Michael Fonfara

Biography

Fonfara's career as a professional musician commenced in 1963, when he started playing in the Toronto band, Lee Jackson & The Checkmates in 1963, which evolved into Jon and Lee & The Checkmates soon afterwards. Members of Jon and Lee & The Checkmates ultimately formed the nucleus of the later bands Rhinoceros and Blackstone, plus contributed significantly to the work of Lou Reed in the 1970s.

When John and Lee & The Checkmates broke up in September 1967, Fonfara worked briefly with David Clayton-Thomas and then, during the months of November and December, 1967, toured and recorded with The Electric Flag, featuring Buddy Miles and Michael Bloomfield. Fonfara replaced keyboardist and founding Electric Flag member Barry Goldberg. He was then selected by producer Paul Rothchild as a member of the Elektra Records' hand-picked, "supergroup", Rhinoceros, in December 1967. Fonfara was the co-writer of the band's major hit, "Apricot Brandy", and recorded three albums with the group.

Upon the dissolution of Rhinoceros in 1971, Fonfara joined with ex-Rhinoceros bandmates John Finley, Danny Weis, Larry Leishman and Peter Hodgson to form the group Blackstone. The band recorded one album in 1972, On The Line, again produced by Paul Rothchild, prior to splintering and then breaking up in 1973. Fonfara thereafter commenced working with Lou Reed, an association that continued throughout the balance of the 1970s. Fonfara caught Reed's attention for his work on The Everly Brothers' 1974 album Stories We Could Tell. In 1976, Fonfara was a member of controversial Toronto-based band Rough Trade, acting as keyboard player and arranger on their first album. He left the band at the end of 1977 in a dispute over payment for his work on Rough Trade's live revue show Restless Underwear. During the latter part of the 1970s and continuing to 1981, he was a member of the pop rock group Tycoon, based in New York City, which recorded two albums. He also played as a session musician on "Urgent" by Foreigner, a single that reached #4 in the US and #1 in Canada; the single's parent album Foreigner 4 hit number 1 on Billboard and was certified 6x platinum.

In the 1980s, Fonfara returned to Toronto, where he became a key member of the Canadian R&B band The Lincolns. The Lincolns had been founded by Prakash John, with whom Fonfara had first played in a later version of Blackstone in 1973 and, thereafter, when both were playing and recording with Lou Reed, during the balance of the 1970s. Fonfara continues to play with The Lincolns, while remaining a member of The Downchild Blues Band, which he joined in 1990. In 2000, 2004, 2007 and 2009, he was the recipient of the Maple Blues Award, as piano/keyboard player of the year. Fonfara's career-based contributions to blues music were recognized through his nomination in 2008 and 2009 for the "Blues With A Feeling" Maple Blues Award.

Jon and Lee & The Checkmates

Electric Flag

Rhinoceros

Blackstone

Lou Reed

Rough Trade

Tycoon

The Lincolns

Downchild

Selected other contributions