Phil (cont...): MY DEAR, MY DARLING by The Counts. My ears perked up, that’s all I know – and they still do! At 58 years old, my ears still perk up when I hear these songs.
RVO: Do you think that you’ll record those songs someday?
Phil: Maybe, maybe, they’re songs that I love.
RVO: Tell us about Seth Glassman, who I see here produced the record.
Phil: Seth and I get on beautifully, in and out of the studio. This is a guy with an encyclopedic knowledge of music - groups no one’s ever heard of - which I remember from the Fillmore East in the 60’s; people like Sopwith Camel, or Baby Huey & the Babysitters, and he’s like, “oh yeah I remember them,” and then goes on to reference his favorite tracks and session players. So having that shared vocabulary and appreciation, it was a very natural process getting to the sound we wanted on this record. And when we were done we were both able to say, “we’ve got somethin’ here that sounds fresh, and yet very old at the same time.”
RVO: Where does the name, The Sons of Saint Rocco, come from?
Phil: Saint Rocco’s was the Catholic School I attended in Newark as a kid. The very first musical training I had was in the choir there, taught by the nuns. I remember singing OH HOLY NIGHT, and when we all got to that part of the song where we sang “fall on your knees, oh hear the angels’ voices…,” hearing that harmony, even as a little child, it sounded so beautiful to me that my heart skipped a beat! So in a way, I’m paying homage to that musical instruction that I received from the nuns, letting them know that I appreciate what they did for my education.
RVO: So what all happened between the choir and the making of this record? How did you get here? Can you talk to us about that?
Phil: Sure. Back in the mid 60s, about 1965, there was an acappella vocal group explosion in the northeast, from Boston all the way down to Philly. A few friends and I - we were only 13 or 14 - got caught up in the excitement, and after going to shows at the
Fox Theater in Hackensack, decided to start our own group. We called ourselves The 4 Winds. (cont...)
