Al Staehely

AUSTIN – Walking down Lavaca St. last night, we stumbled upon The Ginger Man, a cool club that houses yuppies in the front and live music in the back. We checked out the list and saw that former Spirit bassist Al Staehely was playing the 8 p.m. slot. We had planned on seeing Al tonight at the Saxon Pub (although he plays at midnight and after sleeping on air mattress last night, we’ll see), but we figured since we weren’t doing anything else we would pop in since his set just started.

To be honest, we were not expecting much, but man were we pleasantly surprised. Along with his guitarist brother, John, Staehely delivered a rockin’ 45 minute set that featured a blistering version of the Spirit classic “Got A Line On You.”

Replacing Jay Ferguson and Mark Andes and as Randy California took a break, the Staehely brothers played on Spirit’s 1972 album, Feedback, and put out an album on Epic under the name the “Staehely Bros,” a couple of years later. Since the mid-80s Staehely has played infrequently spending his time as an entertainment attorney dealing with the music and film industry. We caught up with him after the show to ask him how he balances being a lawyer by day and a rocker by night.

30 Days Out: I understand you didn’t play out for a long time. What made you want to get back on stage?

Al Staehely: When my son was born in 1985, I figured I needed to be a full-time lawyer. I kept playing around the house and for friends and family, and I would occasionally sit in with some people. What really got me playing again was Freddie (Krc, owner of Steady Boy Records and leader of Freddie Steady 5). He told me to come and be a guest on the Freddie Steady 5 show and that they would back me up. So I said OK. Then he invited me to a writer’s in the round acoustic deal. He made it real easy. I didn’t have to think about getting a gig or getting a band.

30 Days Out: I understand Freddie was instrumental in bringing the out-of-print Staehely’s Comet back to life?

Al Staehely: Yes, he started bugging me for a couple of years. He kept saying “it was released in Europe, but it’s never been released on CD in the states.” I owned it, and he said he wanted to release it on Steady Boy. He put it out under the name “Al Staehely and 10,000 Hours” last year. I have to credit Freddie with bringing my music career back to life. I’ve got some serious musicians behind me (brother John and drummer Mark Singer) and these are the same guys that played with me on the album.

30 Days Out: Many people know you from the band Spirit. Do you get a lot of request to play that stuff?

Al Staehely: We normally play longer sets than the 45 minute one we played tonight, so we do play those songs from time-to-time. We’ve been playing “Nature’s Way” lately. I like that one. It’s a Randy California song.

30 Days Out: Are you having fun doing this again?

Al Staehely: Yes. Playing with the band is great and I also do a lot of acoustic shows. When I play acoustic I do some other songs I wrote that are a little different. Now my son, Christian, is playing with me and opening some shows. He’s 26 now and graduated from Princeton in 2008. He was drafted by the Seattle Mariners as a pitcher where he played for a couple of years before he was let go. He played in Australia for a year then Italy. He’s been a musician since middle school, and a songwriter since high school, so he decided to hang up his spikes and get back to the music.

30 Days Out: How do you balance being a lawyer and a musician?

Al Staehely: Being a lawyer pays the bills. - 30 Days Out

Reissued in February on Freddie Steady Krc’s local Steady Boy Records, Al Staehely’s 10K Hrs. makes its bow both on CD and in the U.S. according to the bio. “10K Hrs. is the first step in Al’s long awaited and rockin’ return to stage and studio.” In fact Staehely played the Saxon Pub earlier this year.

Last year, combing through an avalanche of Rockpalast DVDs – see “Nasty Dogs & Funky Kings” – I came across Staehely singing and playing bass for the John Cipollina/Nick Gravenites Band in 1982. Staehely stole the show even from Cipollina, jet engine guitarist for Quicksilver Messenger Service.

Born in Austin, 1945, and receiving his law degree from UT in 1970, Houston has boasted Staehely's music-loving shingle since he put the rockin’ mostly on mothballs. This after famously leaving Texas to take command of 1960s/1970s California guitar psych act Spirit. And that’s California as in the group’s Hendrix-worshipping frontman, Randy California.

According to 10K Hrs. – noted by Randy Poe, who penned the long overdue Skydog: The Duane Allman Story – Staehely departed our nascent scene for the Left Coast once another formerly local bassist, Mark Andes, exited Spirit followed by its star guitarist. Staehely and his brother John helmed 1972’s Feedback, then disbanded the group the following year and formed their own band.

A decade later, Al Staehely joined the Cipollina/ Gravenites act having just cut the set that’s now 10K Hrs., with a band including local bass foundation Glen Fukanaga and a pair of Austin jazz institutions in Tomas Ramirez and John Mills. Released in 1982, it came out in Europe as Stahaley’s Comet (as opposed to Ace Frehley’s Comet in 1987), the titular spelling reflective of how to pronounce Staehely.

Better than average blues-rock, Staehely’s lively “Coastin’” ain’t exactly ZZ Top, but there’s plenty here calling for future releases. Staehely wrote seven of the album’s 10 tracks and co-wrote the remaining three. This new issue tacks on a bonus in star producer Andy Johns remixing “Ice On Fire.”

Cooker “Don’t Go Lookin’ for Love,” featuring the LP’s guitarist John Staehely, twang-banger “Hot Rods and Cool Women,” highlight of the Cipollina/Gravenites tour as witnessed by the rubber it lays down on the Rockpalast DVD, and tag-teaming Nashville rocker “Longshot” with Cowtown rockabilly in “Mr. X-Terminator” tap toes no problem. And when it’s just plain 1980s trash, it’s “Lovin’ Tuff” and the (clap-clap) of closing claptrap “Low Threshold for Pleasure.”

Either way, it’s high time for Al Staehely’s comet – old or new – to circle back round to our center of the musical universe. - The Austin Chronicle

Al Staehely is a fascinating character. He was a very successful singer/songwriter in the ‘70’s. Writing songs and singing for several bands, including: Spirit, The Staehely Brothers and The Nick Gravenites - John Cipollina Band. Staehely recorded on projects for Epic and Polydor Records and has had his songs recorded by artists including Keith Moon and Bobby Gentry (yes - Bobby Gentry). Al Staehely is currently working with Texas Music Hall of Famer Freddie Krc on a re-release of a 1982 project which was only released in Europe on Polydor Records. The record was originally called Staehely’s Comet but will be re-titled for it’s USA release on SteadyBoy records in the Fall of 2010. Chuck Savage interviews Al Staehely – Part One

Al Staehely lives a different life today than he did in his early career. Al is a successful music attorney in Houston with an impressive client roster including: the late great Stevie Ray Vaughan, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Topp, J.C.Crowley, Foghat, Andy Johns, Kings X, Blue October and Tejano musical groups La Mafia, Fama and Mazz. Al Staehely was also a co-owner of Viceroy Music Inc., based in New York with offices in Houston and Germany. Viceroy’s artist roster included: Alvin Lee, Mick Taylor, Steve Lukather, The Stranglers and Houston based blues rock band Sunset Heights and many others. Read more about Al Staehely’s law practice at http://www.music-lawyer.com/bio.html Chuck Savage interviews Al Staehely – Part Two

We were honored to have Al Staehely perform on a recent episode of Honky Tonk Happy Hour. Al is as great live in 2010 as he was back in the 1970’s. He performed several songs for us and I have included one of his original compositions in this article for all my readers to enjoy. The song is entitled feeling the heat and it tells a very colorful story of a young Texas boy’s experience in New York City on the 4th of July. Al Staehely performs "Feelin The Heat” on a recent episode of Honky Tonk Happy Hour - No Depression

As the final piece on Radio X reporter Paul Heath's recent trip to Texas in the USA - looking at the music scene - from the Blues music trail to the South by South West music festival; Paul's final feature has him track down American musician, Al Staehely - who, having made his professional name in the music industry with American rock band 'Spirit' looks back over a career spanning more than 40 years.

In this exclusive, at-home-interview, this get-together with Al Staehely delves into his past and now present, giving us a glimpse into this still-performing talent's life and times, and some of his memories - from then to now...

Be especially sure to listen out for the story about Keith Moon; and when legendary drummer Cozy Powell turned up, and the bit about Don Henley with the Eagles! - RadioXBrussels