discovery and biography...

written by Tom Cleary...
Between 1978 and 1982 I found myself spending a considerable amount of my free time writing tunes. My primary musical influences were from the mid-60s, so it was no surprise that my tunes sounded old. It was around that time that I developed my idea for a style. The idea was this - write 60s-style pop/rock songs and record them with a slightly "harder" (or at that time more 80's rock) sound.

In 1982, I decided to form a band and record some demos. The first person to join the band was Rich Santana (bass). Before looking for additional band members, Rich and I decided to record a "concept" tune so people could more easily understand the sound I was going for. We went to Monte Brothers Recording Studio (Dobbs Ferry, NY), hired a session drummer, and recorded No Use Running in just about an hour. The tune was so simple that people liked it - especially musicians who could hear the empty space and envision their parts (to this day, I'm heartbroken that this recording was so badly damaged over the years).

From there I advertised for a lead guitarist. Over a couple weeks time, we auditioned quite a few talented musicians and narrowed our selection down to two - George Muto and Sal Mingoia. In the end, we asked them both to join the band. Finally, George introduced us to Dominick Pierro (our drummer) - and the band was complete.

I decided to name the band The Innocence of Time. The reason..? Well, it seemed to me that the style of my songs reflected the passage of time more then they reflected any one specific period of time. After all, musical styles may change over the years, but the ingredients common to good music remain the same.

We finalized the tunes for the project - practiced - and then entered the studio. I decided to record the project at Harlen Productions (Bronx, NY) with engineer Bob Fonseca. The experience was fantastic. Interestingly, the first thing I wanted to do was re-record No Use Running, but I didn't like the way it was sounding and set it aside. We never did get back to it.

It was here that we recorded "You've Gotta Hold On", "I Wanna Know", "Could I Be Falling In Love", and "Girl I Need Your Love". Due to scheduling conflicts with other projects, George and the drummer became unavailable for an indefinite period of time. I found a replacement drummer and entered the studio one more time. At that point - myself, Rich, and Sal recorded the last song we would record together - "Too Hard to Make You Mine".

2000...
It wasn't until early 2000 that I finally started worrying enough about saving the old demo tapes that I did something about it. I went to Northeastern Digital Mastering Studios and had the tunes transferred to CD. Somehow, as I sat and listened to the final mastering and watched the engineer make several final adjustments, I realized just how much music was in my blood. I decided then and there that I needed to record a new Innocence of Time project.

2001...
Well... that just about brings us up to date... I began writing new material in July, 2000 and spent far more money then I should have on new gear. Innocence Found was completed in November of 2001. We are currently discussing plans for our 2002 project. Please stay tuned to the new project page for updates...

Best Regards,
Tom Cleary

Letter To the Old Fans: It's been a very long time, so I think it's safe to assume that there are no actual old fans reading this. To the old fans I can only say this - I hope you're doing well and "catch us if you can."