Steve distanislao biography

By Andy Greene. Rolling Stone interview series Unknown Legends features long-form conversations between senior writer Andy Greene and veteran musicians who have toured and recorded alongside icons for years, if not decades. All are renowned in the business, but some are less well known to the general public. This edition features drummer Steve DiStanislao.

By the summer ofdrummer Steve DiStanislao felt like his career had reached a pinnacle. After years of struggling to earn a living as a musician, he had a steady gig with David Crosbyand was in the middle of a Loggins and Messina reunion tour. But then word came that David Gilmour wanted him to join the band for his first post-Pink Floyd solo tour.

Before he knew it, DiStanislao was traveling the world with Gilmour, Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright, and other longtime members of the Floyd musical family. I think of that time whenever I hear that record. It has a very special place in my heart. I also got into Chicago and Elton John. I was never into heavy stuff. Future Larry Carlton drummer John Ferraro happened to live in the same neighborhood, and was good friends with his older brother.

They played in a band together, and they took DiStanislao to a parade when he was 6. He started banging on pots and pans that year. In the fifth grade, his parents got him a Ludwig set from a pawn shop for Christmas. Ferraro gave him lessons. At an elementary school assembly, he was given a chance to show off his skills to the entire school. After that, I was just hooked.

Everyone was cheering. The story gets a little weird here since a hippie teacher saw this year-old playing drums, and invited him to his house to jam. I play guitar. We should jam. By junior high, DiStanislao was playing in jazz band with kids his own age. He happily dropped out when Stan Freese, father of his childhood buddy Josh Freese another drummer with a wildly bright futureoffered him a gig at Disneyland Tokyo.

It was a great time. It was hard work, it was seven shows a day, five days a week. There was a full horn section, conductor, the whole thing. He was a real perfectionist too. That was a really, really great gig for me. I did that for five years. It was actually a moment during his steve distanislao biography time at college years earlier when he drove out to San Bernardino on a whim to audition for a band he heard was seeking a drummer.

We became fast friends. We won the Berkeley Jazz Festival. Twelve years later, Raymond learned that David Crosby was his biological father. Raymond knew just the guy for the job.

Steve distanislao biography

How did you get the call about joining CPR? They started out as a trio, and there were gigs at first. And then they did their first studio record. James recommended me. This was a pretty amazing time for David. And then seeing him play music with his biological father…It was very emotional. I remember seeing them at the Belly Up Tavern, and I was just so blown away, and then having the opportunity to actually be in that band…it was a really amazing experience.

It would have been so easy for Croz to just coast at that point and play his hits with CSN. But he started a new band and went out and played clubs, doing largely new material. He knew that his name was on the marquee and that people were coming to see him, but he really treated it steve distanislao biography a band.

It was like a dream gig in that way. Prior to that, I was in a band called ESP, which was a jazz quartet. Once I got off the road with Paul Anka, I just went completely into this jazz world. I learned so much from that group and I think I grew a lot as a musician, and it kind of prepared me for CPR because I learned to play free time a lot more free, and David really wanted that.

You were a real part of the band then. James obviously was writing a ton of stuff with David, and we went up to Santa Barbara to cut some basic tracks. We did all the tracking up there over a couple of weeks, which is the best scenario. We actually worked the tunes up and played them live before recording them. What are the best CPR tunes that fans should seek out?

I remember David was in the control room facing me, and we had the lights off with the candles and the whole thing. We got that in one take. That was the vocal he kept that he sang live. What did you do with the life they gave you? Why did the group end in ? What did you do after the group ended? I got a call from Chris Robinson from the Black Crowes.

I toured with him the whole summer. We were a jam band. That really was a good experience too. You toured steve distanislao biography Crosby and Nash after that. That was in Europe in We went to Europe and it was amazing. It was so great. The dynamic between the two of them, it was like strength in numbers. The two of them together…their harmonies were unbelievable.

It was great. How did you wind up with Loggins and Messina later that year? Would you like to come down? I was a huge fan, and I had the chance to play with many members of his original band, like [drummer] Tris [Imboden] and [guitarist] Michael Hamilton and [saxophonist] Vince [Denham] from their heyday. Tell me about preparing for that tour.

Was it difficult to accommodate them both? Their music was pretty complicated. We went up to Santa Barbara because Kenny lives up there and Jimmy lived in Santa Ynez, and we rehearsed five days a week for seven hours a day. We worked on form and dynamics. We did this for weeks. It was a really, really great band. Shem von Schroeck on bass. He played with Toto and stuff.

There was also [multi-instrumentalist] Gabe Witcher and [keyboardist] Gabe Dixon. We figured it out over time, and Jimmy really knew what he wanted. He was very particular. And Kenny knew what he wanted too. It was interesting. Kenny would come in the morning, work with us, and then Jimmy would work with us in the afternoon. As far as them working their thing out, I think they just kind of figured it out.

They found their spots. Were you a Pink Floyd fan in the Seventies? In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item. American drummer born David Crosby [ edit ]. David Gilmour [ edit ]. Don Felder [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. Da Capo Press. ISBN Retrieved 14 May Archived from the original on August 28, Retrieved October 24, Stevie is a groove drummer.

He's friendly, not an egotist, and curious, and he wants to learn. This is what makes him a pleasure to work with. Other performances took place in Venice, in St. Mark's Square in Venice. The last official show of the tour took place in Gdansk, Poland where the band were joined by conductor Zbigniew Preisner and The Gdansk Philharmonic Orchestra, to celebrate the 26th anniversary of Solidarity of the Shipyard Worker's Union in Gdansk.