Mike Condello
Michael Condello (May 6, 1946 – August 17, 1995) was an American rock musician, producer, and songwriter.
Early life
Mike Condello was born in
By the time he was 14, Condello was already a key player the Phoenix music scene, playing in the Stage 7 Club's house band although four years
Rock and parodies
Condello formed a group called Hub Kapp and the Wheels, fronted by comedian
As part of The Wallace and Ladmo Show, Condello had subsequently several more records released, many of which entered the repertoire of Dr. Demento and other comedy or parody acts, records such as “Soggy Cereal”, “Ho Ho Ha Ha Hee Hee Ha Ha” and “Pollen’s Found A Home In My Nose”. Others were parodies of Beatles music such as “A Day On The Tube”.[3]
In 1967, Lee Hazlewood signed Condello's band, named them Last Friday's Fire, and released through his LHI Records three singles with them.[3]
Psychedelia
In the same year as the Hazlewood singles, Condello became involved in the formation of the parody ensemble Commodore Condello's Salt River Navy Band, which released two EPs and performed on The Wallace and Ladmo Show as well. Also in 1967, Condello got invited by the psychedelic rock band Superfine Dandelion to play on their song "Ferris Wheel."[2]
In 1968,[4] he formed a band named Condello, featuring a young Bill Spooner, later of The Tubes fame. They released only one album, titled Phase One. In 1969, the band released two singles and was dissolved. None of their record releases were a major hit, although subsequently the album was hailed as "one of the most acclaimed and influential psych albums of the late 60s"[3] and a "psychedelic masterwork."[5]
Power pop
Mike Condello continued to be the music manager of the TV show until 1971, at which time he quit to work as a musician. He got involved with the power-pop band Elton Duck, which featured future-Bangles bassist Michael Steel. They played many concerts in Los Angeles, opening for the Knack, The Motels, The Tubes, and Phil Seymour. They recorded an album for Arista Records in the 1980s, but Clive Davis decided to shelve it, and after a few months Elton Duck disbanded.[4]
In 2012, the Elton Duck's only album, through a
Session musician
Working as a session musician, Condello played on records of several artists, such as Jackson Browne, Juice Newton and the Tubes. He played guitar on Keith Moon's 1975 solo LP, Two Sides Of The Moon.[2]
Death
On August 17, 1995, Condello, suffering from
See also
References
- ^ Facebook site,The Late Great Mike Condello
- ^ a b c "Condello", Technicolor Web Sound
- ^ a b c d "Mike Condello biography", Last.fm
- ^ a b c d "The Psychedelic Pop of Mike Condello Remembered With Two New Releases" by Jason Woodbury, Phoenix New Times, August 22, 2011
- ^ Condello: Phase I, Rock Asteria, April 17, 2014
- ^ "Mike Condello, friend of Wallace & Ladmo, dies". Arizona Republic. August 19, 1995. p. 14. Retrieved December 17, 2023.