Cinema Retro has received
the following press release. Since our magazine is edited in New Jersey, we look
forward to seeing this ultimate “Jersey Guy” documentary.
Banded Together:
The Boys From Glen Rock High
Reunite on Hometown New Jersey High School Stage
50 Years Later
You Never Know
What Those Crazy Kids May Grow Up to Be!
Feature Documentary Makes World Premiere Oct. 29th
& 30th at Montclair Film Festival;
Featuring: Lee Shapiro, Jimmy Vivino, John Feeney, Jerry Vivino, Frank
Pagano, Uncle Floyd Vivino, Doug Romoff, Jeff Venho, Joe Sielski & Conan
O'Brien.
LOS ANGELES — Oct. 21, 2022 — For Immediate Release: Having
all established high-profile careers in the music industry, eight men reunite
50 years later to jam on their high school auditorium stage in idyllic Glen
Rock, NJ, and look back on what a strange ride it’s been in Banded Together: The Boys From Glen
Rock High.
Directed, produced and edited by Academy Award-nominated
and Emmy Award-winning documentarian Barry Rubinow (Red Grooms: Sunflower in a
Hothouse, Beakman’s World), this full-length documentary is an official
selection of the Montclair Film Festival (Oct. 21-30). Moved to a bigger
theater to accommodate demand, the film will make its world premiere Saturday,
Oct. 29 at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday Oct. 30 at noon.
About Banded Together: The Boys From Glen Rock High ...
Once upon a time, in the small, Mayberry-esque town of
Glen Rock, NJ, 25 miles and a world away from New York City, a group of friends
from high school joined the music department—some commanded to do so by their
parents or in lieu of receiving detention—with adolescent dreams of making it
in “the
biz.”
From the launch pad of their garage band gatherings and
unassuming high school auditorium, each of them today—Lee Shapiro, Jimmy Vivino,
John Feeney, Jerry Vivino, Frank Pagano, Uncle Floyd Vivino, Doug Romoff and Jeff
Venho—perform at the highest levels of the music industry ... from the main
stage of the Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien (who appears in the film) to hosting
their own show to writing some of the industry’s most successful songs to performing in
arenas with such iconic artists as Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, The
Allman Brothers, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, Donald Fagen and Jimmy Buffet, to
name a few. [short bios, pg. 2]
The remarkable story of a true band of brothers, a group
of close friends who bonded through music, reuniting for a concert in the same
auditorium where they wowed their teachers and fellow students 50 years ago.
Along the way, we learn about their individual journeys and their remarkable
successes, all heavily influenced by their time at Glen Rock High School, under
the tutelage of their beloved music teacher and bandleader, Joe Sielski.
The film explores the importance of music and arts
education for all students and is a touching testament to the value of teaching
and promoting the arts. The love and respect that these musicians have for one
another and their teachers is on full display, as well as their drive,
discipline, humor and sheer talent. Though their careers have taken them
all around the world, performing in front of thousands, there is no greater joy
than returning to the hometown stage that defined them.
Documentary, Music / Running Time: 77 Minutes / Not Rated
Featuring Lee Shapiro, Jimmy Vivino, John Feeney, Jerry
Vivino, Frank Pagano, Uncle Floyd Vivino, Doug Romoff, Jeff Venho, Joe Sielski
and Conan O’Brien.
Directed by Barry Rubinow. Produced by Barry Rubinow and Doug Romoff. Editor
Barry Rubinow. Director of Photography Patrick Cone. Production Designer Richard
Gardner.
About the Musicians ...
JIMMY VIVINO is a guitarist, keyboard player, singer,
producer and music director. He began playing in NYC clubs in the early 1980s
and started producing and arranging music for such artists as Phoebe Snow,
Laura Nyro, John Sebastian, and Donald Fagen. Blues legend Al Kooper considers
Jimmy one of his “discoveries”
and he worked as Kooper’s
musical director for 15 years. Jimmy performed with the house bands for The
Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien
as well as Late Night with Conan O’Brien.
Jimmy led the house band for the late-night program Conan called Jimmy Vivino
and the Basic Cable Band. Jimmy has recorded and played live with renowned
musicians Johnnie Johnson, Hubert Sumlin and Levon Helm.
LEE SHAPIRO is a keyboardist, arranger and music
director. He was studying at the Manhattan School of Music when he was
discovered playing at a club in New Jersey by the manager of the band, Frankie
Valli & The Four Seasons. Lee was age 19 at the time he was asked to join.
He was the arranger on the hit songs, “Who Loves You” and “Oh What a Night.” Lee also worked with Barry
Manilow on Copacabana, The Musical before starting Lee Shapiro Music, a company
that created music for the media and advertising. He also created the “must have” toys of 2000, ‘Rock N Roll Elmo’ and ‘Rock N Roll Ernie’ for Fisher-Price. Lee formed the classic rock
band The Hit Men with former Four Seasons bandmates Gerry Polci and Don
Ciccone. The band has evolved over the past 12 years and is touring with band
members who perform with the legends of classic rock.
JOHN FEENEY, principal double bass of the Orchestra of
St. Luke’s,
the American Classical Orchestra and Opera Lafayette, is a chamber musician and
soloist of international renown. John has performed as a guest bassist with the
Vienna Philharmonic. An avid Viennese violinist, in 2010 he co-founded The
Serenade Orchestra and the Serenade Quartet, performing many dozens of concerts
featuring the music of 18th and 19th century Vienna. John has recorded
extensively for most major record labels and holds bachelor and master degrees
from the Juilliard School where he was a scholarship student of David Walter.
He began his bass studies with Linda McKnight.
UNCLE FLOYD VIVINO is a legendary comedian, musician and
entertainer. He created and starred in The Uncle Floyd Show, a comedic variety
show that can be equally read as a children’s program or a parody of a children’s program. The show aired
for over two decades and featured character comedy, puppetry, audience
participation, Floyd’s
vaudevillian piano playing and a puppet sidekick named Oogie. The Uncle Floyd
Show had musical guests including such renowned performers as The Ramones, Bon
Jovi, Blue Öyster Cult, Joe Jackson and Cyndi Lauper. Uncle Floyd continues to
perform his one-of-a-kind act around various northern New Jersey venues. Check
out his
radio show every Sunday at 9 a.m. EST on WFDU-FM 89.1 and
WFDU-FM.
FRANK PAGANO is a drums and percussion musician and
teacher. He graduated from the Manhattan School of Music to go on to work with
Phoebe Snow and Concord Jazz recording artists Jackie and Roy. Frank has played
music in Broadway shows since 1985. His performing and recording credits range
from Smokey Joe’s
Cafe and Escape to Margaritaville, to Darlene Love and Bruce Springsteen and
the E Street Band. Frank is currently recording drums, percussion and vocals
with prog-rock band Renaissance. He also performs with the Jon Herington Band and The Harmonious Five.
JERRY VIVINO is a multi-talented reed player who attributes
his mastering of seven woodwinds to his high school band director Joe Sielski.
After graduating in 1972 he attended Manhattan School of Music aspiring to
become a full-time musician. For 25 years he was the featured saxophonist for
Conan O’Brien
on NBC’S
Late Night, The Tonight Show and the TBS cable TV show Conan. As a sideman,
Jerry has shared the stage or recorded with the likes of Tony Bennett, Donald
Fagen, Johnny Mathis, Darlene Love, Dion DiMucci, Stanley Clark, Franki Valli,
Keely Smith, The Allman Brothers, Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen to name a few.
Jerry also performs with his brother Floyd’s The Uncle Floyd Show, brother Jimmy’s Blues Revue and as a
leader with his own jazz quartet.
DOUG ROMOFF is a professional bassist, entrepreneur and
film producer. He performed music in many Broadway shows as well as movie
scores and commercial jingles. Doug founded Harmony 534, a full-service music
production and video editing facility with clients such as Sesame Street and
Criterion Films. Doug also founded the Paradiso Group, an advertising agency
that creates multi-media presentations, live television broadcasts and classic
TV, radio and print advertising. Doug was the executive producer and creator of
Beyond the Crush, a docu-series about wine owners in Napa Valley. He is the
co-owner and creative director for
Adrenaline Films, a creative services company with clients such as
Universal Studios and Xfinity.
JEFF VENHO attended the Juilliard School as a scholarship
trumpet performance major, graduating with a master’s degree. Jeff has performed with the NYC
Opera, the American Symphony, the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra and numerous
Broadway Shows. In addition to his freelance activities, Jeff is currently
employed as Trumpet Professor at Hofstra University and is the Winds Department
Chair at the Rudolf Steiner School in Manhattan.
About the Mentor ...
JOE SIELSKI was the music teacher and band leader at Glen
Rock High School from 1963 to 2003. In 1968, he started the orchestra program
at the school, and served on the Middle Atlantic States High School Evaluation
Committee. In 1976, Joe got his M.A. degree in conducting from Columbia
University TC. He also served as Glen Rock High School Fine Arts Department
Chairperson. Joe has been married to his wife, Carolyn, for more than 50 years.
They hosted the reunion of the Boys From Glen Rock High and Joe played/ conducted
at the reunion concert at Glen Rock High School.
About the Filmmaker ...
BARRY RUBINOW grew up in Glen Rock, New Jersey, and made
his first film in eighth grade at Glen Rock Junior/Senior High School. With
early aspirations to be a filmmaker, he moved to Los Angeles and attended the
University of Southern California’s
acclaimed school of cinema. The first documentary he edited, Red Grooms:
Sunflower in a Hothouse, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best
Documentary Short Subject. His career as a producer, director, editor and indie
filmmaker has included winning an Emmy Award for editing the CBS science show, Beakman’s World. He was also a
founding member of the Documentary Channel, which was in 25 million homes on
Dish Network and DirecTV, and ran all creative endeavors of the channel,
overseeing the branding and on-air IDs and promos. He produced over 100
episodes of the channel’s
flagship original show, DocTalk, interviewing acclaimed documentary filmmakers
from Werner Herzog to Alex Gibney to Errol Morris. Rubinow brings his unique
background and experience and love of his hometown, to this powerful project.
(www.bandedtogethermovie.com)
For tickets and information about the Montclair Film Festival, click here.
