Bio

[b]Bobby Canovas[/b]/ Guitars/ Vocals AKA BOBBY Ever since Bob can remember there was music in his life. Growing up in Queens Bob says “the hifi was always on in the living room”. Throughout the house there was always the best songs from the sixties Motown playing. The bass and the drums caught Bob’s ear and right off the bat; he knew he had to play the drums. That’s right, Bob actually played the drums first. He started out with a snare drum that his parents bought him. He made fast time of it, showing that he could play it. Before he knew it they had bought him his first drum set. Music was in his blood; his mom was great jazzy/ blues singer. His Cousin Dick Garcia was a famous Jazz Guitarist for George Shearings Band. His uncles would have jam sessions in his house; they actually cut some 78 records on a record cutting machine in the house. As a teenager living in Massapequa Bob played the drums in many bands. When he met Brian Setzer from the Stray Cats fame, in Jr. High School, they became very close friends, and were in many bands together. That’s when the guitar started to speak to Bob; he knew that he must play the guitar. He actually learned to play on other people guitars at first, because there were always guitars around in the basement, from the rehearsals that were being held at his house. Eventually Bob bought his first guitar, a Univox Les Paul and played it till he wore it out. After that guitar he bought his first good guitar, a 1972 Telecaster, he was still very much into the old Motown and Blues. Bob says “I love The Three Kings and always had a Latin feel to my drumming and guitar playing”. Now skip to the present Bob says, “I feel like I hooked up with the best bunch of musicians, who also happen to be my best friends” Now when Bob plays he feels like he gets to relive all those good times growing up in Queens with the Motown feel in his house. Bob says “every time I write a song it has a piece of my life in it and I’m happy to share it with these guy’s”. “I call these guys’s Buttered Soul”. [b]Craig Hopping[/b]/ Vocals/Sometimes Drums/ Harmonica AKA Craaaaaig Craig started his music career at his home in Eastport. He would break out the old suitcase and start beating on it with his hands to the music of the Beatles. When Craig was about 16 to 17 he started singing in the back of the car when he would go on rides with his older sister. He used to go into his fathers bedroom and somehow rig up the amp from a reel to reel tape recorder into a stereo with a microphone hooked up to the recorder and sing. One of the first songs he sang was a David Gates song, Make It With You. Craig and his younger sister used to sing together. When Craig was 18 he started jamming with some local boy’s, they did hard rock music, i.e. Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, ect. The called the band Synyster. Craig then went on with a couple of guy’s from that band and a few more members to form a band call Last Stop. They played more classic rock, along with some hard rock as well. After that ended Craig was going to take a break when he was in the local luncheonette having breakfast and talking to the proprietor. They started discussing music and found out the Paul the owner was a guitarist. From there they together with Paul and another local talent “Known now as Toby and The Boy’s” and Chris Bruschi from Mean Gene and the Flamethrowers, started a blues band called “in the beginning” The Mojo Rhythm Kings, now, the Mojos. Craig played drums in that band and was then in turn bitten by the Blues Bug! He played with them for a while and went on the sing with a band called the Secret Band with a member of the Mojo’s and some other musicians. When that was a done deal and over Craig went on to sing with a band called the Straightjackets, they did Rhythm and Blues, and swing music, they played around the local clubs for about 4 years. From there Craig tried to take another break after that and got a call from Bob Canovas. Bob said he was trying to put a band together with some local talent and had some originals, he asked if Craig would like to record them with him. Craig said sure. So for the last 4 to 5 years from 2007 Bob and Craig have been in the find the right musicians mode for the project they have now call Buttered Soul. Buttered Soul plays some of the best Blues, Funk, Soul, Motown and R&B you can hear. Craig knows that he has a connection with the guy’s that are in the band now and the music sounds fantastic. Craig says “it’s all about the feel and sound” and “music comes from the soul” Also “It’s time to get your soul buttered” [b]Rick Rosenthal[/b]/Bass/ Vocals Rick plays bass. When he was a kid, he had one of those little portable record players that resembled a suitcase. It had swing out speakers with 4 inch "woofers". On a trip to his grandmother's house in Florida, his younger brother got a record by The Chipmunks. He put it on grandma's big console stereo that was running 2 big 12" woofers. Well, Rick's world just got rocked by the intense bass coming out of those monster woofers. From that day forward, it was bass on! Rick refit his Zimgar guitar to accommodate a set of bass strings, and that was his first bass. His first real bass came in the form of a brand new '65 Mosrite Ventures model. (He still has that bass and every now and then brings it out to play.) Early inspiration came from listening to and playing to recordings by The "English Invasion" groups of the sixties along with R&B that was coming out of Detroit. There was some great blues happening along with awesome rock from the west coast. It was a fantastic time to be an aspiring rock star. Rick loved to play. He hooked up with a group of close friends and played all kinds of fun gigs. There were school dances, sweet 16 parties, church dances, sock hops, rec parties, etc. Man this was a blast! There have been a few bands and lot of gigs since those early days. He stumbled onto Buttered Soul a couple years ago when he went into Tom's music store to purchase a set of strings. He asked Tom if he knew of any local players around that he might be able to play some music with. Then Bobby happened to come into the store. Bob asked "You any good"? Rick said "I can hold a groove". Phone #'s were exchanged and Buttered Soul had their bass player. Well, it's a lot of years later, and Rick is still hooked up with a group of close friends playing fun gigs & having a blast! Not much has changed except that the musicians are all now experienced professionals. You can tell that this dude's having a fun time. He laughs a lot when he's playing. Maybe it's those magic shades that he wears! Oh my! [b]Tom Peterson[/b]/Drummer/Vocals What’s to say about Tom Peterson, he’s the drummer and backup singer. He started playing drums when he was 12, but his mother tells everyone when he was 3, he used to take pots and pans, turn them upside down and hit them with wooden spoons. He was in a few local bands around Bay Shore (where he grew up) and then when he was 21 he went to work for Entenmann’s Bakery and, basically didn’t play very much for about 18 years. He had even gone as far as selling all his drums. He figured he was out of music. Boy was he wrong! One Saturday afternoon, he was forced to go over and jam at a friend’s house, it changed the course of his life (literally). He realized within 10 minutes of playing how important music was to him. Within a month he bought himself another set of drums and he was off and running. He started subbing on whatever he gigs he could get. He played with people like Frank Latorre and the King Bees, Bobby Nathan, Jet Jespers, Jim Moran. He also did gigs with Phil Grande and Main Street USA. As well as playing with one of his closest friends Gary Bordies in Plan B. Not to mention throwing down the dance with Accent. He definitely made up for lost time. Oh yeah, he also opened a music store in Eastport. Now he and Rick lock it down tight with the band Buttered Soul, they give Buttered Soul it’s distinct and deep groove. He says he couldn’t do any of this without the love and support of his wife Linda and his son Noel. [b]Frank D'Abramo[/b]/ Trumpet/Vocals Frank’s father was an avid fan and listener of Jazz and Big Band Forties music. Growing up in that environment it was only natural to pick the trumpet as the instrument to play in the school band. Constantly hearing the majestic sounds of Harry James, Doc Severinsen, Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis to mention just a few certainly influenced his early playing style. Frank’s first professional break came from his mother who was a chef in a number of the local supper clubs in the Lake Ronkonkoma NY. area. These clubs would feature a small band that played dance music and back up for strippers, comedians, and featured singers. As a teenager Frank first started sitting in with these groups for experience and eventually filling as a sideman and then bringing his own bands into these venues. Realizing that a person could make a living at music Frank moved to NYC. There he was a side man for Doris Troy, Frankie Paris, Margo Lewis and The Tommy Cellie Show. At such historic clubs as the Peppermint Lounge, The Wagon Wheel, The Metropol, and The Eighth Wonder. Returning to the Tommy Cellie show to tour major hotels in Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Georgia and Kentucky. Having been bitten by the “road bug” Frank continued a ten year venture with full time playing. Joining the Norby Walters Agency, Frank did a Three year stint with a band called the 5th Celebration appearing in over 50 US cities as well as Canada and Puerto Rico. This was an 8 piece self contained show band where the band would be a featured act performing a total entertainment package in hotel lounges. Here is where the comic relief persona of “Cousin Jocko” was born. Frank would emulate the great Philadelphia disc jockey in quick whitted, slick 50s jive talk. During the Disco era Frank and Lenny Albergo formed Zakariaha an eight piece horn band and recorded with producer Randy Irwin. The disco version of The Girl from Ipanema on the PIP / Pickwick Record label earned the band enough notoriety to tour most East coast cities including Lake Buenavista, Washington DC, and Detroit and the mid west for the next 5 years. Frank has also been a member of the Happy Daze band playing in the tri state area performing at oldies shows and at Joe Deloria’s oldies extravaganzas at Radio City Music Hall. He has backed up Bobby Rydel, Lenny Coco and the Chimes, Little Anthony, The Coasters, The Jive Five and many other great memorable acts. After many years of playing in local club date and wedding bands and a long relationship with the Night life Orchestra, Frank has found a home near his home on the East end with Buttered Soul. Frank likes to say, “Playing the music you love with good friends is always a party and everyone who comes out to hear us becomes another good friend and gets to be part of our party.” [b]Tom Mineo[/b]/Saxes/Vocal and percission things More to come about Tom, soon at a theater near you!! [b]Dennis O'Flaherty[/b], Keyboards/ AKA Denman AKA Denny AKA Big D or just D Dennis grew up in the late fifties/early sixties. His father William played piano & organ at family get togethers and parties, where little Dennis would sit in the dark listening after he was supposed to be in bed. That was when they sang the best lyrics. At the time, someone thought it would be a good idea for Denny to play the accordion, while his brother Mike took piano lessons. Dennis wasn't terrible at age 7 - 8, winning several trophies at recitals and such. His brother Mike was not as accomplished at the piano, however, and seemed to learn to play only Tom Dooley and the Tenessee Waltz. Not your most popular repertoire. During this period, Dennis' Uncle Dickie would bring him to work with his accordion. Work, of course, was a workingman's bar, where Uncle Dickie (who, due to a childhood accident could only speak in a loud whisper) would bartend. Little 7 year old D would play, and Dickie would pass the hat. This singular experience taught Dennis this important lesson: playing for people got you paid! Then, on a bus to class, he heard the Beatles. The next day, he bought a Lafayette 11 pickup cherry red electric guitar with ......a tremolo bar! Being the only kid who could read the melodies on the music, Dennis became the lead guitarist by default. After a year or so, common sense told him he didn't have the hands for guitar, and started playing keyboards again. He was in a band that did nothing but music by the Doors, called The First Underground Banana Waffle. After that, bands of every stripe and persuasion. Influences at the time included everyone from Jimmy Smith to Felix Cavaliere, and everyone in between. At the time local bands like the Vagrants, the SMUBBS, the Music Bachs, the Wilkinson Tricycle, and the Hassles were all around. Little 16 year old Dennis would stand on a milk crate watching the Hassles play, featuring a young Billy Joel on Hammond B3, at the Office, a bar in St. James, NY. Dennis finally got his Hammond, and was off and running. After leaving Stony Brook University, he went on the road with Norby Walters show bands and groups like the Younger Brothers, a 14 piece self-contained show band with 4 horns and 3 front vocalists. When they said they were going home for a bit, they meant Erie Pennsylvania! Dennis did stints with the Coasters, the Five Satins, the Duprees, the Platters, Danny and the Juniors, and countless others. Then, he formed a band with Lenny Albergo, Frank D'Abramo, Carl Mignano, and Sal Randazzo, Ronnie Leccese, Chuckie Bobell and Bob Venezia. This 8 piece first Zakariah went on to record an arrangement Dennis wrote in his bedroom with Frankie, selling over a half million records and was played for over a decade after release in some markets. Zakariah toured extensively, and some of those experiences can never be topped. When Zakariah was over, Dennis did gigs with Sandy Rhodes, David Nelson, and Chris Carbery in some great Rock'n'Roll bands. The Sandy Rhodes Band, Roadwork, Stranger, and others. Playing high energy rock was another side of music Dennis absorbed to round out his playing style. This was followed by R&B Bands featuring Dreams singer Eddie Vernon. Then, a band that grew out of a band called Sweetback, with John Pati, Tommy Juliano on sax, Bob Myers on drums, Jimmy Cherry as a second keyboard man and lead singer. Also in that band was John DeNicola, who went on to win the Grammy and the Oscar for songs he wrote for Dirty Dancing. Also during the years from 1975 to 1985, Dennis played with jazz bands, country bands, duos, and wedding bands. He was always looking to increase his musical vocabulary. Proud of being able to play in all styles, he opened up a recording studio with old bandmate Lenny Albergo, and the amazing Nicky. Dennis Scardaccione made the fourth partner, and for a few years Flying Z Productions made some noise. Dennis, Lenny & Nick put together a road troupe of musicians to form The Silver Convention for Clive Davis of Arista Records. Flying Z also recorded many local bands and singers. Dennis finally had some time, with his wife Ann (they were married in 1975) to father two children, Erin and Sean. He's been bouncing around with Long Island Musicians ever since, including two years with Naked Truth. Over the years, Dennis has also enjoyed a varied relationship with Kenny Dino, playing with Kenny in every conceivable sort of musical algorithim first in the seventies, then the eighties, and even into the nineties. Kenny has a long career behind him, as you would find if you googled him. Presently, Dennis is, among other things musical, playing with an amazingly creative R&B, Blues and early rock band Buttered Soul, where the band is "keeping the music alive." This talented ensemble has no trouble playing songs of any era with respect and inventiveness. With a combination of nostalgic re-interpretation of classic songs and heartfelt originals written by Bobby Canovas, this band has the potential to go far. Craig Hopping's energy is legendary, and the Frankie and Tom horn section keep it driving, while the rhythm section of Tom, Rick, Bob, and Dennis on keys keeps it real.