is affectionately known as “the queen of Queens.” Mary was only 15 years old when she recorded, “Leader of the Pack.”

First, watch our 1999 live version of “Give Him a Great Big Kiss.” Cara takes the lead vocal on this one. Musicians of note here are Bill Eberts on bongos, and his brother Brian Eberts on bass. Andy Pawik is on keyboards, a great guy, and incredible talent. Also, Dean Keller on tenor saxophone. After 21 years, Dean continues to perform with It’s My Party, and it’s great to see him here helping to make this tune sound so good. We thought so much of the girls’ performance of this one that we included it on our 2000 CD Can I Get To Know You Better?

Now to watch the Shangri-las from their performance of the song on Shindig from 1964. I’m sure you will see how much the Shangri-las and the Shindig band influence us. As for Mary Weiss’ performance here, talk about attitude!

On an aside, I wanted to mention that we had set up right in front of a giant Britney Spears display. BMG had just released Baby one More Time, her debut record, in January of that year, and it was selling like hotcakes. This spot on the floor was the only area that would accommodate our large band footprint. Looking back, I remember questioning if this was a good idea. After all, some folks may get upset that they would have to wait until we finished the set before they could snag a Britney album. Well, we start the performance, and though it did not happen during this tune, some guy walked right through us while we were playing to grab a CD, unbelievable.

The Confetti Clatter – March 2020 Newsletter

Posted on by John Giotto

 Video Look-back

In this month’s edition of the Confetti Clatter, we will continue with our 35th-anniversary theme and look back at the earliest known video of an It’s My Party performance.

In 1987, Jim Morrow became a fan of the group. Jim, at that time, was a property manager who had connections throughout Monroe County. Jim would eventually hire us at the Panorama Outlet Mall in Penfield (now Tops Supermarket) and opened up an opportunity for us to perform at the Penfield Community Center in June of 1988, through his contacts with the Penfield Recreation Department and Lions Club.

An early adapter, Jim always seemed to have a video recorder present at our performances. We owe him a debt of gratitude for preserving some of our early history, including the following clip from a performance at Short’s Bar in Fairport, NY, which took place on Saturday, February 27, 1988.

If you have seen up perform recently, you will need some context regarding the group in the mid to late 1980s. Whereas we currently focus on the girl groups of the ’60s, back then, we also performed music from current girl groups that had the trappings of those older sixties recordings. Something that we are not averse to trying again.

The clip we are sharing today is one of the earliest video recordings of the group. It shows the opening of a set, most likely not the first set, as Jennie announces that we are about to perform a song again. The response from the “peanut gallery” shows how obnoxious a bar crowd can be at times. In truth, we weren’t cut out to be a bar band.

The lineup in the clip is from left-to-right: Charlene, Tricia, and Jennie. Jennie was the newest edition, while Charlene had been in the band since 1986. The girls picked out their matching outfits back then, so you get a good look at what was considered fashionable at that time. Also, a look at the hairstyles would give any current ’80s retro band some helpful ideas.

This performance is the Boomerang version of the song “When Phone Stops Ringing” from 1986. The song was also covered by Eighth Wonder, featuring Patsey Kensit, in 1987. Boomerang was a girl group comprised of three current and former singers of Kid Creole and the Coconuts. On an aside, Kid Creole and the Coconuts were one of the best live performances I have ever seen. They billed themselves as “That international band of renegades,” and it fit perfectly.

Some things to notice are the excessive treble on the picked bass guitar and the use of Simmons electronic drums, two hallmarks of ’80s instrumentation. Jim initially captured this recording on a VHS tape, then I digitally transferred to a DVD, and finally converted to an mp4 file. As a result, there is some skipping glitches here and there, but that doesn’t take away from Jennie’s excellent performance. 

I recently visited Short’s on the 32nd anniversary of this performance; yes, it is still in business with the same owner from 1988. It looked unchanged, save the pool table set up on the elevated stage area. According to the bartender, they rarely have bands performing, though they do advertise karaoke nights, something that Short’s spearheaded in the ’80s.

New Shows Confirmed

Here are some new performances confirmed since our last edition of the Confetti Clatter. You can click on each event to add to your electronic calendar and find directions to the venues through Google Maps.

30jun6:00 pm8:00 pmEvent CancelledBurgundy Basin Cruise In

28jul6:00 pm8:00 pmEvent CancelledBurgundy Basin Cruise In

04aug6:00 pm8:00 pmCharcoal Corral Concert Series

The Confetti Clatter – February 2020 Newsletter

Posted on by John Giotto

35th Year as a Group

IT’S MY PARTY! will be celebrating thirty-five years of bringing music and live performance to our followers and fans. We will spend the next few issues of our newsletter reflecting on past members and sharing stories and artifacts. We have an exciting 2020 planned, which will include a new release, and possible touring outside of our local area.

What started out as nothing more than an idea in 1984, became a four-piece band, fronted by three amazing singers, each with their own unique spin on music and vocal delivery. Now, 35 years later, it felt right to look back and reflect on this amazing journey.

Noticing an SD card, on my desktop, and needing to try out my new computer — I was still running windows 7 on the old rig — I popped it in and saw that it contained two video files. One was from 2014, it was a short clip of my cat, Shane, who died recently from kidney failure. It was nice watching this and remembering what a great cat he was. The second video was an incomplete performance of “Moon River Cha Cha,”  by the group from the summer of 2015. Although the clip starts about halfway through the tune, I really liked so many aspects of this performance, and it will be the first in a look back during this special anniversary year.

“Moon River Cha Cha”

We have many influences as a group, and one is the movie and soundtrack from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. This movie, a band favorite, brings early 1960s New York City clearly into focus.  Hepburn and Peppard bring their characters to life, as Mancini’s soundtrack perfectly sets the tone for each scene and segue. At least once a year, we try to assembly as many band members and singers as possible for a viewing. 

We have performed two tracks live from the Breakfast at Tiffany’s movie soundtrack, “Moon River Cha Cha,” and “Something For Cat,” both instrumentals. These songs are recorded by a full orchestra or band, and it is a challenge to arrange them for our smaller ensemble. 

During our 2015 tour, “Moon river Cha Cha” was our opening number. The song begins with a guiro striking out a familiar rhythm before the band kicks in. The song speaks to the heavy influence Latin-American and Brazilian music had on the USA pop music scene at the beginning of the decade of the sixties. At about the halfway point of the tune, Mancini adds female vocals, and this provided us with a perfect opportunity for the singers to walk on and then participate during the second half of the song.

I hope you enjoy watching this as much as I. Notice Sarah’s unbridled enthusiasm; Dylon, our keyboardist, swinging to the groove, and our violin section, who instinctively sway to the music, even though they do not play in this number. I also love the little misques here and there. At our performance at the Gig in Hollywood, back in 1999, Darian Sahanaja, who was working with Brian Wilson at that time, met with me back stage and complimented the group. I knew that we had made a couple of mistakes, and said to him that we needed a little more polish, his response was, “Please don’t.” I didn’t quite fully understand his remark then, but I do now, especially in light of all the computer generated perfection, and overly-slick live performances we hear and see in music today.

Please leave a comment on our YouTube page for this video. 

The Confetti Clatter – November 2019 Newsletter

Posted on by John Giotto

We have our first show booked for 2020!

We’re back at Dairy Queen next July.

05jul6:00 pm8:00 pmEvent CancelledDairy Queen Car Cruise Night

New video uploaded to YouTube

Our official YouTube channel has a new video from our August 14 performance in Shortsville. We would like to thank Ken for making the close to 200 mile trek to see us on a regular basis, and for bringing along his video recording gear. This is a good year to release videos because we feature an experienced lineup of vocalists and musicians. By the middle of August, we were running on all cylinders. 

This segment is a cover of The Cowsills song, “The Path of Love.” We chose this song for two reasons, first off, Emma sounds great singing this one, and it is one the band likes to perform. Secondly, it is a tribute to the Cowsills, and specifically John Cowsill, who sang lead vocals as a youth on the original recording.

Back in 1999, we played in Los Angeles for the first time. The venue was a club called The Gig in Hollywood and we were one of several bands performing that night. Of course we were nervous, but the reception couldn’t have been better. Well, we started played “On the Beach Tonight,” and for some reason the girls were singing a half-step out-of-tune. We thought that when Don, our guitarist, started playing the solo, the girls would hear the key and adjust, but no, they came in again off-key. This was one of the most bizarre moments in group history!

Well, the guys held their heads low leaving the stage, but the girls were all smiles. We sulked back into the dressing room.  Soon thereafter, one of the bouncers asked if someone could come backstage to meet us. We said, “Sure.” So in walks this guy who was just gushing about our performance, and mentioning that it reminded him of a band he once had with his family. He made us feel a lot better than we had about the show. When he left, the bouncer asked if we knew who he was. We didn’t and he said, “That’s John Cowsill of The Cowsills.” He only mentioned his name was John, and we were impressed by his humility, as he never mentioned his family band by name. 

Later in the night, we cheered John on as he played drums in his band. I will never forget that night and the impression John made on us. From that moment I knew we had to cover a Cowsills number as a tribute to John, and finally in 2019, we did. 

Fast-forward to 2012, and Paul and I went to see the Beachboys perform at Darien Lake. John was playing drums for them at that time, and Brian Wilson was back in the fold. It was a super concert. John Cowsill is an accomplished drummer, and Darian Sahanaja, a great guy, and fan of It’s My Party was playing keyboards and percussion that night. It was Darian who mentioned too us how much the vibraphone was used in ’60s girl group music, which led to us buying the instrument. He was so impressed that we brought our own glockenspiel the LA show, which he also attended. Unfortunately, our attempt to catch up with the guys back stage didn’t happen.  It’s refreshing to see that accomplished musicians like John and Darian are grounded and supportive of others like us.

A Look back at the March 22, 1986 live performance at The Casablanca

(We originally posted this article in 2011, but it’s worthy of re-posting for our new followers)

This historic post contains a play-list of four live recordings by the original IT’S MY PARTY! girls. The date was March 22, 1986, the venue, the now defunct Casablanca on East Henrietta Road in Rochester, NY. Our road manager at the time, Arnie Kraft, captured the recording on, of all things, a cassette boom-box. Listen to that recording wonder machine “hard limit!” Which brings me to a one of my recording philosophies, equipment is the least important aspect of the recording process; all the equipment in the world will not compensate for a mediocre performance.

Liz, singing at the Casablanca

Track one is Liz, the second IT’S MY PARTY! girl to join the group, performing a Revillos/Rezillos’ tune “Bitten By a Love Bug.” The early group played seventies and eighties girl groups as well. Listen to Dave Carroll’s nifty guitar work on this track. Gary Skinner– the guy responsible for coming up with the name for the group — shows his versatility by adding the second guitar. This song was always fun to perform and a real crowd-pleaser.

Sonia, girl number three, sings our namesake, “It’s My Party.” What struck me immediately about Sonia was her ability to blend in a vocal harmony, a talent very few singers possess. On this track Sonia shows she can sing a strong lead vocal as well. It’s no surprise that someone with Sonia’s talent continues to endeavor in music; to see what Sonia is doing musically today, click Sonia Lee to arrive at her official website.

Sharon singing at the Casablanca

Never a group to shy away from performing an esoteric track, “On and On,” was originally recorded in the ’60s by Joy and the Sorrows. Sharon, the first girl to join the group, takes lead. This is an honest recording, perhaps the vocal ensemble is a bit out of tune here and there, but hey, you try singing while a band is blasting in your ears! And besides, I really like the emotion in Sharon’s delivery.

Gary, Dave, Liz and Sonia at the Casablanca


Finally, listen to Liz singing lead on The Chiffons’ classic “Sweet Talkin’ Guy.” Her brilliant rendition carries the proper emotion and more than compensates for the “tricky” drummer — myself! — who had to overplay. Sometimes it takes awhile to figure out that drums are an ensemble instrument. Listen to Gary Skinner’s solid opening on the keyboard and his attention to detail during the music break.

The Recording of the “That Boy John” EP

Posted on by John Giotto
That Boy John Cover

That Boy John Cover

After the success of the single “Can’t” in 1997, IT’S MY PARTY! set out to record more material, with a goal of a 1998 release. Unlike “Can’t,” which took two years to complete, while enduring several vocal personnel changes, the next recording benefited from the polished vocal lineup of Vanessa, Roseanna, and newcomer Lauren, who had replaced Aubrey. Aubrey, finding it difficult to juggle her commitment to the group with the pursuit of her other passion, theater performance, departed on good terms, and would return for a second stint in IT’S MY PARTY! the following year.

I selected the material for the new release based on the relative strengths of the singers. Vanessa’s voice seemed to lend itself to a relatively unknown Barry/Greenwich composition, “That Boy John.” A decade before, in 1988, Paul Kanack and I visited Ellie Greenwich’s Manhattan apartment with the idea of working with her. She shared with us her frustration about the timing of the release of “That Boy John,” by her group, The Raindrops, in early December 1963, just weeks after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The timing couldn’t have been worse, and the record failed to chart. It was her thought that a release at any other time would have produced a hit. Remembering this, Paul and I were determined to give this song a second chance. “That Boy John” became the title track of the new release.

The second song selected for the single was “I’m Bobby’s Girl.” Not to be confused with “Bobby’s Girl,” by Marcie Blaine, “I’m Bobby’s Girl” was an original song, written by Syeed Abdulal-haqq, especially for the group.

Another song that had remained a favorite was “The Boy Next Door,” a tune popularized by The Secrets in 1963. Although IT’S MY PARTY! had recorded this song in 1988, it was never released to the public. Vanessa had established herself as the lead vocalist of this lineup, however, Lauren’s perky vocal-style seemed perfect for “The Boy Next Door.” By adding this track the single became more of an EP or maxi-single with three song offerings.

Calvin May was the primary engineer during the recording. Eager to try digital recording, Calvin offered the use of his two ADAT recorders. These machines encoded digital information on magnetic tape that resembled VHS cassettes. The thought was that our 1/2″ 16-track analogue tape machine could not reproduce the low end needed for these recordings, whereas the ADATs could. However, halfway through the recording of “That Boy John,” Calvin left the project to pursue other interests. 

With ADAT cassettes in hand, and hauling my 70-pound tape machine, I set out to a local recording studio with ADAT recording. All of the tracks on the ADAT were then transferred to my analogue tape machine, which was then returned to our studio to finish the project. Unfortunately, an amazing piano track was lost on “That Boy John” during the transfer. It is unknown why this happened, perhaps that track was placed in record mode, or, as we like to say to try explain away the woes of digital recording, perhaps a ghost entered the machine.

Two-track master label

Two-track master label – test tones ensure that the playback machine runs at the same speed as the recording machine

Strong vocal renditions more than made up for any technical glitches, and the stereo master was finally compiled in August. One of the new twists on this release was the addition of horns and reed instruments, for the first time on an IT’S MY PARTY! recording. Bill Tiberio played some moving tenor sax solos, especially on “I’m Bobby’s Girl.” Derrick Lipp added trumpet, and David DeWitt played trombone. Jim Sawicki, who helped record some of the earliest IT’S MY PARTY! tracks in 1988, contributed a  piano track on “The Boy Next Door,” and Jim Reilley, now in Nashville, added the guitar track to “I’m Bobby’s Girl.” (You can see other contributors by clicking on the track sheet links at the bottom of this post.)

Gene Paul, son of legendary guitarist, Les Paul, mastered the single at DB Plus in New York City. Sheila Bergel, an acquaintance, who lived in New York City attended the mastering session. Sheila is a girl group authority and publisher of Cha Cha Charming, the definitive girl group fanzine. Sheila added an enthusiastic presence at the mastering that gave the session a positive vibe.

After months of toil, “That Boy John” hit the stores in early December on both CD and cassette formats. The initial reactions were positive. Bob Scheffel of The One Magazine and WBER radio wrote, “This single is stronger than the first release.” Martin Natchez of The Flint Journal  added, “On the new CD is ‘I’m Bobby’s Girl,’ featuring trio leader Vanessa singing in the style of The Angels’ ‘My Boyfriend’s Back’.” The tracks received airplay on stations in Michigan and Canada, and opened IT’S MY PARTY! to new markets and fans.

One track that was fun to record was “I’m Bobby’s Girl.” In the intro, there is a dialog between the girls. Janine, our fan club president, is one of the voices, and can be clearly heard on the line, “I don’t know what she sees in him,” adding to the vibe of the song. All these years later, with various girls taking turns at the lead vocals, “I’m Bobby’s Girl” remains a fan-favorite at live concerts.

"That Boy John" Track Sheet"The Boy Next Door" Track Sheet"I'm Bobby's Girl" Track Sheet

 

If you would like a physical copy of “That Boy John,” click the “Add to Cart” button below to purchase the CD by way of Paypal.





If you prefer a digital copy, go to our discography section and follow the link of your choice for downloads.

"Can’t," an IT’S MY PARTY! recording from 1995-97

Posted on by John Giotto
"Can't" artwork

The cover of the “Can’t” CD Single from 1997

 I’d like to tell you the story of the release of the IT’S MY PARTY! single entitled “Can’t” b/w “I’d Much Rather Be With the Girls.” It’s hard to believe that so much time has past since this recording, and I’d like to write down my recollections of this project before I lose any more memory of the events as they unfolded. Fortunately, we keep very good records of the recording sessions as well as saving artifacts through the years.

IT’S MY PARTY! got back into the studio in 1995 with the intention of recording and releasing a single. The group was in a state of flux for the previous two years, but the time seemed right in ’95, as new candidates auditioned for the vocal lineup and had shown potential.

I thought it would be a nice tribute to the original girl group sound to try to recreate one of the thousands of great tunes to choose from. I always liked Donna Lynn’s version of “I’d Much Rather Be With the Girls,”  a Rolling Stones song from their album, Metamorphosis, recorded in 1965.  Besides paying out the proper mechanical royalties, we needed to ask permission to change the name from “I’d Much Rather Be With the Boys,” to “I’d Much Rather Be With the Girls.” With permission from the publisher granted, we proceeded to track this one in the spirit of the Donna Lynn version.

We decided to rent the large room at the Penfield Baptist Church on Penfield Road in Penfield, NY for the recording of “I’d Much Rather Be With the Girls.” The price for the day was more than reasonable, and we thought that the large room would give us the big sound present on the original recording. Calvin May, the engineer, set up a microphone in the back of the room to capture the ambience of the drum set. Combining that ambient track with the close microphones created exactly the effect we were looking for. The tracking date was September 1, 1995. The take that we decided to work with was take-three.

We brought in musician Ted Paris to play bass on the track. Ted had played in various sixties revival bands and knew the style we were looking for. Ted also brought along his Rickenbacker twelve-string electric, the same instrument used on Donna Lynn’s version. Besides playing bass, Ted overdubbed many of the guitar tracks, including the twelve-string. Walt O’Brien, whom I will talk about later in this post, played the guitar foundation track, as well as some of the guitar overdubs. We ended up with a total of seven guitar tracks on our recording. As far as the percussion went, Billy Eberts played the glockenspiel, while I played the drum set.

Adding the lead vocal track was a challenge, the would-be singers lacked any real studio experience. We tried a few different vocalist before shelving the project. Then finally, in late 1996, the group enjoyed its strongest singer in years with Vanessa joining the group and taking on lead vocals. We also added Aubrey to the group, a great backup singer whose voice blended well and sat very nicely in the mix. Vanessa and Aubrey were friends from middle school. We were now in a position to complete this track. It was serendipitous that “I’d Much Rather Be With the Girls” was a perfect fit for Vanessa’s lead vocal. I remember posting the word “than” to the studio wall on a piece of paper so she wouldn’t sing the word “then.” We double-tracked Vanessa’s lead using an AKG 414 microphone. We completed the final backing vocal track on March 29, 1997. I guess you should never give up on your dreams, because the finished product was well worth the wait!

I wanted an original recording for the A-side of the project.  As I mentioned earlier, Walt O’Brien played guitars on the “I’d Much Rather Be With the Girls” recording. Walt was, and still is, one of the finest musicians in the Rochester area. He cut his teeth on sixties music by listening to his older sister’s records. Walt is a natural, able to pick up, and master, virtually any instrument he touches. Much like Paul McCartney, Walt could easily multi-track himself as an entire ensemble, then sing lead and backup vocals over the top. Walt is also a prolific songwriter; at my request, he provided me with a cassette tape of songs he had written. I listened to the tune “Can’t,” originally recorded in the ’80s by Walt’s band called the Insiders. “Can’t” intrigued me, it had the obvious hooks and infectious melody, the Mersey-beat feel with walking guitar lines and driving harmonica, but there was more. I really liked the seventh chord vocal harmony, and the one bar of two beats that gave the song an interesting twist. So, “Can’t” became the choice for the plug side.

We recorded “Can’t” at Hat n’ Hat Studio in Penfield, NY. Many local and out-of-town groups enjoy the ambiance of that tiny studio, and it would remain the main recording facility for IT’S MY PARTY! through the years. Hat n’ Hat has two rooms and a small control room. Each room can be used for recording. Room one is larger and carpeted, it’s  “drier” or “damper” than room two, which is tiled a livelier. The control room is fairly neutral. Sometimes vocals are recorded in the control room with the singers listening to the payback monitors rather than using headphones. We began the recording of “Can’t” on November 24, 1995.

I brought Walt into the studio to play the guitar tracks. We raised the key of the song to C to fit the vocal range of a female vocalist. Walt also played the harmonica solo as well, the only harmonica to date on any IT’S MY PARTY! recording. Calvin May added the final bass guitar track, as well as engineering the recording. The tracking consisted of three microphones on the drums, bass, five guitar tracks, harmonica, hand claps, and tambourine. Walt is one of the best tambourine players I have ever heard. The bass was re-tracked by Calvin on November 2, 1996. We sure took a long time on this, but, again, we were searching for the right vocalists. Vanessa sang lead, and Vanessa and Aubrey both sang the backups. You can clearly hear Aubrey’s voice making the seventh in the harmony.

We took the master tape to DB Plus in New York City to have Gene Paul master the single. It was nice having another set of ears on the project, especially a guy with Gene’s resume. He made some great suggestions for our next tracking and mixing sessions. And, I must say, he wasn’t too thrilled with our ’60s styled faux stereo mix of “Can’t.” Most of the 45 rpms back in those days were mixed in mono, with all the instruments and vocals in the center of the mix. Keep in mind that these songs were mixed for optimum sound from a single car radio speaker, where most people at that time became exposed to new music.  Record companies began producing stereo records for stereo equipment, which was on the rise in the late fifties and sixties.  The information from the original mono records would come out of a stereo system equally in both the left and right speakers, but this was not the effect stereophiles were looking for. Engineers went back to the master tapes and remixed, but what they had to work with consisted of two, three, or maybe four tracks. Usually the lead vocals on one track, the backing vocals on another, the basic music tracks on the third and any sweeteners, like hand claps and tambourine, maybe on a fourth. That really didn’t leave a lot of room for separation into left and right channels. Most of the time they would load the music on one side and the vocals on the other, this could create an irritating effect where, if the vocals dropped out, your ear missed that information, creating an imbalance of sound. If you listen to “Can’t,” that is precisely what’s going on. We could have balanced the stereo field, but got a little too cute with this mix trying to replicate a four track effect. Remember, we had five guitar tracks, and we could have balanced them equally across the stereo field. Gene really took us to task on that mix, and we never tried that again. On a side note, Phil Spector was never a fan of stereo. He liked the full, fat sound of mono; the meddled effect of mono also made  it more difficult to pick out individual instruments, and in a age of fierce competition, more difficult to copy a producer’s techniques.

"Judy's Turn To Cry" picture sleeve

“Judy’s Turn To Cry” picture sleeve

Calvin designed the sleeve of the CD, which was inspired by the Lesley Gore picture sleeve for “Judy’s Turn to Cry” b/w “Just Let Me Cry.” The inspiration came to Calvin and me over a meal at Dell Taco in Henrietta, NY — long since closed. We particularly liked the monochrome printing on the Lesley Gore Picture sleeve, and wanted to produce the same effect. Here again, we perhaps reached too far. Our CD replicator  was a sort of one-stop, providing in-house printing. While this was convenient, I’m not sure they knew what they were doing when it came to printing anything out of the ordinary. Calvin suggested we print in true monochrome. Rather than approximating the one-color by using the four-color printing process, we wanted the pure one color mixed and loaded into the printing press, the end result would be a grayscale of that particular color. The replicator said that, in order to do this, they would have to stop all production, purge the machines, and set up our one-color, adding an additional expense to the project. We agreed, determined to make this look like an old ’60s picture sleeve. The cassette proofs came back from the manufacturer before the CD, and boy was I upset. The printing looked just awful, the product was dark, with black ink clearly present. Obviously, black ink had leached into our printing from somewhere. I wondered who proofed this thing before they sent it along to us! I was on my way to the Grey Cup football game in Edmonton, and steaming mad! I cooled off in Toronto, so I could enjoy the cross Canada trip. After sending the sample cassettes back, with  few apologies from the replicator, we eventually received a new batch of passable cassette covers. The CD jackets ended up looking okay, but this incident held up production, and they arrived a few months after the cassettes.

Advertisement for Educational Expo

Advertisement for Educational Expo

The “Can’t” cassingle was available for our performance at the Eisenhart Auditorium on East Avenue in Rochester, NY. The girls performed to pre-recorded music from 11:30-noon on October 26, 1997 as part of a larger event called the Educational Expo. And now for one of the best kept secrets of the group; we only had two singers on these recordings, that makes a duo, not a girl group. Insert Lorraine, a friend of mine’s daughter, into the photo shoot, and voila,  IT’S MY PARTY! was a girl group, at least for appearances sake. Just in time for the Educational Expo show, we welcomed  Roseanna as our third singer. This show was their second performance as a trio.

IT'S MY PARTY! (Vanessa, Aubrey & Roseanna) performing at the Eisenhart Auditorium 10-26-1997

IT’S MY PARTY! (Vanessa, Aubrey & Roseanna) performing at the Eisenhart Auditorium 10-26-1997

I remember what a trooper Roseanna was at the Educational Expo show; here she was performing, but not on the cover art, not having sung a single note on the release, and she had an ear-to-ear grin the entire show. She was also eager to point out our cassette to onlookers. We easily sold over one hundred cassettes that afternoon in a short period of time, and I thought to myself how easy this was going to be, we were going to sell thousands of these singles! What I didn’t realize at the time was A: the music business is flush with talent, competing for the consumer’s discretionary income, and B: sales were artificially high that day because all of the relatives of the IT’S MY PARTY! girls  were purchasing them, especially Roseanna’s family! Getting back to Lorraine, she actually ended up performing in the band, playing hand percussion, when we transitioned from canned backup music to a full fledged live ensemble. Lorraine reminded people of Tracy of the Partridge Family, played by Suzanne Crough, who had the same assignment of percussion, usually tambourine, and looked very similar to Lorraine.

IMP historical 1997 001To mark the official release, the group hosted a record release party on Sunday December 28, 1997 at the now defunct Spinner’s Family Fun Center in Macedon, NY. The admission was only five dollars and included skating and free pizza. The CD singles were in stock by this time, and once again, like the Education Expo performance, sales were brisk. We had a nice turnout, and went through many sheet pizzas. The group was already working on a new recording which would become the “That Boy John” maxi-single. The “That Boy John” session would give Roseanna a chance to record and promote her own work, as we released the single in 1998. I will tell the story of that recording in my next post.

If you would like a physical copy of “Can’t b/w “I’d Much Rather Be With the Girls,” click the “Add to Cart” button below to purchase the CD by way of Paypal.


If you have any comments, or if you were at the Educational Expo or the “Can’t” Record Release Party at Spinners, please leave us a message on our contact form.