By D. Beall
They were three Catholic boys from Youngstown who rose to fame in the time of Hendrix, Joplin and The James Gang. “In the ‘70s we were known for improvisational, jam band stuff; we’d do these 20 or 30 minute jams.” I’m talking to Daniel Pecchio, one-third of the late ‘60s, early ‘70s rock n’ roll power trio Glass Harp. Pecchio is the lanky, bearded bassist of the band (and an accomplished flautist if you can dig that, and I think you can). With Phil Keaggy on guitar and John Sferra on drums, the still out-there Glass Harp is and was a wall of sound that would make Phil Spector do a cartwheel.
Glass Harp
Pecchio talks about drummer John Sferra. “He worked with this tiny little drum kit, like four drums and a cymbal. Still does. He had this massive foot. His foot hammered a pedal like it was a double bass drum.” Then there’s Phil Keaggy. Keaggy is definitely one of the most respected guitarists of all time, despite having only nine fingers. A long time ago, rumors spread that when asked who the greatest guitarist in the world was, Jimi Hendrix said “Keaggy.” “It’s a true urban legend. I still have people coming up to me claiming to have a Dick Cavett Show tape where Hendrix says that. We never pushed that rumor, you know, but it didn’t hurt us,” Pecchio laughs. “People were really impressed by him though. He had such a unique style. Phil would use his finger on the volume knob of his guitar and make it sound like a violin.”
We get on the topic of Hendrix. Pecchio has uninvented memories of Hendrix, but maybe not the kind he’d like. Jimi used Electric Lady Studios as a personal playground, but shortly before his death it was opened up for other recording artists, including Glass Harp. “We were the first band to record there. The week that we got there to do our first album, we came in one day, the mood of the place, you could see it on people’s faces. Everybody was sitting around, you could tell something was horribly wrong. They told us Hendrix was dead.”
Who were the wildest dudes they ever played with? “Humble Pie. They had this real crazy guy, Steve Marriott, as the singer; he was a real small guy with a really big voice. We played a gig with them at the Ludlow Garage in Cincinnati, and the Kinks were headlining and I’m thinking, man, these guys are really cool. We were up above the band looking over the railing and Marriott is just hurling these cockney obscenities down at the Kinks, and the Kinks just turned their backs, freaked out like ‘we don’t want any part of this’. We played with them [Humble Pie] a bunch of times. Marriott was like this mischievous little elf.” I can hear him smiling on the other end of the phone. He tells me about playing with Humble Pie, three and a half foot tall champagne bottles, parties, shows in Central Park, older women and Marriott’s antics. Most of it is off the record but can be summed up as a music geek’s wet dream. And there’s more. “We saw Alice Cooper in Kent when he first started. He was ripping apart pillows with his hands over the audience, with the feathers flying. He hadn’t quite gotten his thing together yet, you know with the guillotines and everything. He’s nothing like you’d expect, probably the most normal guy you’ve ever met.”
Glass Harp split up in ‘72. Keaggy had become a born again Christian right before the first album, and the band’s goals began to differ. “It was a difficult time for Phil personally. The pressure from his friends was immense.” Keaggy’s newfound faith divided fans into two groups: the Jesus freaks who wondered why Keaggy was playing amongst the sinners and secular fans who wondered why there were increasing numbers of Christians at the show. Keaggy departed the band to pursue success in the contemporary Christian music scene. He’s been the recipient of multiple Dove awards (it’s like a Christian Grammy) and nominated twice for the Grammys. It’s all cool with Pecchio. “There’s no hard feelings. Everybody’s completely fine with it.”
Pecchio went on to play with the Michael Stanley Band, among other things. He’s witnessed the evolution of the music industry as well. He talks about the lack of unity in the current music scene, and how things have changed (or not). “Things were totally different then. I mean any kid could go make a 45 and if it was any good they could get it played on their local radio station, and people would hear it, word of mouth would spread and they’d be requesting it in the next state and things would happen. There was a lot of solidarity. Nowadays it’s just every man for himself. Some things haven’t changed that much though. It used to be a dollar to buy a 45 single, and now it’s a dollar to download a song.” Now, maintaining a devoted fanbase and working for himself with all the avenues of promotion opened up to him thanks to today’s technology, things are a little more lucrative. “The money’s better,” Pecchio admits.
Glass Harp has reunited sporadically for shows since the breakup. “We’re barely a band. We don’t tour. But we take any excuse for us to get together. It’s not quite like the ‘70s all the time when you know every breath the other guys take.” Yet Glass Harp still gets to jam, and jam long and well, and those are the moments Pecchio treasures. They’ve just released another live CD called Live at the Beachland Ballroom 11.01.08. The highly improvisational Glass Harp really shines on this CD. Their multiple concert recordings have always added to their testament of creativity, and this album is no different, maybe even more old Harp than they’ve been in years. You can really see how they still pack the house (“40 years later there are still devout fans that follow us to shows” says Pecchio). Pecchio is content with all of this, but there are other reasons besides his career for his well-deserved sense of accomplishment. Pecchio is the father of Ted Pecchio, also a bassist who has worked and toured with Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, showcasing his skills on Grammy winning albums, an honor his father never had. “When I see his records up there on the wall next to mine, well, I just sit back like, ‘wow’. It’s amazing.”
Glass Harp & Phil Keaggy are playing July 10th at Nelson Ledges Quarry Park
(Phil Keaggy will be playing a solo show at The Winchester on July 9th)
