Growing up in a quaint little town helped Scott McDonald utilize words like "quaint" in his everyday banter. This in turn, transferred over into his music, providing many more opportunities to use obsolete words and useless phrases. After a brief stint in the "Welcome Back Kotter" fan club, Scott got serious about his music. All it took was one song to change his life forever, PAC MAN FEVER. Those pulsating rhythms, the astute lyrical commentary, the cool, chomping sound effects masterfully placed throughout the entire cut. It spoke volumes. Only Abe Vigoda had had more of an impact on his life. Harnessing that energy, Scott honed his craft in the 80's. Reaganomics had stifled the music business and left the smaller songwriters, cold and clammy. Scott rode the decade out quietly, graduating from high school at the end of the 80's, stupider than when he had started. If fact, "They didn't learn me enough"' he was quoted as saying. The 90's offered more power and honesty and less hairspray. This was great for Scott and his new band, ONE CAT LEFT, but terrible for Revlon. Their stocks fell, the ozone began to close and Dexy's Midnight Runner's broke up. Alternative came and went and came back as grunge and left and returned as rock (I think?). Scott's quest for that musical utopia continues today.
Vic Blasucci had no qualms about sticking to his laurels. He hardly changed for anyone. You could say his laurel and hardly qualities were invigorating. With a solid foundation in blues an early Viking philosophy, he set forth to enlighten and entertain at the same time. He changed his name to The Maharishi Vic Yogi Berra. When he sobered up he decided that was not the right way to share his vision. With that problem out of the way, he ran into Scott, a like-minded individual in the produce department of a local grocery store. Together, they bonded near the Granny Smith apples and began to form the nucleus of what would become one of the 378 local bands in the area. As the elder Viking Nordstrom's had professed, "Good things often revolve around many fruits and vegetables". Vic knew this was a positive omen (or ancient drunken gibberish, he couldn't be sure).
Oh Lord..I'm at the CROSSROADS…lost my CHARLIE'S MANSION on the hill*", (sung in the best Robert Johnson voice possible). With Luke Kessel, there is a musical drive that's got a full tank of gas and a brand new alternator. He's not concerned with the fact that he's got four strings. He makes them sound like six. He's not concerned that the band makes six-packs disappear at four in the morning. He's up for that challenge. In fact, musically and otherwise, he's up for anything that pushes the envelope and puts the music in a whole different sphere. His former success in several local acts (hint…hint*) has only cemented his reputation as one of the best bass players in this bio. He currently performs in a jazz trio, a funk/rock band and too many other acts to remember. He also finds time to whittle shoehorns in his spare time, loves full-contact chess and teaches bass guitar to orphaned Viking children. Luke has added a new dimension to the bands' sound and enabled the music to grow into several exciting new directions. This has won both Luke and the band the approval of old fans, new fans, somewhat new fans, slightly older fans and the Saint Swithen's Ladies Auxiliary Knitting Faction. How nice!
Pete Cottone has been playing drums since he started. His life has been a musical cavalcade of improvisation, limitless sonic boundaries and really nice shirts. His relaxed attitude hides a fierce determination to open tonal cans of "Whop-ass" on every audience he encounters. Pete's former association with TOM MARSHALL of PHISH led to the band AMFIBIAN. It was here in this situation that Pete found his voice and his motivation and some spare change on the bathroom floor and that watch he had been missing and….Anyway, after an open invitation to play on the One Cat Left debut CD, the chemistry inevitably led to a full time offer from the band and a joyous acceptance speech (transcription available at petespeech.com). Thus far, Pete and Luke have melded into a rock solid rhythm section that propels the rest of the band and ushers in a new and original sound.
