Sweet Memory

SATORI was a popular 1990's era San Francisco rock band that performed classic rock heavily influenced by Journey, the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin. etc. By 1996 their mailing list had over 12,000 fans listed (all handwritten), supporters from the San Francisco area where the band performed 190+ standing room only concerts per year including opening for Cheap Trick and Blue Oyster Cult during each of the two years prior to disbanding. One wonders how large the fan base could have grown if SATORI had been exposed to audiences outside of the SF Bay Area. And now as a result of current music industry opportunities perhaps we will learn the answer.

"SWEET MEMORY", the band's debut 1995 single release and a local fan favorite was written by lead vocalist, Bobby Pokorni. The sprawling, grandiose ballad features Pokorni's pop influenced, pure tone style, poignantly poetic lyrics and an extraordinary lead guitar solo by Steve Sorrell which is complimented by drummer Kenny Custalow, bassist Tim Sanders and keyboardist Randy Nichols who sat in with the band on this tune. Sorrell's solo should be on every amateur and professional guitarist's list of solos to study. It's chord choices, rythmic ideas, musical notes and mastery of phrasing nuance combine to make this solo one of the greatest classic rock guitar solos you never heard.

When asked about his inspiration for this rock anthem style ballad, Pokorni said he'd rather not go into details due to the sensitive nature of the lady involved in the song, but then added, "It's about the music anyway. We're doing classic rock. But in this song it just happens to be about a past relationship. I don't want to stop the clock or turn back time. I'm really just waiting for musical tastes to come full circle back to what we do best. And "SWEET MEMORY" is just like the title says, a classic rock memory at its best."