I found music from Sinatra to the Stones. Marvin Gaye to the Doors. Elton John to the Beatles. Loggins & Messina, Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd, Led Zeplin, Steely Dan, Earth Wind & Fire, Sly and the Family Stone and a list that goes on and on and on. Around age six my Grandfather gave me a guitar. It was an old black Epiphone hollow body with F holes cut in it. It was to big for me and it didn't hold it's tuning very well but it sounded great to me. So much so that i took it everywhere my folks would let me. I began to figure out my favorite songs ( i had alot of the chords dead wrong ) and i was willing to perform for anyone who would listen.

At age 10 I started my first band when i met Louie F. Lou was a guitar player the same age as me who lived around the corner. He and I played around the neighborhood all the time. soon we had a drummer and another guitar player and a bass player and then we were a band officially named " Flying High ". It seemed as though when we played people stopped and listened and stayed and listened some more. The audience feedback and energy was electric and I was now fully charged with their energy my passion for performing began to grow and grow as still does to this day.

In the years to follow i would travel the country playing with some of the finest musicians on the planet. They have inspired me to continue to play and write music by their un-wavering committment to play from the heart and soul. That is what makes great musicians and performers great. God blessed me with this passion for music and I try to deliver that passion every time I perform, for every audience.

I thank you for your interest in Soul Custody and our music and hope to see you at one of my upcoming gigs.

With Sincere Thanks

Eli

      Ed studied piano and theory for about 5 years with Joe Vizzini of Stockton, NJ and continued further studies with Patricia Masterson. After experiencing vocal problems in the early 80's Ed took vocal lessons from vocal teacher/coach Barbara Jameson of New Brunswick, NJ.

       Early on he formed the bands The Noblemen and  Nod with childhood friends, Jeff Kline and Al Synder and then later went on to various cover and original bands such as Sweet Freedom, Jazzbo, Melissa, and Small Fry. He also was the keyboard player for 4 years in the Sharron Dallas band which featured the guitar sounds of local legend, Bobby Hartnagle. At the height of their popularity The Sharron Dallas band opened for many national acts such as Tammy Wynette and Ricky Scaggs.
     
      Ed's other bands have shared the stage with Leslie West of Mountain, Savoy Brown and Blackfoot. He also has played or recorded with numerous local artist such as, Richard Ray Farrell, Steve Guyger and Steve Gomes, Maggie Hill, Tom Reock and John Bushnell of the Maggi Hill band, Sandy Zio and Nick Antonaccio of the Sandy Zio band, John Bianculli, Danny DeGenarro, Carol and Jeannie Brooks and last but certainly not least,premier musician and good friend, Jeff Kline.

      In 1986 Ed helped form the the Delivery Boys band which would last almost 20 years and play thousands of gigs in the Northeast region. The Delivery Boys covered almost every genre of music from Classic rock, Reggae,
R and B, Blues, Disco, Pop, Country rock and Light Jazz. After building a large fan base and racking up countless miles, the Dboys band wound down and did their final "open to the public" gig at Havana's in New Hope in May of 2005. They remain good friends and still do the occasional wedding or private party if everyone's schedule allows.

      At the present Ed divides his time between playing for the soulful Mojo Mystics, Laurie Fiebig and 519 South, and singer extrodinare Michael Eli as well as providing keyboard duties for various other bands when available.

      More recently Ed has been busy doing some solo piano work at clubs, and cocktail hours for weddings while trying to find the time to write and record his first solo CD.
 
      Ed has done recording for his and others projects at Mike Lozinski's One Square Mile studio in Sargentsville, Waterfront Studio in Hoboken, Ritchi Cannata's Cove City Sound Studios in Long Island, Tom Reock's Squirrel Ranch studio in Trenton, Eli's Million Cellar Studio,Tim Mulherns' Left Hook studio and many others. He has performed on numerous local radio and cable TV shows.
     
      His vocal influences are Daryl Hall, Stevie Wonder, and Marc Brussard. For keyboards he loves to listen to and has surely been influenced by various artists including Russ Ferrante of the Yellowjackets, Bill Payne of Little Feat, Bonnie Raitt's keyboard guru, Jon Cleary and Marion McPartland and NPR's Piano Jazz.

Much against my families wishes I decided on playing music, so I went to BCCC for music performance, where I was introduced to jazz and studied with Craig Thomas, Al Stouffer, and Dave LaRue.
I Met Mike Eli around that time and played in a couple of incarnations of his original projects and recorded many a demo and a few adult film sound tracks too.... Lots of wah chicka wah chicka wah!!

I played all around Bucks County, Philly, NY and of course the infamous Jersey Shore tour! During this time I freelanced with some of the areas finest musicians and bands and had a couple of my own bands, Starving Artist, and Nouveau Riche... I was one of the first on the block to start sequencing with a Mac 512(remember those!) and digital performer V1.1 This was 1984-5 for gods sake! After around 3-4 years of playing guitar with my trusty Mac, I vowed to never make music with a machine again...

After that I started playing with the Soul Survivors (Expressway to your Heart). I giged with the Soul Survivors for many years and had the opportunity to play with many national acts like the Hooters, and Cindy Lauper, etc... and open up for many a great band at festival situations during this period. We did various studio sessions, some with television exposure like Beverly Hills 90210, amongst others. I had finally made it! Well lets not get carried away here...

During this period, I became very dis-illusioned with the whole music industry, when I finally realized it really wasn't what you know but who you know.... I slowly started branching out in many different ways and found I could supplement my income with live audio production. I got a job at the Mark G. Etess Arena at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City and worked there for around 10 years. I got the opportunity to work with just about everyone in the touring industry, from stagehand to monitor engineer and just about everything in between. During this period I kinda put the bass away for around 10 years, due to the constant conflict of scheduling, (everyone wants you for Sat. night). I did manage to play with a few original acts along the way, but was lucky if played a few hours a month.

In 2003 my life took a left turn and my guitar & bass became my best friends again, I realized it gave me back whatever i put into her, so I have been trying to give her as much as I can!

Somewhere along the way I started my own multimedia production company, developing many a website and programming cd-roms etc, and all that led into video production and partnering with long time friend and audio engineer Randy Weinholtz. We still own and operate New Media Technologies, and specialize in producing music videos and live remote digital audio recording, amongst a myriad of other services. You can visit us at www.newmediatechnologies.com for all of your production needs...

I still work in Atlantic City, at the Borgata, and do many live audio productions, both there and as a Freelance engineer. I am specifically a monitor engineer, as I don't like to get too far from the stage, and have travelled around the country and overseas doing many a gig. I recently became the lead audio engineer for the my music series on PBS, working for T.J. Lubinski and HJL Productions. You can catch many of these great performances on your local PBS station.

I am currently trying to balance my playing and production talents, and it is not always easy as they both demand the same weekend nights. But I realize know how important it is to balance the two.

A few years ago Mike moved back in to the area after being in LA for many years and with great pleasure we started playing together again, first with trios and quartets in local restaurants and have come to form Soul custody, a great bunch of guys who can really kick ass on the stage. So when you get a chance please stop out and say hi.

peace
Barry

Born into a musical family and raised in Piscataway, New Jersey, he currently resides in rural Titusville, New Jersey. His father was a jazz singer and crooner out of Philadelphia, who also sang in barbershop quartets. Joe first started playing drums and singing at about 5 years old. At 16 years old, he joined his first “real” band called Headin’ South, a southern rock cover band playing parties and high school battles. He was the lead singer as well as the drummer. From 1980 to 1985 he hit the Jersey club scene with the hard rock band Virgin Evening, and the popular Top 40 band Ringer. From 1986 to 1998, Joe dropped out of the music scene completely to pursue academic studies and to raise a family. After graduating Cum Laude with a B.S. in Management from Fairleigh Dickinson University, Joe worked in corporate business as an Environmental Manager and began pursuing his M.B.A.. By late 1998, Joe was back on the music scene, this time in Trenton. By April of 2002, totally disillusioned with the lifestyle and corruption of corporate business, Joe completely severed his ties with corporate America, and fully dedicated his life to music by performing and teaching privately full time. He is the owner of Smith’s Music Studio in Ewing, New Jersey.

Joe currently plays with legendary Trenton bluesman Paul Plumeri (a.k.a. The Bishop), and has recently joined forces with longtime Asbury Park rock guitarist Bruce Wacker. He frequently plays with regional artists such as Matt O’Ree, Sonny Kenn, Jody Joseph, Lucy Bonilla, Magic Red & the Voodoo Tribe, and Richard Ray Farrell. He can also be found on the local Trenton-Princeton music scene playing with artists such as Tom Reock, Joe Vadala, Jeff Palmer, Sandy Zio, Ernie White, John Bushnell, and Triple Trouble. Joe continues to freelance as a drummer and vocalist throughout the tri-state area, and has had the privilege to share the stage with members of: Canned Heat, Gary U.S. Bonds, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Kingfish, The Hooters, The Fabulous Grease Band, Sheryl Crow’s Band, The Ace Frehley Band, La Bamba, Johnny Winter, Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes, Ween, Billy Joel’s Band, Styx, Buddy Guy’s Band, The Southern Rock All-Stars, and Buddy Rich’s Big Band. He has opened up for national acts such as Robert Randolph, Dickey Betts & Great Southern, Southside Johnny, LaBamba, and John Eddie. He frequently plays famed and popular New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania nite-clubs such as The Stone Pony, B.B.King’s, House of Blues, The Bitter End, The Cutting Room, The Starland Ballroom, Warmdaddy’s, and The Chicago Blues Club.
 
Drumming Background
Joe has taken lessons with jazz legend Joe Morello (Dave Brubeck) and R&B great Bernard Purdie (Aretha Franklin, Steely Dan). He has also recently studied with noted New Jersey progressive rock/fusion drummer Joe Nevolo (Pat Travers, Frank Marino & Mohogany Rush, The Good Rats, Shadow Gallery). He cites his early influences in jazz as Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, and Joe Morello. His early influences in rock are listed as John Bonham, Jeff Porcaro, Steve Gadd, and Bernard Purdie. Joe has recently turned towards Dave Garibaldi, Dave Weckl, and Zigaboo Modeliste as funk influences.

During his high school years, Joe was a snare drummer with the Piscataway Superchiefs, a nationally recognized championship high school marching band. Performances included two appearances for the NFL at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, television appearances for CBS, and an opening for Walt Disney at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, all culminating in a first place national championship in Daytona Beach, Florida in 1979. He also played in the Piscataway Superchief Concert Band and Pit Band.

Vocal Background
From 1997 to 1999, Joe was a tenor with Boheme Opera Company based in Princeton, New Jersey, and has performed four operas with the company at the Trenton War Memorial Theatre, including La Boheme by Puccini, Le Nozze di Figaro by Mozart, Die Fliedermaus by Strauss, and Rigoletto by Verdi. He was a tenor with Saint James Church Choir in Pennington, New Jersey from 1997 to 1999. Joe has also worked as a lead singer and front-man for Magic Red and The Voodoo Tribe, East Village Funk, and The B.D. Lenz Band. His voice is best described as powerful and soulful, with a sweet and warm tone. His stage presence as a vocalist has been described as a cross between Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones and Jim Morrison of the Doors. Joe lists the following vocalists as influences: John Fogerty, Jim Croce, Jeff Buckely, Connie Dover, Mario Lanza, Janis Joplin, Mick Jagger, Karen Carpenter, Robert Plant, Jim Morrison, Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, Gregg Allman, Van Morrison, Patsy Cline, John Lennon, and Paul McCartney.

In high school he played in numerous bands and continued to develop his style. After graduating, he became a member of the Castle Browne Band and immediately began focusing on original material and playing the club scene three to four nights a week. In addition to working with the band, he landed a part time job at Princeton’s McCarter Theatre as a stage/guitar tech for the many acts that passed through town. He worked with groups like the Beach Boys, Dr. John, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Ravi Shankar, Bruce Springsteen, Meatloaf, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Marshall Tucker Band, Miles Davis, and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. All gave John an amazing and diverse musical education as well as a chance to be up close and personal with the artists themselves.

After leaving the Castle Browne Band in the early 80’s, he did a brief stint with Tom Bleck who was signed to RCA but quickly moved on to join the band, Bricks Mortar, with Charles Collins, house drummer for Sigma Sound Studios in Phila. and Michael Tschudin, producer and one time David Bowie keyboardist. The band was signed to Sutra Records and recorded an EP but eventually recorded their own album and released it on Zebra Records.

Around this time, John was approached by the Ibanez guitar company and found himself being featured in an ad campaign for one of their new models in Guitar Player, Musician, Guitar World and other publications. This relationship grew and he became a demonstrator of their guitars and effects at the NAMM trade shows, as well as, the Guitar and Music Expo held at Madison Square Garden.

By the late 80’s, John had left Bricks Mortar and formed a power trio known as Unguided Missile with Angel Resto on bass and Peter Browne on drums, who was later replaced by Mark Sacco. They played a blues and hard rock style of music throughout the tri-state area. It was at this same time that John was picked to host the “Virtuoso Guitar Series” at a top New York City club. John continued to write material and explore more guitar possibilities. Ibanez gave John one of the first 7 string guitars, which he used on his first solo album entitled “7th Sense”. The album received favorable reviews in the U.S. and Europe.

John next formed a group with Hal Selzer on bass. Adrian Dodz, as it was called, played relentlessly all over the tri-state area and recorded a CD of hard rocking material which got the band signed to Epic Records. Years later, the recordings from this band were picked up by Escape Records and released in Europe and Japan under the name “Silent Witness”.

Through all the years of writing, recording and playing in different bands, John has worked on many movie scores and recording sessions for other artists in virtually every style of contemporary music. At the present time he is working at the Pennington School where he created and teaches the Blues/Pop/Rock Ensemble, and shares his knowledge of the recording and the music business.