William Florian - Burnt Suite (Part. 1)
When and where were you born?
I was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1952.
What was growing up like for you?
Growing up in Canton Connecticut it was an ideal out in the country type of town. Enjoyed climbing trees, walking in the woods. Wonderful parents that always encouraged me to follow my dreams.
When did you first begin to fall in love with music and what initially fascinated you about it?
My mom played piano and I was influenced by her wonderful playing and having friends over for sing-along’s.
What inspired you to begin playing?
Like a lot of kids during that period, I saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show, heard all the girls screaming, and decided to make music my life! Before the Beatles I didn’t pay much attention to music. Mom and dad always encouraged my playing, even allowed me to grow my hair long and bought me an electric guitar when I was in sixth grade.
Did you go to many local shows in your area?
Didn’t go to very many local shows because I was usually performing myself.
Where would you go to see concerts and what was the first band you saw that made a huge impact on you?
I would often go to the concerts in the park in Hartford, also the Bushnell Memorial Theatre in Hartford to see touring bands. Of course the Beatles were a huge influence.
Did you participate in any groups prior to Burnt Suite?
In seventh grade I had a trio with some friends, they were older than me. And then in 8th grade a quartet called the Hellions. And then in 10th grade Woody Andrews, Jym Cifaldi, and I started performing and writing songs together. We were all about the same age, very creative! We originally named the band, Strange Brew, after the song by Cream. But the principal of the high school didn’t want the word ‘brew’, relating to beer, advertised on the walls of the high school for dances. So we changed the name. Burnt Suite meant…hot music. That name came from Pat and his sister Andrea Foster. They were originally with our group for about a year and then quit to do their own thing.
If so, can you tell me about some of those outfits and experiences? What style of music did you play?
Our music was varied and creative. We liked the folk rock music of the Byrds, also influenced by Grand Funk Railroad and other rock trios…
When and where was your first show that you ever played in front of a live audience and what was that experience like for you?
My first performance… I personally performed at Mary Jane Woodward‘s birthday party with my first trio when I was in seventh grade. I think we spent the night mostly playing a lot of G, C, and D kind of songs such as Louis Louis and Hang On Sloopy. Later with Burnt Suite we would sometimes create our own concerts by renting a hall somewhere and promoting it ourselves. It was always very exhilarating to perform.
How did you initially meet each other?
We met in high school. The three of us were in the same classes.
What were your first impressions of each other?
Always had lots of fun together and lots of laughs hanging out together. there were times when we would rehearse every day at my house in the basement.
When and where did the first jam session take place? What was the chemistry like between everyone? How did you guys come up with the name for the band? What was the overall vision for the group?
We wanted to be original and rock ‘n’ roll stars.
Can you walk me through the band’s process and approach to writing music?
Jymmy and I did most of the writing of the songs. Sometimes they were spontaneous at a practice. Often influenced by great melodic bass lines that Woody would come up with. Often times I would write a full song and teach it to the band the next day at rehearsal.
When and where was the band’s first gig and what was that experience like for you guys?
I don’t remember. Probably a high school dance.
How did the deal with BJW come about and can you tell me about writing as well as recording those songs that are featured on the LP?
BJW stood for Billy, Jimmy, Woody. We made it up. We decided to record an album of the songs we had already written. Woodys father was a singer and director of plays and helped us produce the record. We actually got $1000 loan from the local bank in Canton to record the album. Imagine that! I doubt that would happen these days. Probably Woodys father cosigned. I remember Jymmy’s father saying he doesn’t invest in things unless he knows they’re going to be successful. My father, and Woody‘s father, we’re always extremely supportive. I don’t remember how we chose the recording studio in East Hartford. Probably because it was the only one we knew about. It was a good experience there. Exciting for us to be in the studio. And also very interesting to see how much we still needed to learn about recording and playing more tight and singing in key. I wish I could go back and record that album again now. I am such a better singer now. Always in key.
When and where did recording begin in ‘72 and about how long was that particular process?
We were still seniors in high school when we did that record. So it had to be 1970 or 1971 when we began recording. We all graduated from high school in 1971. We actually took advance orders from other kids in high school to help finance the record. I remember our friend and equipment hauler Dave Ricard actually holding a kid up against the lockers (jokingly) until he paid ahead of time for the record.
What was that experience like for you recording that record and had you been in a studio prior to that?
It was a great learning experience and it was our first time recording. There’s something creative and wonderful about that record. However, I cringe a bit every time I hear it. I wish we had paid more attention to details.
Can you tell me about working with engineer Doug Clark and producer Steve Boyko?
I don’t remember much about Doug, he seemed to know his stuff as an engineer. I was a little bit miffed about the fact that when we got the records they were very thick and heavy vinyl. The newer records from the big record companies were thinner and shiny. Also, the fidelity of the record didn’t have the depth and volume that the new other popular records had. Back then I didn’t realize that we needed to pay more attention to the technical side of things like that. I wish I had known more and paid more attention to the mastering etc. Definitely a learning experience. Don’t remember how we met Steve Boyko. He was older, and helped us be a bit more polished and got us gigs here and there.
How did you guys initially get touch with photographer Janet Link?
I think she was a friend of Woody‘s father. We took those photos in an old barn out in the country in Canton. Don’t remember if we had permission to go into that barn! During that photo session, I started fooling around with the pitchfork that was laying on the floor, doing a Three Stooges kind of thing with it. When I saw what picture was chosen for the album cover I got a little embarrassed. Somebody recently said to me… “What was the symbolism of you and the pitchfork?” Kind of funny to hear that… It was just me being silly.
What was the first order of business once the record was released?
We mostly performed locally at events and dances. We sold the records ourselves at the venues. We didn’t really have somebody helping us to present ourselves nationally.
Did you set up any sort of tour, or line of gigs to support the record? What eventually led to the group’s disbandment?
The band broke up because I decided I wanted to move to Massachusetts and be near the ocean and Cape Cod. I just needed to spread my wings, travel, and experience other parts of the country! I think that if we had more direction and kept focused we could have gone national. The band wasn’t making much money, so I started playing music in piano bars and restaurants. Mostly pop cover stuff. My sister graduated from high school a few years later, and she and I bought a motorhome and traveled around the country for a year performing at different small venues. I had seen a small classified ad in the back of the musicians union magazine. It said… Singers wanted for The New Christy Minstrels.
I tore it out, put it in my wallet, and carried it around for a year or more. When we got into Los Angeles, we parked our motorhome in front of the management office of The New Christy Minstrels. With instruments in hand, we barged into the office. We told The secretary we wanted to audition. She said we’re not looking for any singers. Then she took a second look at how cute my sister was and that she played the upright bass. She went to the back office and brought the manager out. We sang a couple numbers for him, and talked a bit. He said don’t call us we’ll call you. So… I called him every week for a while, and then one year later as we were performing on Cape Cod at the Ground Round Restaurant in Falmouth, they called to have us join. Three days later we flew to Los Angeles and we toured with them in 1977.
These days I am still performing my show that I created called ‘Those Were The Days’™ at performing arts centers and community concerts all over the United States and even a tour of China. Jymmy Cifaldi (drummer) died in the mid-1990s of leukemia. Woody and I are still best friends and we tour together often performing my show. We had a wonderful tour together of performing arts centers in China in 2016. It was interesting to be contacted by Void Records. Never thought there would be an interest in our high school band. Does make me feel proud of we did back then. There are a lot of old high school friends on Facebook that say they still have our album! An original album actually sold on eBay a while back for $350! Feels good to be remembered and to know that we had fans back then. To this day I mostly perform because I enjoy bringing happiness and joy into peoples lives.
Here is my website. Please check it out:
william@florianmusic.comwww.thosewerethedays.org
Dakota Brown
