Sage - Press/Media

City Beat: July 10, 2002
Campbell, California

Campbell band has been entertaining the community for more than 30 years
By: Moryt Milo

In the fickle music industry, where bands appear and disappear as quickly as a hit single, a Campbell-based band, SAGE, has defied the odds, entertaining audiences for more than 30 years. SAGE is Campbell resident Frank Anzalone, his brother Russ Anzalone - a 15-year math teacher at Ida Price Middle School; Bill Vainer, a Campbell dentist; Skip and Craig Kershner, Lou Soliz, Peter Carey and Joel Gonzalez. The musicians say that loving music, treating each other with respect and staying good friends are the key elements to the band's successful career. It's a formula rarely found in a music world infamous for its emotional upheavals and breakups. SAGE manager and keyboard member Frank Anzalone says, "We enjoy the music we make and are like brothers." Campbell Soundtek Studios owner Robert Berry says, "I think what's held the group together is that the core - the two brothers Frank and Russ - are good musicians and good people. Frank does the bookings and manages the band, and everyone trusts him. They know that something is always going to happen, and it's hard to find that in the industry. It's a foundation the whole band can stick to and build on." Another aspect of the group's staying power is the band's philosophy about performing. Each time the group gets onstage the show is different. "There is no formula to the gig. We just know what works and what doesn't," says sax player Vainer. "As we perform, we pick the music that will get people dancing." Trombone player Skip Kershner adds, "We don't have a set list of songs we automatically play. Instead our songs reflect the energy of the audience, which changes for each specific group." Audience participation is an integral part of any SAGE concert.

"We have fun when we're performing," bass guitar and vocalist Joel Gonzalez says. "There is a lot of interaction with the audience, and the people don't expect it. Except for the guys hooked up to amplifiers on stage, at any one time you will see only three guys left on stage and the rest having fun with the crowd." Russ says the comment the group hears most often is "It looks like you guys are really enjoying yourselves." After more than three decades, the group has an endless range of tunes, allowing them to seamlessly move from one song to the next and play in an impromptu fashion. It all adds up to what makes SAGE "a great cover band for playing all kinds of music," Berry says. When the band is hired, it is not for background noise, Russ says. "It's because people know we turn the party into an event, and get people in the audience kicking off their shoes." The band covers Top-40 songs by such well-known performers as Chicago, Huey Lewis, Santana, Kenny Loggins and Phil Collins, but the band also plays Motown, rhythm and blues, and Big Band hits. Now the group has another reason to smile: the release, on July 1, of its first CD, King of the Avenues. The 12 original songs, all written and produced by the band members, were recorded at Soundtek Studios, 85 S. Second St., in Campbell.

After years of playing everyone else's music, the band decided to compile its own work and offer its listeners a pure SAGE sound. "Last summer we did a three-song release and tested it at the festivals," Gonzalez says. "It was well-received, and everyone got excited."

The positive feedback encouraged the band to take the next step and record an entire CD. "They are one of the best," Berry says. "But the band had never done an original album, and I don't think they realized what a good band they are."

Frank says that producing the CD has been the highlight of the group's career, and sales are going well, with the CD available at Tower Records, 1900 S. Bascom Ave., the group's website and at local festivals. The original four-piece band, which began with the Anzalone brothers, became a six-piece band when the Kershner brothers joined in the late 1960s. Frank says that part of the credit for the group's creation should go to former Blackford High School band director Richard Sproule. The Kershner brothers were in the school band with Russ, and Sproule was a young teacher interested in '60s music. For one of the school's musical performances he suggested that the Kershner brothers play a special piece, a medley of tunes by the rock band Chicago, including Frank on keyboard. As the band developed and began developing its own sound, the Kershners asked Vainer - a friend since Rogers Middle School - to join the group, and with a trumpet, trombone, sax, drums and keyboard, the group gravitated toward the sounds of rock bands Chicago and Tower of Power. By 1971, the group, which had started out playing the high school circuits, had expanded to a seven-member group, with vocalist and guitar player Soliz joining the band. "We were still developing our sound and leaning toward Chicago, and Lou had that sound," Frank says. By 1976, the group had added an eighth man. It became a traveling club band, playing from Los Angeles to Alaska until 1983. With many of the group members becoming family men, the band stopped traveling as much and was a festival, corporate and concert club band during the mid- to late 1980s. Yet for all the changes throughout its 33 years, six of the original eight members have remained with the group. For the past five years, Number One Broadway, located at 102 S. Santa Cruz Ave. in Los Gatos, has been the band's home base club, and the group plays every two to three weeks. But the band says its favorite venue is a festival because the audiences include so many different people. The band is also part of Campbell's 2002 Summer Concert Series and is scheduled to perform Aug. 15 on the Orchard City Green.

When asked if the group will ever call it quits, Skip says, "Sometimes I stop and think about it, but five minutes later I say, 'No, let's keep on playing.' " And Soliz adds, "As long as we continue to receive a positive response from friends and family, we will stay together. We bleed SAGE."