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It’s
like a dream come true. Being one of the very original
members of BlueStone Ivory I can’t describe how excited this is to have
the band back together after 25 years.
Since giving up playing music in 1974 I didn’t think I would ever
have this chance again. Its
like a scene out of the Blues Brothers movie…in fact I can recall many
times over the past 25 years dreaming of getting a phone call just like
the one I got in December of 1998 saying “We’re
getting the old band back together”. |
| My music career started as a
freshman at Moeller High School. I knew I had music in my blood from early
childhood piano lessons and the fact that most of my relatives on my
mother’s side play music. Our high school band director said I would be
perfect on clarinet. But I wanted to play saxophone. I was intrigued with
seeing the sax player at a Lonnie Mack concert in Lawrenceberg, Indiana
when I was 13 years old. (Lonnie Mack, The
Wham of That Memphis Man is my second cousin) That really impressed
me. But, I studied clarinet and shortly there after easily picked up the
sax. |
| My first professional group was
RENE’S ORCHESTRA. The cute four, Ted Donohoue on guitar, Rick Hagee on
piano, Fritzie Schatzle on drums and myself Gary RENE’ Rossignol on
clarinet and sax. The four of us grew up together from the first grade at
St. Michael grade school in Sharonville. We were cute because at the age
of only 14 we played the old standards for weddings and K of C dances. As
we entered our late teens, we added players: another sax (Steve Gallant),
2 trumpets (Dan Hunt & Mike Lenahan) a trombone (Bob Hagee), and a
bass guitar (Steve Leigh). Rick Hagee added the Hammond B-3 to his
keyboards and Mike Russell took over on drums.
“Sound On Stage” was born in 1968 and we became BlueStone Ivory
early 1970. |
| I left BlueStone Ivory to go on the road with “Chocolate & Vanilla and The First Exit”. That lasted about 2 years and I came home to my high school sweetheart bride Mary Jo in time to become a daddy. After a few years in sound system design and sales, I went on the road as the personal sound engineer for some very prestigious entertainers for the next 10 years. Johnny Mathis, Lou Rawls, Englebert Humperdink, Whalen Jennings, Marvin Gaye, Dolly Parton, Steve Martin, Air Supply, Lawrence Welk, Bob Hope and various other groups. |
| Well, all good things must come to an end, as did my career in entertainment. I was burnt out and needed to change direction. After managing the family business “Ross TV Service” for a few years. I decided to go into real estate. I was licensed in 1986 and have built a fabulous career with my wife Mary Jo and present brokers at RE/MAX Unlimited. (Visit my web site http://garyrossignol.com & my Daily Blog www.CincinnatiInPhotos.com ) |
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But the music bug just didn’t leave me. My first daughter Aimee majored
in music on scholarship and mastered the flute at Ohio State University.
She and her husband Dale have made Mary Jo and me grandparents to Brianna
Renee and Andrew Dale. My other two daughters, Jennifer & Stephanie,
played flute and clarinet in the marching and concert bands at Lakota West
High School and now Jennifer is a Junior at Columbus College of Art and
Design and Stephanie is a Sophomore at UC, majoring in Business. Now I
play Clarinet & Bass Clarinet with the West Chester Symphony
Orchestra. And of coarse I’m back with the reborn BlueStone Ivory. All good things don’t have to end. |