Interview by Roger Zee (11/28/18)
Roger Zee: Who inspired you to pick up the guitar and sing?
Rick Oberson: At age three, Ricky Nelson inspired me. Having the same first name, I guess I just connected with him! When The Beatles hit in ’64, they became my greatest influence and remain so to this day.
Then off I went to several other instruments and dozens of great players in all types of music -- from Pop, R & B to Progressive Rock, Fusion, Classical, and Jazz. Besides guitar and a little banjo, I also play keyboards, drums, harmonica, and at one time, trombone. I've got a nice instrument collection and can usually get sounds out of all of them. But since there’s just not enough time to play them all seriously, I stick with guitars, keys, and harmonica.
Roger Zee: What's the concept behind the "The Flying Obersons" and how did it come together?
Rick Oberson: Our mission is to perform and support live music. Originally, I put together a duo with Gregg Hollister, a very talented bassist, vocalist, and songwriter. We like to challenge each other to play music that we don’t always get to do with others. We just keep introducing all these great tunes, mostly on the spot, and we pull them off! With our vast repertoire, we can literally play most any song. Our harmony's spot on and people really seem to appreciate what we do. Gregg and I still regularly play many duo shows together. The Quartet evolved next going through several different players on keys, drums, and bass as we all had other projects. Lastly, we added the horns -- always my favorite and also the most underplayed locally. So I continued to find the right members for the band. The current line up, in my opinion, sounds the best so far. With four lead singers and a collective four octave vocal range, we cover a lot of ground. The basic four currently consists of myself on guitars, keys, and vocals, my cousin Bill Kelter on bass and vocals, Gregg Piller on drums and vocals, Paul Davis on keys and vocals. Our fantastic horn section has Peter Furlan on saxes and flute, Vinnie Cutro on trumpets and flugelhorn, and Erick Storkman on trombone. They're all seasoned pros on the local circuit in NJ and NY. They've also recorded some Jazz CD’s as well. Our repertoire is also unique. While we do some commercial, popular dance and listening stuff, we also pull from the not so mainstream B-sides, if you will. We do try to play to the crowd and will change at any moment if needed. That's why I added the slogan, "The Ultimate Tribute to R & R w/Horns." We can go from The Four Seasons to Tower of Power, or McCartney to Steely Dan in the blink of an eye. As you well know these days, tribute bands are the thing. So we can still play our expansive repertoire and fit the tribute bill as well! There’s so much overlooked great music to choose from.
Roger Zee: Where does the band usually perform?
Rick Oberson: We regularly play in Bergen, Passaic, and Rockland Counties. Places include Torne Valley Vineyards in Hillburn, NY; Rhodes North in Sloatsburg, NY; The Captain’s Table in Monroe, NY;
The Emerson Hotel in Emerson, NJ; Just Jakes in Montclair, NJ; Twin Door Tavern in Maywood, NJ;
and the Lakeside Pub in Wayne, NJ. We've added some new clubs in 2019 -- The Place in New City, NY, The Blue Moon in Englewood, NJ, 701 in Piermont, NY, and Pete’s Saloon in Elmsford, NY. We hope to move into some new areas as well. We also perform a few town concerts in season. You can follow us on our website at www.theflyingobersons.com and on our Facebook page. We update regularly.
Roger Zee: Tell me about your favorite and/or most unusual gig.
Rick Oberson: I’d have to say Torne Valley Winery would top my favorites list. It’s just a great outside setting on an old estate with owners that have become friends and appreciate what we do. We always hope for good weather on these outside events, though they tented TVV which is another plus. I‘m really pretty happy with all the venues and owners where we play. They all have good qualities and good sound which is paramount. Most unusual this year would be any gig when it didn’t rain before, during, or after we played!
Roger Zee: Any side projects?
Rick Oberson: We all have side projects. The horn players work in jazz bands and put out solo CD’s. Pete Furlan has Mr. Gone, Vinnie Cutro and Erick Storkman work in The Willie Dalton Band and Renaissance (yes with Annie Haslam)! Gregg Piller's the main man in The Drizzle, a funk band out of Orange County. Bill Kelter does some projects with his Berkeley College friends singing and playin’ harp in Sussex County at The Warwick Winery. Paul Davis performs in the Hurley Mountain Highway Band in Orange County. Gregg and I also sub with them from time to time. I occasionally play keys or guitar with Hollister & Friends and The Orange County 5 band (OC 5).
Roger Zee: What advice do you give up and coming musicians?
Rick Oberson: Practice, practice, practice! Surround yourself with good players and compliment each other. I've always seemed to do this in my many projects throughout the last forty years. It also helps to have ears and memory like mine. So do put in the time to develop these traits. With all the advantages of social media these days and access to material and technology, musicians have a great opportunity to learn. I haven’t forgotten when I was young and soaked up so many great players' styles. And how we used to slow down records (yes vinyl which I still have about 800 or so) from 33 1/3 rpm to 16 rpm to make it easier to pick out the notes on the faster runs. That would drop the key about an octave so it was work. Today it can all be slowed down and even separated digitally. There are so many people on the web giving lessons and teaching actual song parts. These kids today have it made! You see more and more of them really taking it up a notch as players. Now they just need to remember that it’s not only how many notes and how fast you play. Though that can be an asset, it's the space between notes that makes the music come alive. Listen to George Harrison. In my opinion, one of the greatest. He played the parts that fit and when I play a tune from him, I do try to nail it. I wouldn’t dare change a note of Bach or Beethoven. I still believe it’s mostly about the song writing!
Roger Zee: How do you see the future of the music business?
Rick Oberson: That’s a tough one. I’m actually glad to see so many big acts out performing. They tour a lot more these days what with royalties so hard to come by. I do miss going to record stores, looking through bins of albums, and meeting other musicians. Watching all the changes over the past few decades, it’s difficult to even think of what will happen next. I can say one thing for sure. It’s always about the song. How it can pull you into a personal, emotional experience that makes the music play over and over in your head till you have to shut it down. At least for me anyway!
©2018 Roger Zee