Spring Break
Unique
Emily Abbate
Issue date: 10/9/07 Section: Focus
Think about some of the best rock and blues musicians of all time. Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn - the list is almost endless and contains dozens of influential soloists and groups. Now think of the classic styles and reverberating tones of these classic artists, flowing out of a group of five individuals and their instruments around campus. All of these individuals are in college and submerged in a music style that, for the most part, is not popular amongst their generation.
Mike Zaccaro, a 5th-semester communications major, and Dayne Laskey, a 5th-semester pharmacy major, are two UConn students that make up the five-person blues/rock/experimental band called the Supertones. The other band mates include Tim Atherton, Jordan Hill and Alex Wernquest, who all attend other universities.
"The Supertones like to rock out," said Laskey, who plays the keyboard.
"We put a new twist on an old sound. We play a lot of blues and classic rock music, and put our own feel to it, to make it something new."
The band came together from two separate musical efforts. Zaccaro, Laskey and Atherton played together in a band named "DMT," which was popular "in their high school circuit," Laskey said. Being in the band supplied them with a nomination for class musicians and talent that won them their high school talent show. Through mutual friends, the threesome met Wernquest and Hill, the Supertones' current lead singers and guitarists. From then on, Laskey said, "It was history."
"What are the odds of a teenage blues keyboard/bass/drum trio finding two teenage blues singers/guitarists? We just knew it was meant to be," he said.
Last year, the Supertones competed in the SUBOG Battle of the Bands and came out on top. Next up for the ever-evolving musical stylings of the Supertones was the Connecticut Blues Challenge, which ended in mid-September, where out of 30 original bands, they made it to the top five.
"We got up on stage and there were a bunch of old guys in bowling shirts and guys who have been doing this for 40 years," said Laskey, discussing his band's obvious difference in makeup from its competitors.
These five guys have come together to really do something unique with their different types of talent. The band agrees about the positive impact of music on their everyday lives.
"I love playing the music because it has a lot of feeling. The beauty of the blues is that each time we play one of our original blues songs, it's a completely different experience from the next because it's so emotion driven," said Zaccaro.
"Music helps me with everything; keeps my head on straight, keeps me away from bad habits, helps me with time management and is just so much fun, and spiritual."
The band hopes, like many others, to be discovered and find a record deal.
"We don't know what the future holds," said Laskey, "but hopefully it is in the form of an album, a tour and a lot of gigs."
Contact Emily Abbate at Emily.Abbate@UConn.edu.
Mike Zaccaro, a 5th-semester communications major, and Dayne Laskey, a 5th-semester pharmacy major, are two UConn students that make up the five-person blues/rock/experimental band called the Supertones. The other band mates include Tim Atherton, Jordan Hill and Alex Wernquest, who all attend other universities.
"The Supertones like to rock out," said Laskey, who plays the keyboard.
"We put a new twist on an old sound. We play a lot of blues and classic rock music, and put our own feel to it, to make it something new."
The band came together from two separate musical efforts. Zaccaro, Laskey and Atherton played together in a band named "DMT," which was popular "in their high school circuit," Laskey said. Being in the band supplied them with a nomination for class musicians and talent that won them their high school talent show. Through mutual friends, the threesome met Wernquest and Hill, the Supertones' current lead singers and guitarists. From then on, Laskey said, "It was history."
"What are the odds of a teenage blues keyboard/bass/drum trio finding two teenage blues singers/guitarists? We just knew it was meant to be," he said.
Last year, the Supertones competed in the SUBOG Battle of the Bands and came out on top. Next up for the ever-evolving musical stylings of the Supertones was the Connecticut Blues Challenge, which ended in mid-September, where out of 30 original bands, they made it to the top five.
"We got up on stage and there were a bunch of old guys in bowling shirts and guys who have been doing this for 40 years," said Laskey, discussing his band's obvious difference in makeup from its competitors.
These five guys have come together to really do something unique with their different types of talent. The band agrees about the positive impact of music on their everyday lives.
"I love playing the music because it has a lot of feeling. The beauty of the blues is that each time we play one of our original blues songs, it's a completely different experience from the next because it's so emotion driven," said Zaccaro.
"Music helps me with everything; keeps my head on straight, keeps me away from bad habits, helps me with time management and is just so much fun, and spiritual."
The band hopes, like many others, to be discovered and find a record deal.
"We don't know what the future holds," said Laskey, "but hopefully it is in the form of an album, a tour and a lot of gigs."
Contact Emily Abbate at Emily.Abbate@UConn.edu.
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