DAVID KUHN

On this page you can read one of the longest interviews I have had in my life. I am always glad when someone comes up with long answers, because the longer the answers the more interesting the interview becomes. And in this interview we totally get to know the person I am interviewing, so therfore an interesting read! David Kuhn is a man who has done a lot in his career, and to sum up some of his best known projects I would have to say CITADEL (an old Pomp Rock band from the 70s with whom he recorded 1 LP), THE LADDER (he wrote the classic AOR song "Time soldier" for that band) and his solo CD 'Find my way'. If you own any of these products, then please read on as David has to tell you a lot of interesting stuff about these projects. Besides, he also has some great stories to tell, so there's always something cool to read in this very long interview. Here we go...

When did you start playing music?

My two brothers and I grew up in a very musical family, as our parents were both professional musicians - our mother an opera singer, and our father a composer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist. He passed away at a very young age, and a few years after, our mother decided it was time to see if we would follow in their footsteps. She took the three of us to Wurlitzer’s of Philadelphia, where we would each be allowed to pick an instrument, and enroll in their instruction program to begin the study of music. I was 10 years old at the time. Since I was five, I had wanted to play a trumpet, so I already knew what I would be looking for. We walked into the big showroom - hundreds of beautiful, brand new instruments everywhere! My brother Kevin (then 7 years old) decided on a classical guitar, and Joe (then 13 years old) found the drums & percussion instruments. All the while my eyes were glued to the display walls searching, searching, and finally I saw it - a beautiful, shining gold "Cadet"
trumpet! Assigned to my first teacher, Les Flounder, who was actually a clarinet player, I was all set to begin. That night all hell broke lose, and soon the quiet of our neighborhood street was changed forever, as we proceeded on musical explorations that would eventually lead us to electric guitars and rock ‘n roll!

Those early years of study seemed to fly by. It was actually brother Joe, the oldest of the three Kuhn boys, who led the way. This made sense, since he was now a drummer, and naturally found his way into a rock band with his high school friends. They would rehearse at our house, and I used to hang on their every note as they played the songs of current hit artists at the time. Then one day, as luck would have it, they took a break and went out for burgers, but they left all the instruments and amps turned on and unattended! I was like the proverbial "kid in a candy store" as I went from guitar to guitar, trying to quickly play a few notes, lest they would return and catch me fooling around on their gear. The last one I picked up was the electric bass guitar, and I do believe it was love at first sound! In years to come, I would sing, and also learn to play the keyboards and guitars in addition to the acoustic bass. I would also learn that, with certain things in life and music, you don’t choose them - they choose you. For me, this is absolutely true with the bass, with singing, writing & producing, with acting, and most certainly with AOR music!


When did you get involved with CITADEL?

Hmmm... I think the specific details of this could fill a telephone directory, so for now, I’ll give you this condensed version! Sometimes, a band begins forming without you realizing it. Focusing on a particular goal, project, etc. often helps to find the right combination of people who have the best musical chemistry together. This is really the essence of a good band, much more so, I think, than just having a grouping of good players and good songs. Such was the case with CITADEL. I think the first true formation of the band began with my brother Kevin and I and a drummer during our last years of high school. While we had each been playing in different little bands growing up, we always loved playing songs together. So one day, we got it into our heads that we would learn, rehearse and perform in its entirety, the rock opera "Tommy." Little did Kevin and I realize at the time how prophetic this was because, many years later, he and I would be chosen by Pete Townshend for both the
development and Broadway productions of "The Who’s Tommy", as well as for the RCA cast album of this famous work, with George Martin at the helm!

So there we were, the three of us playing "Tommy" in the high school auditorium, with everyone loving it! We felt really good, as it was no easy thing for a teenager to do, but what had really happened from learning "Tommy" together, was the formation of a rhythm section for the first version of CITADEL. In the later years of high school and early years of college, we had become friends with some guys in the neighboring schools and colleges who also were playing in their own bands. The first of the additions to our new trio actually happened in our first year of college. They were 1 additional drummer, 2 sax and woodwind players, and one other guitarist, who also doubled on keyboards. Now a seven piece line-up, we were doing everything from Herbie Hancock’s "Maiden Voyage" to Spirit’s "Nature’s Way", to Hendrix’s "Little Wing"! Though this incarnation didn’t last all that long, we did have fun, playing mostly fraternity parties and clubs in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.

Transfers to different schools by a few of our members soon caused us to reform yet again, this time as a quintet consisting of guitar, bass, keyboards, drums and sax. Our new keyboard player was Dennis Matkosky, who would go on in future years to write the hit songs "Maniac" for the film Flashdance and "Heart of Mine for Boz Scaggs. At the time, Dennis had been working in another band project with his friend Michael Sembello, and when our sax player told him about CITADEL, he was very interested. We soon got together and the band’s chemistry was fantastic! It was during this version of CITADEL that we started to develop a real direction, and also, to write music - instrumental music, and our influences were unusual to say the least! At this point, our current sax player and drummer decided they wanted to pursue musical styles that were different from where CITADEL was now heading. So my brother Kevin, Dennis and I opted not to replace the sax, remaining a quartet, with what would turn out to be a long series of new drummers!

A very favorable buzz in the local press started to develop about the band, and we even did some television appearances, because certainly no one else in the area had yet started to play anything like our music! We also started playing concerts and Philadelphia area clubs such as "The Main Point" and "Grendel’s Lair", and our new instrumental compositions were likened by the press to a blending of CHICK COREA & RETURN TO FOREVER, YES, GENTLE GIANT and WEATHER REPORT!

We did have great fun with this version of CITADEL, and it was a good time to be playing this kind of "Fusion Jazz", which, stylistically, was beginning to borrow more and more from rock music. Somewhere during this period of the band’s development, Dennis decided he wanted to pursue more of his music theory studies and perhaps move towards more traditional song writing; so he decided that he needed to leave the band. My brother and I were in college and always meeting and working with other musicians, so we knew it wouldn’t be long before we could find a replacement for Dennis, but Kev and I were both saddened at his leaving.

During this period I was quite focused on my studies of the acoustic bass. I played everything from symphony to jazz, and always welcomed the opportunity to play in my school’s various ensembles, which were performing the works of our new composers. It was during this time that I met George Akerley, who eventually would become our new keyboard player in CITADEL. George, already a very accomplished composer who had graduated some years earlier, was having one of his pieces performed by an ensemble in which I was playing. Inadvertently, we
discovered that we had been on similar tracks with regard to aspirations for our careers. In school, I had always regarded George as a very gifted, serious composer. I had no idea he was into anything else, until one day during a rehearsal of our school’s 20 piece jazz ensemble. In this big group, we were seated in such a way that neither one of us could see the other, and because of an extremely rushed set-up, there was no time for anyone in the band to say hello. So he didn’t know who was playing bass, and I didn’t know who was playing piano.

The director began with Chick Corea’s "Spain" which features large sections for both piano and bass solos. At the end of the piece, we both stood up simultaneously to see who was playing the other’s instrument, and we were both shocked beyond belief. As it turns out, George, too, had no idea that I was into anything except symphonic orchestra music! Knowing right then and there that we should work together, we soon became friends. Not long after, he came on board with CITADEL. The sound of the band began to take yet another new direction, although we wouldn’t realize it for a few months. George had been writing with a fantastic lyricist named Bob Loy, with whom my brother Kevin and I would also begin to write. We all become great friends, and remain so to this day. It was at this point, now having songs with lyrics, that we realized it might be very good indeed, if I would begin to sing lead vocal with our band!

As the sound of the group kept defining and refining itself, it became increasingly difficult to find the right drummer, so many of them just came and went. For awhile, we thought we would have to get used to replacing drummers as a part of business with the band, until we found Rusty Gramiak. Another one of our music school compatriots, Rusty had exactly what we were looking for, and truly what we needed all along - the talent, the chops and the musicality to play the most technically demanding type of jazz, along with a solid ability to really make it rock!

So there you have it. I know it’s hard to believe, but this is a very abbreviated version of how CITADEL came to be David, Kevin, George and Rusty!


The LP was released late 1979, can you tell me everything about that period of your life, about CITADEL, the recordings, the songs, the air play/press you got?

I had just graduated from college in 1976, and from then till ‘79, we rented a house together as a band so that it was easier to write, rehearse, perform, etc. 1976 was a good summer to be performing with a band, as it was The U.S. Bicentennial, and there were all kinds of events for us to play. All the while, we were also playing the Tri-state area clubs (those in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware). As far as recording goes, even back then I was always very interested in finding new ways of capturing sounds and music, and fortunately our college had a great electronic music lab with one of the original Moog synthesizers and a 1/2 inch 4 track tape recorder, all of which gave me the opportunity to develop a good set of skills and an overall understanding of traditional analog recording. With regard to songs, all of our individual writing covered many styles, so through the process of playing as a band, we were unconsciously moving toward what would become the "sound" of the first album.

It was also during this time, that CITADEL had a weekly engagement at a club in southern New Jersey called "The Library", which was owned by Bruce Claypool. Having a regular performance night in his club turned out to be key in getting the industry’s attention. The first night we played there was wonderful! Unbeknownst to us, the club just happened to be filled with folks who were jazz and fusion music enthusiasts, and we were very well received. We thought we had it made. It was the second night, however, that proved to be a major dose of rock and roll reality for us - we completely emptied the place! Now, keep in mind that, although we were developing and experimenting with what would become the sound of the first CITADEL album, we weren’t performing "Pomprock" or anything even close to it - we were still an instrumental jazz-rock fusion band, and I wasn’t singing yet. So there we were, on our second night in our new gig, performing our unique brand of original electric jazz, to a club full of people who were used to hearing very traditional rock ‘n’ roll - no wonder they left! Still,
Bruce saw something in us, so he decided to hang in there and take a chance. We had already started trying my vocals in rehearsal, and the songs were beginning to sound really good. During the month or so following that second night, I began singing with the band, and our sets started becoming a very unusual combination of electric jazz, interlaced with these vocal rock and pop songs. People loved it!! Soon, the club was packed every night that we played, and we owe this to Bruce, who truly believed in us. To find someone willing to give a new band the opportunity to play only their unproven original material without the guarantee of a paying audience would probably be impossible in this day and age, and we’ll always be grateful to him.

Are there any funny stories or things you never forget about the time with CITADEL?

Oh my, how many pages do I have? Just kidding! I recall one particular evening during the recording sessions for the album at "Media Sound" in New York City. The RAMONES were also recording in one of the other rooms at "Media" that summer. We were in the main room doing George’s acoustic piano overdubs for the song "To Love Again", when all of a sudden the power dipped and the lights dimmed for a second, then came back up. Now this was a major recording facility which is supposedly isolated from power problems of this sort, so everyone was looking around wondering what was going on (were the RAMONES pulling too much power or something?). Things seemed to stabilize, so we pushed on. Within five minutes there was kind of a thump, then everything went totally black. Engineers were frantically flying all over the place shutting off the power switches to the most expensive equipment, while assistants were switching to battery powered emergency lighting and handing out candles. That’s right folks, the CITADEL album was being recorded during the summer of the ‘77 New York
City CON EDISON blackout! The tape seemed to be uninjured, though I don’t remember if we were able to use any parts of the particular take we were working on. Once we knew the power wasn’t coming back on any time soon, we realized that with all the city’s traffic tied up in knots, we would have to get back to our hotel on foot - total darkness on the New York City streets!... When we finally made it back, we noticed a person near one of the side entrances who actually had a flashlight, and was offering to take people up the side stairs to their hotel room. We went inside to quickly assess the situation, and when we came out a few minutes later, that same person was now charging people $10.00 each to take them to their rooms! Upon our next entry to the hotel we discovered that the "executive" producer for our album had opened the bar to the entire hotel and anyone who wandered in off the street, and put the huge bill for this on our recording budget, which of course was charged
against any money our record might make! Here we had our first example of why it is always a bad idea to give someone else control over your finances in a recording contract. Oh well, I guess it was all part of having to grow up fast in the business! This and a few other choice "learning" experiences proved very costly to us at the time, so it’s probably good that we’ve also learned to laugh about things like this now; (for a joke, I think we even started working on a song called "Young and Stupid").

For me it is no problem to describe the style of CITADEL, a mixture between KANSAS and STYX. These were the bands that influenced you back then, right? Do you know this is called 'Pomprock'? And this style is totally late 70s and today nobody is playing that kind of rock anymore?

I suppose it would be rather surprising if anyone was playing that kind of rock anymore! Even though we were likened to Kansas and Styx, believe it or not, others influenced us. Kevin and I had always listened to rock, pop, and modern jazz including the BEATLES, various Motown artists, Jimi Hendrix, CREAM, the WHO, WEATHER REPORT, CHICK COREA, YES, GENTLE GIANT, and of course all kinds of traditional jazz, along with opera, orchestral and chamber music. George also had all of these influences in addition to extensive training in orchestral composition and was, for a time, even playing trumpet in a soul band! Rusty was firmly rooted in traditional jazz, and was also influenced by many of the great rock and jazz-rock drummers of the day. And of course, Kevin and I grew up with our mother singing all of the great dramatic soprano roles and our father, Joseph Kuhn, was one of the main arrangers & composers for "101 Strings" of Hamburg, Germany. As for "Pomprock", the term is not an American one. In fact, I’m constantly amazed at how we have always labeled and categorized the various kinds of rock and other popular music genres throughout history. Additionally, as a
singer/songwriter, I think it’s a good thing that "Pomprock" isn’t being played anymore. My music should always be moving ahead with the times.


Were there any singles released of CITADEL?

The album was distributed from coast to coast in the U.S., and we were contacted by one radio station in Ohio, telling us we had the number one record for three weeks running. The label did issue a 45 rpm release containing the two songs "Gonna’ Catch Up With You" and "Stomping Ground", which they called a "Double A" sided single. They felt both songs were strong enough to be considered the A side of the record. Although the stores did carry them, they were mainly intended for radio stations, so there weren’t that many manufactured. They’re now probably harder to find than the full-length album.

This record label of CITADEL, Boltax Records, did they release more music and can you tell me more about them?

When our first producers started sending out our demos to acquire a record contract, they received not only an offer from Polygram, but also an offer from CBS. Believe it or not, they turned them both down!! The terms of our deal with these producers gave us no control in our business dealings with record labels (ah yes, another reason we wanted to write that song called "Young and Stupid"). Opting for what we were told was a better deal, these producers decided to go with a small label, which had a few other incarnations before eventually becoming Boltax. I’m not absolutely sure, but as far as I know, they did not release anything else. As we understood it, this label was set up to release only our LP.

What happened with CITADEL after the release of the LP? Concerts, touring? Did you record anything more with CITADEL, songs, demos, unreleased stuff?

Right after the LP was released, we made it into both the singles and albums "Pick of the Week" lists of Billboard Magazine. Soon to follow, were the great reviews we received in both Record World and Cashbox, which were the other two major trade magazines during this time. All the while we were playing more and more of
the clubs in the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. We were also starting to play the "college circuit" which meant we were now playing in the college auditoriums and theatres. As for unreleased stuff and demos, we made many!

When did CITADEL split up?

We didn’t split up. Each of us just became busy in other areas of the music industry. We started getting calls to work as individuals for outside recording sessions, shows, other band projects, etc.. Despite all the "learning" situations we had to endure, with regard to how the record industry really works, the experience of playing together as a band was wonderful, and probably the only thing that kept us going through the many tough spots. I’m sure we would all love the chance to work together again.

After CITADEL, you started a solo career, but you also become an actor, well, just tell me everything what happened to you after CITADEL? (including your appearances in those famous TV shows, tell me everything please)

Well, again, I’m sure we don’t have the space here for everything, but we can certainly touch on some hopefully interesting stuff! After CITADEL, my brother Kevin, and I began work on a project with the Parente brothers of Philadelphia. It started out as a song writing project for Atlantic Records, and soon turned into a band project, which eventually was named the LADDER. We recorded a handful of demos that initially attracted the attention of Atlantic, and included in these first demos was my song, "Time Soldier". One day while Lou Parente and I were doing some writing together, I decided to play on the piano, a piece of instrumental music I had completed a few weeks earlier. It had a really strong melody and chord progression, and I had even written out the guitar solo, note for note. I asked, "What do you think of this, Lou?" To which he said, "I’m not sure what this one is yet, but it’s definitely not a love song!". I responded by suggesting we needed a concept for the lyrics. He said it sounded like it could be a "science fiction" piece, and we soon hit on the concept of a mythical time traveler, a warrior,
who, through the centuries, would time and again be killed in battle, only to find himself reincarnated in the future, but still as a warrior destined only to be killed in yet another conflict. This concept eventually evolved into the title of "Time Soldier", and once we had this title, the lyrics happened quickly. Now Atlantic Records, striving to get the best product, had us submitting so many songs in order to find the best material for the LADDER’s debut album, that it became too time consuming for my brother and me. Also, my involvement in many other musical projects had started increasing to the point where it eventually became necessary to leave the band. Even so, I’ve always been particularly proud of "Time Soldier" because it was one of the first, and one of nearly 100 songs submitted for the LADDER’s album, and it survived Atlantic Records’ entire process of elimination! Also, although Atlantic loved "Time Soldier," and believed it was possibly the strongest song on the album, they felt the lyrics were too controversial to choose it as the first single, and I think that instead they chose "Double Shot of Love." Consequently, there wasn’t much response in the U.S., but I was thrilled to learn how much the album was enjoyed by listeners in Europe!

Not long after the LADDER project, I began working in an area which, to this day, I feel is probably the most important work I do - that of educating children to the magic of music. I created a program called "Time Travel Through Music" (© 1987, ‘98, 2000 D. Kuhn) which to date has been seen by more than 40,000 students. I created this program to bring the last 300 years of music, in chronological order, to children in a way that they can most effectively associate with, and relate to it. I combine song, narrative and demonstration of many musical instruments, while conveying how music and instruments have evolved through the ages from acoustic to electronic. To me, one of the most important responsibilities we have in this world is the education of our youth, and I think that exposure to music of all genres and cultures should always be a part of our children’s education. "Time Travel Through Music" seems to be a hit with kids whenever and wherever I perform it, so I continue, in my quest for the betterment of school children’s music education.

Actually, it was the initial success of this program which began my solo artist work, as I started receiving requests for recordings of my original songs used in the program. Additionally, in many of the schools where I was performing an earlier version of "Time Travel Through Music", I was also doing evening concert performances with my new band FATHERLIKE SONS, which consisted of myself and both my brothers Kevin and Joe, along with our cousin Scott McGill! We had also been playing a few clubs, including "The Bitter End" in New York. During this time, I had sent a tape of some of my then current songs to Dennis Matkosky, now a major hit songwriter and former CITADEL member, mentioned earlier in this interview. Dennis had been in Los Angeles since around 1978, and had already achieved major success. We began doing some song writing together, and he told me that Los Angeles was the current songwriters’ paradise, and if I really wanted to pursue song writing, then I should definitely check it out. So it wasn’t too long before the saying "Westward Ho!" was in the
air!

Not long after arriving in LA, I began doing some recording sessions for film and network television, and also playing with a few large "dance band" type orchestras to support myself while pursuing my song writing. It was during one of these jobs that I was first approached by a casting person, who explained to me that it was his job to provide "on camera" musical talent for film, and he thought that I would be good for a scene in the Neil Simon film "The Marrying Man". I remember feeling like the luckiest man on earth, and this was the first of what was to be many on-camera music performances for film and television. Being somewhat of a perfectionist, I felt that if the industry began asking me to perform dialogue, it was essential that I prepare myself to be the best actor I could. So I began my acting studies, working with some of the finest and most talented teachers in Los Angeles. Soon, as a result of one of these film assignments, I was granted membership in the Screen Actors Guild. I still
always welcome the opportunity to audition for upcoming acting roles, and enjoy work that requires singing and/or playing musical instruments on-camera.

Periodically, I also provide music for TV and film use. One of my favorite acting jobs was in the film "American Pie". It still happens occasionally, and it’s always fun when someone comes up and asks if it was I who played that zany character of the emcee/bandleader in the prom scene! This was a very interesting role, because I was not actually singing, and they needed me to do an "over the top", yet exact pantomime to that deliberately and hysterically bad, pre-recorded vocal! I’m hoping I can get a copy of the takes I did which weren’t in the film, because they had me on the set for three full days of filming and I’m told some of the footage that didn’t get used was really hilarious! Another one people seem to recognize, is my appearance on the television show "Seinfeld." This was the episode in which my character, and the band in which I was performing, aided Elaine’s boyfriend, a sax player, in messing with their sex life! One of the most interesting assignments I can recall was "Beverly Hills 90210," in which I had to perform the jobs of actor, singer, music arranger and casting person. It was my job to arrange and lead a barbershop quartet, produce and submit a demo recording of the arrangement to the studio, find the talent to perform it with me, and then perform it live to the camera at 7 am in the morning, with no pre-recorded studio tape for pantomiming!

I’ve come to realize the strongest attraction that film work holds for me is its uncanny similarity to making audio records. While nothing can ever replace live performance, communication and connection is dependent on the presence of our audience at the time of performance. If no one was present to see and hear what we had to communicate, then our work would just go out into the air; perhaps lost forever, and it might be argued that we didn’t really communicate! Whereas with film and audio records, the idea is to capture, hopefully, the best of our performances, and use them to be a permanent and lasting part of the storytelling art - where everyone can enjoy it forever; whenever they wish. I suppose this feeling would be closest to that which a painter or sculptor experiences.

One very important thing I learned about working in film & television: It is as unpredictable as it is exciting. Sometimes you are called to work first thing in the morning, only to discover upon arriving that there has been a schedule change, and you find yourself waiting for hours before you’re working. Other times you’ll have an early morning call time and be expected to walk in and sing at the top of your range! Either way, it is always absolutely essential to keep all of your abilities in top form, because even if you’ve been waiting for a long time, when you’re called, you had better be ready to go!

Now we're looking at the first solo-CD 'Talk it over' from you, can you tell me more about it?

I know this is a very "artist driven" work, but my heart said go this way, and consequently, I believe this entire recording has a spirit. "Talk It Over" is a very integral part of my journey as an artist, and although it wasn’t apparent to me at first, this album seems to capture some of the eclectic nature of our lives. It was not my intention to make such a varied CD. In fact, I didn't really know I was even making a CD until practically in the middle of the process. I was just writing and recording individual songs, then I started to realize that some of them really flowed together, and it was becoming an album. Once I knew this, the project took on a whole new existence, and each song seemed to reframe a different experience in life. Also, reflecting on the time with CITADEL and various other projects through those years, there were certain creative aspects of writing & recording that I never got the chance to explore - hence the creation of DISTANT SHORE®. In some ways I guess I have, without realizing it, continued some of this exploration while blending it with my new work.

The music styles are very diverse. There are pure AOR songs on the CD, but also epic pop oriented pieces, how come this diversity? And well we discussed it already, you are thinking of releasing a pure AOR CD, right?

"Talk It Over" is extremely diverse, from the songs and sound design, to the recording environments, to the various equipment used to capture the performances. In thinking about the nature of this project during the final stages, it occurred to me that so many people load their CD changers with their favorite different styles of music, and then hit the random play or shuffle button. That’s very reflective of the lives we lead today, and I believe "Talk It Over" is for everyone who enjoys hearing a variety of various kinds of songs on one CD. I’ d like to take a moment here to say thank you, Gabor, for your inspirational thoughts in our musical discussions, and I’m very happy to report that yes, I am indeed currently in production for a Pure AOR CD! As I've been organizing my song inventory, I've discovered that, even without including material that I'm currently writing, I already
have many more songs that absolutely fit into the AOR genre. Listening to them from the writing perspective, I guess I really do love AOR, more than I knew, and I’m very excited about this project!


Who influenced you on songs like "Find My Way", "Talk It Over", "A Piece of The Sky" and "Heart of Fire", the 4 pure AOR songs, did guys like Richard Marx, Bryan Adams, Dennis DeYoung, Steve Perry influence you on those songs?

All of these artists are also fantastic songwriters, and I do admire them. To that extent, I suppose I’m influenced, because regardless of a particular production style (AOR, Pop, etc.), if you don’t have a great song to begin with, then you don’t really have anything.


Are you working on any new material, what will it sound like, hopefully more AOR oriented?

I think songwriters, like me, tend to write what inspires them at the moment, so consciously trying to write AOR may or may not be a realistic approach for me to take. However, since you and I have been talking, I’ve realized that while I love to write in a wide variety of styles, many of my songs seem to just naturally fit the description of pure AOR/Melodic Rock. Now that I’m aware of this, I’m going to do my best to make sure I keep my AOR songs all on the same CDs with only other AOR songs!


Are you going or did you support this CD with touring the last couple of years? And how was "Talk It Over" received by the media and the public, tell me more?

I’m pleased to tell you that "Talk It Over" has been very well received by the media and the public. As a matter of fact, some of the songs have been placed in TV & film projects, such as "Find My Way", which was used in the Warner Bros. network television series 7th Heaven. Between responding to requests for the on-camera use of my material, as well as acting auditions, my time unfortunately, has not allowed for me to extensively tour, though it has always been my dream to perform in Europe.


Do you know whatever happened to the other guys from CITADEL?

I’m always in contact with my brother Kevin, who is now one of the most sought after recording session and show guitarists in New York City, as well as a published music theatre composer. I’ve also recently been in touch with George Akerley and Rusty Gramiak, both of whom have remained active in the music industry. George has his own very successful music company, based in southern New Jersey, where he continues his wonderful writing. Rusty, also based in New Jersey, continues with his outstanding drumming and percussion work.


Finally, any chance CITADEL will ever come back together and do a new release. Or perhaps re-issue the old CITADEL material, there is demand for it.

There is indeed, a very good chance for a CITADEL reunion, and as luck would have it, we have located many of our early self produced recordings! As we listened, it was hard for us to believe we did most of these recordings so very many years ago!! These were the ones that were done without any record company or outside producer involvement, so they reveal more of who we really were at that time. Because we were producing ourselves, we were more able to freely explore the recording studio and hone our skills. One thing we now realize from the business mistakes of our early years, is the importance of completely owning all aspects of our work, which of course, we do. So in addition to a possible CD of new CITADEL material, we may be able to do some kind of "CITADEL - The Early Demos" release. We’re all very excited about it!


Well, thanks for the interview and good luck with your career?

It has been a pleasure doing this interview for you, Gabor. It is so rewarding to share my thoughts with a person, like yourself, who demonstrates as much enthusiasm and passion for music as I. Thank you for creating such a fantastic resource with your web site and magazine. Your wonderful efforts continue helping both the time-honored, and the new AOR, to live on!

BACK TO INTERVIEWSINDEX

BACK TO HOMEPAGE