Musically I go back to the single digits in terms of age, but it wasn't until I was 16 that I realized that percussion was what I loved best. I currently own two drum kits and many "little" instruments: finger cymbals, bells, and so forth. I bought my first guitar when I was about 17 and taught myself to play. I also started writing songs, and penned over a hundred in various styles, from 1920s music hall stuff to acid-rock. Most of these have mercifully vanished, but some were recorded and performed by other artists and bands. Some I recorded myself, double- or triple-tracking myself (often even more tracks were involved; I think my record was 9) playing all or most of the instruments and doing all the vocal parts. Below, links to some of my bands and samples of the work we did at the time -- if available.

More or less in chronological order, the major bands I've been associated with are as follows:

• The Hillbrand Rarity - ca. 1969
• Frog Hollow Day Camp - ca. 1970
• Sunfish - ca. 1973
• Bruno and the Flippers - ca. 1974
• Montezuma's Revenge - ca. 1975
• Hiatus
• The Global Nomads 1.0 - ca. 1990
• The Global Nomads 2.0 - ca. 1993
• Bedbug Eddie - ca. 1995
• Kindred Spirit - ca. 2002

There are some other bands, as well, but either I was in them for a very brief time, or I can't scare up any info on them, or I cannot locate any of the personnel. It's very common among musicians, of course, to be a number of outfits, some better than others. And so it goes.

The Rarity was my first "working band," in the sense that we occasionally played gigs and occasionally got paid. The name was twisted out of an Ian Fleming short story featuring James Bond: The Hilldebrand Rarity. Personnel varied over the two or three years we were together. I was not the band's first drummer, but I joined guitarist/singer/songwriter John Hare and bassist Tom Walsh in 1968. We later added Brad Labrot on lead guitar, and Tom was replaced by Bill Hurley. The Rarity was also the first band to perform songs I wrote.

Photo: The Rarity in 1969. L to R, Brad Labrot, guitar/vocals; John Hare, guitar/vocals; Al Sirois, drums/vocals; Bill Hurley, bass. Photo by Kenn Kostuk.

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There are no photos extant of Frog Hollow Day Camp (the name comes from a ratty old tee-shirt Frank Zappa was wearing when someone snapped his photo), but the band was a 4-piece outfit consisting of Bob "Howe" Miller, guitar and vocals; Rick Casey, bass; Jerry Wilson, organ; and me on drums and vocals. Jerry dropped out shortly after I joined and we continued for a year or two as a trio.

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In 1973 I moved to New Haven CT from Bridgeport CT, where I'd been working as an advertising rep for the Bridgeport Post newspaper. That same year I sold my first short story and began working at Bookworld on Chapel Street -- now, sadly, defunct. I also began playing with Sunfish, a band comprised of Yale students. We all got along pretty well despite me being a "townie." Sunfish gigged fairly often around Yale. No photos of the band survive, alas, and no recordings; though I seem to recall that we made one or two.

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This was a Southern rock band comprised of a bunch of talented Yalies who weren't averse to having a townie or two adding heft to the rhythm section. We gigged around Yale and up and down the college circuit for a year or two. Most of the guys graduated, and that was the end of the band. It was a good outfit and we played well. Alas, no photos or recording survive.

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Another Yale band, comprised of musicians I'd met around campus. This was more of a hard-rock organization. No pictures or recordings survive.

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Not a band, but a genuine hiatus. I concentrated on writing and art for a few years. I even sold my drums. Eventually, though, I returned to playing.

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The Global Nomads began as more or less of a pick-up group. Some of my colleagues at Prodigy Services Company wanted to get together to jam, but didn't know any drummers. Because I had a background in percussion they suggested I might want to get back into it. I'd done a little jamming during the intervening years, but did not have my own kit. But now, it seemed, the time was right... so I bought a second-hand five-piece Premier kit, cleaned and repaired it, and started playing. And discovered that I loved playing as much as I ever had. The Nomads changed personnel a few times, adding Don Heatley on keyboards and vocals and George Curbello on percussion and flute. We gradually became more and more professional, and secured some decent gigs. We were together for about three years, and were quite a good organization.

Photo: Global Nomads circa 1990. L to R, Kathy Sharar, vocals; Sean McDermott, bass; Connie Sharar, vocals; Al Sirois, drums/vocals; John Prusinski, guitar/vocals.

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This second incarnation of the Nomads was a purely instrumental jazz outfit, a trio consisting of Roy Swanson on guitar and keyboards, Sean McDermott (of the original Nomads) on bass, and myself on drums and percussion. Another fine grouping of musicians. We performed some interesting tunes, including originals by all three of us.

For the five years I was in Bedbug Eddie we played a lot of good rock 'n roll and played a lot of... interesting gigs. Central NJ musicians quail at the thought of the Nottingham Tavern in Trenton, and for good reason... it's a dive. But we played the place several times while we were coming up and always managed to have a good time. Later on we played clubs and private parties. I left the band around 2000. It continued, with some additional personnel changes, for another couple of years before disbanding. I'm still quite happy with the music we made, and am friends with the ex-members.

MP3 music files (will open a new browser window):

• Hollywood Nights - 1.62 MB
• Hard to Handle - 1.01 MB

Photo: Bedbug Eddie, 1999. L to R, Jim Crawford, guitar/vocals; George Marinich, guitar/vocals; Chris Hogan, bass/vocals; Bill Riordan, lead vocals/guitar/percussion; Al Sirois, drums/vocals

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Kindred Spirit is my latest band. It's a rock cover band with very strong instrumental and vocal capabilities. All of us sing, and we like to work out three- , four- and five-part harmonies when we can. The band's website is here: http://www.kindredspiritrocks.com. Stop by for photos, videos, and MP3 clips. In late 2009 I resigned from Kindred Spirit due to health reasons.

Photo: Kindred Spirit, October 2009. L to R, Brian Leahy, keyboards/vocals; Gary Bernabe, bass/vocals; Al Sirois, drums/vocals; Mike Slom, lead vocals/percussion; Eddie O'Connor, guitar/vocals.

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