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Rock and respect distinguish the Sammys Hall of Fame induction
There was a mutual admiration in the room on Nov. 10 at Upstairs at the Dino during the Syracuse Area Music Awards (Sammys) Hall of Fame induction ceremony. There were no divas nor egos, but instead a group of local music lovers and supporters gathered to recognize the accomplishments of the 2011 Hall of Fame inductees: Joe Riposo, Marcia Hagan, David “Rock” Feinstein, 805, Rick Gary and the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra.
Although the night had an air of respect, attendees also had a sense of humor thanks especially to the evening’s emcees: the rootsy rock-folk-pop group known as the Dean Brothers. Right off the bat the brothers Bob Dean, Peter Dean and John Dean, plus Holly Gregg, lit up the room with laughter as they explained their surprise at being asked to host the event. “They must be at the bottom of the barrel to bring the Dean Brothers,” Gregg said. Only moments into the presentation, they broke into a barbershop quartet-style opening by singing, “I love to live in Syracuse with a band like you.” The ice was officially broken.
Jokes about the need for dental floss to ward off the Dino’s pulled pork ensued, with even more gags during the guys’ introduction of a local legend known for his “good looks and sex appeal,” as morning-drive jock Big Mike Fiss of WZUN-FM 102.1 (Sunny 102) was summoned to the stage to present an award to fellow Galaxy Communications deejay Rick Gary. Inductee Gary joked about his age, his long history with the Dean Brothers and how fun it was pissing off his program director, who used to tell Gary that no one wanted to hear local music. “Yeah, right,” Gary said. “We packed the parking lot {of WOLF-AM 1490} with the Dean Brothers and had green bagels…green because they were a couple years old, but still…”
A round of applause also went to Gary for his military service, since Veterans Day was the following day, Friday, Nov. 11, and Gary dedicated the award to the memory of his late daughter Jessica. He closed his remarks with some wisdom, saying that in life everyone needs a backbone to stand up for yourself, a wishbone to dream with, a funny bone to keep your sense of humor “and a really sharp car to drive around because no matter how old and fat you are, you’re godlike when you’re driving that.”
Next up was Ava Andrews, local soul singer with Dave Hanlon’s Cookbook, who presented her sister Marcia Hagan--Andrews noted, “My older sister!”--with the award. The sibling love was clear and endearing, as Andrews announced, “I get to hold your award before you do,” then huffed on the black Sammy and shined it before handing it over. “These things collect a lot dust,” said Andrews, who has received Sammys in 1996 and 2004 with Cookbook, “but they remind me that there are people out there who appreciate and love what we do.”
Hagan was gracious and thankful for “the thought, the concept” of the Sammys, saying that it’s one thing to be recognized as an artist elsewhere, but something more meaningful to be appreciated at home. She also thanked her mother, Willie Mary Andrews, who was at the ceremony, for allowing music to be such an important part of Hagan’s life. Although they didn’t have much money, Hagan’s mom still allowed 20 to 30 kids into her house just so they could all learn and practice music.
Hagan still feels strongly about enabling youngsters to follow their musical aspirations. “Kids need encouragement because people are telling them music isn’t a real profession,” Hagan said. “They need that encouragement, time and patience.”
Following Hagan was Ron Wray, dubbed the “godfather of Syracuse music” during Gregg’s introduction, to present the Sammy to David “Rock” Feinstein. Wray, a vigilant collector of all things Syracuse music-related for the last 48 years, talked about when he first heard Elf and got to know Feinstein through his cousin, the famed singer Ronnie James Dio, and how their friendship has blossomed over the years. Wray emphasized that Feinstein was not only an incredible musician but one of the “great human beings on the planet.”
Feinstein, clearly touched by the introduction, also lent his sense of humor to his acceptance speech. “I just learned with all the interviews I’ve done recently that all this time I thought they really thought I was good at guitar,” he joked. “Now I know it was just the cheap theatrics. I was always a fan of Jimi Hendrix and he played loud and humped his guitar, so I played loud and wiped my ass with my guitar…whatever works.”
Next up was Liverpool High School music director Jim Spadafore, who presented Joe Riposo with the Hall of Fame Music Educator Award. Spadafore began taking lessons with Riposo at age 10, and said that even after 47 years, he’s still learning from Riposo. Spadafore got a few laughs when he called Riposo “the Kevin Bacon of Syracuse,” referring to the idea of six degrees of separation, explaining that everyone in the room is probably connected to Riposo, whether through a teacher, performer or piece of music they’ve played that Riposo had composed.
An example of that was made clear when the drummer of 805, Frank Briggs, brought his story to the microphone. When Briggs was a student at Onondaga Community College, he couldn’t read music, so he wasn’t admitted to the music program, although he would still jam with other students. One day when they were playing, Riposo came in, handed out a chart and asked the musicians to play it as an audition for his big band. Briggs played by ear, but when he missed a break in the music, Riposo caught the hint. He walked over to Briggs’ stand, flipped over the music that had been sitting upside down on the stand and asked, “You don’t read music, do you?” Briggs replied, “I’m workin’ on it.” Riposo answered, “I can teach people how to read music, but I can’t teach people how to feel music,” and asked him to join the band.
There was a rousing round of applause for Riposo, as he made a short and sweet acceptance speech emphasizing that he’s satisfied with the duality in his life, both teaching and performing, and while he could have gone on to be a performer, he made the right decision in becoming a music educator.
Local drummer Mike Donohue prepared a long introduction for 1980s progressive rock pioneers 805. It detailed the magnitude of their accomplishments as musicians who started off emulating their heroes, such as Yes and Pink Floyd, and now “could stand up and look them in the eye as former heroes, now peers.” The four members of 805 present, bassist Greg “Creamo” Liss, keys player Ed Vivenzio, drummer Briggs and vocalist-guitarist Dave Porter, accepted the award together, as Porter joked, “1982 was a long time ago. It’s good to do this now before any of us die.”
Each member said a few words, but all reflected the same idea of gratitude. Briggs explained, “At this point in my career I’ve had the chance to play with a lot of people. This is the best band I’ve been in.” Hugs were exchanged and a short story about Creamo getting punched by Briggs’ mother during a rehearsal after he “only mooned her” was shared. Jokes and self-deprecating humor aside, the accomplishments of the band and the pride and honor coming off the stage were evident.
The final award of the evening was presented by Bill Brod, publisher and owner of the Syracuse New Times. Brod emphasized the importance of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra and promised that The New Times would help resurrect the SSO however possible. Five representatives of the orchestra, Andrew Zaplatynsky, Deborah C. Coble, Michael Bull, Ernest Muzquiz and Patricia Sharpe, accepted the award. There was a sadness in Zaplatynsky’s voice as he explained their excitement coming into their 50th season, only to witness its end in bankruptcy. However, hopes are still high for the future, and Zaplatysnsky reminded the audience that the current formation of the organization will be performing on Friday, Nov. 18, 7:30 p.m., at the Mulroy Civic Center, 411 Montgomery St.
The Dean Brothers’ closing remarks also stressed the SSO’s importance, as Gregg commented, “Having a symphony is like having air and oxygen in the community.”
Attendees left the ceremony buzzing about the next day’s events, including the Music Industry Conference (MIC) and the Sammy Awards, but most of all buzzing with pride and admiration for the deserving inductees.
