Lifelong Friends Celebrate First Performance in 30 years!

by Scott Andrysiak

Freelance Writer

Scott Andrysiak | LinkedIn

ScottAndrysiak@mail.com

11/10/24

On October 26th MAGIC BUDDHA rocked Howard’s Bookstore in Torrington CT! The concert marked a milestone for singer/songwriter Marc Gerson and guitarist/songwriter Howard Nemaizer. The last time the duo performed on stage together they performed as BAD BUDDHA. Bill Clinton was President.

Marc and Howard were twelve years old when they met on the first day of 7th grade in September 1979 at I.S. 25 in Flushing, Queens. Both had a deep love for music.

While Howard fancied heavier bands like Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Sabbath, Marc had a wider musical palette. Having grown up listening to his older brothers records Marc quickly expanded Howard’s musical horizons turning him on to bands like Queen, Mountain, the Grateful Dead, Genesis, Jefferson Airplane, Cream and softer music like Joni Mitchell and Crosby Still and Nash. It was the West Coast soft rock sound of the 70’s from bands like the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac that sparked Howard’s lifelong love and facination of acoustic music, intricate harmonies and arrangements.

While other friends musical tastes took hold, Howard directly credits Marc’s brothers David and Stu with shaping his musical direction the most, introducing him to the music of Rush, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull and other progressive rock bands like Santana and Steely Dan. Greatly inspired by all of these bands, Howard and Marc focused on creating their own identifiable progressive rock sound. A sound that is clearly defined.

Stream, share and add LIVE BUDDHA to playlists on your favorite music streaming platforms!

PRE-SAVE! AVAILABLE SOON!

The progressive/acid rock music of BAD BUDDHA didn’t fit the Grunge scene back in 1995, or the metal scene in 1980 when they formed their first band, WHITE MAGIC.

At first listen to WHITE MAGIC it is clear that the sound and style of the band would not have developed as it had if not for the creative input from bassist Kenny Banks. Heavily influenced by Geddy Lee, Jack Bruce and John Paul Jones, Banks was an exceptional bassist and a huge part of the WHITE MAGIC/BAD BUDDHA sound. Musically, Howard described an ESP-like connection to Kenny’s sophisticated and melodic bass lines that helped both of them grow as musicians. Through a series of exceptional drummers: Tony Esposito (1980-1982), Joe Ranieri (1982-1986) and later with BAD BUDDHA, Doctor Bruce (1994-1995), Kenny always created a solid foundation for the drums while maintaining melodic bass lines for Howard’s guitar to harmonize with.

Kenny Banks met Howard in band class and the two became fast friends. Howard played drums. Kenny played trumpet. By 1981 the two had abandoned band class and switched instruments. Kenny took to the bass and Howard took to the guitar. Not long after they were jamming and looking for a drummer to play with.

Admittedly, the teenage musicians were throwback neo-hippies in the burnout clique in “High” School, savoring copious amounts of weed and mind expanding hallucinogens both in and out of class.

One of their tunes, (Leaf of Life) openly professes their secret love for marijuana, publicly referring to the song as “L.O.L” to allay any potential hassles at school.

As the years rolled on, other influences emerged and were assimilated. By the time BAD BUDDHA was formed in late 1994, Nemaizer and Gerson had established an identifiable sound steeped in retro-long form classic rock.

MAGIC BUDDHA

Their music never fit in with the times, but their sound has proven to be timeless. Judging by the crowd’s reponse on October 26, MAGIC BUDDHA are more popular than ever.

MAGIC BUDDHA derives its name from a combination of Marc and Howard’s two former bands, WHITE MAGIC (1980-86) and BAD BUDDHA (1994-95).

Gerson and Nemaizer have shared the stage together many times and have collaborated on more than 150 songs over the past 45 years. Dreams of Yesterday’s Life marks the first volume of works released from thier song catalogue.

Much more to come . . . . . . .

The concert at Howard’s Bookstore featured JOE PYE and SKIN CRAWL was in support of AMERICAN AMNESIA .

At 8:45 PM on the evening of October 26, MAGIC BUDDHA hit the stage to a roaring crowd at Howard’s Bookstore to promote material from their new EP Dreams of Yesterday’s Life available on all music streaming platforms

The October 26th MAGIC BUDDHA performance celebrated the duo’s 45 year history and the renaissance of their collaboration. The forty minute set was recorded by Bryan Gerson and drops tomorrow November 11, 2024!

LIVE BUDDHA DROPS SOON!

Friends came from as far away at New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania to see the MAGIC BUDDHA and the band was well received by the local crowd.

Abigail Rickevicius‘ guest vocals on three tunes and Howard Nemaizer’s guitar shredding were among highlights of the evening.

Rickevicius’ mesmerized the audience with her performance of “It Will Be Alright,” a new song from MAGIC BUDDHA’s upcoming second EP, “Angels of Music,” slated for a late December, 2024 release.

LATE DECEMBER 2024

Stream, share and add LIVE BUDDHA to playlists on your favorite music streaming platforms!

source: Scott Andysiak Interview with Howard Nemaizer (10/30/24)

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