~ Bob Flanagan ~ Musician, Character Actor

I started playing trumpet in the school band at 12. Quickly mastered it and became 1st chair in band and Jazz band. In 1976, along with other top musicians from school, formed a 7pc band Called GSB playing top hits and horn driven music of the day with songs from bands like Chicago. We played events, parties, and Italian feasts and I played to my first audience of over 1000.
I always loved acoustic guitar, piano and the songs of my favorite bands that featured them like Neal Young, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Jethro Tull, Marshall Tucker, and Allman Bros. Learning Blackbird and Melissa was a right of passage for any aspiring acoustic guitar player during those days. So at 15, I began dabbling with guitar and piano. I studied music theory for 3 years during high school and had a music lab class with acoustic guitars and piano practice rooms and would experiment with ear training and began playing by ear. I preferred playing by ear. Maybe there was a ittle laziness there.. I play by ear to this day.
I was a wayward kid and during this time I lived in a foster home with a Steinway grand piano and a classically trained pianist foster mother who would play Chopin's Nocturn in Eb Maj. and Fur Elise and mentored me to read music for piano. I struggled through learning Fur Elise, but I much preferred playing Locomotive Breath by ear. 

Later, in my late teens and early 20's I bought rock music books for piano and learned a little Bruce Springsteen and Bob Seger. 

I eventually bought a Korg Poly 61 Synthesizer around 1982 and played in a startup with songs like Oye Como Va, Back Door Man, Tom Soyer and some originals. I would bounce between keys, rythm guitar & sometimes bass, whatever the song called for.
Music eventually took a back seat to raising a family and I would sporadically play guitar over the next 20 years or so. 

Unfortunately, I never returned to playing keyboard or trumpet.
I spent several years studying Lindsey Buckingham's unique finger style guitar playing and spent countless hours learning to replicate his finger picking and Fleetwood Mac's catalog of music. 

I started The Chain in 2018 after a failed first attempt at starting a Fleetwood Mac tribute Band.  We have a band of first rate musicians and vocalists and are recognized as one of the premier Fleetwood Mac / Stevie Nicks tribute bands in the NY tri-state area.
I love rehearsing and performing with my talented bandmates and authentically recreate the music of Fleetwood Mac like no other band. I especially love the reaction of the audience and bringing them some joy through our music. That's what makes it all worth while!✨️