Terry Quill - Full biography

I was born January 31, 1967 in Paterson, NJ. We moved to Auburn, NY when I was about 2. I grew up fascinated with music. My parents had a decent record collection and I listened to them all the time; all ’50’s & ’60’s Rock, Pop and R&B. When I was about 10, I really wanted a set of drums and I asked for them for Christmas (I wanted to be Peter Criss!) I got a guitar instead. My grandfather (who passed away when I was 2) played guitar, harmonica, mandolin and sang. I think my mom wanted me to carry that on.

Maybe I was let down by the fact that I didn’t get drums, but I didn’t take right to the guitar. But about the time I turned 13, I started taking lessons and started getting serious about it. I was one of the geeky kids in high school and instead of going out to party with friends on the weekends, I preferred to sit in my room and learn songs. When I got into my first band, I would learn all the guitar parts, bass parts and vocal harmonies, and then show everyone their parts at rehearsal. I was pretty much the musical director in most of the bands I was in. Early groups I was in were Malice, The Urge (with Mark VanEpps, Bill Finizio and Chuck Riley), Black Cat (with Mark Chitambar, Jimmy Watts and Rick Laxton) and Outburst (with Rich DelFavero and Chris Sawyer).

After playing in several local bands, I formed the Back Alley Boys in 1990 with Ron Thompson, Mark VanEpps and Marty Flynn. We recorded an Album, an EP (where I first met Mark Doyle), and several Singles. We won 4 or 5 SAMMY’s over a 10 year period and opened for close to 100 national acts all over the northeast. But after 10 years, I started getting disillusioned with the country scene; it had changed and it was no longer country, but bland, formulaic pop. I couldn’t deal with playing it and I left the group in 2000.

After a year off, I joined an acoustic trio called Robyn & The Rest with Robyn Stockdale and Rick Mossotti. It was a fun group and we did mostly covers of Rock and Pop hits of the day. After being in that group for a year, I received a call from Joe Whiting and he asked me to be in his band! Without thinking, I said yes! I had met Joe in the early ’90’s and he and Loren Barrigar had sat in with the Back Alley Boys quite frequently. We all became friends and I adored their talents! I met and quickly gelled (musically and personally) with Frank DeFonda and Brian Barrigar, Joe’s rhythm section. From 2002 to 2010, we recorded 4 Albums together and played almost all the time. I even got to write several songs with Joe, which we recorded on his albums.

When Joe and Mark Doyle released their Album “The Truth” in 2007, we got to be the band to play behind them for their concerts! I was already in heaven playing in one of my idol’s band, but then here comes another and the 2 of them together are dynamite! I was quite nervous and tense playing with Mark because he is truly a master, but he quickly allayed all my doubts and fears and we played well together (I thought!) Well, Mark must have thought so too because when he wanted to record a special project of British Blues covers in late 2008, he asked me to be in the group! He had already gotten Frank DeFonda on board, and 2 guys I’d never met: Michael P. Ryan and Jack “Penetrator” Lipton. I was elated! Of course, nothing is real easy when you play with Mark. He constantly challenges my abilities, and I love that! The kicker this time though was that he wanted me to play blues harp on it too. I hadn’t touched a harmonica in almost 20 years! So I brushed up on it a little and Mark Doyle & The Maniacs recorded “Shake ‘Em On Down” in January 2009 in 2 days. We played some concerts that summer and the response was overwhelming! We knew we had something special and so we decided this should be a regular band and continue playing... so we did!

We all started writing songs and in March 2010, we recorded “Comin’ Home”... again in 2 days! This band continues to surprise me, challenge me and thrill me! LONG LIVE MARK DOYLE & THE MANIACS!!