Music Life
I play sax, trumpet and a little flute... 50+ years of playing horns is rather shocking for me and continue to learn every time I pick up an instrument... I was schooled in classical music, enjoy performing with orchestras, jazz bands, drum and bugle corps and also was a band geek... Being a band geek really gave me a real sense of "belonging" to the various communities that I lived in, as my father was a lifer in the military (31 years), and I relocated to various coastal cities, (NAVY), in the US every 3 or 4 years.
My first bands were improvisational and there are some recordings out there somewhere. Nebulous Stucco Thing was a performance art spoken word group composed of 6 poets and 5 musicians. We released “Losing it Big at Carnagie Hall,” in 1987. The F-Holes and Vicous Gel were catchy pseudo punk r&r bands that I performed with from Sacramento that formed about 88. I began performing with the Earwigs around the same time and we had some music released through Enharmonic Studios in Sacramento around 1989. We were together for around 5 years.
Dutch Falconi and the Twisted Orchestra was an early 90’s Swing Band based in Sacramento.... I recorded the first album with them, but my recordings were erased as I was kicked out of the band because I preferred to play volleyball with my friends in the park after 5 years of rehearsing... Rehearsals were every Sunday afternoon... I performed with them for 5 years... There were about 23 performers in the band. I continued performing with them when they needed a player...
SEX 66 was combination of 2 Sacramento Bands; the Earwigs & FMK.... This band had many great musicians and songwriters... a total of 6 members.... This was a great group of folks and I really loved some of the songs and was a total hell band to be in as there were 3 of our beloved brothers who struggled with abuse problems. I performed with them for about 5 years and recorded on their release which at this time, I can’t remember the name.... but then was kicked out, so once again my recordings were erased... After that I performed with HERBIVORE AND VANONI, The Tiki Gods and then a few years later with Dark Sun Skypilot for about 6 months until I relocated to the EU.
I currently live in Tallinn and was performing with two music projects: Sopruse Pst., and was a guest performer with Ajukaja and Mart Avi. I was also guesting with St. Cheatersburg and am currently looking for other projects to become involved with. For a while in 2009 I was performing with a band called Tatijana Krystall... I also performed with a band formed in 2014 called The WHAT, but this was another short lived and fun project. I worked with some famous Estonian musical veterans in a band called RANDOM RATS, that lasted for about 3 weeks, during which time we learned many songs, had a gig in Tartu and recorded one track....... I'm now performing as a guest horn player with a trio known as PVC16.... jaja
I managed a great band CLEANING WOMEN, for 3 years they are based in Helsinki. They are very talented and I really dig their music.... I booked performances for them at the Bristol Film Festival in the UK, at KUMU in Tallinn and various musical venues around Estonia... I had the great pleasure to perform a set with them on bari saxophone in the 2013 Midnight Sun Film Festival in Sodenkyla. A link to one of their videos is listed below. If you are interested in having them or any of these projects perform at one of your events, please contact me and we can make arrangements.
Here are some links to videos from the past and not so far past: I must apologize for the quality of the sound in some of the videos.
Sex66 on Sacramento Active Rock - 1997
www.youtube.com/watch?v=novXRDdcRno
Earwigs- ''The Word,'' Rock Ballad from around 87...
one of my best recorded sappy solos...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybtIKV_htuk
Earwigs -'Season of the Witch' - Cattle Club, Sacramento 1991
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0TGFnJG-4I
An evening with Dutch Falconi and the Avant Gardener Orchestra
at the world famous Press Klubi in Sacramento, early 90's
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDXoTBuAB08&t=1698s
Dark Sun Skypilot featuring Mike Farrell at Blue Lamp 10.23.09
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOnGxOFGEIc
AJUKAJA feat MART AVI & STEVE VANONI - Vision Live@müsteeri
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSBv0LxuEx4
Sõpruse puiestee - Krambid LIVE Tartus 2013
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSmC9Rhq32Q
Cleaning Women, "Across The Void"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdONtyPRBUQ
PVC 16, ''THE MAN DRESSED IN PVC,'' March, 2020
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQEGyClXeSQ&fbclid=IwAR1fahas550y4KGez3UgBZEGkoLsyahTuRJyZ_Z-Jx4tICBjVIHZZp1XjtI
STEVE VANONI AND JACKSON BAILEY LIVE AT THE KALANA SOUND
FESTIVAL NIGHT AT HALL, TALLINN, ESTONIA, November, 2019
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFZ4C5q-ics
My life as a DJ
I have a handful of friends who I consider to be great Dj’s....
Some approach the craft/art in more of the traditional musicologist
way; creating seamless sets of historically significant classic and obscure eclectic bootie
shaking tuneage... The more modern approach, of which I have yet to embrace, is
one of being a mixer of tracks and beats.... This for me is truly an artform and some
of my friends and comrades are masters at this. Not to take away from the “original”
approach, as some of my friends are quite genius at how to work a crowd on the
dance floor....
I always wanted to try to share songs that I loved for people but never tried until
a couple years back when I was encouraged by my great friend and colleague Margo
Pajula.... Since then it has been a very fun and nerve bending way for me to see
how to work with music in this way..... Here are some of the gigs that I have had the
honor and pleasure to do.... I am available...
2018
Club Autentica, Riga, Latvia, July.
Tops, Tallinn, Estonia... monthly
Press Club, Sacramento, January.
2017
Press Club, Sacramento, December.
HALL, Tops. Puudel Bar, KUKU Klubi, TUUM Cafe, Tallinn, EST., July, August, September.
Club Autentica, Riga, Latvia, August.
2016
Dj'd at Pohjala Pubi, Punane Maja, Klubi Kelm, Topsi Barii, Tallinn, Estonia, June - ?
Dj at B-Sides and Kasbah Lounge, Sacramento, CA. May, June.
2015
DJ Art Brut gig at Sidecar Factory Club, Barcelona, Spain, February.
2014
Ongoing gigs at various venues in Tallinn: TOPS, Levikas, Kultuurikulbi Kelm...
2013
Guest DJ at “Mutant Disco tähistab 16. tegutsemisaastat,” Klubis Sinilind, Tallinn, EST., December.
Dj’d at VABADUSE Café for the POFF / Dark Nights Film Festival, open and closing parties, Tallinn, Est. November.
NAITUS FOOKUSES, Fookuses Night Club, Parnu, July.
Performed with Raul Saaremets and Chris ''Rhythm Doctor'' @ Pudel Bar, Tallinn, June.
HERE'S A FEW SWEET SONGS FOR YOU...
http://www.mixcloud.com/N2ITUS/n2itus-02-steve-vanoni/
Dj’d at KINK KONK, Tartu, Estonia, March.
Dj’d at Paar Veini; STEVE VANONI, MIHKEL ROOSBERG, MARGO PAJULA for “ELIKTRIKARR,” Tallinn, EST., March.
Dj’d at TOPSI, Kalamaja, EST., Bi-monthly and Ongoing....
2012
DJ’d at Creative I Bar, Seoul, South Korea; September.
Levijkas, Tallinn, Est., Bi-monthly & Ongoing.....
“TALLINN OKTOBERFEST 2012,” at Mere Keskus, Tallinn, EST., September.
Kodu Baar, Tallinn, Estonia, September.
Dj’d at Muust Puudel, Tallinn, Estonia, June.
I always have fun in finding images to appropriate for flyers and creating them for the nights that I worked
and believe that I had an influence on the visual culture and humorous images that my talented local dj's of Tallinn began using for their gigs.... This is just a sampler. I hope you enjoy.
and believe that I had an influence on the visual culture and humorous images that my talented local dj's of Tallinn began using for their gigs.... This is just a sampler. I hope you enjoy.
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Here is a bonus track that I have included for your listening pleasure... It was created in 1980 or 81, around
the time when I met Brian Eno on the streets of NYC. I was very much interested in electronic music from
the mid seventies on. While finishing my grad studies in college I accessed a studio in the music department
that had a beautiful 60's model Arp 2600, a brand new just released Prophet 5 Synth with a sequencer, a mixer
and some mikes.... This is a collage piece of sorts. I was very much and still influenced by Eastern Philosophy,
the Italian Futurists and more than I could write here.
I will not attempt to explain this piece in words. I just would like to say that it is better listened to with the volume
loud and sitting between speakers that have some STEREO....
Here is a bonus track that I have included for your listening pleasure... It was created in 1980 or 81, around
the time when I met Brian Eno on the streets of NYC. I was very much interested in electronic music from
the mid seventies on. While finishing my grad studies in college I accessed a studio in the music department
that had a beautiful 60's model Arp 2600, a brand new just released Prophet 5 Synth with a sequencer, a mixer
and some mikes.... This is a collage piece of sorts. I was very much and still influenced by Eastern Philosophy,
the Italian Futurists and more than I could write here.
I will not attempt to explain this piece in words. I just would like to say that it is better listened to with the volume
loud and sitting between speakers that have some STEREO....
vanoni_electronic_1981.wma | |
File Size: | 5252 kb |
File Type: | wma |
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Some Band Shots, Old and New....
The Earwigs sometime around 1985, photo by George Westcot
Another great Earwig shot by legendary train photographer Dick Steinheimer somewhere in early 90's
Photo of the Dutch Falconi Twisted Orchestra in the beginning, early 90's by Pete Wedel
SEX 66 on the over of "Alive and Kicking," early to mid 90's...
The Tiki Gods, early to mid 90's photo by George Westcot
AJUKAJA and Mart Avi, featuring Steve Vanoni, Photo by ?????????, 2012
Sopruse Puiestee in Tartu, April, 2014
Official member of the 2012 Rakvere Funeral Band. Photo by Erki Kasemets
St. Cheatursburg performing at the KELM, Tallinn, Spring 2016
PVC 16 performing at ROCK REVOLUTION, Vintage Factory, Spring 2017... Photo by Diana Didyk
Wood shedding at the Stucco Factory.... Photo by Jeff Lundell (c) 1982