Updated Joe Viglione biography

JOE VIGLIONE
 
Joe Viglione founded one of the Boston-area's earliest independent record labels in 1976. In addition to issuing dozens of singles and albums by New England bands, Joe negotiated and released the critically-acclaimed debut 45 RPM from Velvet Underground drummer Maureen Tucker, the Lou Reed composition "I'm Sticking With You." A frequent music writer and historian, Viglione has contributed to the monthly Musician's magazine in the 1970s and 1980s, and he wrote extensively on a variety of subjects for the innovative AllMusic.com and AllMovie.com. 

Viglione has often commented on the legacy of Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground. As music critic, Joe recognized the importance of Mitch Ryder's pivotal Detroit lp, and the essential role it played in launching the legendary Rock n' Roll Animal tour. Separately, he has reviewed the recordings of Rock 'n' Roll Animal guitarists Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter (along with essaying Hunter's bio)  who together went on to play in the Alice Cooper band.

On his one-hour television series Visual Radio (as well as his terrestrial radio programs on), Joe has logged nearly 1,000 hours of interviews, notably talking with Lou Reed, John Cale, Steve Hunter, Dick Wagner, and many others.  He directed the first documentary/concert film on Marty Balin of The Jefferson Airplane, and he has produced hundreds of audio recordings including some by bluesman Buddy Guy accompanied by guitarist Nils Lofgren and vocalist Genya Ravan. Joe Viglione is currently the producer of the forthcoming Bobby Hebb/Sunny box set, and he serves as president of the website SunnytheSong.com. More information on his work can be found on   http://joeviglione.com



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Joe Viglione is the Chief Film Critic at TMRZoo.com. He has written thousands of reviews and biographies for AllMovie.com, Allmusic.com, Gatehouse Media, Al Aronowitz’s The Blacklisted Journal, and a variety of other media outlets. Joe also produces and hosts Visual Radio, a seventeen year old variety show on cable TV which has interviewed Jodie Foster, director/screenwriter David Koepp, Michael Moore, John Cena, comics/actors Margaret Cho, Gilbert Gottfried, Gallagher, musicians Mark Farner and Don Brewer of Grand Funk Railroad, Ian Hunter of Mott The Hoople, Ray Manzarek, John Densmore, Felix Cavaliere of The Rascals, political commentator Bill Press and hundreds of other personalities

Marty Balin Live on the Boston Esplanade June 14, 2008

From the Producer/Director - Joe Viglione - who negotiated the contract and filmed the main camera, bringing together 7 of the 9 cameras utilized to film this 2008 concert at the WODS Summer Concert Series in Boston.
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This Marty Balin DVD is the "ultimate fan package"...meaning, rather than allow unauthorized tapes to flourish we got footage together from both professionals and people who are long-time Balin supporters who wanted to run cameras at the June 14, 2008 concert in Boston. The spirit of the recording was to document a rare Balin gig a la Cracker & Camper Van Beethoven's "The First Annual Camp Out Live at Pappy and Harriet's P". It's a 9 camera shoot utilizing 7 of the cameras in the edit. Don't expect a multi-million dollar production - this disc is a labor of love spanning 14 years beginning with an interview from 1995. As the 1995 concert footage that accompanied the original television broadcast interview was Jefferson Starship material we decided to film a new concert with Marty's band. Balin was originally scheduled to open for Johnny Rivers in 2007 but due to a prior commitment with Jefferson Starship in New York the date got moved to June of 2008 - a gig with the group/duo America at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade (same venue Rivers played the year before).

The cover photo is not from this America/Balin concert...that's a picture that former Jefferson Starship lead singer Darby Gould took from the stage when Marty was in the latter-day J.S....and we thank her for such a beautiful and mysterious shot. Marco Centola and Rob Fraboni remastered the two-track soundboard audio...D.J. Eli Polonsky at WMBR in Cambridge/Boston played "Somebody To Love" on the air and it sounded great coming over the radio. Marty Balin was interviewed by Polonsky on Tuesday, November 24, 2009 and when the DJ noted that singer Didi Stewart is a legendary Boston figure Marty said immediately "She's a great singer!" As producer/director I would love to see an extended version of this DVD a few years from now...and maybe an audio CD mixed from both the soundboard and the multiple cameras. The August 1976 hit "With Your Love" was performed in the studio practice at Newbury Media on 6-13-08 the day before the show and is probably up somewhere on the web as a trailer for this project, though that classic wasn't performed the next night at the show. Those songs were digitally recorded, multi-track, at the world class facility which has gold and platinum for Marky Mark, New Kids on The Block and other major recording artists. Three of the Newbury Media rehearsal sessions are on this DVD - Essra Mohawk's "Shaping The Night", a second version of the Jesse Barish classic "Count On Me" and Balin's own "Somehow The Tired Reach Home". 

It is my hope that everyone gets to see the genius of Marty Balin 39 years after he performed at Woodstock and enjoys this presentation that we put a lot of time and love into, released on the 40th Anniversary of the Woodstock event. Four of the songs the Jefferson Airplane performed at Woodstock appear on this disc recorded 4 decades after the Summer of Love.

As noted above I'm the producer/director of this document. The 5 star rating I give it is for Marty Balin's performance and the performances of singer Didi Stewart, keyboard player Gordon G.G. Gebert (of a latter day version of the group Angel), bassist Dave Trupia (also on Marty's upcoming CD) and the extraordinary Donny Baldwin, drummer with Elvin Bishop Group and the latter day Starship (the Mickey Thomas version of the band after Marty Balin went solo). It was an absolute honor to work with these talents and it is my hope that the public enjoys this recording for what it is: an historical record of a rock & roll hall of famer with no frills and lots of bonus material including interviews with Signe Anderson, Jeff Tamarkin and Marty Balin himself.