Salvatore Principato

Salvatore Principato is best known as the vocalist and percussionist of seminal minimalist-funk band Liquid Liquid, but his nearly three-decade career actually spans a wide variety of genres.

Raised in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Principato relocated to San Francisco in the late 1970’s, where he performed spoken word, composed songs, and created short films.
He soon returned to the east coast moving to New York City (where he currently resides) and joined Liquid Liquid with hometown friend Richard McGuire along with Scott Hartley. After the band’s CBGB debut in August 1979, and the recruiting of new member Dennis Young, the band began recording for 99 Records and released three EPs: Liquid Liquid, Successive Reflexes (both 1981), and Optimo (1983). The group’s successes included club hits such as “Cavern,” “Bellhead,” and “Optimo,” in addition to sold-out concerts worldwide. “Cavern” became the basis of Grandmaster Flash’s rap classic, “White Lines (Don’t Do It).” Post-McGuire, the band released one final EP Dig We Must in 1984, before officially disbanding.

Before long, Principato returned to music and formed the industrial-dub outfit Fist of Facts, which toured Europe and released a 12-inch EP Fugitive Vesco in 1988 (recently another limited edition Fist Of Facts record has been released by Claremont 56 out of London). In the early 1990’s, Principato began producing words-and-music shows in downtown New York clubs and galleries, as well as an annual series of free outdoor shows and a cable TV program based on these shows. He played drums with a rock band Liki Outhaus, collaborated with the late Zen Guitar author Phil Toshio Sudo in the experimental music project Avant Garbage, and ran a downtown rehearsal studio. For the past few years, under the “Univer-SAL” banner, he has produced many African and Caribbean music concerts and is currently promoting Universal Sundays, a weekly event in New York City.

Principato’s DJ efforts have been in demand as of late and he has championed the turntables at venues in the U.S., Europe, and South Africa. Several mixes are in the works or have been released most notably for the Rong Music label in collaboration with musicians and producers such as Dennis Young, Brennan Green & Citizen Kane, he has also worked with Kaos, the Berlin-based DJ and producer & with Ectomorph’s BMG from Detroit . Recent releases & collaborations have come out on the Claremont 56 & Disques Sinthomme imprint, as well as others tba.

On May 19, 2008, Domino Records released a reissue of Liquid Liquid’s first three records along with previously unreleased bonus tracks in a newly designed package.

The band occasionally gets together to play a series of shows.

Principato’s cultural concerns don’t end with music. He is an avid vegetarian cook, photographer & graphic designer and lover of all topics political in perspective