Music

The High Street Project

This spring saw the release of The High Street Project to streaming services. The High Street Project had its origin in a series of four events (“365 Live”) staged by WCUW-FM DJ Larry Haley in 2023. Larry commissioned a selection of cover songs, keyed to the original artists’ birthdays, to be presented at the events. For the songs on this album, I reimagined the music and invited some of my favorite local vocalists to bring their own interpretations to the project. Everything was recorded, mixed and mastered here at the studio.

Here’s a list of the songs, the original artists, and the featured vocalists:

  • Stop (Joe Henry) feat. Natasha Hanna
  • Real People (Chic) feat. John Solaperto
  • Manhattan Island Serenade (Leon Russell) feat. John Solaperto
  • Golden Hours (Brian Eno) feat. Natasha Hanna
  • Wing (Patti Smith) feat. Natasha Hanna
  • Here Comes the Flood (Peter Gabriel) feat. John Solaperto
  • Electric Green (Kim Richey) feat. Deb Barron Northway
  • Darlin’ (The Beach Boys) feat. Roger Lavallee
  • On the Beach (Neil Young) feat. John Solaperto

Look for The High Street Project on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Qobuz, Pandora and most other streaming services. Or play songs from here:

The Nebulas Live at Ralph’s Diner, 1982

The Nebulas* were born in 1979, when Deb Penta and I started co-writing songs. The band was active in the Worcester/Boston area from 1980 to 1984, a great time and place for bands doing original material to play frequent shows and get radio airplay. One of the venues we played frequently was Ralph’s Diner in Worcester; I recorded this 7/25/82 set on my Sony Walkman cassette recorder. The sound quality leaves a lot to be desired, but I think the energy still comes across. Deb Penta, vocals; Charlie Blaum, guitar; Milton Gentry, bass; Tony Serrato, drums.

album-art
00:00
Sorry, no results.
Please try another keyword

*Not to be confused with the excellent (and current) surf/garage band of the same name from Rhode Island.

The Nebulas – Studio Recordings 1981–1983

The Nebulas* recorded a bunch of songs in professional studios, between 1981 and 1983; here are the best of them. Unfortunately I had only cassette copies to work with, but using demix/remix and other tools I was able to clean them up.

Deb Penta, vocal (1-9)
Charlie Blaum, guitar (1-9), melodica (8)
Milton Gentry, bass (2, 4-9), vocal (9)
Dave Jacques, bass (1, 3)
Tony Serrato, drums (1-4, 6-9)
Glen Orsi, drums (5)
Larry Knight, sax (1,3)

album-art
00:00
Sorry, no results.
Please try another keyword

 

*Not to be confused with the excellent (and current) surf/garage band of the same name from Rhode Island.

Miniatures

Short sketches, ideas, etc.

album-art
00:00
Sorry, no results.
Please try another keyword