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Feb 24, 2016 · George Rossi, originally from Skaneateles, is being inducted into the Syracuse Area Music Awards Hall of Fame March 3. SYRACUSE — Every morning, George Rossi plays the piano. He doesn't...
- Reality Check
- The Genesis of Little Georgie
- Zodiac Thriller
- Shuffling at Styleen’S
- Big Easy Bound
- Waxing with Wexler
- Routed by Katrina
- Hungarian Games No More
- Shuffling with The Sammys
After years of roadwork with Kindergarten, The Works and the Neverlys, hard facts of rock’n’roll life would be drilled into him as a member of the Masters of Reality and The Bogeymen, two bands that featured the extraordinary electric guitar work and the ambitious rock compositions of Syracuse’s Tim Harrington. Rossi had been kicked out of the Mast...
Twenty-five years ago, while Crescent City rhythms inspired his music, the breakup of Rossi’s marriage inspired his personal transformation. “I mythologized my own life so I was able to say stuff that George Rossi would never say. Little Georgie was part Foghorn Leghorn and part Donald Trump,” Rossi says now. “He could out-drink, out-smoke, out-fuc...
Rossi was always learning something, and sometimes that meant learning how to scheme and manipulate. “Tom wanted to do a second Pushballs show at the Zodiac Club,” Rossi remembers. “Well, at the time I loved The Kingsnakes and I was dying to play with (drummer Mark) Tiffault and (bassist Paul) LaRonde. And now, with Tom Kenny, I had something to en...
About 1993, the Hungarians began a remarkable residency at Styleen’s Rhythm Palace, in Armory Square. It was another resurrection; Styleen’s was the site of the Zodiac Club at which an early version of the band tanked and nearly sank. The Styleen’s shows were nothing short of magical. Candles flickered at their feet as the various band members spor...
Rossi’s tireless self-promotion paid off in an unexpected manner. One Sunday morning, the phone rang: “This is Jerry Wexler,” a voice said. “Yeah, and I’m (record executive) Ahmet Ertegun,” Rossi shot back, assuming one of his musicians was pranking him. But it actually wasJerry Wexler, one of the top artists-and-repertoire (A&R) men in popular mus...
After 12 months of sweating and scuffling, Rossi learned the extent of Jerry Wexler’s reach. He was hired in 1999 to co-produce Life is a Carnival, a record showcasing the Mardi Gras Indian band Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolias. “The deal involved a ton of money and a cast of thousands,” Rossi recalls. “I mean we had Robbie Robertson, Dr. John, Bru...
In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina rocked Rossi’s world. He’d been playing one of the two copper-covered pianos at Pat O’Brien’s, home of the Hurricane cocktail. When the winds whipped up to 150 mph on Saturday, Aug. 27, and a voluntary evacuation was urged by Louisiana leaders, Rossi called the club to confirm its closing plans. “They said, ‘Hell, ...
In 2008, while still splitting time between Central New York and New Orleans, Rossi decided to revive Little Georgie with a show at the Inner Harbor, featuring what was left of the Shuffling Hungarians and a few members of the Wild Magnolias. “I pulled the old suit out of the closet for one more try, just to see if I could still fit in it, and mayb...
Over four years in the mid-1990s, Little Georgie and the Shuffling Hungarians won nine Syracuse Area Music Awards (Sammys). 1993: Best Blues Group (Hungarians) 1993: Best Blues Instrumentalist (Rossi) 1994: Best Soul or Rhythm and Blues Group (Hungarians) 1994: Best Rhythm and Blues Instrumentalist (Rossi) 1996: Best Soul or Rhythm and Blues Group ...
- Russ Tarby
Aug 19, 2023 · Rossi promptly ran home, took out his sisters' Clapton record and pulled the stereo next to the family piano, practicing that part throughout the night.
Feb 7, 2024 · George Rossi performs in his new production studio, the Womb Room of Hungaria. Provided. The Citizen staff. A Skaneateles native and Syracuse Area Music Awards Hall of Famer has released his...
Nov 21, 2011 · The very next day, Frenay called and asked Rossi if he’d like to play with him in the cover band The Neverly Brothers. “George said fine, if he could play guitar instead of piano,” Frenay says.
Nov 21, 2011 · George Rossi remembers the first time he saw Gary Frenay play music. Roll back the decades to 1978, when Rossi was a 17-year-old music lover and Frenay a 25-year-old member of Syracuse power...
WHEREAS, Under George Rossi's leadership, the New Orleans rhythm and blues inspired Shufflin Hungarians' self-released discs were the most globally successful throughout the history of the Central New York music
