Sage - Press/Media

"Real Old School"
FOR 36 YEARS, SAGE HAS PLAYED BOTH KINDS OF MUSIC: RHYTHM AND BLUES.
October 06, 2005
By Stuart Thornton

A lot of bands last about as long as a store-bought loaf of bread. The guitarist ends up sleeping with the singer’s girlfriend, while the drummer starts drinking and drugging. Egos start to collide like balls on a billiards table. Before you know it, the band has broken up. Sometimes before playing their first gig out of the garage.

That’s what is so impressive about Sage. They’ve been together 36 years. That’s almost three times as long as The Beatles.

Based in Campbell, near San Jose, Sage started way back in ’69, the same year The Beatles recorded Abbey Road. The core of the band solidified when drummer Russ Anzalone met the Kershner brothers—Skip and Craig—while playing together in San Jose’s Blackford High School’s marching band. Shortly thereafter, with Russ’ brother Frank on keyboards, the four musicians started playing together as Sage. “We played every junior high and high school in the area,” Frank recalls.

Though the band started at the height of the psychedelic rock era, Sage gravitated toward the horn-heavy rock and R&B hybrid popularized by groups like Chicago and Tower of Power. “We have always done R&B,” Frank says.

Sage’s keyboard player and vocalist says that getting positive feedback from the band’s two major musical influences has been some of the most rewarding experiences of being in the band. In 1992, Sage ended up playing the wedding of Chicago’s road manager in South Lake Tahoe. Dancing at the reception to Sage’s music was none other than the members of Chicago. As an added bonus, Chicago’s trumpet player Lee Loughnane jumped up onstage to play a song with the Campbell band.

Sage’s first CD of original material, 2002’s King of the Avenues, was done with Strokeland Records. Strokeland is run by Tower of Power saxophonist Stephen “Doc” Kupka.

These days find the band doing mostly covers at their shows. Songs in their repertoire include The Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” and Santana’s “Smooth.” Though these tunes are played quite often, Sage’s impressive background vocals and horn section make them sound fresh.

Frank says that the band has also started to add two to four original songs to their live shows from their two CDs, King of the Avenues and 2004’s Some Assembly Required. The band’s own tunes range from the jazzy “Mr. Lucky” to the flamenco sounds of “Latin Eyes” to the tight-wound funk of “Soul Patrol.”

“We have never been in one groove and stayed there,” Frank says of the band’s diverse set of originals.

When Sage plays one of the originals alongside, say, a Tower of Power number, Frank has noticed that the crowd keeps dancing. “They stick right in with the other stuff we play,” he says.

He believes that the eight-piece band is truly in their prime after playing together so long.

“I definitely think we have musically grown,” he says. “We have literally played thousands of gigs. We’re almost feeling like we are peaking.”

Meanwhile, Frank has simple advice for other bands that want to try and attain Sage’s impressive longevity. “The secret is basically to enjoy what you do,” he says.