In mid 1979, after a chance meeting through some mutual friends and medium technology communications devices, Steve Schneider and William Knapp found they had some things in common. One of these things was the love of music and the desire to play it. In September, Steve finally made it over to William's basement in Stratford to jam. Things went really well and before long they had a few songs written.
On New Year’s Eve, the Asteroids (as the duo called themselves then) played at a friend’s house party. By early 1980, it became apparent that they had the makings of a band with more then two members and were looking for others to help out the cause. William got in touch with guitarist/songwriter Bill Arciprete of Fairfield. Bill had played in a jazz-fusion cover band and as a solo act in clubs in the Bridgeport/Fairfield area and was looking for a more creative outlet for his music. His many originals and the ability to play lead guitar were a welcome boost to the duo. Via a want ad in the New Haven Advocate, bassist Vinny Paolozzi of Stratford was added quickly thereafter to complete the first Xtras line-up.
After a couple months of practice of originals (along with a dose of 60’s garage rock songs thrown in for good measure), the Xtras made their debut at the infamous Ron’s Place in New Haven, CT in May, 1980. By the summer of 1980 The Xtras were playing a lot of the dive bars and strip joints in New Haven and Fairfield Counties. On December 9th, the Xtras played CBGB’s in New York... the day after John Lennon was murdered. They dedicated their set to John.
To enable Billy the Kreep (as Bill was now known) to be become more of a “front man†together with an increased desire for more musical complexity (read: louder), it became necessary to “draft†Berklee School of Music graduate and ace axeman Andy D’Arcangelo as the lead guitarist for the band. Andy, also a Fairfield native, had known and worked with Bill in a previous band called Massive Being, so the choice was a logical one. As a five-man group, the Xtras could now command the resources of up to three guitarists simultaneously, which came in handy when high energy (read: much louder) was needed to help convey their musical message.
Like many of the young idealistic bands of the day, the musical cohesiveness the Xtras had started with began to fall apart. Vinny was more interested in heavy metal, William was leaning towards hardcore punk, Steve was veering for power pop, and Bill wanted a more Joe Jackson/Elvis Costello sound. After a final stint at a Sacred Heart frat party in the Spring of ’81( view our last setlist ), the Xtras disbanded, leaving the groundwork for future groups such as 532X, X Factor, Reflex from Pain, and 76% Uncertain. Bill went on to publish Vox Pop Magazine, which became Vox Pop Television, Alternavision and later the award winning The Swindle. Bill's TV shows were an excellent outlet for both new and established bands to widen their audiences. William was later in X Factor with Steve and has continued playing in bands to this day; among them, CIA, Reflex from Pain, 76% Uncertain, Onion, Shelter, Shyster Shyster and Flywheel, Explodee, Names for Pebbles, and superfallingstars. He also was the soundman at the infamous all-ages club The Anthrax. He currently runs the Skipping Stones record label with his wife Christine. Steve went on to become a successful DJ and is still spinning.
Since playing with a 100% original line up was impossible (Vinny moved to Florida and Andy to Arizona), the Xtras are happy to welcome Dave Ware, bass player for X Factor, Reflex From Pain and 76% Uncertain into the band. We're a four piece again, just like in the beginning.
The Up All Night CD Release show was 25 years (within a week) from our very first show at Ron's! Look at the Ron's Place Ad
1980 Line up:
Bill Arciprete - Guitar and Vocals
Steve Schneider - Guitar and Vocals
Andy D'Arcangelo - Lead Guitar
Vinny Paolozzi - Bass Guitar
William Knapp - Drums
2005 Line up:
Bill Arciprete - Guitar and Vocals
Steve Schneider - Guitar and Vocals
Dave Ware - Bass Guitar
William Knapp - Drums
Discography:
2005 - Up All Night compilation CD Incas Records
Brainwashed
Got No Money
Here's a video of "Dreamer" that was shot at Cafe 9 in New Haven in May, 2005
We had a blast playing that show and now we're looking to play some shows in 2007
This obviously isn't us, but it's a great song by a great band.
