Drummer Vitale to participate in event at Lemon Grove
Joe Vitale has had an all-star career as a rock ’n’ roll drummer.
The list of acts that the Canton native has played and recorded with is mind-blowing: Joe Walsh, the Eagles (he played on “Hotel California”), Crosby, Stills & Nash, Jackson Browne, Ted Nugent, the Michael Stanley Band, the Beach Boys, Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, Buffalo Springfield and Dan Fogelberg.
Vitale, who still lives in Canton, will appear at The Lemon Grove on Saturday for a cider- tasting event that will serve as a launching platform for the Ballyhoo Festival, which will be Aug. 25-26 at several bars in downtown Youngstown.
He’ll be joined by his son, Joe Vitale Jr., who also is a musician. Vitale Jr.’s band will play at Saturday’s event. And both Vitales are on the bill for the second annual Ballyhoo festival, which raises money for cancer research.
It’s been a while since Vitale Sr. played the Youngstown area. The most recent time was with Crosby, Stills & Nash, which played at the Canfield Fair in 2003. Before that, he recalls playing at Idora Ballroom many years ago.
Vitale’s career began in the mid-1960s, when he formed a band in his hometown called The Chylds. He hooked up with Joe Walsh while attending Kent State University (he was there for the May 1970 shootings), touching off a career that ran right through the rock heyday of the 1970s.
Vitale’s career has temporarily slowed, but there is talk of getting back on the road with Walsh.
In 2008, Vitale released a full-length album titled “Speaking In Drums,” which he described as old-school classic rock.
All that time on the road at the top of the rock heap also generated some wild stories. Vitale gives an insider’s peek at the scene in his 2008 book “Backstage Pass.”
He calls it a humorous memoir of the crazy stuff that happens on the road — and on the tour bus, in the airport and in the recording studio — with hundreds of photographs. What it’s not is a sordid tell-all; Vitale steers clear of the dirt.
Signed copies of “Backstage Pass” and “Speaking in Drums” will be for sale at Saturday’s event at the Lemon Grove.
Following in his father’s footsteps is Vitale Jr., who first approached Ballyhoo. Joe Jr. said his band likes doing benefit shows and was looking to play in the Youngstown area. Ballyhoo was a perfect fit.
Vitale Jr. will do an acoustic set at Saturday’s cider tasting but will perform with his full band at Ballyhoo.
In 2008, he released “Dancing With Shadows,” an album that he describes as “Nine Inch Nails meets The Who.” Both father and son played on each other’s albums.
The younger Vitale plans to release a couple of records this year.
He’s also raising money to produce a film called “Encryption,” which he will direct. “Encryption” is a psychological thriller based on the music industry.