This Boxer rocks: the return of Raspberries' Jim Bonfanti
Written: Apr 16 '05 (Updated Oct 28 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great songs, musicianship, vocals and production.
Cons: None.
The Bottom Line: A very well-done debut from the members of Cleveland rock band Boxer. Rock 'n' roll music that's fun. Plus, the return of Raspberries' Jim Bonfanti to recording.
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| Don_Krider's Full Review: By The Seat Of Our Pants - Boxer Movies |
Adam Budofsky of Modern Drummer magazine wrote in that publication's September 2000 issue that drummer Jim Bonfanti of Raspberries ("Go All The Way") "was like a dream combination of Keith Moon and Ringo Starr."
Bonfanti first attracted national attention in The Choir when that Cleveland band hit # 68 in 1967 with "It's Cold Outside" (featuring lead vocals by Dave Smalley and the lead guitar of Wally Bryson, who both later joined Bonfanti in Raspberries). The tune spent five weeks at # 1 in Cleveland and was a regional Top 10 hit.
If you watched NBC-TV's "Go!" show on a Saturday morning in September of 1973, Raspberries were the featured act in a show hosted by Don Imus. A clip of Jim Bonfanti drumming on the current events show for kids became part of the show's opening segment and ran for an entire year, from 1973 to 1974 --- the only Raspberries' member visible in the clip!
Trivia note: Despite the liner notes on "Raspberries Best Featuring Eric Carmen," an LP from Capitol Records in 1976, Bonfanti never played with Cleveland's other '60s hit-makers The Outsiders ("Time Won't Let Me"). (Another error in those liner notes said "Drivin' Around" was never released as a single, when it actually was.)
Raspberries:
What Jim Bonfanti did in fact do, however, was to form Raspberries with Eric Carmen and Wally Bryson.
Raspberries were huge during Jim's time with the band. Six of the band's seven Billboard Hot 100 singles (including three Top 40 tunes: "Go All The Way," "I Wanna Be With You" and "Let's Pretend") were recorded before Bonfanti left the band. The three most successful of the band's four albums were recorded with Bonfanti in the lineup, including the album "Fresh," which peaked at # 36 in Billboard.
I saw the band when they played tiny Doss High School Gymn in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday, November 17, 1973 (small crowd and probably a disappointment after playing Carnegie Hall two months before). I still have the WAKY-AM and Capitol Records radio promos for that gig on cassette tapes.
Raspberries were and are the most exciting band I've ever seen on stage --- there's nothing phony or artificial about the band or its sound. Even playing to a small crowd, they gave all their hearts in 90-minutes of pure excitement to this guy (aka "me") who was 16 at the time.
Nine days later, on November 26, 1973, following the taping of an episode of "The Mike Douglas Show," Bonfanti and Smalley exited Raspberries. Remember the date, because on November 26, 2004, 31 years to the date after leaving the band, Bonfanti and the original Raspberries lineup played a sold out reunion show at the House Of Blues in Cleveland.
This led to additional shows in Cleveland and Chicago, with more being planned for the Summer of 2005 (already announced are gigs in July in New York City and Denver, and a July 15 gig in Cleveland with The Knack as opening act in that city).
It was a situation Jim Bonfanti couldn't have envisioned before writer Ken Sharp (currently a contributing editor to the official Kiss fanzine) wrote his book, "Overnight Sensation: The Story Of The Raspberries," in 1993, which got the former band members talking to Eric Carmen again (yes, conflict in a rock band folks!).
When Sharp joined writer Bernie Hogya for a monumental book biography of Raspberries' lead singer, "Eric Carmen: Marathon Man," released in 2004, it was Jim Bonfanti who was able to bring one-time warring factions of the group together for the current very successful Raspberries' reunion.
Boxer:
After Raspberries split and in the years before the Raspberries reunion, Jim Bonfanti had done stints in successful Cleveland bands such as Dynamite (with Dave Smalley of Raspberries, they cut an unreleased album) and Windfall (which attracted the interest of producer Jimmy Ienner but no record deal) in the mid-1970s. He even recorded as a backup singer with Raspberries bandmates Bryson and Smalley on The C.A.R.E. (Cleveland Artists Recording for Ethiopia) Session in 1985 behind lead vocalist Michael Stanley on a charity single, "Eyes Of The Children," which also featured Ben Orr of The Cars, among other Cleveland all-stars.
There finally came a time when Jim Bonfanti sold his Raspberries drum kit and quit music, but a drummer's musical heart never really stops beating. By the mid-1990s, family, friends, fans and other musicians had convinced Bonfanti of his value as a musician --- Jim hunted down his old drum set and got it back (which is pretty amazing in itself).
Bonfanti sat in with a number of Cleveland bands to get a feel for music again (including a 1998 show uniting him with former Raspberries Bryson, Smalley and Scott McCarl), eventually forming Incogneato. Incogneato evolved into Boxer with gigs at The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame & Museum, The Scene Pavilion and elsewhere.
By 2004, the Boxer lineup was tight enough to record an album (even teasing old Raspberries' fans by recording covers of Raspberries' tunes for their website).
That album was the CD "By The Seat Of Our Pants," a wonderfully fun piece of rock 'n' pop from Boxer.
The current Raspberries' reunion came after the CD's release, which has put Boxer on hold for the moment, but listening to the talent involved here makes one yearn for more from the band.
The band:
Besides Bonfanti on drums and vocals, Boxer features lead guitarist/vocalist Paul Sidoti, rhythm-lead guitarist/vocalist Jeff Soukup and bass guitarist/vocalist Brian Dossa.
The other members of Boxer are as essential to the mix as is the very talented Jim Bonfanti:
Paul Sidoti:
Sidoti, who commutes between his home in Nashville and Cleveland, has enormous credentials as a rocker. He has backed Eric Carmen, Peter Noone, Eddie Money, Hootie & The Blowfish, Gary Lewis & The Playboys, Lesley Gore, Mitch Ryder, Freddy Cannon, Lou Christie, Sam Moore and Dickey Lee, among others, over the course of his career.
Sidoti also has two very successful tribute band projects:
Sidoti is with The Eagles' tribute band, Tequila Sunrise, which was named "the best Eagles tribute band on earth" by Rolling Stone magazine. Paul plays the part of Cleveland native Joe Walsh (ex-James Gang) in that band's performances.
He also plays Gene Simmons in the Nashville-based Kiss tribute band Alive II, a band whose performances have won rave reviews from former Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick, Mark Slaughter and Cinderella drummer Fred Coury.
As if he's not a busy enough fellow, Paul Sidoti has also been touring in 2004-2005 with Raspberries as an essential part of the band's carefully reproduced stage sound (reviews from Billboard, Rolling Stone and elsewhere have been stellar).
Jeff Soukup:
Soukup is a veteran of the Cleveland scene whose career goes back to such late '70s rock bands as Sweet Evil and Foul Play, to the the '80s folk act Bait & Switch, through the East Side Rockers in the '90s, among other projects. He also co-wrote songs for Anne Cochran's debut album (Cochran being a veteran of Jim Brickman's band).
Brian Dossa:
A former member of The Doors' tribute act, Moonlight Drive, Dossa is a veteran of a number of acts. A free-lance bassist, Dossa has backed the likes of Eddie Money, Alan White (of Yes fame), Hootie & The Blowfish, Lou Christie, Freddy Cannon and Dennis Yost (of The Classics IV fame).
The CD:
The debut Boxer CD, "By The Seat Of Our Pants," is an independent release and can be ordered from the band. Information on ordering is at: http://www.boxerrocks.com/order.htm .
The 10 songs on the CD, with a total running time of 38:32 minutes, were all written by band members Sidoti and Soukup. The album was produced by the band with Sidoti and Soukup engineering.
The CD booklet is a pleasant surprise: very 1960's in its look, the 8-page booklet features black-and-white and color photos of the band with lyrics to all the songs. Very cool.
The tracks:
"Tell Me," "Love You Till Eternity," "Carries On Sweetly," "Open Arms," "Everything But Love," "All That We Need," "Better," "Why Do You Do It," "Forever" and "Comin' Home To You."
Recommendation:
Why is this a five-star album? Because it can carry you to another place for more than a half-hour a good-time rock 'n' roll, which is something very welcomed by me following my aunt's recent death and my father's hospitalization.
This is where good music comes in. Music like Boxer's "By The Seat Of Our Pants" rates four stars because it lifts the spirits, it takes you beyond life's depression for a time and because it's truly fun. The vocal and instrumental talent present in this fine band must be heard to be fully appreciated; the tunes are catchy and melodic, with a rhythm section that's incredible.
There's a '60s/'70s vibe to the music, but the production values are top-notch with a 21st Century feel: the sound is crisp, clean and clear, and the songwriting, refreshingly vibrant in its pop zeal, is as good as anything on the market today.
Fans of Raspberries, Michael Stanley, early '70s Beach Boys ("Holland") and classic pop-rock will enjoy this collection.
Another trivia note:
While Raspberries' lead singer Eric Carmen was usually considered to be the "sex symbol" in Raspberries when stories ran in the media, Raspberries' female fans apparently adored Jim Bonfanti just a bit more. A 1973 write-in vote for the "Foxiest Raspberry" among the four band members that appeared in Star magazine (and also on a picture sleeve for the band's Top 40 hit "Let's Pretend") was won by Bonfanti that year.
Standout tracks:
"Tell Me":
Jeff Soukup's "Tell Me" is catchy-as-hell, uptempo pop-rock lifted by Paul Sidoti's sizzling guitar solos. Soukup provides both lead and backing vocals here (wonderful vocal range here), as well as playing some great acoustic guitar.
"There's something about it baby, when I see you smile / it feels right when you're here, won't you stay a while?..."
"Love You Till Eternity":
There's a definite '80s Michael Stanley Band ("Lover", "He Can't Love You") vibe on Paul Sidoti's "Love You Till Eternity" --- which involves only two of the band's members: Paul on all vocals and guitars, with Jim's solid, never out-of-time backbeat propelling the tune. Sidoti's lead guitar is fantastic on this frantic rocker.
"...give me one chance and baby you will see / I'll love you till eternity..."
"Carries On Sweetly":
On Soukup's "Carries On Sweetly," the lead vocal duet of Soukup and Sidoti is a marvelous harmony --- a bit Everly Brothers meet Chad & Jeremy in feel: sweet, charming and soothing all at once in this sweet, melodic, mid-tempo ballad.
"...our lover song, carries on sweetly..."
"Everything But Love":
Sidoti pulls a nice Eric Carmen-ish lead vocal on his very Raspberries-sounding "Everything But Love." Pure '70s power pop: sweet melody, beautiful vocals and some great uptempo rock.
"...just a little romancin' like never before / oh baby, you got everything but love..."
Special thanks:
To Epinions.Com Music Category Lead Shelly, aka Lambchops (http://www.epinions.com/user-lambchops), for adding this title to the Epinions.Com database.
Related websites:
A January, 2005, Chicago Sun-Times interview with Jim Bonfanti (talking about being a rocking grandpa and 33 years of marriage) and Eric Carmen: http://www.suntimes.com/output/entertainment/wkp-news-speak14.html
An older interview at LudwigDrummers.Com with Jim Bonfanti (interesting because he thought at the time a Raspberries' reunion "will never happen"): http://www.ludwigdrummer.com/Ludwig%20Drummers%20PIcs/Jim%20Bonfanti/Jim%20Bonfanti%20Interview.htm
LudwigDrummers.Com photo feature of Jim Bonfanti and his Raspberries' drum set through the decades: http://www.ludwigdrummer.com/Ludwig%20Drummers%20PIcs/Jim%20Bonfanti/Jim%20Bonfanti%20Pictures.htm
Official Boxer site: http://www.boxerrocks.com
Photos of Boxer playing The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame & Museum in Cleveland: http://www.boxerrocks.com/rock_hall.htm
Paul Sidoti in Tequila Sunrise (Eagles Tribute Band): http://www.tequilasunriseband.com
Paul Sidoti in Alive II (Kiss Tribute Band): http://www.kissonline.com/tributebands/alii.html
Official Raspberries site: http://www.raspberries.net
Official Dave Smalley site: http://www.davesmalley.com
Official Eric Carmen site: http://www.ericcarmen.com
Related reviews:
Capitol/EMI's 24-bit digitally remastered CD released in May of 2005 in the U. S. and Europe, "Greatest," features Bonfanti and his Raspberries bandmates, and has all 7 of Raspberries Hot 100 singles, has 20 tracks and runs 78:53 minutes: http://www.epinions.com/content_186044681860
"Choir Practice" by The Choir CD (Raspberries' bandmates Jim Bonfanti, Dave Smalley and Wally Bryson had their first chart hit with this brilliant band): http://www.epinions.com/musc-review-49D-59376F6-385D8FD9-prod3 (available in either CD or vinyl from Sundazed Records, the manufacturer, at http://www.sundazed.com).
The following Raspberries albums featured Jim Bonfanti:
"Raspberries" by Raspberries: http://www.epinions.com/content_153014079108
"Fresh" by Raspberries: http://www.epinions.com/content_153148690052
"Side 3" by Raspberries: http://www.epinions.com/content_153560452740
Related books:
"Overnight Sensation: The Story Of The Raspberries" by Ken Sharp: http://www.epinions.com/book-review-7ABF-5A754E8-385DC2B5-prod3
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Don_Krider
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 in Music, Electronics, Musical Instruments |
 - Top 200 |
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Member: Don Krider
Location: USA
Reviews written: 301
Trusted by: 1005 members
About Me:
Fan of power pop (Raspberries, Badfinger, Cheap Trick, The Knack, Romantics, Slade,Sweet...) --- "Play On"!!!
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