The LoveCats : About the Band

The current incarnation of the band is internally referred to as The "New" LoveCats, marking a new chapter of "nuovo gatto di amore"...

The LoveCats are:

Paul Mancuso - guitar, vocals
Paul is a founding member of The Love Cats and has been playing guitar since the age of 9. Paul's main influences are Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Perry and Robert Cray. Paul enjoys Texas blues and rock & roll in the style of Aerosmith and AC/DC. Paul's tasteful guitar solos and vocals are one of the signatures of the band. Paul's guitars include a Fender James Burton Telecaster, a Fender Stratocaster and a couple of Epiphone archtop style guitars. Paul plays through a Fender Vibrolux Reverb amp and a Fender Tweed Blues Deluxe amp. Paul grew up in Yonkers, NY and resides in Garrison, NY.

Joe Giardella - drums
Joe G started playing drums at the age of 12. From the high school jazz band to 90's grunge and rock bands to blues bands, his influences varied over time. His early influences were Alex Van Halen and Simon Phillips. They then grew to include Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, Max Roach and other legends. His most recent influences include Stanton Moore and Kenwood Dennard. Joe's slick fills, steady tempo and understated style set the pace for the bands performances. Joe's equipment includes Tama and Gretsch drums, and Zildjian and Sabian cymbals.

Joe Possavino - bass, vocals
Joe Poss is a founding member of The Love Cats and has been playing guitar since 1980 and switched to bass in 1984. Joe's main influences are John Paul Jones, Paul McCartney, and Tommy Shannon. Joe enjoys Chicago and delta blues as well as rock in the style of AC/DC and Aerosmith. Joe's bass style provides the backbone and drive behind the bands energetic style. His onstage presence provides a source of direction for the other band members during performances. Joe plays a Fender Precision Bass and uses Ampeg bass amps. Joe grew up in Yonkers, NY and resides in Chestnut Ridge, NY.

Joe Guidice - keyboards, vocals
Sarge joined The Love Cats in March of 2005. He started playing organ at 8 years old and began playing keyboards in rock bands while in high school. His main influences are Gregg Allman, Paul Shaffer and Booker T. Jones. Joe enjoys all kinds of blues, but especially Texas and Chicago styles and the blues-rock bands such as The Allman Brothers, and Rolling Stones. Joe's Hammond organ and percussive piano style provide color and warmth to the bands overall vibe. Joe's equipment includes a Hammond XK-3 organ, a Yamaha S90 piano/synth, a Leslie 122, and Motion Sound rotary amps. Joe grew up in Garnerville, NY and still resides there.

Chris Longo - tenor sax, vocals
Chris started playing the saxophone in the fourth grade, after a stint playing violin. He found the saxophone to be cool at that age, but probably thought it was cool just because it was shiny. He played in his high school jazz bands, musical pit bands, and found jazz and blues. Music may have been his calling if he wasn't lazy, and didn't decide to go to law school. Before going to law school, he became a member of the Love Cats through his childhood friend Jay Krantz. He rejoined the band after law school, and has been with them ever since. He enjoys the music of John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Charlie Parker, Junior Walker, King Curtis, "Cannonball" Adderley, Jackie McLean, and Stanley Turrentine, among others.

Jason Krantz - alto sax
Jason is an original member of The Love Cats. He began playing at the age of 8. His main influences are Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, and Sonny Rollins. He enjoys listening to all music performed by people who love making music for the sake of music itself. Jason's hot alto work wows audiences at every performance and provides unique signature sound to the horn section and the band. Jason plays Selmer Mark VI saxophones. He grew up in the "sticks" of New Jersey and resides in Manhattan.

Michael Chiodo - Trumpet
Mike started playing trumpet when he was 10 years old. His uncle Pete and Gus were trumpet players, so it seemed like a good idea at the time. After getting paid $50 for his first gig, he decided this is what he wanted to do. Mike has a music ed. degree from Berklee College of Music. He plays Bach Stradivarius trumpets. His influences are Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Lee Morgan, Blue Mitchell, ect.

Michael Roe - Trombone

Joe Frullaney - percussion, drums
Joe has been a frequent guest of the Love Cats filling in on drums and playing percussion prior to joining the band in August of 2006. Joe began playing drums in 1980 and seriously began studying percussion about 5 years ago. His percussion influences are Marc Quinones, Chembo Corniel, Karl Perazzo, and Tito Puente just to name a few. Joe uses Pearl Elite congas and bongos, Pearl Marc Quinones signature series timbales, Latin Percussion bells, blocks, and shakers, and Zildjian cymbals.

Dan "NIGHTOWL" McNamara - vocals, harmonica, rhythm guitar
Dan began playing the guitar at age 16 . He started his own band "The J D Band" back in 1978 and played rhythm guitar, harmonica and sang lead vocals for "Wreckloose" a Southern Rock and Blues band. With Wreckloose, Dan played many Greenwich Village Clubs and all over the tri-state area as a cover-band as well as playing some original tunes. Dan's vocal influences are the Allman Brothers band, Sam Moore, John Hiatt and Lowell George. Dan's favorite harmonica players are Little Walter and Kim Wilson.

Created by: admin last modification: Saturday 15 of October, 2022 [20:41:14 UTC] by joegiardella