So I had a FOH gig tonight at a theater in Prescott AZ, and it's a Huey Lewis and the News Tribute Band called "SuperHuey" and the bass player is none other than the original bassist, Mario Cipollina. {} He was absolutely one of the coolest guys ever, very personable, really gracious. I told him that Huey Lewis was one of the first concerts I'd ever been to, which is absolutely true, in Milwaukee during the "Sports" tour. Before we took a quick snapshot he told me to put on his sunglasses, "it'll look cool with you wearing my sunglasses." Awesome dude, fun night listening to him and a great band play! Here's a little something to watch in case you don't know who he is...
Mario is a great guy, great band. I was running monitors for them when Sports was breaking, went from playing clubs to Theaters and stadiums. First time I saw them they were opening for the Doobie Brothers in Waco, the crowd was less than receptive at the time.
Way underrated, great player. Very Rocco influenced. But, also has his own thing going on. Very cool!
This is the first time I've heard his name in years. The last time I heard about him he was looking at jail time for breaking and entering and drug possession. I hope he has gotten clean. I've known people who knew him and his family who said that he is getting his crap together. C/S, Rev J
I always felt that Mario has an interesting right hand technique, combining the thumb pick, Palm muting, flat pick and fingerstyle so fluidly and dynamically. And such a cool stage persona.
