The Willow Glen Resident

Photograph by Skye Dunlap

Doin' Time: Officer Michael Amaral keeps time for the oldies band Flashback.

Even after work, this Glen officer is still on the beat

By Cecily Barnes

Sipping a nonfat caffe latte, Officer Michel Amaral leans back in his chair at Keystone Coffee Store on S. First Street and without realizing what he's doing begins tapping on the bulletproof vest beneath his shirt.

His black uniform clacks with every touch, a sound so familiar that he doesn't even notice. He taps often, not out of nervousness but because he's got the beat.

The Willow Glen resident and San Jose police officer bought his first drum set at 14, and today plays oldies with his band Flashback at venues throughout the county, including Dolce Vita in Saratoga and the Hotel De Anza in San Jose. He says it's crucial to counterbalance the stress of his law-enforcement job with playing music.

"Typically in law enforcement, you kind of see life in a negative respect; you're trained to find things that aren't right. You're usually intruding on someone that doesn't want to be intruded upon," he says. "The neat thing about music is it gives you a real positive light, because people generally like music, and it brings that back."

Amaral's music career began when he was a young teen, attending Italian weddings with his family. His mother, sister and cousins all played an instrument, and he was originally trained on his mother's instrument, the accordion.

"I started out playing the accordion, but the Beatles and the Beach Boys were starting up, and I didn't want to play it anymore," says Amaral, 48. "I bought my first drum set from my cousin for $300. I still have those drums; they're white marine pearl."

Amaral proved himself a natural on the drums in no time at all and started playing professionally by the age of 15. At times, Amaral boasts, he played shows with bands like the Doobie Brothers and Sly and the Family Stone. But at age 21, Amaral temporarily quit the music business and enrolled in the police academy.

"At age 21 I realized that the music business is [unreliable], and you can't raise a family," Amaral says. "In 1972 I had my first law enforcement job as airport police."

But Amaral couldn't stay away from music for long. After stints in Santa Cruz and Gilroy, he settled down on Minnesota Avenue in Willow Glen in 1979 and rejoined an all-cop band, the Mission Street band, in 1981.

"We had one or two gigs, but my daughter was just born and I had a son. I was also going to San Jose State teaching karate," Amaral says. "It just wasn't the right time."

Finally, in 1996, Amaral found some time and agreeable band mates. The four of them together play bass, guitar, keyboard and drums.

"It's the greatest thing," Amaral says. "You get to see these guys come in, and they're all tense from working all week and slowly they start to relax, have a good time, and they leave with a smile on their face."

Flashback will play at the Hotel De Anza on March 21 and 28, and April 4.

[ Back to Contents Page | Willow Glen Resident Home Page | Archives ]