3 Shades of Green Classic Rock Band

Brian Ciardi

Musical Influences: Beatles, The Who, Led Zep, Skynyrd, Wishbone Ash, Blackfoot, ZZ Top, Cream, Hendrix, James Gang

Favorite Bassists: The obvious JP Jones, Entwistle, Jack Bruce, McCartney, Geddy Lee, Chris Squire

The not so obvious: Martin Turner from the best unknown band of all-time, Wishbone Ash,  Carol Kaye, if you hear a pop song from the 60’s with a cool bass line it is probably her playing it,  Greg T. Walker aka Possum: My good friend and my biggest influence. 

Favorite Bass: currently using a recent Fender Custom Shop reissue ’59 Precision but when I am feeling nostalgic I break out my ’76 Thunderbird or ’68 Telecaster

Amps: Eden head through a GK 1x15 cabinet

I guess it all began with seeing the Beatles  on Ed Sullivan.  The next day my brother John (our guitarist) sketched John Lennon’s guitar and I sketched Paul’s bass on a piece of plywood and then proceeded to chisel them out using a screwdriver and a hammer.  John didn’t stop there and soon picked up a real guitar and played until his fingers bled.  I picked up a hockey stick and bled from every other part of my body.  Through grammar school and high school I watched my brother work his ass off to get good as his craft.  In my late teens he was playing in a band but was getting frustrated with his bandmates.  One afternoon he taught me how to play Ocean by Led Zep and said “you’re my new bass player!”  He recruited his talented drummer Gary Worrell and we started practicing.  A few months later,  armed with about 15 songs, we booked our first gig, ready or not.  I mentioned I played hockey. Well, the day before our first gig I had a game and took an errant stick to my mouth.  Front tooth knocked out and 34 stiches in my bottom lip.  I told my brother  and he said “the show must go on”.  No sympathy! I was quite a sight with a lip as big as grapefruit laced with black stitches.  We made it through the night playing our 15 songs about 4 times each and Jinn was launched.  We had a great run (man, do I miss Gary..gone way to soon) but by our mid 20’s it was time to move on.  John kept playing but I took a job on Wall St., moved to Manhattan, and had a family.  25 years flew by when our old friend John Crown called and asked me to play with him in a Battle of the Bands.  My brother and I went and played, had a blast, and before you knew it I was playing almost every Friday night at Poor Henry’s with my brother and Barry McArdle.  The bug to play was back and soon John, Chris, and I formed a band taking the name 3 Shades of Green…a name we found on a men’s room wall.