Fly On The Wall

Living in Paris for 30 years as an expatriate New Yorker, veteran rocker and author Elliott Murphy’s career in music and literature is more active than ever. He has released over 35 albums, still performs shows all over Europe as well as the U.S. and Japan and is a prolific author of fiction. Four decades have passed since the release of Elliott’s classic first album Aquashow (1973) and fans continue to fill his shows while critics praise his albums. In 2016 a bio-pic of his career The Second Act Of Elliott Murphy featuring interviews with Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen was released all over Europe and won the Audience award at the Dock of the Bay Film Festival in Spain.

Born to a show business family, Elliott began his music career with a troubadour like odyssey in Europe in 1971 including a bit part in Federico Fellini’s film Roma. Returning to the US he quickly secured a recording contract and following the success of his first album Aquashow came Lost Generation (Produced by Doors producer Paul Rothschild), Night Lights (featuring Billy Joel), Just A Story From America (featuring Phil Collins and Mick Taylor), and Selling The Gold (featuring Bruce Springsteen) all the way to his most current releases Prodigal Son (2017), Elliott Murphy Is Alive! (2018) and Ricochet (2019), all produced and mixed by his son Gaspard Murphy.

Originally formed as a studio project, The Gold Needles have expanded recently to become a full live band. Comprising of Simon Dowson (vocals and guitar), Dave Burbage (lead guitar), Mark English (keyboards, percussion and backing vocals), Carl Slaughter (bass and backing vocals) and Justin Davidson (drums) the band have been writing and recording since 2015 although friendships go back much further than that. The band revel in being eclectic both in influence and output though they are pleased with comparisons made with Be Bop Deluxe and The Church.

Originally formed as a studio project, The Gold Needles have expanded recently to become a full live band. Comprising of Simon Dowson (vocals and guitar), Dave Burbage (lead guitar), Mark English (keyboards, percussion and backing vocals), Carl Slaughter (bass and backing vocals) and Justin Davidson (drums) the band have been writing and recording since 2015 although friendships go back much further than that. The band revel in being eclectic both in influence and output though they are pleased with comparisons made with Be Bop Deluxe and The Church.

French was invited to join Beefheart and the Magic Band in late 1966, as a replacement for Paul Blakely.[1] Having played on Safe as Milk (1967), his distinctive drumming style moulded the driving heavy psychedelic blues of Strictly Personal (1968) and Mirror Man (1967, but not released till 1971). During the Trout Mask Replica sessions, French transcribed the musical ideas Beefheart played for him on piano for the rest of the band. However, shortly after the completion of Trout Mask Replica, French was booted out of the group rather violently by Beefheart (he was thrown down some stairs),[citation needed] and was replaced by the inexperienced Jeff Bruschell. French was also contentiously omitted from the credits of Trout Mask Replica and was largely absent from the band photos taken for the artwork. Nevertheless, he was soon invited back and played on the critically acclaimed albums Lick My Decals Off, Baby and The Spotlight Kid, sharing percussion duties with Art Tripp aka Ed Marimba. Then in late 1972, just before an American tour, he left again.Beefheart's contractual problems in 1975 forced him to join Frank Zappa's Bongo Fury tour,[citation needed] but as soon as he was able he reformed The Magic Band and French was recruited as both drummer and music director. 1976 saw the recording of the original version of Bat Chain Puller, which due to legal ownership problems remained unreleased until 2012. French also played guitar as well as drums on some of these songs. He walked out on Beefheart when his friend John Thomas (keyboards) was sacked from the band.French visited Beefheart in 1980 looking for work and was hired to take part in the recording of Doc at the Radar Station, playing guitar (and drumming on two tracks). He left before the band toured though, when Beefheart handed him a list of 40 songs to learn over a 3-month period. French sealed the walkout the next day by returning the guitar Beefheart had loaned him.

French was invited to join Beefheart and the Magic Band in late 1966, as a replacement for Paul Blakely.[1] Having played on Safe as Milk (1967), his distinctive drumming style moulded the driving heavy psychedelic blues of Strictly Personal (1968) and Mirror Man (1967, but not released till 1971). During the Trout Mask Replica sessions, French transcribed the musical ideas Beefheart played for him on piano for the rest of the band. However, shortly after the completion of Trout Mask Replica, French was booted out of the group rather violently by Beefheart (he was thrown down some stairs),[citation needed] and was replaced by the inexperienced Jeff Bruschell. French was also contentiously omitted from the credits of Trout Mask Replica and was largely absent from the band photos taken for the artwork. Nevertheless, he was soon invited back and played on the critically acclaimed albums Lick My Decals Off, Baby and The Spotlight Kid, sharing percussion duties with Art Tripp aka Ed Marimba. Then in late 1972, just before an American tour, he left again.

Beefheart's contractual problems in 1975 forced him to join Frank Zappa's Bongo Fury tour,[citation needed] but as soon as he was able he reformed The Magic Band and French was recruited as both drummer and music director. 1976 saw the recording of the original version of Bat Chain Puller, which due to legal ownership problems remained unreleased until 2012. French also played guitar as well as drums on some of these songs. He walked out on Beefheart when his friend John Thomas (keyboards) was sacked from the band.

French visited Beefheart in 1980 looking for work and was hired to take part in the recording of Doc at the Radar Station, playing guitar (and drumming on two tracks). He left before the band toured though, when Beefheart handed him a list of 40 songs to learn over a 3-month period. French sealed the walkout the next day by returning the guitar Beefheart had loaned him.

Lee Oskar is a Danish harmonica player, notable for his contributions to the sound of the rock-funk fusion group War, which was formed by Howard E. Scott and Harold Brown, his solo work, and as a harmonica manufacturer. He continues to play with 3 other original War band members, Harold Brown, Howard Scott and B.B. Dickerson, under the name LowRider Band.

Lee Oskar is a Danish harmonica player, notable for his contributions to the sound of the rock-funk fusion group War, which was formed by Howard E. Scott and Harold Brown, his solo work, and as a harmonica manufacturer. He continues to play with 3 other original War band members, Harold Brown, Howard Scott and B.B. Dickerson, under the name LowRider Band.

Born in Luton, England,White first gained fame with his distinctive guitar style as accompanist to singer/songwriter Al Stewart. He started in Stewart's band in 1975 at the age of 20, then relocated to Los Angeles in 1978. During a 20-year tenure with Stewart, he co-wrote many songs, including Stewart's 1978 top-ten hit "Time Passages" and “Midnight Rocks” (which reached #24 on the US charts) in 1980. That same year he formed Shot In The Dark, a band which backed Stewart and released an eponymous album in 1981.In 1984 White’s brother Danny White invited him to play on the Matt Bianco debut album Whose Side Are You On?. He played acoustic guitar (uncredited) on the song "Half A Minute" featuring vocalist Basia. This recording marked the first time that the two brothers had collaborated musically. In 1987 White continued his association with Basia by playing guitar on her Time and Tide album, co-produced by his brother Danny. He subsequently played on all of Basia’s following studio albums and joined her on two world tours, in 1990 and 1994. In 1996 Basia returned the favor by singing on White's album Caravan of Dreams, on the single "Just Another Day".Producing and Solo WorkWhite began recording his own albums in 1990. His number one songs on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs chart include "Midnight in Manhattan", recorded by Grover Washington, Jr. (1998), "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)" (2006), "Mister Magic" (2007), "Bright" (2009), "Good Day (2010), "Here We Go" (2012), "Head Over Heels" (2014), and "Do I Do" (2017).White performed regularly on many Windows albums, appearing as a more or less 'permanent guest'. In 2001 and 2002, he worked on Creed Bratton's first three solo albums. White produced, mixed and also played guitar on many of the tracks.

Born in Luton, England,
White first gained fame with his distinctive guitar style as accompanist to singer/songwriter Al Stewart. He started in Stewart's band in 1975 at the age of 20, then relocated to Los Angeles in 1978. During a 20-year tenure with Stewart, he co-wrote many songs, including Stewart's 1978 top-ten hit "Time Passages" and “Midnight Rocks” (which reached #24 on the US charts) in 1980. That same year he formed Shot In The Dark, a band which backed Stewart and released an eponymous album in 1981.

In 1984 White’s brother Danny White invited him to play on the Matt Bianco debut album Whose Side Are You On?. He played acoustic guitar (uncredited) on the song "Half A Minute" featuring vocalist Basia. This recording marked the first time that the two brothers had collaborated musically. In 1987 White continued his association with Basia by playing guitar on her Time and Tide album, co-produced by his brother Danny. He subsequently played on all of Basia’s following studio albums and joined her on two world tours, in 1990 and 1994. In 1996 Basia returned the favor by singing on White's album Caravan of Dreams, on the single "Just Another Day".

Producing and Solo Work
White began recording his own albums in 1990. His number one songs on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs chart include "Midnight in Manhattan", recorded by Grover Washington, Jr. (1998), "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)" (2006), "Mister Magic" (2007), "Bright" (2009), "Good Day (2010), "Here We Go" (2012), "Head Over Heels" (2014), and "Do I Do" (2017).

White performed regularly on many Windows albums, appearing as a more or less 'permanent guest'. In 2001 and 2002, he worked on Creed Bratton's first three solo albums. White produced, mixed and also played guitar on many of the tracks.

Gleeson moved to San Francisco in the 1960s to teach in the English Department at San Francisco State. Gleeson began experimenting with electronic music in the mid-'60s at the San Francisco Tape Music Center using a Buchla synth and other devices. He resigned his teaching position to become a full-time musician. In 1968, "upon hearing Wendy Carlos' Switched-On Bach", he bought a Moog synthesizer and opened the Different Fur recording studio in San Francisco.He worked with Herbie Hancock in the early 1970s on two albums (Crossings and Sextant) and subsequent tours, pioneering synthesizers as a live instrument. Hancock initially hired Gleeson as a synthesizer technician and instructor, but ended up asking him to become a full-time band member, expanding the ensemble from six to seven musicians.[4] Hancock has credited Gleeson with introducing him to synthesizers and teaching him technique.[3] Sextant and Headhunters were both recorded in part at Different Fur studios. Gleeson has subsequently worked with many other Jazz musicians, including Lenny White, Freddie Hubbard, Charles Earland, Eddie Henderson and Joe Henderson.Gleeson recorded a number of solo albums, starting with Beyond the Sun - An Electronic Portrait of Holst's "The Planets" in 1976, to which Carlos contributed the sleeve notes. The album was nominated for a "best engineered recording-classical" Grammy in 1976. Beyond the Sun was followed in 1977 by a more commercial album, Patrick Gleeson's Star Wars.He worked as a producer and engineer on the 1978 Devo album Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!, part of which was recorded at Different Fur. He sold his interest in Different Fur in 1985.Gleeson has been involved in the scoring of a number of film soundtracks, including The Plague Dogs, Apocalypse Now, Crossroads and The Bedroom Window. He has scored nine television series, including Knots Landing.In 2017 Gleeson retired from film and television scoring and returned to live performance, both as a solo artist and with a trio (Michael Shrieve, drums, and Sam Morrison, reeds).