The Frank & Joe Show: Looking for a Long, Happy Run

AAJ: You guys do other stuff as well and keep pretty busy;

Joe: It's an interesting time. Yes. This is a stepping back, or looking at it from afar. It's a big, interesting transitional period. Because we're naturally moving in this Frank and Joe direction, which is the culmination of a lot of music. The answer to your question is: yes. There's a lot of variety in the career, in the craft, being an itinerant musician or an independent artist getting calls for recordings and tours and things like that. But it's an interesting time right now because we have this project and it's a big transition.

Frank: I kind of do three and a half things right now. I play with Mark O'Connor and his Hot Swing Trio. And then I play with Les Paul every Monday. And then for the half, I do a lot of little guitar things. Like I'll do something with Bucky Pizzarelli or Gene Bertoncini, kind of like my heroes. It's really fabulous to be able to play with my heroes, if you want to put it that way. And then the other thing is the Frank & Joe Show. I try to juggle all the schedules, while watching the Frank & Joe Show move ahead. It's like the Kentucky Derby. "Come on, Frank & Joe! Come on, Frank & Joe! It's Frank & Joe by a nose!"

AAJ: You guys both did that Goodfellas album with Joey DeFrancesco.

Joe: Two-thirds of the Goodfellas project is sitting right here. Actually half. Joey's a big guy. [laughter]. That guy can swing you right off a bandstand.

Frank: He can eat you right off the bandstand too, I tell ya. It took us like three hours to make that record. We would go to the studio. We would hang out. Tell jokes. Then someone'd say, "OK, let's try 'O Solo Mio.'" And we'd go in there. At the end of the record, we said, "Oh wow. We did all Italian songs." [laughter]. The amazing thing about Joey DeFrancesco is, from the first recording I heard of him at 17 years old on Columbia [ All of Me , 1989], he plays like no one else.

Joe: Ridiculous.

Frank: Unbelievable. Then I heard him with McLaughlin . He just sort of showed up on that gig. John showed him all the parts. That night, he had John McLaughlin's book down! On the sound check.

Joe: Really. He said he brought [the sheet music] to the hotel room and it was all this chicken scratching and he said, "I can't read this shit. Are you kidding me?" and he tore it apart. He shredded it. He's incredible.

Frank: It's amazing.

AAJ: He revitalized that whole instrument. Now there's a lot of B-3 players out there.

Frank: Yeah.

Joe: And he probably owns 50 percent of the B-3s on the planet. He's got like 30 of them.

Frank: Yeah. In a warehouse in the desert in Arizona. That's where he lives. It's all in a climate controlled room. He has, like 70 organs. He goes on the road and he goes to churches. Someone will tell him there's a B-3 for sale and he'll go buy that.

AAJ: You guys have great attitudes. It's healthy.

Joe: It reflects life. Do some fun things. Celebrate. Have a little joy. Play some great music. Smile. Get people involved.

Frank: [Parting shot, said deliberately loud enough for Mazzaroppi to hear in the next room:] Now if you know any bass players that are available...

AAJ: I'll look around...