Jamie Moyer
N/S Stickist & Bassist
San Diego, Ca.

The Journey

This is the story of a working musician.  By working, I mean a musician that has always had a full-time job while performing - one that moved all over the country in his quest to make it big!  Although I never managed to cross that bridge, I have enjoyed tremendous success in places like central Pennsylvania, New England, Nashville, Las Vegas and Southern California (my outpost since 1996) and met some of most incredible musicians along the way.  Of course all artists have their internationally renowned influences, and I have way too many to count.  However, for me it was the wonderful musicians that I crossed paths with over my 38 years of performance (and counting) that have had the most impact!

Despite being a few years from the big 5-0, I have entertained audiences in five decades.  I was a member of Holding Pattern (a renowned progressive rock band from Hartford, CT) and Good Time Charlie (a country band that won the 1983 Pennsylvania finals of The Wrangler Country Showdown).  I have also had the pleasure of sharing the stage with major artists including Asia, George Strait, Blue Oyster Cult, Rosanne Cash, Eddie Money and Whispering Bill Anderson, as well as appeared in the major motion picture, Casino, as bassist in The Jerry Vale Orchestra.

If so inclined, get a drink, settle into your favorite chair and take this journey with me!  It meanders throughout various regions of the United States from coast to coast and includes side trips down back roads of Pennsylvania, Ohio, New England, Tennessee, Nevada and California … For those musicians among you, change the names and this story may sound familiar …

Part I- The Pennsylvania Years

I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and have played electric bass since the early 1970's.  Little did I know at the time that the bass guitar was still a “teenager” itself having been introduced on a mass basis by Leo Fender during 1951 just eight years before my birth.

Through circumstances beyond my control, the instrument picked me.  I began my long musical journey in 1969 as a 10-year old lead vocalist for a band (or combo as we called them back in the day) that started in elementary school.  I was not a great singer, but I was the only one brave enough to sing in front of a crowd.  We had a pianist (David Pfeil), guitarist (Scott Schell) and a drummer (Dan Feist) who’s dad (Lou Feist) performed with Little Richard among other notables in the early 60’s, taught state champion drum & bugle corps and continues to be one of the best drummers that have ever heard!  After two years, fate (or rather puberty) stepped in and changed my golden alto to a cracking baritone.  The boys in the band thought that I should play bass until my voice caught up with my growth - I am still waiting!  So, I asked my grandparents if I could get a bass guitar.  Being raised by Great Depression era elders, they told me that they would split the cost with me.  Well I took my hard-earned pay as a paperboy and went straight to the Sears & Roebuck catalog (of course anyone under 30 is asking what’s a Roebuck and what the heck is a catalog?) and found a Silvertone bass guitar for around a $100.

After what seemed like several months, but was probably only a few weeks, Sears called to say that my bass was in the store.  I bugged my grandfather until he drove me to the big city of Williamsport to pick up my destiny.  When I got the bass home, I opened up the box as quickly as possible and held my new baby in my hands for the first time.  Now I had never seen a bass guitar before this and had no idea what one sounded like or how to play it.  Here’s the hysterical part, I tried to strum it like I had seen my guitarist play his guitar.  Let’s just say that a Silvertone bass neck was somewhat like a telephone pole cut in half and that the strings were nearly an inch off the neck.  Strumming was impossible!  Then I slowly realized that it only had four strings, not six.  I called my guitarist in a panic, described what I had found and told him that I got ripped off.  I wanted to know where my other two strings were (those two strings and two more were coming way down the road in the form of my new instrument, the NS/Stick).  He tried to explain the difference between a guitar and a bass, and I was not getting it … when he imitated a bass line with his voice “dum-dum-dum-dum”.  Boy was I dumb, but now I understood the sound and function of the bass.

Unlike many others who picked up an instrument, I was fortunate to be in a band from the minute that I bought the bass.  The elementary school band dropped the pianist and added a rhythm guitarist (Ron Lee), and morphed into Little Rock, my first rock band.  Not only were we actually good musicians for our age, we also had the invaluable guidance of Lou Feist, who was a consummate musician and experienced sideman.  He taught us how to be professional musicians at the age of 13 and his words of wisdom still echo though my mind to this day.  After learning and performing the music from established 50’s and 60’s acts (Chuck Berry, Elvis, The Beatles, Cream), we began to play music from some of the new rock bands that were emerging during the early 70’s and taking music in different directions (Doobie Brothers, REO Speedwagon, Aerosmith, James Gang, ZZ Top).

Lou Feist also introduced me to the finest jazz and fusion music of the early 70’s including such influences as The Allman Brothers, Weather Report, Return To Forever, Jeff Beck, Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, Stan Kenton Orchestra and Maynard Ferguson.  As 14-year olds, Mr. Feist took us to see many of these artists in concert.  He then taught us how to write music and we began performing originals.  We took our mix of covers and originals out on the road by playing high school dances throughout the area.  When the high school dances came to a screeching halt due to problems with rowdy crowds – for instance my brother ended dances at my high school when he inadvertently punched our principal in the head and knocked him out as he tried to break up a fight - we found ourselves looking for new opportunities.  Before we knew it, we had New York City based management and were playing Caribbean, syncopated rhythms in places like a black bar in southern New York State and prisons in Central PA.  Then came my first taste of the politics of religion.  Three members of the band went to the Methodist church and one member – the progressive Feist family with their tie-dye shirts and Volvos – were Catholic.  On top of that, our Scott’s dad was the minister of our Methodist church.  Although we were always chaperoned by the Feists (or maybe because of it), Reverend Schell was not fond of our new direction and eventually forced his son to quit the band.  That was the end of Little Rock.
Near the end of Little Rock, I met a keyboardist named Jimmy DiPaolo (now a 20-year Yamaha Music Corporation sales and artist representative).  Jimmy played the last few Little Rock gigs with us and would introduce me to many genres of music that would expand my musical skills beyond rock and blues.  Although there were numerous bands in the Williamsport area, Little Rock had one nemesis.  A band named Rage.  These guys were a few years older and like to poke fun at our name by calling us “Ego Rock”.  After graduating from high school in 1977, Jimmy DiPaolo, Linn Reeder (Rage drummer) and I took a little side trip to Ohio to play music with a colorful character named Don King.  Not that Don King, but every bit as dangerous (a story for another day!).  In a twist of fate, Jimmy and I were invited to join Rage after our few months in Ohio.

I would spend 1977 and 1978 performing with Rage.  Since Jimmy also performed gigs with a local saxophonist named Big Art Ferringer (RIP), a few us also performed under the name, Midnight Special, at every American Legion, VFW and Moose Lodge within a 50-mile radius of Williamsport.  Art was an average sax player at best, but had a heart of gold and everyone loved him.  He taught us a very valuable lesson - that you did not need to be a great musician to entertain people – and entertain we did.  We played an incredible number of small clubs and private gigs, and became the premier wedding band in the area.  We often would perform two or three gigs in a day.  One very hot summer day we performed four gigs, including two-second floor rooms!

During that period, a guitarist named Rick Nordstrom played many of those gigs with us.  Rick is a tremendous singer/songwriter and he took us into Green Valley Recording Studio during 1979 to record three of his original songs.  That session was the first of many, many studio sessions to come later for me.  Well Jimmy got an offer to play keys for Brothers & Others, the best band in town and I joined Rick’s band, Shogun.  We had a trio of the best guitarists in the area (Rick Nordstrom, George Yaggi & the amazing John Radspinner).  Although it did not last long, we played some incredible original music in addition to passionate covers.

The end of Shogun led me to another musical chapter where I continued my informal education with Crosstown Bus (CTB), a seven-piece band with a three horns.  Most of Crosstown Bus earned degrees from Susquehanna University (SU) and the horn guys played in the SU jazz band together, and they were tight, tight, tight!  CTB was hired to perform at the 1979 American Federation of Musicians Christmas Party (almost everyone was a union musician at that time!).  My girlfriend met John Nicolosi, the primary male vocalist and trombonist, during her year at SU and she introduced me to John.  I learned that CTB was in need of a bassist and quickly threw my hat in the ring.  Since I was only 19 years old, I told them that I was 21, which was important since the band played mostly clubs throughout central PA.  You should have seen their faces a few years later when I announced my 21st birthday!  We had six vocalists and featured both male and female vocals.  I was one of three lead vocalists.  This band had 130 miles between members and was based in Sunbury, which was about an hour from Williamsport.  We played numerous engagements throughout Central Pennsylvania, including an event in Sunbury that drew over 10,000 people.
I was very lucky to fall into this opportunity and performed with CTB until 1982, but the driving time was beginning to wear on me since I had to travel an hour or two for most of our gigs.  Also, the urge to reunite Rage with my close friend and former keyboardist, Jimmy DiPaolo, was strong.  We had a great time and played many gigs, culminating with a performance at the Brandon Park band shell in front 4,500 adoring fans.  Unfortunately, Rage II broke up one year later when Jimmy returned to Brothers & Others.

During late 1983 and early 1984, I found myself back in the Sunbury area performing with Jammer, a cover rock band.  During my Jammer days, I had the pleasure of performing with Rick Andracchio, a local prodigious guitar hero.  However, the band would begin to lose drummers.  I was tired of the revolving door behind the drum kit and finally got an offer to play bass for Brothers & Others.  So I reunited with Jimmy DiPaolo for the last time and performed with the Brothers until I graduated from Lycoming College and moved to New England.

During late 1982 / early1983, I forged a new direction when I joined a newly formed country band named Good Time Charlie (GTC).  Little did I know at the time that this would become one of my two most successful musical endeavors, called the best country band on the East Coast by the Country Music Association.  GTC was a seven-piece band led by singer/songwriter Charlie Bush.  Charlie built a recording studio in his barn and we proceeded to record numerous country rock songs with catchy hooks.  The band’s high-energy stage show, and its combination of select covers and unique originals hit a nerve with the people of Central Pennsylvania.  After the release of a few singles that garnered airplay on regional radio stations, we were rising quickly and had a fan club membership pushing 2,000.  Although there were very few nightclubs that featured country music, many name acts would come through town on tour and we would open the show for most of them during the year or so that we were together.  A few of the highlights from that year included opening for a young singer out of Nashville that would go on to become one of the biggest solo acts in country music history, George Straight!  George asked me if I liked Jack Daniels (YES – thank you!) and invited me into his tour bus for a few shots.  It was a tremendous concert in front of several thousand at the Lycoming County Fair.  Listen to my music clips for a recording of that show.

We also opened for Whispering Bill Anderson, who had one of the best bands I have yet to hear.  With my healthy ego, it is one of the few times that I was so glad that we opened a show because there is no following Bill!  We also competed against 250 bands and won the 1983 Pennsylvania Wrangler Jeans / Dodge Truck Country Music Showdown.  The contest was held at the Allentown Fair in front of 14,000, the largest crowd that I have yet to entertain.  Despite kicking ass and winning the competition, GTC was disqualified, which destroyed our chance to compete in the national finals in Nashville.  Nashville had just experienced the phenomenal success of Alabama and was actively looking to sign bands.  Sawyer Brown was the next band to rocket up the charts.  I have no doubt that we would have been signed to a major label deal even if we had not won the nationals.