| Glass Harp | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Rock Progressive rock Jam band Psychedelic rock |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Labels | Decca Records Canis Major Records Special Friends Productions |
| Website | http://www.glassharp.net/ |
| Members | |
| Phil Keaggy John Sferra Daniel Pecchio |
|
| Past members | |
| Tim Burks Randy Benson Steve Markulin John Carrozzino |
|
Glass Harp is a Youngstown, Ohio based power trio consisting of guitarist Phil Keaggy, drummer John Sferra and bassist Daniel Pecchio.
Contents |
Phil Keaggy was a member of a mid-1960s garage rock band called the Squires; one of their songs, which he co-wrote, appears on the compilation album Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Volume 9. In 1967 he moved on to briefly record with the band The New Hudson Exit. At one point, the band had considered Joe Walsh as its lead guitarist. Walsh would later establish himself as guitarist for the James Gang before embarking on a solo career and work with the Eagles.
In 1968, Keaggy and longtime friend drummer John Sferra, along with bassist Steve Markulin, formed the band Glass Harp. The band gigged in and around the Youngstown, Ohio, area, finding work anywhere from school dances to clubs. This incarnation of the band recorded several demos, and released the single "Where Did My World Come From?" on the United Audio label in 1969.
Markulin left the group to join his cousin Joe in another successful Youngstown band, The Human Beinz. Keaggy and Sferra then recruited bass player Daniel Pecchio. Pecchio, formerly of the band The Poppy, was also a flautist, a talent that would later be showcased on a few of Glass Harp's songs. Having recorded a new set of demos and signing with new management, the band set out to polish their live act and shop for a recording deal.
The band quickly found a following in the thriving music scene of Northeast Ohio, particularly alongside contemporaries such as The James Gang. Glass Harp was especially popular at the legendary JB's in Kent, Ohio, playing to packed houses during the volatile days surrounding the anti-war demonstrations at Kent State University.
With their latest demos having found the ears of Grammy Award-winning producer Lewis Merenstein, Glass Harp began work on their first album for the Decca label in the fall of 1970. The debut album (as well as the two subsequent studio albums) was recorded in Jimi Hendrix's Electric Lady Studios with Merenstein as producer. Years later, a story would circulate widely and persistently concerning Keaggy and Hendrix. It has been said that during an episode of The Tonight Show, Johnny Carson asked Hendrix, "Who is the best guitarist in the world?" Hendrix is said to have answered, "Phil Keaggy." Another version of the story has Hendrix being asked, "Jimi, how does it feel to be the world's greatest guitar player?" To which Hendrix supposedly replied, "I don't know, you'll have to ask Phil Keaggy!" This account is sometimes attributed to a magazine interview in either Rolling Stone or Guitar Player. Occasionally the story has the setting for the question being the Dick Cavett Show. Other versions have the question being posed to Eric Clapton. A more recent variant has Eddie Van Halen being asked the question by either David Letterman or Barbara Walters. Keaggy has long insisted that such stories are completely unfounded, noting that "it was impossible that Jimi Hendrix could ever have heard me...We...recorded our first album at Electric Lady Studios two weeks after his unfortunate death, so I just can’t imagine how he could’ve heard me. I think it’s just a rumor that someone’s kept alive, and it must be titillating enough to keep an interest there...So I don’t think it was said…and that’s it for that!"[1]
Following the release of their debut album, Glass Harp soon began getting more high-profile opening spots for the biggest bands of the day such as Alice Cooper, Chicago, Yes, Traffic, and Grand Funk Railroad among many others.
Contrary to the tight production and song-oriented nature of their studio albums, the band's live shows at the time demonstrated Glass Harp's ability to stretch out and expand the boundaries of their compositions. While Glass Harp could be very at home with the progressive rock bands of the era, they were in fact one of the pioneers of what would later be known as the jam rock genre, with songs many times reaching over 30 minutes in length with extended solo passages and group improvisation.
1972 would be a pivotal year for the group. Having recently released a second album (Synergy) Glass Harp were asked to perform a live concert on PBS in February. This broadcast would become groundbreaking in that it was one of the first to be simulcast on both television and then-nascent FM radio. For years afterwards, this performance was thought to have been lost, but it was finally released as the Circa 72 DVD in 2006. More touring followed, playing both supporting and headlining shows from The Fillmore East to The Winterland Ballroom. Later in the year, the band played an opening spot for The Kinks at New York's prestigious Carnegie Hall, receiving a thunderous ovation at the end of their hour-long set. This performance was released as the Live At Carnegie Hall album in 1997.
Shortly after the release of the It Makes Me Glad album Phil Keaggy left the band to fully devote his songwriting efforts to the burgeoning Contemporary Christian music scene. Sferra and Pecchio continued to perform together as Glass Harp, adding guitarist Tim Burks and violinist Randy Benson. The music of this new lineup took on a more progressive edge, similar to King Crimson and The Moody Blues (while studio and live radio broadcast recordings exist from this period, they remain officially unreleased as of 2010). This incarnation of the group lasted into 1973, when Pecchio and Sferra decided to finally move on to other projects, essentially bringing Glass Harp to an end. Pecchio went on to become a founding member of the highly-popular Michael Stanley Band, while Sferra remained very much in demand as both live and studio musician, at the same time writing and producing his own music.
Since the mid-1970s, Keaggy, Pecchio and Sferra have reunited a number of times, including several well received performances in Ohio.
In January 1997, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, located in Cleveland, Ohio, opened an exhibit called "My Town." Because the exhibit focused on Cleveland’s rock and roll history, Glass Harp was invited to perform at the Museum. The band is also currently represented in the Museum’s Ohio Exhibit.[2]
Glass Harp reunited again for a short tour in 2000. A highlight of the tour was a sold out performance in their hometown of Youngstown, Ohio at Powers Auditorium. Joining the band for the occasion was conductor Isaiah Jackson and members of the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra. The following year saw the commercial release of the reunion concert in the form of the live double album Strings Attached. Although the album is largely devoted to the band's previous work, it also includes Glass Harp's take on several songs from Phil's solo career such as "Tender Love," "Chalice," "From the Beginning" and a solo acoustic version of "The True Believers."
In 2003, the group released Hourglass, their first new studio album in 31 years. Well-received by fans and critics alike, the album drew on various musical styles that demonstrated Glass Harp's many influences and individual talents.
In 2004, the band went on a short U.S. tour in support of their triple-live album Stark Raving Jams (a collection of various live instrumental and improvisational material from throughout their career). The album/tour served to successfully re-introduce Glass Harp into the jam band scene, in which they are now considered a pioneering group.
The band's original three Decca studio albums have been re-issued twice on CD. The first time was by a German company in the 1990s and more recently by Music Mill Entertainment in 2005. The Music Mill re-issues were re-mastered with bonus tracks and updated liner notes.
In 2006, Glass Harp reunited for a concert to celebrate the release of their first DVD, Circa 72. The DVD is the first official release of their long sought-after 1972 PBS concert, and includes rare outtakes, home movie footage, and a commentary track by the band.
In 2009, Sferra and Pecchio teamed up with Keaggy, Randy Stonehill and guitarist Mike Pachelli as "The Keaggy-Stonehill Band" and played a few dates in support of Keaggy and Stonehill's album Mystery Highway.
On March 27, 2010, Glass Harp released Live at the Beachland Ballroom 11.01.08. The album was more experimental and free-form in nature than previous Glass Harp recordings, and includes extended versions of older material bridged together by the nearly-sixteen-minute "Beachland Jam".[3] The ten song project included material from Phil's solo career: "Sign Came through a Window" and "John the Revelator." The album is a recording of a benefit concert that Glass Harp headlined for Roots of American Music (www.rootsofamericanmusic.org), "an organization dedicated to the preservation, performance and education about traditional American music in our schools."[4]
Glass Harp remains semi-active as of 2011, performing limited headlining concerts. In addition, Daniel Pecchio and John Sferra frequently appear with Phil Keaggy when the guitarist has a solo performance in or around Ohio. Since 2000, Glass Harp's touring groups have included (at various times) instruments such as trumpets, trombones, saxophones, mandolins and violins. Most frequently, the band is joined by keyboardist Chris Queen, formerly of the Athens, Georgia, funk band Mr. Tibbs.
Since 2004, Greg Martin of the Kentucky Headhunters, and Rick Derringer have each joined Glass Harp on stage during performances at the Dallas International Guitar Festival.
On May 7, 2011, guitarist Neil Zaza joined Glass Harp for two songs during their concert at Cleveland's Beachland Ballroom.[5][6]