Some musicians find inspiration through muses. Others read poetry, stroll through verdant fields of experiment with substances. Then there's Cadillac Moon, a Long Island blues-rock band that gets the creative juices flowing by reading cookbooks.
"She's got em hot buttered scones," vocalist Al Santoriello growls, smacking his lips in the sassy "In the Kitchen With Rosie," a song named after the cookbook of the same title by Rosie Daley, Oprah Winfrey's chef "Come Friday night your appetite is needing satisfaction, best place I know for you to go and get some gratifaction," Santoriello chants as Mike Nugent breaks loose on the guitar.
Another Cadillac Moon song named after a cookbook, "You've Got it Made" is about someone who is never satisfied. That song's title - but not the theme - could apply to Cadillac Moon, which appears poised for a national breakthrough with its funk, rock, Cajun and R&B sound. The band plays tonight at North Street Grill in Great Neck and tomorrow night at Arizona II in North Lindenhurst.
"Things are really taking off for us," said Nugent, a soft spoken man with a moon-like face who sports a blond ponytail and the tattoo of a musical eighth note on his left earlobe. "We're actually making our living at this," he said. "I don't think we're crazy to do it. The only way you can make it as a band is by dedicating yourself entirely to your music."
Last week, Cadillac Moon played at the South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, one of the nation's premier music festivals. In December, the band released its first album, "Plug Me In." Last summer, Good times, a Long Island music magazine, named Cadillac Moon the Island's best band of the year.
And the gigs keep coming. The band is now playing almost every weekend on Long Island, and also has frequent shows at the Bitter End in Manhattan and clubs in Westchester, New Jersey and Connecticut. Agents who like the band's Austin show have promised a Texas tour later this year.
Clad in jeans and workshirts, with their long hair flowing down their backs, the raggle-taggle fivesome kept listeners dancing and clapping for more than two hours during a recent gig at Heads & Tails, a cozy, wood-paneled bar in Roslyn. In a sure sign of Cadillac Moon's success, many fans knew the band's songs by heart, and some said they followed the group from club to club.
Jill Silberberg, a 29-year old real estate manager from Little Neck, even followed the band to Austin. "I guess I qualify as a groupie," she giggled as she watched Cadillac Moon set up for its second set. "They're just - they've got a great beat that you can dance to. They always put you in a good mood. It's like, you know, kick --- Blues."
Cadillac Moon was formed six years ago, but the only remaining original members are Nugent and drummer Shawn Murray. The addition two years ago of keyboardist Rich Campbell of Long Beach, bassist David Noyes of Huntington and lead vocalist Santoriello of Northport "just made the band. It uplifted," said Murray, a Hicksville resident.
The band has been on a creative streak, composing about 35 songs in the last two years. Most band members are in their 30's. Murray and Noyes both have children, and Nugent's wife has one on the way. "But we're still going for it. We think we have the talent to go all the way," Murray said. "There's no holding us back."
By Letta Tayler, Staff Writer
