Danny Seraphine
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Daniel Seraphine (born August 28, 1948 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American drummer and producer. He is best known for being the talented original drummer and founding member of the rock band Chicago. His tenure with Chicago lasted until the year 1991.
By the late 1960s, Seraphine was drumming in various bands, including one with teen friends Walter Parazaider (saxaphone and woodwinds) and Terry Kath (guitar). Named at first "The Big Thing", the band eventually became Chicago after the addition of Lee Loughnane (trumpet), James Pankow (trombone), Robert Lamm (keyboards) and Peter Cetera (bass).
Once producer/manager James William Guercio got Chicago out to Los Angeles, things began to take off for Seraphine and the others. They managed to record their first album - a double album - in just two weeks, which they entitled after the band's name "The Chicago Transit Authority" and released in 1969. (The band would later shorten their name to Chicago). Famous for keyboardist Robert Lamm's songs, Kath's guitar, and trombonist James Pankow's brass arrangements, "The Chicago Transit Authority" also features the solid rhythm section of Seraphine on drums and Peter Cetera on bass guitar. Seraphine in particular shines on songs such as "Introduction", "I'm A Man", "Beginnings", and "Questions 67 and 68".
Creative and lightning-fast, Seraphine could expertly handle all aspects of the drums. He is well respected in the drumming community for being outstanding at incorporating cymbal playing into his drumming repertoire. Early Chicago efforts feature him bashing through classic rockers ("25 or 6 to 4"), doing his best Buddy Rich on jazz orientated pieces ("Devil's Sweet"), and sizzling in songs with drum solos ("Now More Than Ever," "Motorboat to Mars"). His funky backbeats were a highlight when the band went soulful ("Skin Tight").
Not much of a writer at first, Seraphine later ended up co-writing some hits ("Little One," "Take Me Back to Chicago"), some misses ("Show Me the Way," "Birthday Boy"), and some interesting misfires ("Street Player"). His writing partner was often the keyboardist for Chaka Khan and Rufus, David "Hawk" Wolinski.
After periods where at first Lamm and then Pankow were de facto leaders of the group, the mantle eventually fell to Seraphine (about the time of "Chicago XI" - 1977). According to Seraphine, this was because the others in the group were messed up on drugs. Kath's accidental death in 1978 should have served as a wake-up call, but, in fact, several band members attest that the situation only got worse. Seraphine, who was ostensibly the only sober guy, ended up investigating management. The fallout included the band's acrimonious split from Guercio and a series of lawsuits. But Seraphine's troubles were far from over.
In 1974, former Sergio Mendes session man Laudir De Oliveira had been added to the band as a percussionist (he'd done sessions with Chicago dating back to "VI"). In recent interviews, Pankow has said that De Oliveira was brought on board at Kath's insistence to keep the rhythm section on track. According to Pankow, Kath and others simply thought Seraphine wasn't playing up to standard. By the time Chicago rose from the ashes in 1982 with the release of "Chicago 16", pop music had fallen in love with the drum machine. Seraphine came to grips with the new technology, and "Chicago 17" and "Chicago 18" featured no live drums. The details are murky, but the story that emerges from bandmates is that Seraphine supposedly lost his 'chops' (Danny denies this, saying, "I'll always have chops"). By the time of album "Chicago 21" in 1991, session drummer Tris Imboden had taken over from Seraphine.
The truth may never be known about Seraphine's departure. In interviews, he says he's reluctant to go into details. He has indicated that political, behind-the-scenes machinations were responsible, and his statements - though vague - have a stabbed-in-the-back tone. In one or two instances (VH1's Behind the Music, for example), Seraphine has mentioned that he and all the other original band members had made a pact to stick together - a pact that was heartlessly broken with his release from the band. Bandmates such as Pankow assert that Seraphine didn't spend enough time practicing, and that live shows were disastrous because of it. The story goes that when an intervention didn't work, Seraphine was fired.
Since then, Seraphine has kept himself busy with a variety of musical and theatrical projects. Seraphine is now a producer living in L.A. after living many years in Colorado. He has been divorced at least once, and has several children (to some of whom he dedicated the song "Little One"). He worked with ex-CBS/Epic Records exec Ron Alexenberg, and co-produced and performed on Lyric's "Chocolate Soup" as well as their hit single, "Would I Lie".
In more recent years, Seraphine has turned his attention to producing and resourcing investment for Broadway shows (he and Scott Prisand have been instrumental in bringing the Andrew Lloyd Webber hit musical "Bombay Dreams" to Broadway, following its London run).
In early 2006, Danny Seraphine debuted a new band, The California Transit Authority, featuring himself on drums, Marc Bonilla on lead guitar, Mick Mahan on bass guitar, Ed Roth and Peter Fish on keyboards, Mike Wallace on guitar, and Robert Mason on vocals. Seraphine and Bonilla initially put a band together to play for several charity benefit shows. The response was so overwhelming that they decided to get serious and put a full 70-minute set together. Their first Los Angeles performance took place the Canyon Club on January 27th, 2006. They've performed several times since, and have more shows planned for 2006
Though Seraphine kept playing and never stepped away from the music business to manage acts and produce, The California Transit Authority is his first band since Chicago, and it is the first time in 15 years that he has played live with a band.
Included in the new band's repertoire are several Chicago covers, including “Make Me Smile”, “25 or 6 to 4", “South California Purples”, “Happy Cause I’m Going Home", “Devil’s Sweet", and Steve Winwood's "I'm A Man". Also included is a be-bop number co-written by Seraphine, which has a drum solo Seraphine describes as "challenging". Seraphine considers "Something Different", a hard driving jazz rock cover of a Cannonball Adderley number, to be the band's real calling card which shows off Bonilla's virtuosity, both as a player and an arranger. (Some above material is a rewrite/paraphrase from official press release)
[edit] External links
- Drummerworld entry.
- Chicago the band official website.
- A tribute site with biography.
- Official site of Danny's new band, California Transit Authority
- Danny Seraphine at the Internet Movie Database
| Chicago |
|---|
| Robert Lamm | James Pankow | Lee Loughnane | Walter Parazaider | Bill Champlin Jason Scheff | Tris Imboden | Keith Howland Terry Kath | Peter Cetera | Danny Seraphine | Laudir DeOliveira | Donnie Dacus | Chris Pinnick | Dawayne Bailey |
| Discography |
| Studio albums: The Chicago Transit Authority | Chicago | Chicago III | Chicago V | Chicago VI |Chicago VII | Chicago VIII | Chicago X | Chicago XI | Hot Streets Chicago 13 | Chicago XIV | Chicago 16 | Chicago 17 | Chicago 18 | Chicago 19 | Twenty 1 | Night & Day Big Band | Chicago XXX |
| Live albums: Chicago at Carnegie Hall | Chicago XXVI: Live in Concert |
| Compilations: Chicago IX - Chicago's Greatest Hits | Greatest Hits, Volume II | Greatest Hits 1982-1989 The Heart of Chicago 1967-1997 | The Heart of Chicago 1967-1998 Volume II | The Very Best of: Only the Beginning | Love Songs |
| Christmas albums: Chicago XXV: The Christmas Album | What's It Gonna Be, Santa? |
| Unreleased album: Stone of Sisyphus |
| Box sets: The Box |
