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Original pop/rock songs in the style of the 1960s British Invasion bands of that era, such as the Beatles, Herman's Hermits, Dave Clark Five, and American pop bands like the Turtles and Gary Lewis And The Playboys. A couple of songs could also be classified as borderline "country-crossover/folk".
Glass onions was the brainchild of Alec Cuddeback, who wrote and arranged all songs and performed all the vocals on the cd.
Cuddeback has performed as both opera and pop singer, ranging from stints with the Indiana University Opera and Syracuse University Opera Ensemble, to singing pop songs at various showcases in the Los Angeles area, as a member of Singing Hoosiers, and a performer at wedding ceremonies. He is also a screenwriter, having written for Jerry Lewis, the tv series "Grizzly Adams", and for one of the producers of "The Neverending Story."
In 1997, BMG Classics released the cd "SHORT OPERAS". Cuddeback wrote and edited librettos for both works. The cd features opera soloists and the United Philharmonic Orchestra Budapest, conducted by composer Eberhard Schoener.
In the meantime, Cuddeback had started writing songs in the pop/rock style and began looking for someone to record them. After a year-and-a-half of searching, he finally got together with three young and talented members of the Geneva-based heavy-metal band Infinite Madness: drummer Eric "Small" Kirkendall, bass player Adam Groom, and guitarist Bryan Flood.
Infinite Madness played at many local venues and were finalists in a rock band contest held at Rochester’s popular Penny Arcade. The three members of Infinite Madness wanted to try something a little different from the music they’d been playing. What the quartet came up with was far from the heavy-metal sound, but a throwback to the days when pop/rock was melody-driven, with lyrical guitar riffs.
The four went into a recording studio, and in December of 1998, "GLASS ONIONS - ORIGINAL SONGS, 60s STYLE" was completed, using 10 of the 11 songs Cuddeback already wrote.
There was little time for promotion, as Cuddeback was soon on his way to Los Angeles for several months. Still, four local radio stations began playing two cuts from the cd during the holidays, as well as a radio station in Lexington, Virginia.
Kirkendall and Groom continued to perform with Infinite Madness, until the band broke up in 1999. Flood left Infinite Madness earlier and formed a new group, Warrior Poets, with his wife Rebecca. Ultimately, Groom joined Flood's band. Meanwhile, drummer Eric Kirkendall moved to Syracuse.
For a year, Cuddeback was recruiting new musicians to re-form Glass onions. He continued to write additional songs to add to the band's repertoire.
Finally, keyboard player Todd Esthimer was added in the fall of 2000. Glass onions performed at the Ontario County Arts Council's "Harvestfest 2000". However, Esthimer parted ways with Glass onions in early 2001.
Bass player Jon Moseley and drummer Greg Emerson joined Glass onions later on in 2001, but both left the group during the winter of that year.
In the Spring of 2002, vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Tim Brackett teamed up with Cuddeback. Bassist/vocalist Paul Donahue joined them in mid-July, in a bizzare but happy set of circumstances. Meanwhile, Cuddeback expanded his musical expertise to include keyboards.
Due to a work schedule conflict, Tim Brackett could not continue with the group, leaving in early 2003, but briefly re-uniting that fall for their appearance at the Naples Grape Festival. Fortunately, Bob Fischetto, a new lead guitarist/vocalist from Rochester was added in the spring of 2004. Later that summer, drummer John Borelli also joined Glass onions.
At the end of their 2006 season, bassist/vocalist Paul Donahue announced he could no longer remain with the band. In the summer of 2007, veteran bass player/vocalist Ted Alfiere was recruited to replace Paul. After just four practices, Ted performed with Glass onions in late September at the Hilton Applefest.
Biographies On Alec & Other Glass onions Members
Glass onions is available for print or electronic media interviews at any time. Cuddeback has already been interviewed on radio station WLUR-FM, Lexington, Virginia. Newspaper articles were published in The Daily Messenger, The Finger Lakes Times, Naples Record, and Penn Yan Chronicle Express.
FLIPSIDE (LA zine): Most of the bands that seek their inspiration from the heyday of 1960’s pop, whether Brit Invasion or Psychedelic or Garage, have the hooks down pat. It’s the rare band that gets the sense of social conscience that influenced those songs down as well. Singer-songwriter Alec Cuddeback of Glass onions not only writes catchy pop ditties that stick with you like peanut-butter, but he defiantly carries on in the tradition of trying to change the world through his music, even if it’s just on a personal level. Standouts include "All I Really Care About" which has a catchy Merseybeat flavor with hooks aplenty that sounds like a lost outtake from some forgotten Liverpool group. The country-tinged "I Don’t Do The Nine To Five" is rollicking. The wry "Faxing A Love Song" is the perfect anthem for the Internet generation. The central song on the record is "So Long, Mother Earth" which wears it’s hippie credentials of peace and love on its sleeve. Yeah, it might sound naive to the denizens of cynical, cell-phone, status quo 1999, but its message is as valid today as it ever was.
THE DAILY MESSENGER (local newspaper): Carrying a pop/rock beat, many of the songs bring a personal meaning of life, love, and love-lost to listeners.
THE WORMHOLE (local zine): The sound is up-to-date...I love this cd...great rock/poprock music done by a great band!
Drums - Eric "Small" Kirkendall; Bass - Adam Groom; Guitar - Bryan Flood; Vocals - Alec Cuddeback
Drums - Greg Emerson; Keyboards/Vocals - Todd Esthimer; Bass - Jon Mosely, Paul Donahue; Guitar/Vocals - Tim Brackett
Guitar/Vocals - Bob Fischetto; Bass/Vocals - Ted Alfiere; Drums - John Borelli; Guitar/Keyboard/Vocals - Alec Cuddeback
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