TONY STOUFER - PART 1 - ELECTRIC TOYS / MUSICIAN & SONG WRITER

INTRODUCTION
TONY STOUFER:

I am a musician. I have been a musician for most of my life.

 

I’ve written hundreds of original songs and I play the guitar, keyboards and bass and even program acceptable drum sections from time to time. Even though I am good at what I do, I’ve never reached what I consider to be a successful musical career. If Fact, I still don’t know exactly how one defines success within the music business.

Some people think success is the journey, experiences and the friends you meet along the way. If this is true, then I guess my life in music could be seen as very successful. After getting proficient enough with my musical instrument to write my own original music, I felt I’d reached a milestone and half my picture of success was complete.

I have played a lot of live music as a member of 20 plus Sonoma County bands to date and seen a lot of interesting places and things in my life time. I have been lucky to have met an extraordinarily long list of musical celebrities along the way. I will to mention a few of those celebrity encounters with my musical heroes within this story, the musicians/songwriters who influenced me or meant a lot to me over the years.

I am proud of most of the tunes I’ve created over 35 years and I believe I am a pretty good songwriter now, but creative talent and success in music industry are not synonymous. After a lifetime of chasing my musical dream, I’m now sharing my stories for those who want to learn about the true meaning of stick-to-it-tive-ness.

MY STORY:

As I look back, growing up in the Northern California city of Santa Rosa was pretty normal, I suspect. I was born at the start of the sixties and lived in the Northern California Sonoma County region.

Our small city seemed a very safe place for kids to grow up at this time. From my earliest memories I’ve had a fascination with words, lyrics and music. When I was six or seven years old, my parents used to play these syrupy instrumental records The kind with orchestral arrangements of popular songs of the day. Songs like "The Impossible Dream", and the "Hawaii Five-O" theme song.

I remember around the mid-sixties when my parents bought Joan Baez and Credence

Clearwater Revival records. They also bought two Glen Campbell albums: “By The time I get to

Phoenix,” and “Wichita Lineman.” I realized then that music could be something more than a Disney soundtrack, T.V. theme songs and The Archie’s records. I would listen to those first two Glen Campbell records for hours in amazement. How they could tell such swell stories within a song was fascinating to me. These songs were like mini movies and at the time and I would learn every word as I sang along.

Since that young age, I’ve developed a life-long admiration for the original songs of Jimmy Webb and am especially fond of his tune, “Wichita Lineman” which I still consider one of the best songs ever written by anyone who has ever lived.

My first creative memory was in third grade when we were doing a class project. It was a cut-out picture of a bunch of grapes glued to paper. The next day as the glue was drying on our project, I put in some extra effort by writing an original poem to accompany my picture.

I remember it was only 6 or 8 lines, yet the teacher was so thrilled about it that she put my picture and poem on the wall, front and center above all the rest of the pictures our class made.

I realized then that there was something cool about writing poetry and getting praise from others for my effort. I liked that feeling. For my little brother Tim and me, our childhood was like many of the other kids, we liked singing along to our Monkee’s records while holding broom sticks like guitars and pretending to be famous musical stars.

At one point my parents bought me a drum set and my brother a cheap electric guitar. I soon destroyed that kid’s toy drum set and turned my focus towards the guitar my brother had no interest in learning to play. It was hard for me to understand how to play that guitar at first because it was strung for a right handed player and I was a lefty. It made things a bit confusing at first, but those were my 1st toys...

Electric Toys- 1979 -80

Throughout the 70's I was very interested in the local music scene in the North Bay and would often go see original rock bands play in Sonoma and Marin Counties. One of the better bands in our area was a rock power trio called Electric Toys.

 

The Toys were fronted by a great guitarist/ Singer /Songwriter named Phil Holden, and the bass player was my childhood friend David Payne. I happened to meet Phil at a party one night when I was 18 and asked him if his band ever considered adding another guitar player and to my surprise he said yes, Thinking fast I quickly set up an audition for myself.

I had recently made a huge musical instrument purchase that included a Fender Rhoades Piano a new acoustic guitar and a huge Lab Series guitar amplifier with 2 speaker cabinets. The amp was taller than I was and had a unique tone for being a solid state amp. With pretty decent gear I now had some confidence to do a legitimate band audition.
 

My audition was a bit scary for me, I was 18 years old and this new band was very organized compared to my previous bands. Electric Toys had rented a huge warehouse and owned a full P.A system as well as many great Guitars and basses. Phil owned some very valuable 12 and 6 string Rickenbacker guitars and also had a huge Pyramid of Orange 4x12 speaker cabinets powered by two 50 watt Marshall Amps in fact, Phil’s set up was very impressive to me and sounded great. I was also impressed that they even had roadies/ family volunteers. I came prepared and went through a few tunes and afterword's everyone seemed happy.

I passed the audition and was thrilled to be joining this really good band and to be playing some really strong and unique original music for the first time. Once I was a confirmed Electric Toys member then things started to move very fast. Within weeks we were recording in a local 8 track studio called La Lomita which soon would be renamed and become the world famous Prairie Sun Studios. We did a four song demo in what was for me my first pro recording session. I was thrilled to be there and paid close attention to the recording techniques as I played my guitar parts as best as possible. The demos came out great and still sound good to this day .

Our drummer was a guy named Bob Burnheart who I thought was a real powerhouse, and certainly the best drummer I had played with up to this point. I believe Phil and Dave thought he was a bit of a loose cannon because of his attitude. They soon gave him the cold boot. I never got a real reason from them why Bob was ousted..
 

It quickly became apparent that I too was also only a hired gun for the band. Electric Toys was the Dave and Phil show all the way and I had no creative input whatsoever. I was just told what to play and what to sing, I was ok with it at the time because I felt I still had a lot to learn. Professionalism within music was new to me so I just observed and learned as much as I could from this fast moving outfit.

Phil quickly found a new drummer named Joe Murazzo who seemed to them to fit the bill. Dave and Phil were big Who fans and Joe could play Who songs equally as well so they felt his style was a perfect fit. Phil and Dave also found Electric Toys our first band manager, a guy named Tom Boylin. Tom was enthusiastic and had built a custom rehearsal studio and stage for our band in a Petaluma warehouse.
 

I was delighted by the huge financial investment he was making in the band and felt very lucky to be part of the good fortune we were having. We seemed to have everything going in the right direction. Around the time we moved into this big new studio I bought a new left handed Fender telecaster, so along with my Les Paul, I now had two great left handed guitars that had distinctly different sounds and only made the band sound that much better.

Electric Toys were starting to play some good gigs!

One in particular was opening for big acts like Greg Kihn to a sold out crowd at The Phoenix Theater in Petaluma. The audience was very enthusiastic and loved us, Greg Kihn was on his way up as an artist would become very famous in a few years and have a lot of radio friendly hits like “The Break up Song “and “Jeopardy“. I felt really hopeful in those early days about the possibilities for the Electric Toys. Ironically I would be in many other original bands over the next 20 years that would also play the opening slot for Greg Kihn.

The demos we had just finished recording soon caught the ear of this guitar company’s owner and before long she had serious interest in becoming the band’s new manager. She had a few friends in the music Industry and persuaded her old friend, L.A. producer Paul Rothschild (The Doors, Runaways) to come up to Nor-Cal from L.A to watch us perform a showcase set of originals for him. I was very excited and at the time I thought this was it, we are on our way.

Well, we did our little presentation and after our set and a long discussion with him off he went.

Paul seemed interested in us but not enough to take us under his wing. It baffled me because we were much better than any of the bands he was working with at the time. He was busy producing a record called The Rose with Bette Midler at the time and he suggested we develop our sound a bit more and do more recording. This didn’t dissuade the owner of the guitar factory from her interest in managing us. In fact she knew we were a hot commodity and she obviously made Phil and Dave an even better offer to take over the manager position for the band.

Dave and Phil jumped at the chance so she also built a custom stage and rehearsal studio in her guitar factory and supplied our band with amplifiers, guitars, speaker cabinets, new shockingly bright stage clothes and most importantly good gigs. I felt bad about them just dumping Tom Boylin like they did because Tom was one of the nicest guys ever. It wasn’t my band and I had zero say in any matters concerning the change’s they made for our band.

 

All of our gigs went really well and I remembering a Palms gig opening for a band called “The

Textone’s” and their cute bass player Kathy Valentine, Kathy would soon go on to form a new band called The Go Go’s and have huge chart topping success also. At some of those Palms gigs, Singer Eric Martin would pop in to see us perform when he wasn’t rehearsing with his popular SF band Kid Courage.

 

As I grew as a player I continued to expand my record collection and at this point my musical tastes were changing dramatically. Phil turned me onto new bands like The Records, 20/20, Roxy Music and Japan. On my own I was becoming a huge fan of Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson as well as discovering New Wave music by bands like The Paul Collins Beat, The Clash, The Vapors..

In my last months with Electric Toys, Phil was contacted by a well-known L.A personality named Kim Fowley concerning an Electric Toys ad Phil placed in B.A.M magazine. Kim talked to Phil many times on the phone and seemed to really like the band demos Phil was sending him. He wanted to fly Phil to L.A to record an album. His thinking was, Phil would sing and play all his guitar parts on the recordings of our songs but he wanted to have studio musicians play the Bass, Drums and my guitar parts.

The Idea was discussed that the rest of us would support the first Electric Toys album by touring but not get to play on the original recordings and this Idea didn’t sit to well with any of us, especially David. I thought it out, and would agree to the arrangement because Dave and Phil’s band was only a stepping stone for me. It could only lead to more contacts and opportunity for me in the near future. I had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Dave and Phil were fighting like cats and dogs over this dilemma and one night during rehearsal they came to blows. Our new manager was not at all pleased about things and I knew that night that the Electric Toys days with her were numbered. We were asked to leave and this ended our band relationship with the Guitar factory owner.

The last few months of the band were unsettling, Now without a manager we moved our rehearsals to a studio in San Anselmo in Marin County called The Church, we shared the studio with my old friend Mike Varney’s band Cinema. Mike and his band mate Jeff Pilson (soon to be bassist for the rock band Dokken) would watch us rehearse from the elevated windowed control room in the studio.

 

At a Church rehearsal one day, Mike came in and grabbed the mic and started singing the lead vocals to one of our tunes. I was shocked because it was spot on and word for word, capturing a dead on impression of Phil’s lead vocal style, a slightly affected fake British accent. I was really impressed by Mr. Varney’s impersonation and still laugh about that incident to this day.

 

In the last remaining months of Electric Toys, I was getting more comfortable writing my own original songs and was for the first time allowed to contribute two of my originals to the bands set list. The songs “Nothing to laugh about“, and Give me a Call” were allowed into the set list. In retrospect they were not very good songs compared to the songs I would soon be writing but they seemed to fit in pretty well with Phil’s tunes.

 

At this point the Electric Toys inner band conflicts between Phil and Dave were becoming too much for Phil to handle anymore, so he made the decision to leave the band and he packed up everything he owned and moved to L.A to live with Kim Fowley who promised to make him a star. Later, Phil Holden would return from L.A. and re-form The Toys version 2.0 again with David and some other really great local players and release the 45 single "Electric Energy," pretty impressive for sure!

For the most part I really enjoyed playing original music with Electric Toys. It really showed me what to do right and what not to repeat in my next original band. With Electric Toys, things were mostly very professional and I learned a lot from the experiences. We did get together once for a reunion photo about 20 years later and I enjoyed that a lot.

Sadly I was informed that our drummer Joe Murazzo died on a stage due to a heart attack while performing at a huge live festival in Sacramento CA. He was a really nice guy and a great drummer up to the last second. He will be missed.

For Electric Toys demos and pictures visit: Tony Stoufer FB

Electric Toys band members

Phil Holden - Guitar, vocals

David Payne - Bass, Vocals

Joe Murazzo - Drums
Tony Stoufer- Guitar, vocals

 

 

The Tony Lonely Band - "When the Pressures On"

 

Here is a complete list of the local bands that Tony has either started or belonged to:


1. Expressers 71-75
2. Stallion 77
3. Fazor 78-79
4. Electric Toys 79-80
5. The Scam 81
6. The Defectors 81-82
7. Tony Lonely Band 83-84
8. Out Of The Blue 84
9. Boys Night Out 85
10. Wild Life 85-86
11. Lee Ryan Band 87
12. The Reactions 87-88
13. Mark Tate 88
14. Romeo Jones 88
15. Crying Out Loud 89
16. Bang Theory 89-90
17. Hidden Pictures 90-91
18. Strikes Twice 91
19. Euphoria 92-93
20. Romeo Jones II 94
 

 

 

 

                                                                             

 

OUR MYSTIC NIGHT WITH RAY MANZAREK by Gentry Bronson

On December 2, 2011, I  opened for the Manzarek Rogers Band at the Mystic Theatre in Petaluma, California. Ray Manzarek and Roy Rogers had teamed up for an album called “Translucent Blues”, and they were playing out to promote the album. My booking agent Steve Keyser asked my band and I to be the opener. It was one of the best rock ‘n’ roll events of my life. Opening for Ray Manzarek, the keyboardist and co-­‐founder of The Doors.

 

 

www.gentrybronson.com 

 

The Doors have been written about for nearly 50 years as a band that has fans in every generation. They are timeless, inventive, theatric, cinematic and darkly risqué. Perfect for a 15-­‐year-­‐old punk rock art kid growing up in the Midwest who wants to get out. And that was me.

 

LuAnne, one of my girlfriends in high school, had a poster of Jim Morrison on the wall of her bedroom, and I wanted to be him. I believe thousands of counter culture kids want to be Jim Morrison at some point.  But, I also wanted to be Ray Manzarek. I played the piano from the time I was five years old, and there was no one I wanted to emulate until I heard him play. Not Billy Joel, not Elton John. I heard The Doors, and my life was changed. Ray’s left-­‐handed bass lines changed the way I thought about piano and keys. That marvelous, frivolous, surreal organ sound, the way he played the solo on “Love Me Two Times”, and the long, jazz-­‐tinged solos. It all changed me from my fingers to my head to my balls.

 

We used to play “Roadhouse Blues” in my first high school garage band, The Eviction Committee. We were too young to play most bars, so instead we played makeshift stages inside barns in the winter and next to browning fields in the summer. Out on farms where we couldn’t get caught for playing loud and partying. Kegs of beer and girls and parked cars lined up the long, dirt driveways. Whenever I sang “Roadhouse”, I felt the audience go wild. I was on top of those fields of wheat and corn.

 

I moved out to the West Coast in 1990 and migrated from Oregon to Alaska to Washington and finally down to Northern California in 1994. San Francisco was my home until the end of the decade when I started moving north. First to Sausalito in Marin County, just down the road from Studio D where Ray and Roy would record “Translucent Blues” in 2010. Then, to Mill Valley and up to San Rafael, and in 2011, I moved to Petaluma in Sonoma County.

 

I loved Petaluma, but I wasn’t a stranger to it. I began working in Petaluma in 2002 as a music director for Alchemia, a day program for “differently-­‐abled” adults. While working there, I wrote music for a rock band and a musical, and I instructed a very talented and unique group of disabled people how perform and write music. They played venues and schools in Sonoma and Marin counties. I was a part of a team of instructors that included professional artists, dancers and musicians. Alex Aspinall was one of those instructors.

Alex grew up in Santa Rosa and already had incredible chops as a Sonoma State University educated jazz drummer when I met him. I asked him to join my band, and neither one of us would ever has guessed then that we’d end up making five records together and opening for Ray Manzarek nine years later.

 

Bassist Dave Fairchild joined my band in 2008. He grew up in Texas and had played for Alejandro Escovedo and other roots, Americana and punk styled artists for years. Dave’s gin & tonic resting on his bass amp, flannel shirt unbuttoned over his T-­‐shirt and a giant smile on his face coupled with Alex’s Zen expression, solid rock playing, and quirky inventiveness formed an excellent rhythm section. Guitarist Jesse Brewster joined the band shortly after Dave. I had known Jesse since my days in Sausalito, and he had his own solo career, having released several solo records. The burn and energy in his guitar playing completed my electric 4-­‐piece band.

 

My history with the Mystic Theatre didn’t exist yet. In fact, I had never even been inside its hallowed halls by the autumn of 2011. So, I went to see Dave Alvin play there to a solid 500 people a month before opening for Ray and Roy. That night, I realized something; this venue was the Fillmore West of San Francisco’s North Bay. A holy place. Wooden and creaking with expansive, high ceilings dripping sweat and sound, and long ago spilled beer seeping from the walls and floors.

 

Roy Rodgers & Ray Manzarek

 

The Mystic was only five blocks from my rented cottage, so the day of the show, I drove down to load in and sound check at about five o’clock. I walked in, and Ray and Roy and their band were just finishing sound check with Randy Teaford, who was behind the main console upstairs. I brought in some gear and some wardrobe, and then I saw Ray getting ready to leave the stage after his sound check. So, I walked over to introduce myself.

 

There are moments in your life when time stops. There are moments when you regress in age. There are moments when you feel like everyone in the room is looking at you. All three things happened when I walked up to the Mystic stage to say hi to Ray Manzarek.

 

I said, “Um, hi, I just wanted to introduce myself. My band & I are opening for you tonight. “And you must be Gentry!” he exclaimed as he smiled with a remarkably young twinkle in his eyes. Then, he extended his hand. I gleefully shook hands with him and then bashfully said, “I just wanted to say that I’m really honored to open for you. You’ve been a big influence on me.”

 

What do you say to someone who’s been a big influence on you? I guess you say, ‘You’ve been a big influence on me.’ Instead of ‘I’m totally star struck right now!’ What do you say to a guy who’s been doing this for 50 years, who is a legend, has graced albums with legends, and who is looking at you in the face with generosity and a grin? The room was spinning. I was 15 years old again.

Ray looked me right in the eye, “Well, we’re looking forward to the night. Thanks for opening up for us!” and then he climbed down from the stage to the floor where I was standing.

 

We small talked about the show for a while, and then Ray asked with an air of sarcasm, “So, you’re probably classically trained?” “Yeah, I am.” “I would’ve played classical or jazz, but it was too hard. So, I stuck to the blues. It was easier.” We laughed.“Where you guys from? Did you have to drive far for this gig? “I live right up the street. About four blocks. It was a pretty cool drive to get here.” “Wow! That’s nice. I live in Napa. And I thought I had an easy drive to get here!”

 

Still the same glitter in his eye. Still looking exactly like he did on the covers of albums like “The Soft Parade” and “Morrison Hotel” and “Waiting For The Sun” with slightly shorter hair. I’ve met a number of “rock stars” in my life, and I generally think they’re ego-­‐less, nice people. But, here was Ray, doing something that felt different, talking to me like we were buddies, or like he was a super groovy Uncle I had never met. He was putting his arm around me, smiling and joking.

 

Then, for some reason, we started talking about what it was like for us to vote in The Grammys. I mock complained, “There’s so many bands to listen to. I don’t know how anybody can go through them all. ”Ray responded, “I voted for a polka band in The Grammys once.” I laughed and said “Did you know that Duke Ellington was writing polkas at the end of his life?” “Really?? I did not know that!”

 

People were staring at us and I was thinking, ‘I’m talking to fucking Ray Manzarek about Duke Ellington, polka music & The Grammys!’

 

For Ray, it was probably just another night talking to his opening act with stars in their eyes. For me, it was like reaching backward into rock history and my own artistic future at the same time. Weeks before the show, Alex and I had joked about how, years from now, we’d be telling people about how we opened for Ray Manzarek and all the stupid questions we would ask him about Jim Morrison. I realized that night, that I probably could have asked Ray all about his old friend Jim. And I realize that years from now, I will indeed be telling people about the night I opened for Ray Manzarek.

Petaluma’s Xmas tree lighting was that same night, right outside the theatre. People were all over the street under this strange, magical haze. By the time we walked out on stage, I felt more relaxed than I had on stage in a long time.

 

I’ve never found that I can write about what it’s like to perform music live. There are looks between the musicians, lights and sweat and stories told to the audience. Sometimes you get a cramp in your leg or your fingers. Sometimes you screw up a solo or miss a word in a verse. But all of that doesn’t mean as much as what happens for you and the audience in the moment. That is a special, spiritual thing. Unless it’s recorded, as soon as you play or sing a note, the sound of live music trickles off into the ether like a sonic rock thrown into a pond until you can’t hear it anymore. It all goes by fast and furious until you’re taking off your show shirt in the dressing room.

 

Right before we launched into our first song, as the audience applauded our entrance, I walked back to the drum riser and quietly said to Alex, “Remember every moment, man.” I took my own advice. Our 45-­‐minute set was like three glorious hours to me.

 

After we finished, I drove my gear home and then walked back to The Mystic. The Manzarek Rogers Band were just starting when I returned. They performed a lot of songs from their new album along with Roy Rogers’ originals and a couple Doors’ songs. I called my brother and put my phone up to the stage at one point during a Doors’ song. It wasn’t musically the greatest thing I’d ever heard, but it was solid.

Legends on stage. And the audience loved it.

 

They came out for one encore, the air buzzing with electricity. And Ray said into the microphone, “This one’s for Jim.” Yes, that is what he said. I got goose bumps then, and I get goose bumps now. 40 years after his friend died, Ray still had no problem paying tribute to his long gone friend. Then, they played “Riders On The Storm”. The final song from the final record The Doors recorded with Jim Morrison called “LA Woman”.

 

There was the opening bass line and the sizzle of the ride cymbal, the long glissando of keys like a rainstorm, and then Ray sang in a deep baritone, “Riders on the storm, riders on the storm, into this house we’re born, into this world we’re thrown…” Is it possible that every time Ray Manzarek sang that song after Jim Morrison died, that Jim was floating above the stage, watching? Because, to me, Morrison’s ghost was in the theatre, high above us, that night. And Ray was playing music with him.

 

The night ended with the usual post show schmoozing and hang shaking and hugs and drunks and flirting girls and money counting and loading out. Back stage, Ray was slumped down in a chair and was not as enthusiastic as he had been hours before while talking to me. He was tired. I reluctantly asked him and Roy for autographs. I don’t even like autographs. I don’t know why I did that. I wanted to feel like we were on the same level that night. It was a one-­‐night only event for Ray and I though. I would find out later that he was fighting cancer.

It wasn’t very long after that night at the Mystic Theatre that Ray Manzarek went to see his old friend Jim. He died on May 20, 2013.

There are many quotes from many Doors’ songs that I could end this memory-­‐filled night with. Many lyrics Jim Morrison wrote. But it’s the trailing sound of Ray Manzarek’s keyboard that I hear instead. Lingering like rain on a warm California night, with the flicker of a thousand white Xmas tree lights. Bluesy and shimmering, mystical and grinning.

 

 

A SHORT ADDITION TO THE STORY: I also recall this night very well!

 

I've been a huge fan of Roy's and have engineered countless live shows with Roy Rodgers and The Delta Rhythm Kings and of course my old friend Norton Buffalo through the years., but this new duo with Ray Manzarek at the keys was something else!

 

I thought to balance Gentry's recall of his first meeting with Ray Manzarek I would do the same.

 

It was about 5pm  at The Mystic Theatre and I was waiting for Ray and Roy to arrive for their sound check. Ray loaded in first and as I was greeting him, I was placing our backline RD700 keyboard and throne out or him to use. Ray had a real warmth about him and a big smile to match, I found him very approachable and casual.

 

He sat down immediately before everything was placed... just as I realized how dusty the keyboard was. He looked up at me just as he started to play the declining line on "Riders on The Storm" and smiled and said "you could of at least dusted the old girl off for me."

I melted as he played the line and of course was embarrassed, but Ray unlike a lot of other major performers that I have  worked with turned the mishap into a moment that

I will never forget.

 

FYI, Ray & Roy as well as Gentry and his band rocked the house that night, and I am very grateful for his recollections of the evening... it was a special one for me as well!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

USING PERFORMANCE & MEDIA AS A SOCIAL TOOL

You see peoples opinions everywhere these days, some wear them like a uniform. Obviously social media platforms like facebook and twitter allow the individual the endless opportunity to espouse their personal opinions and beliefs, but at what price. We're entering into another election cycle and the wheels of public opinion are turning. I'll be the first one to admit that I am a contributor to the cause of enlightened awareness through memes and syncs, but I've also noticed that these opinions fall short sometimes and become more like wall paper on an angry wall.

(or, am I that social tool?)

I like to apply the image of myself standing on a soapbox in a crowded room of mostly strangers, when I take my stand on that box to make my opinion known I have to ask myself, would I really say that here and now? From my perspective I believe there are actually only 2 kinds of people on our planet, the "I's" and the "we's'" they are sometimes recognizable by their political or religious affiliations, and other times they stand on their own. The "I's" will take the stand that it's my right as an individual to be able to say or do what ever I want and the "we's" will sometimes take the position of consideration.

I like to think that I am a "we" personal, after all I've taken the road less traveled and spent most of my adult life trying to make people sound better... not a big monetary pay off there! What all this pay forward attitude has built for me though is a solid network of friends and co-workers who trust and value my opinion. This interest and this trust is the pay forward - pay back to me and I publicly thank you deeply here and now!

Because of this relationship that we have, you've allowed me to influence your entertainment mediums and even reinvent some of them based on our evolving opinions and technologies. I realized in my early years of music video sync presentations at The Mystic Theatre that I had a captured audience and a responsibility to maintain a certain professionalism with what I put on the screen, or at least walk that line when it comes to public taste. I had the opportunity to hone my craft in public and watch their reactions on a nightly bases, from 40 minute original music video syncs at door time to elaborate visual back drops during the shows... I have been most fortunate.

Because of this captured audience effect I quickly realized that I had a platform to get my personal opinions or positions across to the public, sometimes in a very subliminal way. I've have taken the personal stand that one of the greatest evils that we have in our society is the misuse and misappropriations of public media, although it apparently worked very well for Adolf Hitler (my only reference I promise). The culprits are agenda owned media moguls and countless television commercial's that stretch the truth beyond belief, shows that pander to base emotions as well as news entertainment reporters with their own opinions that read the words off teleprompters and act as if they are your best source for honest information. Perhaps if the TV had not lost it's ethics and moral center I would have more respect for the medium, rather than the corporate money grab that it has become.

It's a confusing world we live in right now, a full swing pendulum from good to bad... one sided political flags go down, equal rights and love wins at last! As a video and performance artist as well as a mock Professor I certainly try to take advantage of that confusion, after all if you are not paying attention or are distracted I may be able to get my point across without you even noticing,

 other times I'm not so subtle.

Case in point, my "Dark Side of Oz" series. Both subject matters,

"The Dark Side of the Moon" and "The Wizard of Oz" are steeped in political

commentary, even "The Wizard of Oz" has been interpreted as a political statement: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_interpretations_of_The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz 

it's just so subtle that it is almost unrecognizable.

Where I like to take advantage of this trusting relationship is actually not in my "Dark Side of Oz" movie sync, but in my "Introduction to Oz" portion of the show that opens up the first 30 minutes of my screening, an "Oz" primer so to speak. It's in that opening context of "The Introduction to Oz" that I get to demonstrate  my theories and practices of synchronicity. Interwoven into this opening Introduction is what I like to think of as my personal point. My personal performance point or focus varies from year to year depending on the political and social climate and like any good opening band it had better be fun, educational and entertaining!

In 2012 the current trend of non violent protest was camping on doorsteps and the word of

the day was occupy! I found myself in the position of understanding and agreeing with a lot of the movements objectives but, disagreeing with a lot of the Anonymous antics. Now I am not the one to lead a rally or announce a charge but I do have the ability to demonstrate my thoughts and beliefs through public performance. I took the 2012 "Introduction to Oz" 

on as a very personal political statement.

BACK TRACKING for a minute: At the end of the 2011 "Dark Side Dub The Moonshine" screening I announced that this show might be my last. The audience didn't believe it, my family certainly believe it... even I partially believed that I meant what I had said. I told the audience that I was taking a sync sabbatical so I could spend more time tracking down the elusive synchronistic creatures while I was working on my Sync Thesis (code for my "Another day, Another Decibel" EBook.)

The year went by and I thought to myself, I can't just say I'm done and disappear, if I'm going out.. I'm going out on top... if I'm going out... I'll blow the whole thing up! Since it was the year of "occupy" and I was somewhat sympathetic to the cause I decided to set up a tent on stage at The Mystic Theatre and start my own sit in... "Occupy Oz." The day of the show I dressed myself up in the best image of Ozzy that I could pull together, loaded up the tent and myself with special effects and placed myself center stage inside my Occupy tent at door time, started my opening "Introduction to Oz" and waited for my "Diary of a Mad Man" cue to exit and begin class.

FYI: I cut the back out of the tent and placed it in front of the back curtain so I could slip

 through the curtain to I could come and go without the class seeing me! As a matter of fact anyone coming or going on or off stage had to crawl through my hot tent lighting maze to get to the stage. I also had what I refer to as The Professor's "Wayback Machine" installed in that tent filled old school lighting effects like fog, strobes and spinners. I even installed a video monitor in the tent so I could see my cue and watch my opening video live with the class.

The Introduction to Oz video for my 2012 Oz Fest had George Bush introducing Ozzy and was loaded with comedy versions of Madd TV's Alternate Oz Endings - https://youtu.be/6exm2Hi28Xw

as well as quite a few political video statements from notable stage men like:

George Carlin (The American Dream - https://youtu.be/acLW1vFO-2Q

Michael Douglas (Wall Street - https://youtu.be/pjCObyaJRMQ

Peter Finch (Network - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwMVMbmQBug

The glue that helped bind the video statements together was the large collection of

occupy photos that I collected. All of these hand picked photos and video clips,

were represent my personal and public opinion were carefully placed in

context to make my Personal Performance Point and in turn,

better prepare you for your Dark Side of Oz journey.

The Dark Side of Oz - Somewhere over The Wall - 2015

This years live stage screening will re-invent the entire urban legend and as far as my

 "Introduction To Oz" goes, you will have to wait for my Personal Performance Point at 

my live screening. I will say however that this year I point my fickle finger of fate at

all of the talking heads on television, for better or worse they influence a nation.

RANDY TEAFORD - SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS

• Randy Teaford
  502 E. Cotati Ave Cotati 
• Ca. 94931 #7222
  fearnoartent@gmail.com / 
  www.ViralMediaArt.com
  707-774-5718 Cell

 

SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS:

Radically Awesome Sound Dude!

TECHNICAL:

LIVE SHOWS: Over 40 years of professional experience in the design, installation, and engineering of club and concert sound systems for nationally and internationally recognized performers, venues, and events throughout the United States and Canada; design and installation of intercom and music playback systems for commercial development projects.

STUDIO: Currently - Tiny House Live & Viral Media Art. The Sound Source, Owner/Operator of Sonoma County's first audio/digital production facility for music, film, and video. Extensive knowledge of current computer-based recording and digital editing systems for music, film, and video productions; radio and television systems for live broadcast and recording of performances on remote and venue stages.

OFFICE: Besides the personal business of running my own office, I have also had experience in front office shipping and receiving for "Crucial Audio," a local electronic musical repair shop, where I handled the daily customer service end with electronic repairs.

INSTRUCTIONAL

TEACHING: Music and Computer Technology at the Sound Source facility; substitute positions in Recording Arts Departments at Sonoma State University and Santa Rosa Junior College.

GUEST SPEAKER: Business in Education Day at Sonoma County schools, Sonoma State University, and Santa Rosa Junior College Recording Arts Departments; IBM International Conference, San Jose (1988).

ADMINISTRATIVE

BUSINESS OWNER: Owner of the Sound Source, the first digital recording facility in Northern California. Responsible for all aspects of business management including contracts, bookkeeping, and publicity and all client services.

PRODUCTION MANAGER: Complete production management of performance venues; ability to coordinate entertainment and technical aspects of performances, while working collectively with house staff and management; prepare and fulfill performance contacts; book shows via agencies; prepare promotional materials; disburse payouts, advance shows, schedule engineers and general maintenance.

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LIVE ENGINEERING & PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE:

THE REDWOOD CAFE, COTATI, CALIFORNIA - 2017 TO 2019 / Live video recording & Broadcast Engineer. I developed my own audio/video broadcast system for multi-camera live production. We staged 3 shows a week for nearly 2 years until the pandemic closed the business.

 

THE MYSTIC THEATRE, PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA - 2000 to 2016 / Production Manager & Chief Engineer Designed and installed with manufacturer, Apogee Sound International, performance systems for national and international touring acts.

THE INN OF THE BEGINNING, COTATI, CALIFORNIA - 1997 to 2000 / Production Manager & Chief Engineer. I Designed and installed in conjunction with Sound Expressions sound and recording systems; scheduled crews, house booking agent for two years while advancing and engineering all shows. Worked in conjunction with Sonoma State University.

THE STUDIO KAFE, SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA - 1991 to 1994 / Production Manager & Chief Engineer. IDesigned and installed sound and recording systems; engineered live shows; scheduled crews; integrated live cable broadcasts and recording of select performances by Adam Duritz of Counting Crows, Bela Fleck, Robin Ford,  Mark Isham, and others.

MAGNOLIA'S, SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA - 1985 to 1988 / Production Manager & Chief Engineer. Responsible for booking, producing, engineering an Alternative Rock series featuring artists such as Green Day, Sister Double Happiness, and Cadillac Tramps, among others including The Blasters, the Beat Farmers, and Charlie Mussellwhite.

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VIRAL MEDIA ART & TINY HOUSE LIVE

- 2000 TO PRESENT -

 

Viral Media Art is the parent company for all of my studio and live music video projects and hosts my weekly youtube broadcast show "Tiny House Live." Now in it's 8th broadcast season! Tiny House live is not only a live show on the Viral Media Art youtube channel, but a live broadcast facility as well. I bring talented friends & artists from all around the California North Bay to my 12x15' tiny home for intimate chats, live music and other things that you just can't explain. THL is presented live weekly on Wednesday evenings 8-9pm+ Pacific time. There is an entire world of music & videos on my VMA youtube channel, please enjoy and subscribe! I'm getting closer to monetizing my channel! 

www.youtube.com/viralmediaart

 

 

STUDIO ENGINEERING EXPERIENCE:

- THE SOUND SOURCE 80's -

- THE KITCHEN SYNC 2000 -

Viral Media Art and fEaRnOaRt Entertainment 2000 to present - Santa Rosa, California. Owner and operator of computer-based music video recording & editing facility specializing in music video syncs, visual effects for performances, live recording and original sample based music construction. 

THE SOUND SOURCE, Santa Rosa, California - 1986 to 1990, Owner/Operator of Sonoma County's first audio/digital production facility for music, film, and video; projects include Charles Schulz TV movie ("Girl in the Red Truck"); PBS documentaries & instructional videos; commercial advertising for Anheiser Busch, Heald Business College, & Stanroy's Music Center; educational facility for college, private and group sessions.

SOUND EXPRESSIONS, Santa Rosa, California - 1980 to 1986, Involved in the design and construction of a computer-based recording and digital editing facility for music, film, and video; experienced in subcontracting and retail sales of performance and recording systems.

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CREATED AND PRODUCED ANNUAL SCREENING SERIES: 2007 - 2018 of 
 "The Dark Side of Oz" 

A full length video screening and show based on the urban legend as well as conducted
mock classes on the subject of synchronicity as his alter ego The Professor.
(The Mystic Theatre - Zodiacs - Aubergines)

"Tales From The Big Blue Chair" 1997-2000

An improvisational interactive self generating audience experience based on the concept

of a $5 cover charge or 5 minutes sitting in The Big Blue Chair. 

 "The Jazz Elephant Story" 1985

An original mythological tale about the birth of music set to

Sonoma Counties 1st computer driven electronic musical performance.

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TOURING TIME

The Mermen, 1998 - 2001 / National and Regional Touring -  Production Manager and Tour Engineer; extensive touring throughout the United States. Regular venues included: Great American Music Hall, Fillmore, Fox Theater in Boulder, Blue Bird in Denver, many festivals.

The Cardiff Reefers, 1993 - 1996 / National and Regional Touring -   Production Manager and Tour Engineer; extensive touring throughout the western United States and Canada; tour venues included Phoenix, Seattle; Slim's, San Francisco; SLO Brew, San Luis Obispo; Belly-up Tavern, San Diego.

The Charlie Mussellwhite Band, 2008 - Langstien Blues Festival - Germany. As well as local shows at The Mystic Theatre, The Inn of the Beginning, Studio KAFE and Magnolias.

1988 - 1993 / National and Regional Touring

- The Loud Family (Alias): Tour Engineer; United States.

- Crystal Wind (Higher Octave): Tour Engineer; United States.

- Sister Double Happiness (Warner Brothers): Tour Engineer; Western US

- Smokin' Rhythm Prawns (B.S. Records): Tour Engineer; US and Canada.

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FESTIVALS and CONCERTS: 
4 years - The Petaluma Music Festival committee & live engineering
10 years - Sauasilito Arts Festival / Production Manager, Engineer
10 years - Eureka Blues by the Bay / House Engineer and Tech
Too many community events to count....

 Partial list of National & International Touring Bands:

The Mermen
The Loud Family
The Cardiff Reefers
Sister Double Happiness
The Smokin Rhythm Prawns
The Charlie Mussellwhite Band

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BLOG/EBOOK WRITER

"Another Day, Another Decibel"

I'm currently compiling the history of the live music scene of Sonoma County

 as well as my own personal path through the middle of it all.

a work in progress...

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 2015

VICE CHAIRMAN ON BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR CMEDIA LABS 

 Community Access Internet - Radio & Television

I have recently been elected to serve The Cmedia Labs in their quest for serving the community!

Watch as we re-invent public Television!

VIRAL MEDIA ART / CMEDIA LABS

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COMMERCIAL INSTALLS:

St. John's Catholic Church, Healdsburg

St. John's School Gymnasium, Healdsburg

St. Philip's, Occidental

St. Theresa's, Bodega

Sonoma Nation Bank, Santa Rosa
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 Favorite Autobiographic Books:

"So you Want to be a Rock & Roll Star" - Jacob Slichter (Simi Sonic)
"Bill Graham Presents" -  by Bill and Robert Greenfield
"The Real Book of Frank Zappa" - by Frank and Peter Occhiogrosso
"All You Need is Ears" - by George Martin and Jeremy Hornsby
"The American Original" - by Walt Disney and Bob Thomas
"Saucerful of Secrets" - Pink Floyd and Nicholas Schaffner
"Miles" - Miles Davis and Quincy Troupe
"The Nerve Bible" - Laurie Anderson
"I Killed" - Ritch Shyder & Mark Schiff