Wherever you thought you were going to be on the evening of Friday, February 4, it’s time to change your plans. The next generation of rock will be on stage at Verona High School and you will definitely want to be there to cheer them on.
The Verona Music Parents Association and the Verona PBA Local#72 have teamed up to create “Cops & Rockers”, Verona’s first teen band competition. There will be four Verona student bands and one solo act performing, as well as a band that includes police officers and friends. Rocktec Music, the guitar and drums store that has only been part of the Verona business community for a little over a year, has stepped up to offer two cool raffles and a very amazing prize for the winners of the competition. The evening is a fundraiser for the PBA’s charity arm and the Verona music program.
The lineup includes Fusion, a bad composed of Andrew Capuano, Ryan Yeates, Nick Celfo, Steve Wynen and Austin Williams. Then there’s Angmar, led by Conor Lawless. Next up is Relapse, which includes Evan Yee, Patrick Sullivan and Mike and Matt Bartell. And finally there’s a band whose name was still in flux at press time. It includes Issaac Rubins, Dom Gagliano, Sean McGinley and Mike Basil. Canberk Oguz, who performed the rap number below at the Spotlight Players Parents Association Talent Night last Saturday, will be doing a solo performance. The Formatters, a band from Wayne, will be performing just for fun.
The “Cops” part of the evening will be a band composed by Sgt. Dan Greco on guitar and retired Sgt. Marty Santuoso on drums, and two VHS alumni who are being “deputized” for the evening: Hillcrest Farms’ Pat Filoso on bass guitar and Gerard DiNola, who’s the group’s vocalist. There will also be a special acoustic guitar performance by officer John Lecreux.
Rocktec owner Rich Ciricillo is supplying all the sound equipment needed to make the evening a real rock and roll show. He is also donating two Dean guitars with retail value of $1,100 to be raffled off. Ciricillo’s colleague, Bob Agosto of Cat eyeZ Studios in Verona, is recording and professionally mixing the show for the performers, as well as offering the grand prize: A day in Agosto’s studio recording a professional CD, a prize valued at approximately $1,000.
Right about now, you’re probably thinking, OK, how do I get tickets? Here’s how: Tickets are $8 per person in advance or $10 at the door. You can buy tickets at the police station or at Rocktec, which is located at 522 Bloomfield Avenue, across from Verona Park. You can also get tickets through the VMPA or at H.B. Whitehorne Middle School. If all else fails, call 973-650-6910 or e-mail Sgt. Greco at [email protected].
