Thank you, Catón! You are the heart of this album (Quasimodo Loves Esmeralda) and I appreciate your mastery in percussion. Since there is no standard drum kit on this album, you needed to bring it and you did it well!
CATÓN LYLES
Regina LaRocca
Regina LaRocca plays a powerful metal guitar part on “Sapphire Blue” (on Quasimodo Loves Esmeralda).
She started playing music at 11 yrs old in 1976.Coming from a musical family, she was sent to study classical and Flamenco guitar with Alfred Greathouse.
Shifting from that genre to electric guitar inspired by Black Sabbath in 1978, she ended up in several high school rock bands that gigged until 1985 when she joined LD50 (aka Lethal Dose/Thorn) and ended up in the world of Satyricon for a decade. This band featured Jan Cox of the Dots (first band to play the venue) and Wade Crow (RIP, writer and guitarist), along with Buzzy Calvosa later to be replaced with Samantha Moore). Regina shifted to bass to play in LD50, The Obituaries, The Oily Bloodmen, and M99 then adding electric guitar back in her own project Caustic Soda. (Not to be confused with the band who later took the name in Washington). Due to the overwhelming loss of bandmates due to drug overdoses, she left the scene and joined a world trance band playing bass called Land of the Blind in 1998. Also in 1998 she played bass in Dreams in Excile for 2 years.
In 1994 a phenomena called LAB featuring members of Hitting Birth and Caustic Soda had a once a week improvisational recording session that went on for 16yrs until Stephen Spyrit of Hitting Birth passed from this world in 2010. There are hundreds of recordings that will eventually be uploaded to the Internet.
In 2000 she went back to acoustic guitar in Gothic Outhouse, an Americana, folk cover band doing Tom Waits covers and songs from past defunct Portland rock bands. This band became Sinners Serenade in 2008 after Heidi Hellbender of M99 left to do other projects.
Regina almost left this world in 2008 and in 2009 was inspired to record a solo CD called “This Inspiration” to document past works in case she didn't make it. It featured songs she wrote mostly on acoustic guitar in the 80's. She sings, plays all guitars, bass and frame drum. John Henalt of Dr. Amazon and 20ft Man plays kit drum on the album which was released in 2011, at which time she joined the rock band Saint Jacks Parade as the lead guitarist where she is to the present day.
She occasionally sits in on side projects.
Thanks, Victor! You are an amazing man who is not only a well respected guitarist and singer for many great bands including Roselit Bone, Bad Shadows and Federale, but happy surprise to me, (you’re a drummer too??!!!) you are also a kickass drummer playing on Broken Dreams which is on the CD single, In The Wink Of Time 1.
Here in his own IM to me is his bio:
“For 20+ years I’ve toured the world playing guitar in various bands. My lifelong passion is making music with my friends and performing on stage. When I’m not on the road, I’m at home with my wife and our 5 chihuahuas.”
Victor Franco
Carl Annala
Thanks, Carl, for delivering a masterful rhythm and lead guitar performance on Broken Dreams which is on the CD single In The Wink Of Time 1. Here is Carl’s personal take on his own bio:
“Born and raised in McMinnville to parents that were classical music teachers, Carl was stupid and stubborn and took years to learn music. By then punk was the going thing and his high school band was Prison Ministry, a flagging attempt at Flipper covers. Not until the Hell Cows, years later, a few miles away in Portland, would he come into focus as a musician. The rest is a long list of bands and shows. Leading good musicians into obscurity for decades! Not entirely true a list of bands should include, in chronological order: Prison Ministry, Porky Carcass, Hell Cows, Ape Grave, Plastic Horn Devil, Eggnapper, Old Paint, Jagula, Hail and the most recent project The Old Town Diamonds. Usually the ringleader and mostly a guitarist he has done some stints in other bands like Smegma, Hitting Birth, Earth and now with Alf! Annala is also a fine art painter and butoh dancer.”
Many thanks to Brian Koelling for the use of his magical cartoon of Carl.
Little Freddie (later to be Alf Delia) eventually became verbal and went on to play harmonica in 1951. Later, he played accordion for 6 years and it was suggested that he play bass, instead, with The Bruthers, because the bass on the accordion was underwhelming. He also switched over to guitar for Bad Way To Go and Frank played bass for that. He returns to play bass on Sidewalk Song and Broken Dreams which are on the CD single In The Wink Of Time 1.
Little Freddie
WillowStar Delia
In her own words:
“WillowStar Delia: NYC/Jackson, WY. 10/24/66- On rivers, through canyons, fast cities, steel buildings, up mountains, blue oceans, by plane, by train, by pick-up-truck… I have taken a long road to get back to my true self. Singer Writer Storyteller.”
