BEHIND THE MUSIC
Up in the Air
When I was 30 years old, I was introduced to a young woman named Astrid Plane. She had a band named Red Zone, a “Retro Science Fiction” band produced by her boyfriend Ottavio. They were forming a new band, and needed a guitarist, singer, songwriter. I played them a few of my songs recorded on a four track cassette recorder. The one that excited them was called, All in a Day. ‘Dogs go wild in static, howling for rain to pour. Girlfriend clings to her fabric, glass breaks on the floor. All in a day. In a day. All in a day.’
They asked me to join the band and Astrid gave it a new name, Animotion. We recorded a few of my songs, and played in the L.A clubs like Madame Wongs, The Roxy and Club Lingerie. A legendary A&R man, Russ Regan came to our rehearsal studio to check us out. After hearing just 4 songs, he asked us to sit with him around the funky rehearsal space couch.
“He sings, she sings, then a duet, you could be a Fleetwood Mac for the 80’s.” And with that, he offered us a record contract with Polygram/Mercury.
Animotion entered the Billboard charts in 1985 and peaked at #6 in May of that year with “Obsession.” We did what we could to stay on top, but I departed after the second album. A hard decision. I didn’t record another album until 1999 when Bruce Robertson and I wrote, recorded and released our collaboration, Black Barrel.
In 2012 I played the role of Dan in the musical Next to Normal at Artist’s Rep Theater in Portland. I performed 42 shows with a cast I grew to love. The feeling of singing in a space designed so the audience AND the performers are transformed by the lights, the sound, the set and the orchestra, is a feeling I will continue to seek. An opportunity to carry my story and songs forward in words and music.
Up In The Air, is a musical memoir about family, music, and a lucky break that sent me around the world in the 1980’s. And the struggle to find solid footing in an unsteady world.
View a musical clip of the show, “Little Brother” in the videos section.