GREETINGS ON BEHALF OF THE "SUDDEN URGE" BAND
I've always been a singer for as long as I can remember. My earliest recollection is when I was around 5 years old. My mother would spin her records from
the fifties and we'd sing together. The one song etched in my psyche is a duet "Let the good times roll" by Shirley and Lee. So it's only fair to say that all
I am as a musician started with my mom whom i'm forever grateful. During those adolesent years i've developed "an ear" for music,tone, and harmonies.
My farther would take us to Mem'e, and Pep'es house where he had a brother my Uncle Albert. He played folk guitar, harmonica, and accordian. He was a very
talented individual.I didn't have a clue what he was saying with his French Canadian dialect, but his guitar playing intrigued me. It was at that time I
traded in my "Lone Ranger" mask to embrace the "Singing Cowboy" garb, I had spurs that jingle jangle jingle and everything, and i went riding merrily along.
How sick is that? Iv'e always had an attraction to musical instruments it didnt matter what kind it was I would always try to play it. Guitar, piano, and harmonica
were the only few that felt comfortable enough to further persue my interest.I would always simulate playing guitar "air guitar" as it became known on everything
from the toy guitars i got for Christmas to tennis rackets and trusty broom sticks. I definitely was bitten with the rock star bug. I'd rock out to all my brothers records.
I picked up my first guitar at age 10, but had no tutoring so I didn't make much progress. I'm left handed and didnt have the know-how for restringing.
By age 14 I figured out enough to help me progress with the guitar. I developed as a guitarist by books and records of my favorite bands(Beatles, CCR and Aerosmith)
and whatever caught my ear, along with learning and sharing techniques with all aquaintances. I must credit my older brother (Rene) for inspiration. He played the
drums in a band called "Thunder" whom I envied for thier originality and later inspired me to write my own material. It's funny but I've only been in one band.
The band which eventually became known as "Sudden Urge".Do you want to see..MORE? LOOK BELOW TOM's WRITTEN A BOOK!!!
I grew up in Dudley MA in a Polish and Slovak family, surrounded by ethnic music from a young age. My first introduction into Rock N Roll music was when I
found my sister’s Beatle’s album “Meet the Beatles”. My life was changed forever. In 4th grade I had a chance to take up a musical instrument. I picked the
Saxophone because the drums were not offered, and I could relate the saxophone to Rock N Roll music. I stayed with the Saxophone from the 4th grade into High
School. During my High School years I joined the Polaski Brass Band in Webster MA. It is the oldest brass band in the United States, formed in 1886. I met
many elderly men in the band and found that they were professionals in their younger years, playing in orchestras such as Philadelphia Symphony, Boston
Symphony,and Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. I started meeting more and more wannabe musicians like myself one being Mark Mailloux, whom
with a mutual respect for the beatles, started singing harmonies for fun and dreaming about being in a band when we met in high school in 1979. I started to
meet friends of friends that had bands and used to go listen to them play. One of those bands had an incredible 12 year old drummer named T. John Rousseau.
T. John let me sit in on his drums during their breaks and would teach me simple beats on a right hand set (I am left handed)! From that period on, I was
hooked on playing Rock N Roll music! Occasionally I used to ask my parents for a set of drums, but I never got them because I think they just thought I was
going to bang around and make a lot of noise! Around the same time, I met Greg Seraphin and his brother Joe and Gilley Guay -they had a band. Their drummer
was going off to college and I got a chance to play with my first band "Grim Reaper". 1981 I started my own band with Mark. We got John Siebold and one of Marks friends Steven Anderson
and rehearsed under the name Altis! We rehearsed in my Mom’s home, god bless her for putting up with it, 5 days a week! Thanks Mom! We mostly just played back yard parties and jammed.
1984 I met my wife Janine and sold my drums to start a family. Mark went on to form a band with acquaintances where he worked. 1986 and we met Gary White. Our new band was
(unofficially) called A-Band-On, which was Mark, Gary, Sib & I. We started getting our first real, paid gigs for performing our music. This didn’t last a whole year.
1987 I sold my drums and got married. 1987 Mark approached me and offered to purchase a drum set for me to play which I would never be able to sell. I missed it terribly so I
jumped at the opportunity. I’m still using this set today. We started rehearsing under the name of Marks previous venture “SUDDEN URGE”. We hooked up with Sib, and Andy Wasielewski.
I saw many musicians come and go for the next five years. We always strived to get better and better. During a battle of the bands contest at the former State Line Casino in 1991,
I had the opportunity to hear one of the best guitarists I had ever heard and his name was Dennis King. I found out that Dennis was leaving his band and thought what a great
addition he would be to our band and asked him if he would like to try out for our band. Dennis immediately joined and has been with us ever since. One of the most shocking things
in my musical career was something I never thought I would hear. Mark told me that he had decided to leave the band in Dec. 2002 after our last scheduled job. I didn’t believe him
at first, or didn’t want to believe him……we had been together forever!! But, no matter how much I loved what we had, I was determined to carry on. I decided to start interviewing
lead singers. We were lucky enough after a short time to find Jack Rogers, from Rockland MA to join. Jack commuted for 3 years, 2 hours each way for every practice and every gig!
God Bless ‘em! Dec. 2006 The night we were performing with Pete Best at Point Breeze, after the show, Jack informed me that he had a great time and he hated to leave but it was
just too much travel and time and needed to leave. Ironically, that evening, Mark was at the show to watch us perform. He heard from my sound man Jim that Jack was going to be
leaving…what a lucky break, Mark rejoined and assured me that “YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO GET RID OF ME AGAIN”! Do you want to see..MORE? Yes there's more!!! Just click me...
I started to learn how to play guitar at age 9. My dad loved "Country & Western" music and encouraged me to learn, which helped me develope a southern style
of playing. I joined my first band "The Bookies" at age 15 with three much older guys. They must have saw some potential in me. I certainly love all styles of
music. I played in a band called "Nasty Weather" for a while and opened up for "canned Heat". My first professional band was called "Loopos". In my early 20s
I played in the band "heartbreak Hotel" and met members of the group "good people" and learned alot about stage presence.I then played guitar in "heatwave" for
5 years. I played short runs in other bands "Night Stalker", "Fire Starter", "douglas Drive", and "River Street Band"needless to say I've been around a bit
and met alot of good musicians. I joined "sudden Urge" in the early 90s and found my place and my family..
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I started an interest in music when I was 8 years old, I had an aunt that played drums, so I played the drums first, Where I grew up
in Webster, Mass., One of my friends older brother had a band that practiced in the attic of a house near mine. This made my interest even
greater, so I saved up and bought my first guitar around ten years old. I played in many bands through High School; “Diamond” was the
start of some success, followed by Ambush, and the very popular band “Alias”. After about 8 years of playing 2 to 3 shows a week, I
decided to call it quits. Then in 1986 I was introduced to Tom and Mark. We played together for a while. I joined "Sudden Urge" in 2002 and
have been here ever since.
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Some of my fondest childhood memories revolve around music. A child of the late 1970's, I grew up in a close-knit family which included
many siblings and cousins, all around the same age. It seemed like we were always together. To pass the time we would often try to recreate
our favorite TV shows of the time. Whether it was playin Dance Fever (where I first learned that I could'nt dance to save my life!), or a
full blown Kiss concert,complete with make-up and spray bottle "sweat", music was always a common thread that kept us close.
My first real musical experiance came in high school, where I played Bass guitar in the stage band, and a Tuba (yes that colosal wind
instrument one could actually crawl inside of) in the concert band. After graduation, I quickly forgot about music until I was 20 years old,
when a former school mate inquired if I would be interested in joining his rock band (Free Beer). I accepted his offer, and throughout the
year while having a great time, I learned so much about rock music and developed an ear for singing harmonies which I smply loved. Free Beer
disbanded in 1992 and once again I put my Bass down and forgot about it.
I first met Tom at work and we quickly dicovered our common ground in music. An opportunity arose in 1994 for a Free Beer reunion gig. Tom
graciously agreed to fill in for our drummer, who had prior commitments. Little did I Know at that time, but I was actually auditioning
for Bass player In Sudden Urge! Because shortly after the reunion gig, Tom approached me and asked if I wanted to join the group. Having accepted
the offer in the new venture, the next five years that followed are filled with amazing memories of things which I never would've thought possible, fueling
my growth as a musician and a person.
In 2001 I left Sudden Urge to start a family and yet again music faded into obscurity. I still kept in touch catching shows plus filling in here
and there, and as the years passed, and my children got older I realized there was something missing in my life. In 2011, an opportunity to rejoin
Sudden Urge arose so.. of course, I jumped at the chance. I'm back where I belong.. playin music, developing friendships, and making memories hopefully
for many years to come.
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