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Taking a formula
that worked in Long Island, N.Y., Matt and Lizette Totillo are bringing
to the area ’80s music with a twist.
One distinguishing
feature of their band, Blue Monday, is having a keyboard player, which
few other ’80s cover bands have, Lizette says.
“It’s the music
selection and the sounds that come out of the keyboard that authenticate
what we’re playing that sets us apart,” she says.
When the couple
moved to North Carolina last fall, they brought with them the band name
they had performed with extensively, and spots to fill. By January,
Matt, the keyboard player, and Lizette, the lead singer, had a newly
reorganized band that includes Dan Fournier on lead guitar, Scott Miller
on bass guitar and Chad Goins on drums.
Speaking volumes
about its talent, the band has scored some big-time venues in a short
time. They recently have played at Food Lion Speed Street and Taste of
Charlotte. Those larger gigs are a welcome change to the Totillos, who
mostly performed in smaller bars with transient crowds in New York by
virtue of the crowded band market.
“Here, you’ve got
bigger places with people that frequent them often,” Lizette says. “If
you catch the crowd, you’re almost guaranteed they’re going to come
back.”
During a show
complete with lights and fog, the band rocks the crowd with a favorite,
an extended medley of Chumbawamba songs. Among other songs they play are
“Voices Carry” by ’Til Tuesday, “Jump” by Van Halen, “Kyrie” by Mr.
Mister, “Bad” by U2 and “Sweet Child of Mine” by Guns N’ Roses.
“A lot of that
music is different from today,” she says. “When people hear it, it
brings them back to a particular moment – what they were doing when they
heard that song. People are able to relate to them or relate them to
something.”
Go back in time to
great ’80s music with Blue Monday at the Rusty Rudder in Cornelius on
July 29. For more information on the band, visit the Web site
www.bluemonday.net. |
