| The eclectic selection of material performed by this exciting all-star band, in large part, comes from Joe Cocker's walk-in closet! Throughout the 1960's and 70's, Cocker, a non-writer himself, had always been known as a great hit-maker of other writers' material. Consequently, some of the world's finest rock, soul and rhythm 'n' blues craftsmen were sending him "basement tapes" on a regular basis.
A number of years later, while his guitarist (and musical director of fourteen years) Cliff Goodwin was visiting at his home in Woodstock, NY, Joe opened the door to a large walk-in closet in his foyer. Cassette tapes (remember them?), literally piled to the ceiling, spilled out onto the floor. Many of those tapes were non-published, home-recorded song demos by great writers such as Delbert McClinton, Jimmy Barnes, Mickey Jupp, Paul Carrack, John Hiatt and others. Joe told Cliff he was welcome to the tapes, so he grabbed a bunch and carried 'em off in a cardboard box. Several years later, when Cliff, Fly and Wolf Ginandes formed the Fly Amero Band, they fished through the old box and found some real "jewels" - serious rockin' material which most mainstream listeners had never heard.
The Big Strum is a newer version of the Fly Amero Band and it's powerful songlist. The biggest difference is the arrival of Billy Joel's brilliant guitarist, David Brown. With three acclaimed monster guitars across the front line, the name "Big Strum" now takes on true meaning! Some of the tunes have been extended to allow for 3-way "Guitar Wars" jams that have actually twisted audiences into a frenzy.
Two more great additions to this amazing combination of players include: (David Bowie) drummer, Mike Levesque, who hits hard, has all the "gears" and lays down a deep-groove pocket that's big enough to swim in, and the wildly spectacular "Sax" Gordon Beadle. |
