Performances

The Confetti Clatter – September 2020

Posted on by John Giotto

It was a good season!

The group performed twice in August, concluding another summer of performances. Although the season was short, it was successful none-the-less.

Ed and Steve prepare to load onto the portable stage at Silver lake Drive-in.

First off, we added a new member to the group. Ella did a great job getting up-to-speed with Emma and Frankie. Also, by practicing familiar songs, we strengthened and sharpened some of the vocal arrangements in our repertoire.  

Secondly, we brought “The Boy Next Door,” “Sway,” and “The Loco-motion” back into the setlist, while adding “Lollipop.” These songs seemed to go over well, and they were fun to learn.

Emma, Frankie, and Ella perform in Branchport for a private party on Keuka Lake.

Finally, we experimented with four horn players for our Charcoal Corral/ Silver Lake Drive-in show. Matt Doi and Dave Burlone covered some songs where baritone and tenor sax play at the same time. Also, on “I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do” by ABBA, both players played tenor saxophone, and boy, did it sound good! I think this format has merit though we have to tweak it for next year. Dave recommended a dedicated baritone saxophone book as a suggestion.

Recording resumes in August

Another positive in 2020 was the resumption of recording. We began working on some of these tracks back in 2015, and it felt good to get the ball rolling again. With singers in college, we have a three-month window to prepare for live performances and record tracks. Suffice it to say this has been a real challenge. 

One person, in particular, Michael Lynch, has been extremely patient with us. Micheal provided two songs for us to record. One of these songs is entitled “Mister Sunshine.” I thought something was missing in our initial music tracks, so this summer, we added harpsichord. James created the part we recorded, and it sounds excellent. We shot the video below after James tuned the instrument. Here he is playing a Bach piece.

 

Emma is coming into the studio to record vocals early this month, and with photos already taken of the new group, we hope to have at least a single release soon. We will keep you posted on our progress in the October issue of The Confetti Clatter. Thanks for reading, and please feel free to add a comment or question.

The Confetti Clatter – August 2020

Posted on by John Giotto

Welcome Ella, as we return to the stage

We will place our historical look-back this month on hold to announce that Ella, a high school student from the Rochester area, is joining the group this year. Ella, Emma, and Frankie performed on the driveway of our practice home on August 2 as a dress rehearsal for our only public appearance in 2020. That show will take place on Tuesday, August 4, from 6-8 PM at the Charcoal Corral in Perry, NY. Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, the weather forecast is not favorable for this outdoor event — fingers crossed.

Emma, Ella & Frankie after completing our dress rehearsal

If you have been to one of our shows at the Charcoal Corral in the past, this year’s concert will have a different, shall I say 2020 look. Instead of the regular band stage, we will perform in front of one of the two drive-in theater screens. You may watch the band on the lawn in front of the stage, or, if you prefer, in your car, where you can tune-in the performance on FM radio.

This event should be at least a unique moment in the long history of our group, hope to see you there!

04aug6:00 pm8:00 pmCharcoal Corral Concert Series

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 – 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- January 2020 Newsletter

Posted on by John Giotto

Reflecting on 2019

As we look back at 2019 in photos, we hope that all of our fans and followers will have a happy and prosperous new year. 2020 will be a special year for us, as it is our 35th anniversary. Thirty five years as a group means saying hellos and goodbyes many times, to both followers and group members. Whether a person performed once, or for several years with It’s My Party, we hope that they developed some esprit de corps through their participation in this group. Your efforts are appreciated and you will not be forgotten.

2019 was an exciting year for It’s My Party. We performed eighteen times over a 6-week span. Highlights for the season included the Lyons, NY performance for their farmers’ market, and the well-attended annual performance at What’s ‘Ur Scoop Ice Cream. We also returned to Honeoye Public Library Concerts and the Sodus Bay Lighthouse Concerts after a long hiatus from performing at both events. New venues included the Rochester Country Club and Ferris Hills at West lake.

It’s My Party is truly a grassroots enterprise, we do not have a professional photographer, videographer, merchandiser, or manager, rather we rely on the generous contributions of family, friends and fans, The following slideshow are shots taken by our fan Ken Kleinendorst at our Hammondsport and Shortsville performances this past Summer:

New Performance dates for 2020:

23jul6:00 pm8:00 pmEvent CancelledHammondsport Music in the Park

06aug6:00 pm8:00 pmEvent CancelledIrondequoit Farmers' Market

The Confetti Clatter- December 2019 Newsletter

Posted on by John Giotto

“Where words fail, music speaks.” ― Hans Christian Andersen

To Cover, or Not to Cover (When it’s a good idea to leave well-enough alone)

This article was originally posted in March 2013, but is worth reposting for our new fan base.

It’s about that time of year when the group decides to add new songs to the play-list for the upcoming concert season. IT’S MY PARTY! is faced with many challenges when selecting songs. On the odd showcase event, it’s a no-brainer to perform as many original and arcane tunes as possible. However, that strategy would fail at our typical Western, NY performances, where the audience leans toward songs they know and already like. Although we try to strike a balance between a few originals, some esoteric numbers, and a good amount of charting songs from the ’60s and ’70s, we still have folks, from time-to-time, approach us after shows upset that they didn’t recognize many songs we performed. Recalling the big hits we just performed like, “Chapel of Love,” and “It’s My Party,” doesn’t propitiate these audience members, and they leave the concert disappointed. Unlike 2013, our recent balance of songs leans toward more recognizable tunes, including a spattering of male vocal hits.

This brings me to my thoughts on when and how to cover a particular song. There are some songs I would view as untouchable, in that the original shows such genius and musical pathos, it simply can not be attempted as a cover. Almost every Shangri-las song falls into this category. An attempt to cover “Leader of the Pack” would come off as stilted, that one, although recognizable to all, is best left alone. On the other hand you could give “Long Live Our Love” a try. We had included Dusty Springfield’s “I Only Want To Be With You,” in the past, but the attempt fell flat; clearly we were reaching too far on that one. We added this song back into our set list in 2018.

Sometimes the best strategy for some covers — and this would not sit well with those wanting to hear a recognizable tune — is to interpret that song in a unique or creative way. If you will, making that song your own. Look for the girls trying a few of these this year. Was Santana’s version of “She’s Not There” a good cover? Sure, and he put his own spin on the song. Any Zombies song is pretty much untouchable; don’t even try to replicate them! The entire Zombies album Odessey and Oracle is a masterpiece, but that’s a subject for a future post.

On the very rare occasion, the cover can actually eclipse the original recording. For this to happen, it can’t be one of those untouchables. The one instance that comes to mind is the artist, Lick the Tins and their ’80s cover of “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” originally recorded by Elvis Presley in 1961. This song is ripe for a cover, hey, it’s not from one of the Sun sessions! Some may argue, it’s not one of his best. Lick the Tins took the song in a whole new direction. As Ron Stein, of whom It’s My Party is the brain child, said, “Lick the Tins performed the song the way it should have been originally recorded.” That coming from one of the top Elvis fans of all time!

So I will leave you with two links, one to the original Presley version, and the other to the wonderful rendition by Lick the Tins. Give a listen, and feel free to weigh in on this subject by posting your thoughts.

 

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.