Gary James' Interview With Pat DeSalvo Of
Savoy Brown



They were one of the premier 1960s British blues bands in London. Formed in 1965, they began releasing records in 1966. Many of the group's singles and albums have charted on Billboard. Throughout the '60s, '70s and '80s songs such as "I'm Tired", "Train To Nowhere", "Tell Mama" and "Lay Back In The Arms Of Someone" became Billboard Hot 100 entries. Two of the band's albums in the '70s, "Looking In" and "Hellbound Train" appeared on the Billboard Top 40 charts and "Street Corner Talking" charted in the Billboard Top 100. The band's "Witchy Feelin'" album, released in 2017, reached number one on the Billboard Blues Chart.

Through the years, the band headlined concerts at the world's most prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall, The Fillmore East, The Fillmore West, and London's Royal Albert Hall. Just some of the bands who opened for and toured with them include KISS, ZZ Top, and The Doobie Brothers. The founder of this group, Kim Simmonds passed away December 13th, 2022 at the age of 75. The group we are talking about is Savoy Brown.

Savoy Brown released an album titled "Blues All Around" (Quarto Records) on February, 17, 2023. Bassist Pat De Salvo, a Syracuse, N.Y. native, now calling Florida his home, was part of Kim Simmonds' Savoy Brown and a part of "Blues All Around". We talked with Pat De Salvo about his background and what it was like to be part of such a legendary band.

Q - Pat, the obvious question, how can there be a Savoy Brown without Kim Simmonds?

A - Well, I gotta be honest with you, there probably wouldn't be or won't be because you're correct, without Kim, I don't know what anybody is planning on doing. My take is, and I've had this conversation with Kim over the years when we'd be traveling, he always wanted me to keep the band together. I said, "Well, the band's really you." It'd be like Eric Clapton and someone going, "Yeah, I'm the Eric Clapton Band." It just wouldn't transpire to me. But, I don't know what's planned right now. Right now I'm just working on trying to get this record as much exposure as I can and trying to help Debbie and Evie, his wife and daughter. So, that's my whole thing. But, you're right about that. Personally, I don't know how there could be a Savoy Brown without Kim. It's pretty hard.

Q - That you're able to carry on using the name Savoy Brown tells me that Kim Simmonds and/or a relative, maybe his wife, made provisions for that to happen. Would that be correct?

A - You know, I don't know. Right now, me and Garnet, the drummer, are both playing with a guy, Sean Chambers. Sean was in Blackfoot. He's got eight albums out on his own. He was in this Blues band, Hubert Sumlin, for years. We met Sean in Iowa at a festival and we just became friends. He wanted to meet Kim. Kim really liked him a lot. As Kim's health really started degrading, I had gotten offers to do things, but I didn't pursue anything. I didn't contact anybody. Sean had a tour coming up in Europe last October (2022) and me and Garnet did the tour with him. Every couple days we would talk to Kim and text and tell him what's going on. He really wanted us to keep playing. He knew he could no longer play.

Q - You were a part of Savoy Brown for how long? Since 2009?

A - Yeah. 2009 'til now. I'd been recording with Kim, and I can't remember exactly when. Remember Copperfields?

Q - Yes. On the South side of Syracuse.

A - Right. It was playing there one night with the Doyle Whiting Band. I got through playing and I looked down the bar and I see Kim. I'm like, "What the hell is he doing here?" I didn't know he lived in the area. I went over and introduced myself to him. We talked for awhile and then we developed a friendship where we would talk to each other periodically. Just about stuff. He was a very interesting man. It came up he needed a bass player for his acoustic, solo record and I played upright bass on that. When I got to the studio, Garnet came. I was already at the studio. I didn't know Garnet was going to be there. I didn't know what was going on at all. Greg Spencer had set it up. They just told me to come out and bring your upright and we're going to record some stuff. So, that was my first recording with Kim and then I did another record right after that. I did a couple Jimmy Cavallo records. He was a character. Oh my God, he cracked me up. So, I did two of Jimmy's records and then I did another record with Kim. Then, I asked Kim to guest on a Tom Townsley record I did. And he did that. At this point I'd done five records with him and we had a friendship. Then his bass player got very sick. I believe he got a quadruple bypass. And he had this big tour coming up. He asked me to do it. At first I said no. He thought it was a money thing. He said, "I'll offer you more money." I said, "No. You're not getting this. I could not go onstage and play unless I really knew the material. I wouldn't want to make the band look bad." So, he had gotten another bass player from New York City and ironically the guy had other commitments. So, Kim had called me back. I talked Garnet into learning all these songs I was gong to be playing and we went out to Kim's house and we rehearsed. If I'm gonna play I want to do the best I can. A lot of people thought I was an ass or whatever, because people would call me to play with them and I wouldn't play because I don't know what you're doing. I'm not going to walk onstage and not play well or ruin your gig. I just wouldn't do that. I had one band, and I'm not gonna tell you the name, but the guy was like, "You're just being an ass by not doing this. You're an egomaniac!" I'm going, "You're taking this so wrong. I'm not a great bass player. I'm functional. I'd really like to learn the material and do the best I can for somebody." You get that every once in awhile from people. I wasn't trying to blow anybody off. If I could have done the gig, I probably would have done the gig, but I didn't feel comfortable doing it and I did that with Kim. We wouldn't be talking right now if this other guy didn't have commitments, this other bass player from New York. He probably would have ended up using him. I also had a full-time job the whole time I was playing with Kim and I'm still working full-time now doing I.T. work.

Q - You're a busy guy!

A - Yeah. (laughs) A little too busy.

Q - What did it mean for you when you joined forces with Kim Simmonds? I guess you toured all over the world, didn't you?

A - Yeah.

Q - What did you get out of it?

A - At first it became very humbling because once again there's a lot of really good musicians in Syracuse, New York that should be doing this, that have the opportunity to do this. So, it was very humbling for me to be in Vienna or Tokyo or Rio or Vancouver. I could go on and on. It was very humbling. I go, "This is what I always dreamed of and I'm actually doing it with an incredible musician, great songwriter." You look at the history that he had over the years and I kept going, "What the hell am I doing here?" But, I took it and I decided this is an opportunity for me to grow as a musician and get better. So, I really took myself to task to be better. I really worked on the material. You know what it did? It's a good question you asked because it validated me as a person. It's like you did this, you can do this. You're doing it at a very good level. You're incredibly lucky to be able to do this. So, try to do it the right way and not screw up. But that's a good question. It meant a real lot to me. Friends and family that I had were very happy for me. Let's face it, I'm gonna be 68 in May (2023). When I joined Kim I was old. (laughs) I never thought I'd be doing what I was doing. I remember he sent me a bunch of dates and I was looking at these and going, "What's DE?" And it was Germany. So, I called him up and said, "Am I going to Europe?" And he goes, "Yeah. Do you got a passport?" "Yeah, I happen to have a passport." So, it's kind of overwhelming sometimes. Let's think about it. Let's put things in perspective. I'm playing Shifty's or the Dinosaur, and now I'm playing theatres and festivals in Sweden or wherever the hell we are. So, it was a little overwhelming sometimes. But, I really put it in perspective and I grew with him. The reason me and Garnet lasted so long, to be honest with you, we had both met Kim prior to playing in the band. The three of us had developed a bit of a relationship and he really respected that we did these day jobs and we supported people and we did the best we could. But, we also looked at each other and there was a respect there, where you respect somebody and you're going to do the best you can for them. I can't say I was always like this either. So, I don't think I had my shit together. I didn't. You start realizing opportunities when they come and take advantage of them. See, Ricky (Ric Cua, Pat De Salvo's cousin) had set up an audition for me with The Outlaws. I remember talking to David Dix and Hughie Thomasson. They got a hold of me and said, "Hey, we've seen you play before." Ironically, I believe it was at Copperfield's. I remember Hughie or Dave said, "You know what? There's a reason for that. I really sing very good." (laughs) So, I didn't get the gig. I think they wanted me to come to Gainsville. I said, "I can't sing those parts like my cousin did. I'm not going to waste your time." So, I had let that go. After that I said if an opportunity comes, why don't you try to be prepared for it. Even though I was playing in local bands, I tried to do a good job. I tried to grow. There were moments when I didn't, I have to be honest with you. It becomes a job sometimes. You're working all week and all of a sudden it's your third gig that week. It was hard to get up for certain gigs sometimes. I wish I had played better, especially if people are paying to see you play, which has seemed to have left the area quite a bit. There are very few venues that charge for 'live' music. They'll charge for a dance club, but they won't charge for guys who bring their gear in and spend eight hours getting there and practice. That sort of went away over the last couple decades. When I first started playing back in the '70s there was always a cover to see a band.

Q - You're talking about Syracuse, right?

A - Yeah. I'm talking about our hometown. You would go to Lost Horizon or The Brookside. There was a cover charge to see the band. That sort of disappeared over the years. Why do you think it disappeared?

Q - When the drinking age went from 18 to 19, that didn't help. And of course it, the drinking age, was later raised to 21.

A - Right. You gotta be responsible. So, I got that. But, there were so many clubs all over the place.

Q - Did Kim ever tell you stories about the people he met in the 1960s?

A - Oh, my God, yes!

Q - Did he ever meet Jimi Hendrix or The Stones or The Beatles?

A - He met Jimi Hendrix. All those guys pilfered each other's musicians. Dave Walker was in Savoy Brown, but then all of a sudden he was in Black Sabbath for awhile. Then he was in Fleetwood Mac. All the guys in Foghat were all in Savoy Brown and they got Rod Price to play guitar with them. Paul Raymond I believe went on to UFO. I think he was in Chicken Shack with Stan Webb, who ironically we did a show with him. In 2019 was played Chelsea's, where the football team is. Chelsea Stadium. There's a venue there called Under The Bridge and we played there. Stan Webb opened us up. And Christine McVie was the keyboard player for that band, But, Kim did the first (Led) Zeppelin tour I believe, and he toured with Zeppelin over in Canada and he did a bunch of the first Cream shows. I remember one time I was in Portland, Oregon and someone goes, "Oh, I saw you with Pink Floyd at the Spectrum." And I'm just looking at this guy like I wish I was there. I remember I said, "No. I wasn't in the band then." Kim came over later and said, "Always let 'em keep their memory. So just tell 'em yeah." People would say, "Geez, you lost your accent." I got a lot of that too.

Q - And some guys in Syracuse put on a British accent.

A - I know. (laughs) I'm pretty much me. I've come with some baggage over the years, but I've kind of grown up a little bit here and there. I just try to be the best I can be as a person and not be a nit-wit. When you pick up an instrument when you're young, the whole world is open to you. You've gotta be a dreamer to try and be a musician. I was in my thirties and I hadn't really worked at all. I just played. I was on the road. I hadn't done anything. I attempted, but nothing happened. I did start playing with Joe (Whiting) and Mark (Doyle) for awhile. I think I played like seven years with those guys. You got these dreams and you just want them to happen. Sometimes you'll sit there and you'll be that "Why me?" moment. "Why am I not doing anything?" Well, maybe 'cause you're not that good. (laughs) Maybe 'cause you can't write songs. You can't sing that good. But once again, it's a perspective thing. I think a lot of people can't look in the mirror, me included, and think, "You know what? You're really not that good." There's so many bands that came out of Syracuse that didn't do anything, The Flashbacks. I liked them a lot. They were really a good, top, Rock band. And they had a concept. Masters Of Reality was another band. CRAC (Cua, Rozzano, Arlotto, Chisolm) was another band. The Works, Eddie Hammell. Eddie's got a great career going. He's doing really well for himself. But, I went to high school with the guys in The Works. They were a really good band. But, there were a ton of bands. 805 was another (band). They were really good musicians. They wrote some good stuff. Todd Hobin. Who do you think was really good that should have made it, but didn't?

Q - In 1975 I saw Elf at The Brookside. Of course they had a record deal, and Ronnie James Dio went on to bigger and better things. I thought Elf was a great band.

A - Oh, my God. Yeah.

Q - There was another band out of Rochester, New York called Wale. Those guys could rival anything out there on the national stage.

A - And Danny and Mike Coward, the Coward Brothers were phenomenal. I forgot all about them. Jam Factory was a great band too. Ricky Cua actually did something and he's actually a really good person. I talk to him every month or so. We'll text or I'll talk to him. He's my cousin. Buz(zy) Cua was my guitar teacher (Rick Cua's father) Then I started playing bass, and drove Buzzy nuts because I've got like ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and back they they didn't know what ADD was. You were just a bad kid. I remember he would try to get me to relax. He'd go, "Patrick, you've got to relax." It was just like, it was not going to happen. I was always on ten and I'm still like that.

Q - Did you take your lessons at Buz Cua Music in Shop City?

A - No. Actually I worked at the store and I taught bass there. They gave me a job there at Shop City.

Q - Did your cousin Ric give you any advice before you went on the road with Kim Simmonds?

A - Well, he never did, but when I was younger he just told me, "Play every gig you can. Learn as much as you can and listen." That was all good advice. He was always telling me things to do, to be honest with you. He was always giving me advice on everything. I used to hang out at his house on the North side, him and Diana and the kids. I can't remember the street. Ric is a really good man. He's a really good guy. I have tremendous respect for him.

Q - Can you name some of the bands you were in here in Syracuse?

A - Oh, my God. Well, you know the Joe (Whiting) and Mark (Doyle) thing with The Backsliders. I played with Phil Petroff. I played with Bernie Clarke. I played with The Penguins. I just did a lot of gigs. I had my own band with Tim Harrington. We were on the road for awhile. It was a lounge band. We hated it, but we worked six nights a week and we would be booked forty-eight weeks straight through the year. That's where I developed my playing. Anything you're doing, any craft you're doing, whatever you're doing, if you're a carpenter or a plumber, the more you do it, the better you get at it. We played for several years. I finally left the band and went to Europe. I said, "I'm going to London." The Punk scene was happening. "I'm gonna try to get myself a gig there." It didn't happen. Actually, I got thrown out of the Marquee Club. There was a bunch of Punk Rock bands playing and I got thrown out.

Q - Why would that have been? Did you boo 'em?

A - No. I was just being me. I had a couple of beers in me. "We'll get rid of this American right now, before he causes any trouble."

Q - So, you're in Florida, working a full-time job.

A - Yes, I am.

Q - How much work is there in Florida for a band? Are there places to play?

A - There are places to play, but it's changed all over. Dave Frisina is down here. He's not far from me. Dave was commenting, "Man, I think there's more work in Syracuse than there is in some of these cities down here and towns." The music that is coming out now is very manufactured. It's not like it was before. There's music out there, but for local bands a lot of them are doing covers. Down here on either coast it's like a single or a duo. They're doing covers. Beach songs. There's a couple of nice venues in Orlando. Plaza 'Live", which would be comparable to the Westcott Theatre. There's House Of Blues. I thought it was going to be a lot different to be honest with you. I thought I'd get a gig and I could play. I've been offered some stuff down here, but I just haven't taken it 'cause I'm working. Forty-five minutes can take you two hours. It's terrible. I can't say terrible enough.

Q - Looks to me like you'll be back in Syracuse.

A - No. I'd rather be down here. I feel more comfortable. The Dinosaur doesn't have bands anymore. There's Shifty's. I think someone told me the Maplewood is having bands. But there just isn't the venues. But, how many people there are truly listening to the music? And this is like all over the country to be honest with you. It's just changed. Things change. You gotta adapt with it and move on.

Q - And you moved on!

A - Yes.

Official Website: SavoyBrown.com

© Gary James. All rights reserved.



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