About Paul Santa Maria

Buffalo, New York June 1953. Amherst Central High School. Bryant and Stratton College (dropped out after 3 months.) This guy on the right is the original genius (besides Paul McCartney at age 11) who blew my mind with his thoughts on the creation of art. He is Victor Roger Lalli, artist and inventor, creator of the "Buffalo My City" art series, great guy to have had in my silly life. Bursting at the seams with useful information. He is the one to blame for my creativity and my hardheaded approach to reading music: I don't, because I fear it interferes with the creative process. Hmmm.

After High school I worked at the famous Moog music, building the Divine MiniMoogs. I was the only one in the world who had this gig (they had one guy at a time) and I put together about 6 or 7 hundred, including #5000. I routinely met the most famous artists including the brilliant Keith Emerson, who walked up behind me one day and said the world-shaking question: "eh, whatcha doin'"? Carl Palmer (the drummer for ELP) stole my date to their concert. She had extremely large ...ah..."upper regional domes" (a qoute from Chaplin) and I will never forgive him...he doesn't know I exist so it's no sweat!! Bob Moog is a freaky, friendly, brilliant guy. Alan Pierce built the preamp in my Les Paul (the one used by Coryell for the "Gypsy Blood" CD) to my specs and then sold thousands of them. I never saw a penny but I like the guy anyway. Met Todd Rundgren and saw his "Glass Key" Utopia concert, the most outrageous show I ever saw until Paul McCartney in 2002. Fixed Keith Emerson's modular Moog system with tin foil from a convenience store when he complained of tuning problems because of interference and leakage from power lines at open air concerts (me and Dan Little, that is!!) I still have my original Moog MicroMoog and thanks to Roger Luther for his killer Moog  site.

As far as schooling, I wish I could tell you that I was a graduate with honors from some lofty brain-expanding university, so I always say I attended the "Ear and Eye Institute"...which means I'm self-taught by questioning, bugging and doing detective work. Follow-up studies were completed at the "Trial and Error School for the Possibly Talented". (or is that "Impossibly Talented"?)

I hope you will explore the site and give things a chance as I took time creating them and the site is free...especially my pencil drawings as they took up to 3 months of continuous work (no cigarrette breaks, hint hint) and it is, as I said, a lost art because oil paint is considered the "premiere" style (which is BS) and pencil artists have been effectively rendered dinosaurs by the business establishments who want only to make profit and that's done by matching art to furniture...Black and White does not play well with couches and setees. Nor bidets. So fight back against the profiteers...make your own decision and grab a nice print of one from me. After all, I did all the work, now you can just sit back and wonder if you could rise to same level if you tried instead of watching TV.

However you look at it, a musician or artist or poet must need to create to survive. We are lunatics all who have found the tiny connection to the creative side of the brain that allows us, without the aid of altering chemicals or huge sums of cash to remain sane by recreating the world through our paint or words or sounds. Since I am particularly crazy, I need to be extra creative to maintain my own sanity and this explains the depths to which I have explored art, music, photography and writing. The only sad thing is, the more sane you become, the less truly innovative you are in your own arts....true innovation is a wild horse, a stallion untamed,  never ridden in shows where the beast is now a thing fashioned by human hands to perfection. How to retain that innovation? The Conundrum!

Many people have played roles in my life, either through positive sharings of info allowing me to expand my talents or by me gleaning it vampire-like from them. Tom Shirley (drums) Jim Schwab (bass) Jerry Keating (keys) and others like the loon Geoffrey Fitzhugh-Perry (violin and piccolo bass). My good friend Mike DeWein. I've already told you about Lalli, so let me say that Paul McCartney is my hero living...a good soul it seems. Michelangelo and Escher and Coryell, not to mention Ritchie Blackmore, Joe Walsh, Keith Emerson, Dick Hyman, Bob Moog and ....bow down now: Jack Bruce. Thanks all.

 First record purchased, age 10: (I think, been awhile!) "They're Coming To Take Me Away" by Napoleon the 14th. Tell you anything about me?

Childhood friend who did best: Al Portale, cuz he cheffed for McCartney!