Michael Caruso and I met
in New York while I was recording my first album with Sunrise. Michael was a guest of band founder Rick Rydell, and was soon
in the band. We played a million nightclubs together, drove across country twice in rickety trucks, were signed to managers
and record labels together, and did a lot of songwriting together!
Our first songwriter adventures were somewhat
naive, yet produced results ... We simply hopped on the train from Philly to New York, slept on friends' floors, and roamed
the streets of Manhattan with a guitar ... braving our way into anyone's office we could, and playing our songs live for anyone
who would listen. Ha! No guts, no glory!
We managed to interest a few music biz people ... Mercury Records
invited us to do some demos in their NY studios ... we met a publisher who later offered to have our song 'Say It' recorded
by the Neville Brothers ... a few others. Michael and I also played a few small clubs in Manhattan, just for fun.
When our band landed in L.A. and rented a house with a piano, Michael and I played 'grown up songwriters' and wrote
songs every day for a few weeks ... as though it was our job. We wrote a bunch of songs ... a few of which were quite good!
Michael later realized that dream ... he has been signed to several songwriting/publishing deals. Good for him!
The first significant 'cover' I recall for Michael was Joan Jett's recording of 'Long Live The Night' (co-written by Joan
Jett & Randy Cantor), which appeared in the movie 'Days Of Thunder.' Perhaps more notable was 'Love Is' (co-written with
John Keller & Tonio K.) recorded by Vanessa Williams & Brian McKnight.
It's been a while since I wrote the above ...
And in recent time, Michael and I have begun
a new and exciting musical exploration.
I had allowed TV and film audio post-production
to consume most of my time and creative energy for many years. In 2006, Michael and I began recording again in my Encino
studio. We quickly agreed to do our recordings for the pure love of the music ... to simply live our lives as musicians.
No thoughts about record deals, charts or 'hits,' fame or fortune. It was, and is, all about the joy of music.
The result has been stunning. We've become closer than ever ... remarkable when you consider how we traversed the country
several times together piled in the back of band tracks.
Check out Michael's music by
clicking on any picture on this page to visit Michael's MySpace page. Click on the links below to hear some of the songs
Michael has written with me and others. More coming soon!
