Mario Monterosso | |
---|---|
![]() Mario Monterosso at the Ameripolitan Awards, Memphis TN, February 11, 2018. | |
Background information | |
Also known as | Eddie Redmount |
Born | Catania, Italy | October 10, 1972
Origin | Catania, Italy |
Genres | Rock and roll, rockabilly, rhythm and blues, swing music, cabaret |
Occupation(s) | Musician, producer, songwriter, cabaret performer, theatre performer |
Instrument(s) | Guitar |
Years active | 1987–present |
Labels | ORG Music, Black and Wyatt Records, Goodfellas |
Website | Mario Monterosso Official Website |
Mario Monterosso is an Italian-born musician, producer, songwriter, and cabaret and theater performer. Originally from Sicily, Monterosso worked professionally in Rome, and is currently based in Memphis, Tennessee in The United States. He is best known for his production work with rock and roll musician Tav Falco, and is a current member of his backing band Tav Falco's Panther Burns.
Monterosso was born in Catania, in the automomous region of Sicily in Italy. [1] His great aunt was a well-known opera singer, and his father wrote about opera and encouraged his children in musical pursuits. [2] [3]
Sicilian rockabilly musician Vince Mannino was an early mentor to Monterosso [2] and inspired him to began learning guitar, with Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, Scotty Moore, and Brian Setzer being a few of his early influences. [4] Monterosso began performing live at the age of 14. [3] [4] He moved to Rome to further his career as a musician, while working as a clerk in the Italian court chancellery by day. [2] [5] He performed as sideman to singer Carmen Consoli on an Italian tour in December 2004. [6]
In 2013, Monterosso performed in the theatrical production Chi erano i Jolly Rockers? (Who Were the Jolly Rockers?) alongside Claudio "Greg" Gregori of the theatre duo Lillo & Greg; Lillo & Greg were also featured as part of the production. The production played April 2–21, 2013 at the Teatro Olimpico in Rome. [7] [8]
Monterosso recorded an album of semi-autobiographic songs that re-imagined himself as an Italian immigrant to the United States in the 1940s. When cabaret owner Maria Freitas heard the songs, she suggested building the album into something larger. [3] The resulting cabaret production, Fui e Sono Eddie Redmount, debuted in Freitas' La Conventicola Degli Ultramoderni in Rome in November 2017. [9] The production was later directed by Claudio "Greg" Gregori, and played at Catania's Teatro MUST (formerly known as Teatro Angelo Musco) in March 2018, [10] and again at Teatro Manzoni in Rome in December 2019. [11]
Italian author and attorney Alessandra Tucci wrote the novel Le sei corde dell'anima based on Monterosso's life. [5] The book was published in Italy on April 20, 2021. [12]
In 2016, Monterosso moved to Memphis, Tennessee, and began working with local artists such as John Paul Keith, Gary Hardy, Brandon Cunning [13] and Jason D. Williams. [1] He produced the album Greetings From Austin for The Don Diego Trio in 2017. [11]
On February 10, 2018, Monterosso, Claudio "Greg" Gregori (Lillo & Greg), Diego "Don Diego" Geraci (The Don Diego Trio), and Italian rockabilly performer Antonio Sorgentone recorded a supergroup project at Sun Studio under the name The Million Euro Quartet. [14] The project was a tribute to the 1956 Million Dollar Quartet session, and featured Gina Haley (daughter of Bill Haley) as guest vocalist. [10]
Monterosso has also worked extensively with musician Dale Watson, organizer of the Ameripolitan Music Awards, [11] and co-wrote four tracks featured on the album Dale Watson & the Memphians. [15]
On July 8, 2019, [16] Monterosso recorded the single "Steady Girl" b/w "Waiting for a Beer" at Sun Studio in Memphis. [13] The A-side is a cover of an obscure rockabilly song recorded at Memphis Recording Service on December 8, 1956, and was initially unreleased. [17] A collector sold a 78 rpm acetate [13] containing two takes of the track to Black and Wyatt Records, [18] who in turn reissued the tracks as a 7-inch single in 2019. [19] The two tracks were discussed as potentially being the earliest known garage rock recordings. [20] Monterosso's cover version streamlines the original song, and is coupled with an original song entitled "Waiting For a Beer," the latter recorded in a country & western / honky tonk style. [20] The Monterosso single features layout by Claudio "Greg" Gregori, [16] and was released on January 16, 2020 [21] by Black and Wyatt. [13]
In early 2020, Monterosso recorded an instrumental album with Dale Watson that featured all instrumental tracks, four of which Monterosso had written. During this time, he wrote "The Ballad of Zorro," a tribute to the 1975 Italian swashbuckler film Zorro and its Guido & Maurizio De Angelis-penned soundtrack. With this and a number of other songs written, Monterosso then flew to Sicily to visit his ailing mother. [22] While there, he had Rome-based engineer Matteo Spinazzè travel to Sicily to record an album on location in the 18th-century home in Trecastagni owned by his family where he was staying. The album was recorded in summer 2020 with a backup band featuring childhood friends of Monterosso's. [23] The album was recorded live, and minimal overdubs were added later. [22] One track, "Midnight In Memphis," features narration by Tav Falco. [24] A video for "The Ballad of Zorro" was filmed in Sicily by singer-songwriter Fabio Abate. [23]
The album, titled Take It Away, was initially released on digital formats only on February 14, 2022, by Org Music in Los Angeles. [24] The Memphis Flyer stated that the album's tracks "offer a guided tour through the instrumental sounds of the '50s and '60s." [22] Both The Sicilian Post and US magazine Exotica Moderne noted that the album expanded on the sound established by guitar duo Santo and Johnny. [24] [25]
In 2014, a friend of Monterosso's informed him that veteran rock and roll performer Tav Falco was in Rome and was interested in recording there. Monterosso immediately offered his services and was hired. [2] Falco recorded the album in Rome's Exit Studios in August–September 2014. [26] The album, titled Command Performance, was released in 2015 on the UK label Twenty Stone Blatt Records. Monterosso is credited for artistic production and as a member of Tav's Falco's Panther Burns, and also co-wrote the album's songs "Master of Chaos" and "Memphis Ramble" with Falco. [27]
Monterosso toured The United States with Tav's Falco's Panther Burns in October–November 2015. Entitled "The Whistle Blower Tour", the tour featured Mike Watt and Toby Dammit, both former members of Iggy and the Stooges, as members of The Panther Burns. [28] Two singles, "Sway" b/w "Where the Rio Dolorosa Flows" and "Me & My Chauffeur Blues" b/w "Whistle Blower Blues," were recorded while on the tour. [29] [30] Both singles feature Monterosso on guitar. [31] [32]
In July 2017, Falco entered Sam Phillips Recording Service to record the holiday-themed album A Tav Falco Christmas, with Monterosso producing, arranging, and playing guitar. Watt and Dammit participated in the recording, playing bass and drums respectively. [33] The album was released on vinyl LP in the US by ORG Music on Record Store Day Black Friday, November 24, 2017. [34] The Los Angeles Times called it "gloriously demented enough to act as a tonic for anyone who can't bear the thought of another dose of sugary sentimentality." [35] A track from the album, "Santa Claus is Back in Town," was included on the 2021 digital compilation album XO for the Holidays, Vol. X. [36] [37]
In April 2018, Falco recorded the sessions that would become the album Cabaret of Daggers at Terminal 2 Studio in Rome, with Monterosso producing and playing guitar once again. [38] [39] Cabaret of Daggers was released by ORG Music on limited edition yellow vinyl on Record Store Day November 23, and on black vinyl and digital formats November 30. [40] Monterosso also played guitar on Tav Falco's Panther Burns' 2018 "Contamination" tour. [41]
Tav Falco's Panther Burns celebrated its fortieth anniversary in 2019 with a US tour. Dubbed the "40th Anniversary Howl," the tour took place in May and June of that year, with its prime show taking place May 21 in Memphis at Lafayette's Music Room. Monterosso played guitar on this tour. [42] [43] Monterosso performed with Falco and British television and radio personality Jools Holland on BBC Radio 2's The Jools Holland Show on December 15, 2019. [44] [45]
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Falco began a musical collaboration with Mike Watt at the latter's suggestion. The project developed into a five-song EP entitled Club Car Zodiac, which featured Watt, Toby Dammit, and Argentine surf guitarist Didi Wray amongst others. Monterosso produced, arranged, and played guitar on the album. [46] Club Car Zodiac is released as a purple vinyl 12" 45 rpm EP by ORG Music on Record Store Day Black Friday, November 26, 2021. [47]
In 2022, Tav Falco's Panther Burns undertook an extensive US Tour, which began in August 25 in San Francisco and featured dates in 34 US cities. [48] Monterosso backed Falco on this tour, along with bassist Guiseppe Sangirardi and drummer Walter Brunetti. [49] Monterosso's trio opened for Falco as an instrumental act, playing songs from Monterosso's recent album Take It Away along with other cover songs. [49] [50] [51]
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)Sicily is the largest and most populous island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 20 regions of Italy with the Strait of Messina dividing it from the region of Calabria in Southern Italy. It is one of the five Italian autonomous regions and is officially referred to as Regione Siciliana. The region has 4.8 million inhabitants. Its capital city is Palermo.
James Sclavunos is an American drummer, multi-instrumentalist musician, record producer, and writer. He is best known as a drummer, having been a member of two seminal no wave groups in the late 1970s. He is also noted for stints in Sonic Youth and the Cramps, and has been a member of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds since 1994. Sclavunos has led his own group the Vanity Set since 2000.
Tav Falco's Panther Burns, sometimes shortened to (The) Panther Burns, is a rock band originally from Memphis, Tennessee, United States, led by Tav Falco. They are best known for having been part of a set of bands emerging in the late 1970s and early 1980s who helped nationally popularize the blending of blues, country, and other American traditional music styles with rock music among groups playing in alternative music and punk music venues of the time. The earliest and most renowned of these groups to imbue these styles with expressionist theatricality and primitive spontaneity were The Cramps, largely influenced by rockabilly music. Forming just after them in 1979, Panther Burns drew on obscure country blues music, Antonin Artaud's works like The Theater and Its Double, beat poetry, and Marshall McLuhan's media theories for their early inspiration. Alongside groups like The Cramps and The Gun Club, Panther Burns is also considered a representative of the Southern Gothic-tinged roots music revival scene.
Gustavo Antonio "Tav" Falco is an American-born musician, performance artist, filmmaker, actor, author, photographer, and dancer. Falco has fronted the rock band Tav Falco's Panther Burns since 1979, and founded a parallel solo career that incorporates other styles such as cabaret, tango, and vocal jazz. He has directed one feature film and numerous short films, and has played minor acting roles in motion pictures filmed in both North America and Europe. He is the author of two books, one a psychography of the city of Memphis, and the other a collection of his photography.
Cordell Jackson was an American guitarist thought to be the first woman to produce, engineer, arrange and promote music on her own rock and roll music label.
Charles Arthur Feathers was an American musician most associated with the rockabilly scene of the 1950s. Although not initially recognized for his contributions to rockabilly, over time his presence would become greatly elevated and he has been cited as an influence by a number of musicians.
The Music of Sicily refers to music created by peoples from the isle of Sicily. It was shaped by the island's history, from the island's great presence as part of Magna Grecia 2,500 years ago, through various historical incarnations as a part of the Roman Empire, then as an independent state as the Emirate of Sicily then as an integral part of the Kingdom of Sicily and later the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and, finally, as an autonomous region of the modern nation state of Italy.
The University of Catania is a university located in Catania, Sicily. Founded in 1434, it is the oldest university in Sicily, the 13th oldest in Italy, and the 29th oldest university in the world. With a population of over 60,000 students, it is the main university in Sicily.
Sicilian pizza is pizza prepared in a manner that originated in Sicily, Italy. Sicilian pizza is also known as sfincione or focaccia with toppings. This type of pizza became a popular dish in western Sicily by the mid-19th century and was the type of pizza usually consumed in Sicily until the 1860s. It eventually reached North America in a slightly altered form, with thicker crust and a rectangular shape.
Greg Cartwright, also known by his stage name Greg Oblivian, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Memphis, Tennessee. From 2001 to 2022 he fronted Reigning Sound which was signed to Merge Records. After moving away from Memphis in the mid-2000s, he has since lived with his family in Asheville, North Carolina.
Mario Rutelli was an Italian sculptor.
Panther Burn is a census-designated place and unincorporated community located along U.S. Route 61 in northwestern Sharkey County, Mississippi, United States. It has a post office with the ZIP code of 38765.
William Alexander Chilton was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s as a teen vocalist for the Box Tops was never repeated in later years with Big Star and in his subsequent indie music solo career on small labels, but he drew an intense following among indie and alternative rock musicians. He is frequently cited as a seminal influence by influential rock artists and bands, some of whose testimonials appeared in the 2012 documentary Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me.
The Opera dei Pupi is a marionette theatrical representation of Frankish romantic poems traditionally performed in Sicily, Italy.
James Duckworth is an American blues guitarist. He was a member of Memphis group Tav Falco's Panther Burns alongside Alex Chilton in the early 1980s. He played with Charlie Pickett on the latter's Route 33 album, and was also a member of the Los Angeles punkabilly blues band The Gun Club joining in January 1983. He formed the Wallendas in 2006, is currently the lead guitarist for Buffalo Jack & The Parlor Snakes. In between bands, Duckworth did a lot of session work.
Cloudland Canyon is an experimental rock/psychedelic rock band originally from New York, USA.
Victor Mac who is better known as Little Victor, The Beale Street Blues Bopper, and also DJ Mojo Man, is an Italian-American blues and roots singer, guitarist and harmonica player, as well as a record collector, musicologist, entertainer, disc jockey and record producer. He is best known for his association with Louisiana Red, on the albums Back To The Black Bayou and Memphis Mojo.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Catania in the Sicily region of Italy.
The Sicily national football team is the representative football team of the island of Sicily. It is controlled by the Sicilia Football Association and is also colloquially referred to with the name Naziunali Siciliana. The Sicilia F.A. was founded in 2020.