About Me

Hi, I’m Rob DiCaterino, a multi-instrumental musician, singer, and songwriter living just outside of NYC. I’ve been heavily influenced by classic rock, old pop, 1990s alternative, and novelty songs.

My goal for this blog is to post a recording, video, or update at least once a week.

The Beginning

I started out listening to records on my portable record player in the late 1970s and early 80s. Although my parents had a large and diverse collection (The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Van Dyke Parks, Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman, Uncle Floyd Vivino, Ray Stevens, etc.), it wasn’t often that I heard a current pop song. Most of the hits I knew were several years, if not decades, old.

1990 – 1996

I first experimented with songwriting and multitrack recording in middle school. I had two tape recorders hooked up to each other, an electronic drum pad, a Casio keyboard, and a $10 microphone. More importantly, I had ambition, intuition, and ingenuity. My recordings were primitive, but exciting. It was around that time I wrote the quirky and catchy “Cowboy Krueger.”

My friends and I were sophomores in high school when we decided to start a band. Chris L. played drums, Eric S. played guitar, Jim W. played bass, and Tom E. sang. I played keyboards, not because I was a talented keyboard player, but because I wanted to be in a rock band and nobody else wanted to play keyboards. I was decent enough, but got much better with time.

We couldn’t decide on a name, so Chris opened the dictionary, pointed his finger, and landed on “Rhexis.”

Main entry: rhexis (pl. rhexes)
Pronunciation: rek’ sis (pl. -seez)
n. Bursting or rupture of an organ or vessel. (e.g. rhexis of a blood vessel)

We practiced every week for six months and learned a few songs. Our most ambitious was “Live and Let Die” by Paul McCartney and Wings. We couldn’t decide on what songs to learn next, so we eventually split up and started working on new projects.

Jim and I played together for a few more years, sometimes as a full band with friends like Wesley T. and Steve P. and sometimes as an acoustic duo. Between 1994 and 1996, we had several concerts at the local TV station in Belleville, NJ (WBHS), and were the featured group at La-Di-Da in Montclair, NJ. By this time, we had been writing songs for two years and had a catalog of over two dozen, some of which were quite good. I still perform some of them today.

My jury-rigged multitrack recordings got better as I gradually upgraded my equipment, but it wasn’t until late 1995 that Jim and I made our first proper four-track tape recordings. Our equipment was still a bit lacking, but we tried our best to recreate a professional recording studio. Depending on the song, I played drums, bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, and sang lead and harmony vocals. I even taught myself a bit of tenor banjo for our folk-flavored song “Thrift Shop Neck Tie.” By 1996, our recordings became more elaborate, featuring numerous overdubs, backwards masking, and shifting stereo. Then we graduated high school.

1998 – 2004

In 1998, I recorded “Silverfish” and “Super-Connected” for Lovesongs for Copycats: The Tanya Donelly Tribute Album. Tanya Donelly received copies of the CD and wrote each artist a personal email expressing her gratitude. Soon after, Chris Aguinaldo started The Tanya Donelly Tribute Album 2, an online follow-up to the original CD, featuring my versions of “Judas My Heart,” “Bury My Heart,” and “John Dark.” In addition, singer Colleen Carano (now Colleen Kanownik) performed the vocals on my recording of “Pretty Deep” and I provided the drum tracks on “Baby’s Arm” and “Full Moon, Empty Heart.”

Over the next few years, I wrote and recorded over three album’s worth of songs, many of which were featured on MP3.com and available on CD. By this point, I had moved on to digital eight-track recording. In 2000, I came in contact with Carrie Engdahl (guitar, vocals, and songwriting), Denice and Frank Nora (lyrics), and Phil Mould (bass and vocals), and we formed the band Fuzzy Daupner. We recorded two albums, covered “Feeding Squirrels Fire” for the Weird Paul Petroskey tribute album, and performed frequently throughout New Jersey and New York City. I continued to write and record music on my own and also recorded several songs with Steve Nunez and Alison Rowland of The Cephalopods in Port Jefferson, NY. Almost two years later, Fuzzy Daupner disbanded.

In 2003, Phil was back in England working on music, Frank started working on The Overnightscape talk radio show, and Carrie and I formed The Greylocks. I played drums and sang backup, Carrie played guitar and sang lead, and later George Stagani joined us on bass. We played regularly throughout New Jersey and New York City and shared the stage with such acts as Sean Carey, Jenny Owen Youngs, Lesser Panda, and Amy Miles of Loser’s Lounge. I even slept on the same fold-out couch as Steve Poltz.

2005 – today

In August 2005, I became the drummer for Beauty Sleep, a Brooklyn indie pop band. Our first show together was at Popfest New England on September 29, 2005, in Northampton, MA. The organizers of the festival liked our set and signed us to their small label, Skipping Stones Records. We recorded a full-length album Songs on Tape Recorders, which was due out in late 2006, but one thing lead to another and the label decided to put out a limited-edition EP, Nature vs. Nurture, instead. We played our final show on November 16, 2006, at a Manhattan venue called The Annex.

Since then, I’ve sat in with a few bands and even tried forming my own a few times. In February 2008, I started posting instructional guitar videos on YouTube and the response has been great. My subscribers’ encouragement has motivated me to start this music blog. My goal is to post a recording, video, or update at least once a week, which I hope will get my creative juices flowing more than ever before.

I welcome any thoughts or suggestions…just leave a comment. Enjoy!

Rob
updated 7/21/09

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1. goodrob13.com » Here I Go — October 7, 2008 @ 6:10 am