Spettri | Interview | “Life After Death”

Spettri was an Italian band that originally started as a beat band, but transformed in the early 70s to a very dark heavy progressive rock group interested in occult.

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Their recording issued by Black Widow Records in 2011 is a paradise for any fans of underground rock and horror atmosphere. The band was originally formed around 1964 in Florence by brothers Ugo and Raffaele Ponticiello on vocals and guitars, Giuliano Giunti on bass and Ubaldo Palanti on drums. Palanti was later replaced by Mauro Sarti, future drummer of Campo Di Marte and Bella Band. A few singles were released in the 60s, although completely different from the 1972 issued recordings. By 1968 the line-up included Giorgio Di Ruvo and a year later keyboardist Stefano Meloni and bassist Vincenzo Ponticiello joined the band.

“We were called to record it in a pro studio in Milan but the record was never published due to the lyrics which were found not in line with the catholic sentiment”

You were growing up in Florence, how was that for you?

Stefano Melani: Florence is a beautiful city full of inspiring art, not too big and not too small.

Were you classically trained?

Yes, I started classic piano lessons at the age of eight and initially I hated it, as it was mostly exercises. Later on I understood the importance of strong agility training on the piano keyboard. It stays with you all your life.

The local scene in Florence was full of different Beat bands. Would you like to write how it looked back in the 60s?

I started playing with a band in 1969. At that time the music scene was really exciting. The beat wave had contaminated all and many bands were forming, long hair was a sign of rebellion. You’d play rock ‘n’ roll, rhythm and blues and beat at dancing parties and everyone enjoyed the new rebellion. In Florence there were few dedicated alternative clubs but in general all dancing venues turned to the new music. There were many bands, some of them quite popular such as Califfi and Spettri from my neighborhood before I joined them and many others. At the end of 1969, a new alternative venue opened and that soon became the place where to go to listen to groups coming from the UK et cetera and to play. It is called Space Electronic and it is still functioning nowadays although as a disco club. We went there to see many bands, from Van der Graaf Generator to Atomic Rooster, from Brian Auger to Canned Heat, from Rory Gallagher to Pentangle.

What was the name of your first band and how did it form?

The name of my first band was I 4 Monaci (The 4 Monks). The group was just forming and the drummer and bass player, both a couple of years older than me, were looking for a keyboard player. They had just hired a guitar player. So asking around some friends the drummer found me and asked me if I wanted to join. My parents had bought me my first organ, a Farfisa and so I went to the first rehearsals thinking I would have to read some music sheets as for the classical pieces. Big shock! No music sheets, so I had to learn how to play chords just by asking the guitar player and writing the notes on a music sheet. They were very patient with me, but slowly I started getting along and learned the basics of blues and rock.

What kind of LP’s and 45’s did you buy back then?

First 45’s were by The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones and others, then the LP’s by Deep Purple, King Crimson, Black Sabbath, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Brian Auger, Grand Funk Railroad, Pink Floyd et cetera.

Was there a certain moment when you knew this was it and that you want to become a musician for the rest of your life?

Not a moment in particular, but I always knew I couldn’t do it without music in my life since I joined my first band.

What were the circumstances of joining Spettri?

Spettri was a well known band and my best friend Vincenzo Ponticiello was the younger brother of the singer and guitar player. They were living one street away from mine. At the beginning of 1971, the drummer in my first band was called in the military draft so the band was disrupted. At the same time Spettri keyboardist got married and stopped playing so one day, Lello the guitarist showed up at my house and asked me to join in. He helped me a lot to get in with the band and so the journey started.

Then there was the fantastic Califfi. What kind of connection do you have?

Paolo Tofani, former guitarist and then founder of Area, lived in the same neighbourhood. He is the same age as Lello and they used to know each other and exchange guitars for bicycle rides, that’s why we played together many times in the same venues and we still talk with Paolo every now and then.

Spettri was around for several years before, right?

Spettri started in the early 60’s as one of the first beat bands in Florence, so when I joined they had already been on the scene for some years.

“I’m a guitar style Hammond player”

What can you tell us about the style of your organ playing?

I learned my organ playing by listening to John Lord, Brian Auger and Keith Emerson, but mostly trying to emulate the guitar style solos! I basically use one basic 888 drawbar setting on my Hammond for the right hand and a more church organ style sound on the lower manual. The timbre I like comes mostly from a distorted combo between the drawbar setting and the percussion setting. Let’s say I’m a guitar style Hammond player.

The Spettri were known for their costumes (this was probably even before Alice Cooper and definitely before KISS), did you also use customs when you were part of the band?

Yes we have used masks and skeleton costumes for our gigs and they definitely started using them before my joining in the early 60’s.

I remember that I got the vinyl edition of Spettri as soon as Black Widow Records released it. I would like it if you can elaborate on the album. When was this recorded, why wasn’t it released at a time, was it a concept album? Please tell me everything about it.

Soon as myself and Vincenzo joined the band we switched the band focus from rock beat to a more progressive genre, so we decided to write a suite, telling the story of a boy wondering, why the world is in such troubles and asking for the answer in the afterworld. We played this suite in many live venues in the early 70’ and in a festival.

We were called to record it in a pro studio in Milan but the record was never published due to the lyrics which were found not in line with the catholic sentiment. We did tape it live on a 2-track recorder and this tape has been kept on a shelf for almost 40 years till one friend asked for it to put it on a CD. Well this CD ended up in the hands of Daniele Nuti, a prog DJ and from Daniele to Black Widow who decided to finally publish it!

“Life After Death”

The cover artwork used for the Black Widow Records really suits perfectly with the music. Who created it?

Its an original painting called Life After Death by Frida, courtesy of Daniele Nuti.

When did you disband Spettri?

At the end of the 70’s the mood changed. No more avant-garde music, video and appearance became more important and the big progressive festivals stopped. So we changed and decided to go back to rock ‘n’ roll and rockabilly.

You made quite a sound transition when you started playing with Dennis & The Jets. How did that come about?

Actually rock ‘n’ roll was in the roots of our playing, so leaving the Hammond to go back to piano was not a big trauma

What about Tape Transfer, a new wave band you were part of?

In the first part of the 80’s I formed this band with some other musician friends. We were attracted to certain types of new wave sounds and bands such as Talking Heads, Thomas Dolby, Ultravox. So we did our own songs and we were produced by Rodolfo “Foffo” Bianchi (a famous producer in Florence). We did a few good concerts in the Florence venues with good success, however we never made it to the majors and therefore after a few years we stopped.

You did such a fantastic job with ‘2973 La Nemica dei Ricordi,’ a continuation album that you recorded in 2015. What members of the band were part of it and what can you tell me about the recording process?

On this album I wanted to restart the story from where it was left in 1972, that’s why 2973 represents 1 +1000 years from that point in time. That’s why we recorded in the same fashion of the 70’s with full analogic gear and the same instruments. The new addition is the sax. We taped it live recording all together at same time with the exception of the voice and sax. We only dubbed some solos and choirs after. The members were all the same with Mauro Sarti on drums who had replaced Giorgio Di Ruvo and the only new kid the fantastic Matteo Biancalani on sax.

It must feel amazing to be back in studio recording progressive rock again. What keyboard did you use this time around?

Hey, no changes, my old 1974 Hammond L100. Acoustic piano and my 1976 ARP Odyssey, only adding a beautiful old Mellotron in some parts.

Are you planning to record another album?

We were 50% on the way recording the third part of the Spettri saga, when Covid had taken away our beloved Vincenzo, so everything stopped and we are now debating if to finish it or not. We’ll see.

What else occupies your life?

Not much at the moment if not composing more music for various projects.

Thank you. Last word is yours.

I just want to thank you and all fans worldwide for the support and great comments we received after the publishing of the first and second Spettri albums. We never thought that after so many years, we would have been so beautifully recognized and rewarded with the type of music. It is great to see that there are so many people appreciating good prog rock! Thank you all!

Klemen Breznikar

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Headline photo: Raffaele Ponticiello and Stefano Melani (1975)

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