Sonobeat Artists
Vince Mariani
From jazz to drum rock and making it look easy
Vincent (Vince) Mariani Jr., whose father was an internationally-acclaimed art professor at The University of Texas (he was commissioned to create the 1976 Olympic poster), studied under Ravi Shankar and legendary drummers Herbie Rich and Gene Krupa, developing a complex jazz-rock style using a larger kit – including double bass drums – than most other jazz or rock drummers. He came by his musical talents somewhat naturally: both parents were musicians, and his mother was classically-trained. In January 1969, when the Joseys delivered the Johnny Winter album master tapes to Liberty Records in Los Angeles, they toured several Hollywood recording studios and at Wally Heider’s legendary studio had control room seats for a recording session with noted jazz-rock drummer Sandy Nelson, who had released a string of successful drum specialty singles and albums throughout the ’60s. When the Joseys met Vince later in the year, Bill Sr. recalled Sandy’s session and, always up for an experiment, proposed that Vince record a pair of drum solos for release as a Sonobeat stereo single.
Vince Mariani was an incredible drummer and probably one of the most creative people on the planet. He played drums in the Austin High School band, but they didn’t make him march. During the football games, they brought a stage out and set his drums up, and he played a drum solo. On the football field!”
In July ’69, the Joseys built a drum and vocal isolation booth at their home-based Western Hills Drive studio in northwest Austin, and there they recorded Vince performing his compositions Pulsar and Boots. Because there were no other instruments to simultaneously record, almost every piece in Vince’s kit was individually miked, providing a very detailed stereo mix. Despite what many thought after hearing Vince’s single, Vince overdubbed nothing. He was just that good. Nonetheless, Rim suggested adding effects to Pulsar, and, apropos of the song’s title, gave it a light flangingFlanging is a sweeping audio frequency comb filter created by playing two identical tapes on synchronized tape decks and recording the combined output onto another tape deck while lightly and alternately dragging a thumb on the outer flange of each tape reel during playback; the resulting slight frequency offsets create a swooshing sound. Modern digital audio workstations create a similar effect with the turn of a knob., much like he had given the Lavender Hill Express single, Watch Out!, the year before. The flanging imparted a distinctive otherworldly swooshing or tunnel effect to Pulsar. It became the “A” side of Sonobeat stereo 45 RPM single R-s116, which Sonobeat released near the end of ’69. Unfortunately, Vince’s single was a commercial failure – drum solos were already wearing thin when Pulsar was released, as Doug Hanners noted in his 1977 Not Fade Away Texas music fanzine article about Sonobeat – but the Joseys sensed that Vince’s remarkable talent and almost otherworldly charismatic personality could anchor a blues-rock band, and that was the next chapter in Vince’s story.
Following a prolonged illness, Vince passed away on April 20, 2022.
My life changed in so many ways because of meeting Vince. He introduced me to the music of Wes Montgomery. He inspired me to really listen to what the Beatles lyrics were trying to say in songs like ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ and ‘Within You and Without You’. He was a real seeker and sparked my interest in spiritual and metaphysical concepts which he was always dedicated to and he inspired me to become a vegetarian.”
Pulsar
Recording and release details
45 RPM stereo single
“A” side: Pulsar (Vince Mariani) • 3:09
“B” side: Boots (Vince Mariani) • 3:22
Catalog number: R-s116
Generic sleeve
Released week of November 24, 1969*
*Release date is approximated using best information available from the Sonobeat archives and public records
Produced by Bill Josey and Rim Kelley
Engineered by Rim Kelley
Recorded at Sonobeat’s Western Hills Drive studio, Austin, Texas, on August 15 and 16, 1969
Recorded using...
- ElectroVoice 665 dynamic, ElectroVoice Slimair 636 dynamic, and Sony ECM22 electret condenser microphones
- Scully 280 half-inch 4-track and Ampex 354 quarter-inch 2-track tape decks
- Custom 10-channel portable stereo mixer
- Custom steel plate stereo reverb
- Ampex 681 tape stock
Approximately 1,000 copies pressed; labels of 75-100 copies overprinted with “PROMO” and “NOT FOR SALE”
Lacquers mastered and vinyl copies pressed by Sidney J. Wakefield & Company, Phoenix, Arizona
Label blanks printed by Powell Offset Services, Austin, Texas
In the dead wax...
- Pulsar: 12719 R-S116A HEC
- Boots: 12719 R-S116B HEC
- The tulip shape stamped next to the matrix number is the Sidney J. Wakefield logo. “HEC” are the initials of the Wakefield mastering engineer.