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Beginnings ...

Fascinated with music since early childhood - and in particular with the piano - Al began playing keyboards at age 14 and guitar at age 15. At about age 16, he gave up guitar for the most part, and concentrated more heavily on learning keyboards. Feeling that he was learning much more from "jamming" with other area musicians and bands of the time, he abandoned formal lessons after about 6 months. Al was encouraged by band mates (except their lead singers, of course...) to develop his singing more and to take over on lead vocals. Writing most of the lyrics from the beginning - and continuing to do so in almost every band he has ever been in - it readily made sense that he should develop his voice in order to be able to sing the songs with more feeling and vision.

In the late summer of 1977, at age 18, Al abandoned instrumentation for the most part (in performance only) and began singing lead front vocals with  Riff Raff   out of North Carver, Massachusetts. Formed by Gemini twin brothers Greg and Doug Ford, the band was rounded out with Bobby Geloran on bass and Ricky Quirk on drums. Riff Raff became quite successful locally, their name a household word and very much "on the streets" in some circles - particularly among the area high school kids, the local nightclub scene, and the local motorcycle "gangs" of that time. Their first performance was to open the show for Steppenwolf  at Roseland Ballroom in Taunton, Massachusetts, early in 1978. This was on the stage which Al had seen Aerosmith- a band which definitely inspired him to want to become a musician - perform on just several years before. Some of Riff Raff's more familiar haunts became the Casa Loma in Bridgewater and the White Sands in Manomet (near Plymouth) Massachusetts. They eventually disbanded after about three years together. Locally, several of their original songs had become popular and had received local airplay. Most notable of these were "She's So Young," and "Take A Chance," both written primarily by Al and the Ford brothers.

Next, Al went to Boston to front the band Nightwing  (later renamed Lookout) out of Central Square in Cambridge. Thrilled as a country boy in the big city, even more of a rush was brought on by the fact that this period was the height of the  punk movement there. Lead guitarist Peter LaBranche founded the band, which was completed with Tommy Barone on rhythm guitar, Dave Neff on bass, and Denis Spindler on drums. Nightwing played the entire Boston area predominately, but sometimes reached out into the suburbs as far as Uxbridge, Massachusetts. They also performed often in Manchester, New Hampshire. The killer "Madam Eve," a kick-ass manifesto of life on the road and on stage in a rock band - about a gypsy fortune teller predicting fame for a young man in a band through her tarot card reading - was perhaps Nightwing's most memorable tune among a literal slew of excellent originals. Also, "School Girl," a wailing metal grindout (later toned down in intensity and utilized in the Modern Art Band) was a popular favorite of the band's dedicated followers. It's declaration of youth and the times, of androgyny, of daring-do devil-may-care attitudes, reflected the state of the union as Nightwing saw it - the uncertainties of the new decade ahead. But alas, youthful wanderlust, artistic development in different directions, and a periphery of alcohol and other drugs became the unfortunate and hasty demise of this band. "Fire and Ice,"  "She,"  "All You've Got," "Keep That Show On The Road," and "I Wanna Know You"  were among their other often-requested originals.

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Progressive Rock - Al's First Love ...

Modern Art  was the next project which Al became involved in - at age 23. Working at a computer electronics factory in Mansfield, Massachusetts, he met a guy named John Hubacheck who was the bass player from this unit from Middleboro. Al had been singing for a band out of the Foxboro/ Mansfield area, but not only was he dissatisfied with the situation, his fiancé also became extremely irate that certain of the guys who were around the band were always trying to get him to drink and do drugs. The Modern Art band was a different story altogether. This was a sober lineup. Again, all four members of the band were accomplished musicians. John had joined guitarist Rick Smith and drummer Todd Poudrier a few months before he introduced Al to the group. When Al decided to join, the band already had quite a few good originals on which they had been working. The band then learned several of Al's compositions and they corroborated on writing as well. It was evident from the beginning that this was going to be a band with a much more complex and progressive sound. Fortunately, quite a few of the recordings survive until today. "Closed Circuit," "Stone Walls," "In A While From Now," " Waiting For You,"
"Into The Wind" (resurrected from Al's earlier days with the Jesse Caine Band) and the memorable progressive rock ballad "In The Dark And The Light" were among audience favorites.

The progressive pop tune "My Century" emanated from the third major incarnation of Al's long-developing "Prince of Dilemma" suite and was heard here for the first time in its completion. Other favorites were "Young and Dangerous," "Talk To Me," Jeff's "(I'm) Serious About Havin' Fun" and "Game Room Flea," the kick-ass "Time" and
"Hard Rock Lover," and perhaps the most well-liked/ most often requested song of any which Al has ever written, the tearjerker (or "good riddance" anthem - depending upon how you're feeling at the moment) "As Love Unfolds."

Five studio demo recordings and the raw tapes of several rehearsals survive, some of which has been digitized and preserved to compact disc.

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