Desperate Heart - blog post cover

Desperate Heart – Music by Arthur Dobrucki and performed by the band Dorian was premiered in 1985. This song was a fixture in the band’s song sets when they gigged on the Los Angeles club circuit in 1985.

I started a personal project at the house recently which is to start digitizing the family photo archive.  I asked my wife for a box of photos, with the intention of starting to work through these slowly but surely.  Turns out that the very first box, had at the front, old photo from my band Dorian for whom I played keyboards from 1981 through 1986.  I hadn’t seen these in probably 20 years it seems.

After the scanning session, I had some free time late Sunday evening and started playing around with putting together a photo slide show over one of our songs from back in the day.  So posted on this Throwback Thursday is a song I wrote, Desperate Heart, which the band had in its song lineup in 1985-1986.  

Desperate Heart
Music/Lyrics: Arthur Dobrucki
Performance: Dorian 1985

YouTube video

While we started as a cover band in 1981, by 1985, we played every club up and down the Sunset Strip in Hollywood with our original tunes.  By 1985, we had well over 40 songs in the repertoire.  What I enjoyed about our band is that in the day when bands on the local circuit were drilling their usually ten-song sets relentlessly over and over, coming to see Dorian was an altogether different experience.  

Four lead singers bringing a variety from the rough and ragged, to pop soaring vocals, plus a unique female voice, let us tap into a broader landscape of sound than most.  Tight vocal harmonies, an amazing drummer, an in-sync rhythm section, and moments of rock improvisation provided a solid musical foundation.  And with the song list, you could see us on a Wednesday at the Troubador, Thursday at what is now the Viper Room, and on the weekend at Gazzarri’s on the Strip, and hear a different setlist every gig.  

Dorian was:

Dean Palacio: Lead vocals, harmonies, guitar, sound master
Tony Palacio: Bass guitar, lead vocals, harmonies
Minnie Towers: Lead vocals, harmonies, assorted percussion
Jim “Animal” Hillis: Drummer extraordinaire, lead vocals, harmonies
Art Dobrucki: Keyboards, harmonies

My keyboard rig included:

Wurlitzer Electric Piano
Roland RS-09 String Ensemble
Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer
Korg Poly 61
Ensoniq Mirage

The band ended its ride in 1986.  I logged just over 500 gigs with the band, having a blast in venues all over Southern California.  Great memories.

We’ll see what other memories lay in store in those photo boxes.

As the Bryan Adams song goes recalling the band of my youth, “…those were the best years of my life.”

Arthur Dobrucki
#dorian #tbt #dobrucki