| Leo
Isserelli (1940- ) The third son of an Italian immigrant family in New York, Leo Isserelli learned to play the guitar by the age of eight. Decisively influenced by his uncle and classical guitarist, Michael Isserelli, Leo set an early goal of becoming a professional musician. By the age of sixteen, he was already touring with a swing band, The Jim Brommen Orchestra, 10 years after the height of the big band era. In 1957, Isserelli refused to jump on the wagon of rock 'n roll because "it just didn't have any soul," and quit the band. In 1958, Isserelli had a child with a woman considered by his peers to be "of easy virtue." To escape pressure from family for marriage and child support, Isserelli left New York and found himself in Des Plain, Illinois. There he found work as a forklift operator for a local restaurant supply company. Coincidentally, one of the distributor's customers was a soon-to-be fast-food icon, and the company grew with the account. In the 1960's, Isserelli climbed the ranks of the distributor, becoming recognized for his "high quality, lowest cost" attitude (with a strong emphasis on the latter). However, he would later speak openly of his unhappiness at work, at first irritated by the alarms from forklifts in reverse and later on, as a manager, distressed by "the uneven clang of typewriters" and intercom messages, "(beep) Mr. Isserelli, telephone for Mr. Isserelli. It's your mother (beep)." Moreover, the price battering executives weren't nearly as congenial as the audiences of his youth. Guided by his ears, Isserelli spent the late 1970's "searching for a sound as soothing as that of his childhood" and found it through the guitar. Never having made friends with the popular music of the time, he returned to the music of his uncle, classical guitar. In May of 1980, Isserelli played in his first solo appearance at a café in Chicago. Soon after, Isserelli reviewed his Italian, dyed his eyebrows and hair black, and developed a costume from a white collared shirt, black vest and slacks in order to "add to the experience of the audience." He disregarded the idea of his profession as the musical version of kitsch artwork and elevated his performance from the café scene to dinner parties in 1983. This new outlet, in addition to less abrasive sounds at work (he influenced the use of the intercom for music), improved Isserelli's humor and led to many innovations in the world of packaging. One of which was the development of a foam sandwich box that "kept the cold side cold and the hot side hot" and would later be used in a popular advertisement campaign by the distributor's customer. The rebirth of swing during the late 1990's forced Isserelli to return to the café scene with his performance, as he vowed "only to move forward and disregard fickle trends" with the development of his music. It was Isserelli's business value of lowest cost that kept him in demand at cafes for the next three years. With a new promotion in 1998 as the distributor's top account manager came added pressure and time constraints to his schedule. Ultimately, the lack of time and audience interest led to Isserelli's complete departure from the café scene that same year. However, Isserelli has continued to coax his coworkers' ears with weekly lunch hour performances at the office cafeteria. | |
