About
Rochester
Slim -
a independent musician and songwriter in Palm Springs, CA
Hey
- this is Slim and welcome to my
modest attempt at reaching deep into the heart of the 21st
century.
Take a look around, and if you enjoy what you see and
hear, let me know – fan mail from folks just like you is one of the few
pleasures I have left. I’m most likely just hanging around the house out
here near Palm Springs and listening to “Time has Come Today” by the
Chambers Brothers on my old headphones, drinking coffee, and just trying to
make sense of it all…..feel free to listen
to my music, and if you'd like to make a donation to the Slim retirement
fund, feel free in that regard as well.....
Rochester Slim, true to his name, was born
(as Alan Donovan) and raised outside of
Rochester,
New York,
in the then-small town of
Ontario
- in the heart of apple and cherry country on the shores of the
Lake
Ontario.
Slim used to enjoy standing on the lake shore stones and watching the ore
freighters make their way to ports unknown. After nearly losing an eye in
a tragic farm implement accident (or maybe it was when he was learning to walk -
the history is unclear), he took up with the blues, took off after the
freighters, became our Slim, and has never looked back.
Determined to follow the lead of his idols
(among them, Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, John Lee Hooker, Lightning Hopkins,
Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Pete Townsend, Jimi Hendrix, and the 1910 Fruitgum
Company),
he hit the road in search of
inspiration. After hours on the road, he first got extremely muddy at
the the Aquarian Exposition in
Woodstock,
and soon after ended up enrolled in college in
Potsdam,
New York,
where "the girls where pretty and the beer was cheap." Slim decided to
stick around. And in any case, there was a couple of feet of snow on
the ground and he was too dumb at this tender age to realize that there
might be somewhere warmer and better to live.
Slim was a founding member of
The Green Bay Pickers and
The Curbside Mutterers, (thanks to
Michael O' for coming up with that name) two bands that despite really cool
names floundered due to numerous personnel changes and the ravages of fame.
Sadly, no recordings exist of these essential bands. The experience
convinced Slim that a solo career was the only way to go. Slim was also
a DJ for several years at WNTC = where he was know for a quirky independent
streak and for not always playing what was expected of him. The last DJ?
Undeterred, Slim hoped to be rediscovered
(or discovered as the case actually might be) by the Smithsonian Institution.
While he waited, be took up a variety of menial jobs in order to support himself
- among them, a news reporter, a club manager, and marketing manager for an
international publisher.
Slim traveled the world and once had the chance
to perform in
Moscow
with the Russian folk legend, Oleg Zimarin. To this day, Oleg believes
Slim to be one of his greatest influences, but then again Oleg drinks a lot of
Vodka.
Oleg, (also known as the Good Doctor) is
pictured on the right.
Though degraded, Slim continued to maintain
hope that one day the world would appreciate his artistic contributions to the
world. And while in
Washington,
Slim began to record his songs for posterity.
From the mid 90s to the early 2000s, despite
his aversion to "groups", Slim was an integral member of The David Theis Band.
This band, which specialized in sporadic practice over a long period of time and
consisted of an ever-changing number of members, finally made their one and only
performance at Politiki, on Capitol Hill, in February, 2000.
The Line-up was: David Theis
(vocals and percussion), Bruce Waters (mandolin) and Slim on guitar.
Finally, older and wiser, Slim headed
West, seeking renewal and inspiration and convinced that he could once and for
all establish himself as a force in the music world.
After a period in southern
Oregon,
Slim changed locations and settled into desert life in Palm Springs, CA.
Slim continues to record, plays a little golf, visits the coast often, and
generally passes the time well.
Slim records in a spare bedroom in his home. The
mainstay of his modest system is a Boss BR1600 digital recorder. Most
songs begin with a track played on his trusty Guild guitar, which he's had since
the late 1970s. He also uses a Fender Stratocaster, an Ovation acoustic, an
Epiphone banjo, a Fender mandolin, a cheap Chinese accordion, an old Boss DR5
rhythm machine, Vintage Keys and Casio keyboards, plus numerous harmonicas.
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