| Danny Seraphine | |
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.jpg) Danny Seraphine - Live in Concert
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Daniel Peter Seraphine |
| Born | August 28, 1948 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock |
| Instruments | Drums, Percussion |
| Years active | 1967–present |
| Website | www.ctatheband.com |
Daniel Peter "Danny" Seraphine (born August 28, 1948 in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.) is an American drummer, record producer, theatrical producer and film producer, best known for being the original drummer and founding member of the rock group Chicago, a tenure which lasted from February 1967 to May 1990.
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Early life
Danny Seraphine was born in Chicago and raised in the Little Italy district. He started playing drums at the age of nine. When he was 15 years old, Seraphine dropped out of high school, but eventually studied privately with famed percussionist Bob Tillis at DePaul University, where members of Chicago's horn section were also studying.
He continued his education with big band drummer Chuck Flores, followed by two years of study under jazz drummer Jo Jones (also known as Papa Jo Jones) in the mid-1970s.
Tenure with Chicago
By the late 1960s, Seraphine was drumming in various bands, including one with teen friends Walter Parazaider (saxophone and woodwinds) and Terry Kath (guitar). Named at first The Big Thing, the band eventually became Chicago after the addition of Lee Loughnane (trumpet), James Pankow (trombone), Robert Lamm (keyboards) and Peter Cetera (bass).
Their producer and manager, James William Guercio, moved Chicago out to Los Angeles and they became the house band at the Whisky A Go Go. They subsequently obtained a contract with Columbia Records and recorded their first album - a double album - in just two weeks. The album was titled after the band's name, The Chicago Transit Authority, and released in 1969. (The band would later shorten their name to Chicago).
While he did not contribute significantly as a songwriter at first, Seraphine eventually co-wrote several songs for the band: "Lowdown" (a Top 40 hit for the band), "Little One," "Take Me Back to Chicago," "Show Me the Way," "Birthday Boy" and "Street Player." His writing partner was often David "Hawk" Wolinski, the keyboardist for Chaka Khan and Rufus.
From the mid-1970s until the early-1980s, Seraphine was the principal and most well-known owner of B'Ginnings, a large musical showcase nightclub in Schaumburg, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.
Dismissal from Chicago
In early March 1990, following shows in Belfast, Dublin, and Birmingham, Seraphine played his final two shows with Chicago at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, England. In May, Chicago's manager, Howard Kaufman, called Seraphine to inform him that the other members of the band had held a meeting and voted him out as their drummer.
Chicago trombonist James Pankow has asserted that Seraphine did not practice enough, and that live shows were adversely affected by his performances, with the last show at the Hammersmith Odeon being the final motivating factor for Seraphine being fired.[1] Later interviews with Pankow and Lamm clarified this stance, indicating that the band was upset with Seraphine's insistence on taking sight-seeing trips of the English countryside during that leg of the tour. Seraphine and his wife were arising early on the days of these shows to take tours of castles and estates. Seraphine would then arrive at the concert venue late and totally exhausted from the day's activities, resulting in sluggish and unpredictable drumming. This problem was evident in reviews by the English press; in fact, it was many years before Chicago would venture onto British soil again.
Seraphine has said, "The reason I’m no longer in Chicago is the lead singers, the new lead singers, Jason Scheff and Bill Champlin, didn’t like the fact that a drummer was running the band." They subsequently gave an ultimatum to the other band members that either Seraphine be let go or the two of them would leave the band. He went on to say, "Out of all people that should be criticizing me for not practicing, it shouldn’t be Jim Pankow because there’s a guy that has really neglected his craft." Danny did practice and work on his technique after his divorce and the loss of his family lifestyle in such a sudden way. [2]
Life after Chicago
After being dismissed from Chicago, Seraphine settled for many years in Colorado, where he kept himself busy with a variety of musical and theatrical projects, including producing local musical acts. Seraphine has since moved back to the Los Angeles area.
In more recent years, Seraphine has turned his attention to producing and resourcing investment for Broadway shows, which included bringing the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Bombay Dreams" to Broadway following its London run.
2009 saw the release of Lonely Street, a film for which Seraphine served as an executive producer and the music supervisor.
His daughter, Taryn, was included in a recent episode of Punk'd in a gag that involved her as one of many being interviewed as a possible intern for Ashton Kutcher.
California Transit Authority
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In early 2006, Danny Seraphine debuted a new band, California Transit Authority (CTA), featuring himself on drums, Marc Bonilla on lead guitar, Mick Mahan on bass guitar, Ed Roth and Peter Fish on keyboards, Mike Wallace on guitar, and Larry Braggs on vocals. Seraphine and Bonilla initially put the band together to play for several charity benefit shows.
Following a positive response, they put together a full 70 minute set. Their first Los Angeles area performance took place at the Canyon Club on January 27, 2006.
Included in the new band's repertoire are several Chicago songs, including "Make Me Smile," "25 or 6 to 4," "South California Purples," "Happy Cause I’m Going Home," "Devil’s Sweet" and Steve Winwood's "I'm A Man". Also included is a be-bop number co-written by Seraphine, which features a drum solo Seraphine describes as "challenging". Seraphine considers "Something Different" (a hard-driving jazz-rock cover of a Cannonball Adderley song) to be the band's signature piece, which highlights Bonilla's virtuosity as both a player and an arranger.
CTA released their first studio album, Full Circle, on August 14, 2007, followed by a tour of the United States.
Endorsements
When Seraphine first started recording with Chicago he was a faithful user of Rogers and Slingerland drums, whose kits were being made famous by Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa (Seraphine has stated Rich as a major influence, which is probably why he chose Slingerland for so long). He used a wide array Slingerland drum sets from 1969 through 1984's Chicago 17 tour. He switched to Yamaha drums for the final leg of the 1985 Chicago 17 tour and played Yamaha drums on Chicago 18 (1986) and its subsequent tour (through 1987). In 1988 Seraphine became an endorser of the now widely popular DW drums. Today he still endorses DW, along with Zildjian cymbals and Remo drum heads.
References
- ^ Phone interview with Jimmy Pankow by Debbie Kruger, April 27, 1999
- ^ Interview with Danny Seraphine by Mark Carras, Rock My Monkey, August 24, 2007
Modern Drummer Magazine, 2006
External links
- California Transit Authority official website
- Danny Seraphine at the Internet Movie Database
- Drummerworld entry
- Lonely Street film website
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