Sal Cataldi, a musician who lives on a barge in Tom’s Point Marina, released his new CD, Sketches of Spam, recently. The CD was recorded largely on the barge, named Houseboat Garlic Knot by Cataldi’s daughter. Cataldi plays guitars, keyboard, electronics, bass and sings on the CD. Final mastering was done at Parcheesi Recording Studios in Huntington by Grammy-Award winning engineer Bob Stander.
Cataldi has lived in Port Washington since 1996, and on the barge for the last 10 years. “I got divorced, unfortunately, and wanted to stay close to my children in Port Washington,” said Cataldi. “I looked at houses but then saw something about barges and came down and looked. It’s like a house built into a hull. It’s two stories and has two bedrooms, one-and-a-half baths, central air. It’s very nice. I can go kayaking from my back deck.” Cataldi’s children went to Port Washington schools. His daughter went to the School of Rock for eight years and learned to play the bass. His daughter is now in college and his son has graduated from college.
Before the recent hurricanes, Sandy and Irene, that hit Long Island, Cataldi says he took all his valuables and irreplaceables and put them in his car and stayed at a friend’s house. “After Irene, I came back and the lights were already on in half the marina. The barge survived.” According to Cataldi, there are about 50 houseboats in the five marinas in Port Washington. “I have great neighbors and the barges are close to each other so you see them. A barge, by definition, doesn’t have propulsion. It stays put. I ride my bike all over Port Washington. I commute so I ride my bike to the train station every day.”
Caltadi has owned his own public relations company since 1988, Cataldi Public Relations, Inc., in Manhattan. According to his company’s website, Cataldi Public Relations has created award-winning publicity, promotions, communications and guerrilla marketing campaigns for some of the world’s best-known consumer products, media and entertainment concerns, including AMC, HBO, Sony Pictures, American Express, Tanqueray Gin, Dewar’s White Label, Alizé, Weider Publishing and The National Audubon Society. “I do guerrilla campaigns like zombie invasions. I created fake billboards in LA for the Society for the Prevention of Celebrity Divorce to promote a bootcamp reality show.”
Cataldi says he’s gotten a great response to the CD. “This is my first solo CD. I play under the name Spaghetti Eastern Music, which is a play on spaghetti westerns. Living on the waves, living with nature, sneaks into the music. It’s an interesting process to work here on the water,” said Cataldi. “It’s a definite influence on the music. I love the waterfront.” The CD varies in style from song to song; from spare acoustic narrative to funky bebop guitar with some songs reminiscent of bluesy Santana.
Cataldi started playing music when he was a child. He’s lived in Brooklyn and made several albums with different groups. Cataldi plays at local venues including the Port Washington Public Library. He will be playing at Harmony Vineyards in Stony Brook on Aug. 23 at 2 p.m. For more information about Cataldi go to www.cataldipr.com. You can buy Sketches of Spam at www.cdbaby.com, iTunes and Amazon.
