Young Neal & the Vipers - Thirteen (1996)

Young Neal and the Vipers are professional full-time musicians that truly enjoy what they do. Each member of the band keeps busy when not playing music; Donahue is a personal fitness trainer (from the looks of Donahue and his fellow bandmates, I’d say the band probably rehearses in the gym quite often), O’Neil has been bitten by the golf bug (and is improving rapidly), while Vitullo has found fishing to be his second passion. Why has this lineup gelled so well? "We all get along and it’s not as volatile a situation as other times have been," explains Vitullo. "Everybody’s a good guy and nobody’s demanding all the time. There are no huge egos to attend to." With the current lineup intact, the band has expanded its musical horizons, traveling the world extensively while continuing to tour locally as well. These accomplishments are clearly the result of hard work; the Vipers are a band that brings their lunch pails to work every night. I remember attending one of their shows during a winter snowstorm, which had caused a lackluster audience turnout. Expecting nothing more than a rehearsal-like performance for the evening, the two-dozen or so followers were treated to one of the more intense shows that I have witnessed. While a lesser band may have packed it in early, the Vipers were intent of giving the fans their money’s worth and then some. When asked what motivates the band to step up night after night and give it their all, the trio’s response of "it’s the only way we know how to play" rang out in unison. O’Neil explained this philosophy best: "Neal said years ago that you can play 1,000 gigs, and they can all be good, but play one bad one and that’s the gig that people remember." As far as the competition with other bands is concerned, Neal summarized the Vipers outlook. "You just go out and do your best. We don’t spend time looking over our shoulder."