Review Text
Al Soucy began entertaining and singing at a very young age by performing in his neighborhood where he lived. At the age of 13 Al began learning guitar when he and his brother Tim received electric guitars for Christmas that year from the Sears catalog from their parents. Prior to this they were using tennis rackets and brooms in front of the mirror singing Beatles songs handed down to them from their Uncles. Al was swept up in Beatlemania right from the start. It would be the beginning of his musical career. The guitars were a big improvement over a tennis racket and a broom. There was a lot of fumbling around the fret board for a while until one day Al learned his first song. By The Sea and from that point forward it was one right after another. What helped in the learning process is that there was a nice circle of players around so we were all learning from each other and constantly raising the bar and there's nothing like good old fashion competition to drive the best out of people. Al started on guitar, then went on to learn how to play drums and settled in on the bass guitar after some time. There were so many guitar players and drummers around, Al recalls and no one to play bass guitar so, Al decided on bass as his main instrument and became a proficient bass player. Al's first real band experience was called Power House and it was comprised of Wayne Hewitt, Tim Soucy and Joe Wallace. Al recalls we made a lot of noise mostly in the basement but we had some memorable experiences performing in front of people. We had some nice originals in this band. "Pleasant View Avenue" was one I still remember today. One thing to note as a kid playing in a band you spend a lot of time in basements practicing. Several years later when Al became more proficient on the instrument he would join a band called Midnight Mist comprised of three other members: Tim Soucy, Dave Tassie and Shannon Fickett. This band auditioned for Community Auditions, which was hosted by Dave Maynard for WBZ TV4 in Boston, MA. The band lost on that program but the seed had been planted and a musician/entertainer was born. We played the song "If" by the band Bread. In High School, Al played in a band called Ambush with four talented musicians: Tim Soucy, Dave Thorp, Jeff Longwell and Troy MacPherson. This band was primarily an original rock band. This band helped honed Al's skills as a singer/song-writer and bass player. This band would provide Al his first experience in a recording studio (North Country Sounds) and would also form the foundation for the bands to come in the future. Matthew Callahan was the bands photographer. Marc Callahan was the bands light man and Jeff Bissonette was the bands soundman. Memory: We had a neighbor who allowed us to practice in his garage. His name was Moe and we became "Moe's Garage Band". Our drummer at that time was also a part time carpenter Kevin Lamontange. He built us a stage in the garage. We had lights hanging on beams. We had our own light man Mark Callahan and our own soundman Jeff Bissonnette and there you go we had our own arena with our own guests and the concert was on. The garage was our home away from home. This band had some wonderful originals: The Race Car, Hopes and Dreams, Time and Shine on Me. This band was a good teacher. After High School, Al went on the Road with 'The Blair Hunter Band' comprised of four other members: Angela Blair, Rick Gelinas, Gary Wytonic and Joe Antonis which, was under the management of Bill Macek from Clockwork Entertainment out of Haverhill, MA. This was a top 40 GB band. This band played on a circuit that covered: New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Maine. A highlight performance was backing up Jon Butcher Axis at the Frolics in Salisbury Beach. Jon Butcher attracted a large crowd. Ariel Jones was the photographer of the Blair Hunter Band. Memory: When I received the call from Bill Macek that I was hired for "The Blair Hunter Band" I was thrilled. I needed a
