Original lineup's plan for a reunion show is the real thing
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Last updated: Thursday October 8, 2009, 9:18 AM
BY EAMON HARBORD
Town News
MANAGING EDITOR
After
spending the early ‘90s touring America and Europe, metal band
Non-Fiction split when band members decided to pursue other musical
interests. But for one night next month, the original line-up,
featuring Paramus native Dan Lorenzo on guitar, will take the stage in
Clifton for a reunion show.
Non-Fiction also features vocalist Alan Tecchio of Denville, drummer
Mike Cristi of New Milford and bassist Kevin Bolembach of Clifton.
Lorenzo’s interest in music began back in 1978 when he first heard
Kiss play. Shortly thereafter, he started learning how to play the
guitar and hasn’t put it down since. He went on to form his first band,
Hades, with friend Paul Smith, but later brought in Tecchio as the
vocalist. Hades released a full-length album in 1987 and toured for a
while, but the group later split. Lorenzo then created Non-Fiction with
Cristi, bassist Damon Trotta and vocalist Dan Nastasi from Mucky Pup,
while Tecchio was in Texas performing with Watchtower. After Nastasi
left to form Dog Eat Dog, Tecchio returned from Texas and became the
vocalist for Non-Fiction.
"Non-Fiction was everything Dan wanted from Hades," Tecchio said.
"It was a pure stripped down version that was vocally liberating."
Bolembach, who had been playing with a few other bands at the time,
auditioned for three bands in 1991 – one of which was Non-Fiction. He
also auditioned for Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth of Overkill and the band
Savatage.
"Bobby hated my look, but liked how I played. Savatage liked my
look, but hated how I played. Non-Fiction hated both," joked Bolembach.
"I had been a fan of Hades for some time, and had seen them perform
plenty of times before, so it was really cool to get to play with them."
Signed by Grand Slamm Records following a performance at CBGB’s in
Manhattan, Non-Fiction released their first album, "Preface," in 1991.
A second album, "In the Know," came out the following year, followed by
the band opening for Alice in Chains, premiering a music video on MTV’s
"Headbanger’s Ball" and touring with both Overkill in the U.S. and
Savatage in Europe. Non-Fiction released their final album, "It’s a
Wonderful Lie," before splitting in 1994.
Each of the band members went on to pursue different projects
following the break-up. Lorenzo and Tecchio reunited Hades for a
three-album stint from 1999 to 2002, and have continued to expand their
musical careers elsewhere. Lorenzo has recorded several solo albums,
Tecchio is currently working with his new band Autumn Hour, and
Bolembach plays in Infernophonic.
The reunion
The decision to do a reunion show only came up recently. Bolembach
had attended the Mucky Pup reunion show in April 2008 and was greeted
by Non-Fiction fans that hoped for a reunion show of their own.
"It had been on my mind for a while," Bolembach said. "Usually I’m
against what’s popular and nostalgia has been popular for a while now,
but the fans kept coming and asking when we would play again, and after
the Mucky Pup show, I figured it would be worth doing; to do it for the
fans, because after several years the music is still influential."
Bolembach brought the idea to Lorenzo and Tecchio, who brought
Cristi back to the stage for the show. The band then reached out to the
owner of Dingbatz in Clifton to set up a date.
"After all these years, to perform sporadically is fun," Lorenzo
said. "When it’s your job it becomes less fun, but there are a lot of
loyal fans both in the area and out-of-state that are coming."
Because Non-Fiction has not played together in 10 years, the band is
busy scheduling practice sessions so they can be ready for the show.
The reunion show will be held on Saturday, Nov. 7, 9 p.m., at
Dingbatz nightclub, 620 Van Houten Ave., Clifton. Crewman Number Six
will open the show before Non-Fiction takes the stage. Tickets for the
show can be purchased by visiting www.dingbatznj.com under "Events" for
the Non-Fiction reunion show. The cost is $12.
The band will perform songs from their three albums, "Preface," "In
The Know," and "It’s a Wonderful Lie." The nightclub has an age limit
of 21 and older.
For more information about Non-Fiction, visit www.myspace.com/nonfictionnj.
For Non-Fiction fans who miss the Hades lineup, Lorenzo and Tecchio are planning a Hades reunion in April 2010.
E-mail: harbord@northjersey.com
After
spending the early ‘90s touring America and Europe, metal band
Non-Fiction split when band members decided to pursue other musical
interests. But for one night next month, the original line-up,
featuring Paramus native Dan Lorenzo on guitar, will take the stage in
Clifton for a reunion show.
Non-Fiction
also features vocalist Alan Tecchio of Denville, drummer Mike Cristi of
New Milford and bassist Kevin Bolembach of Clifton.
Lorenzo’s
interest in music began back in 1978 when he first heard Kiss play.
Shortly thereafter, he started learning how to play the guitar and
hasn’t put it down since. He went on to form his first band, Hades,
with friend Paul Smith, but later brought in Tecchio as the vocalist.
Hades released a full-length album in 1987 and toured for a while, but
the group later split. Lorenzo then created Non-Fiction with Cristi,
bassist Damon Trotta and vocalist Dan Nastasi from Mucky Pup, while
Tecchio was in Texas performing with Watchtower. After Nastasi left to
form Dog Eat Dog, Tecchio returned from Texas and became the vocalist
for Non-Fiction.
"Non-Fiction
was everything Dan wanted from Hades," Tecchio said. "It was a pure
stripped down version that was vocally liberating."
Bolembach,
who had been playing with a few other bands at the time, auditioned for
three bands in 1991 – one of which was Non-Fiction. He also auditioned
for Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth of Overkill and the band Savatage.
"Bobby
hated my look, but liked how I played. Savatage liked my look, but
hated how I played. Non-Fiction hated both," joked Bolembach. "I had
been a fan of Hades for some time, and had seen them perform plenty of
times before, so it was really cool to get to play with them."
Signed
by Grand Slamm Records following a performance at CBGB’s in Manhattan,
Non-Fiction released their first album, "Preface," in 1991. A second
album, "In the Know," came out the following year, followed by the band
opening for Alice in Chains, premiering a music video on MTV’s
"Headbanger’s Ball" and touring with both Overkill in the U.S. and
Savatage in Europe. Non-Fiction released their final album, "It’s a
Wonderful Lie," before splitting in 1994.
Each
of the band members went on to pursue different projects following the
break-up. Lorenzo and Tecchio reunited Hades for a three-album stint
from 1999 to 2002, and have continued to expand their musical careers
elsewhere. Lorenzo has recorded several solo albums, Tecchio is
currently working with his new band Autumn Hour, and Bolembach plays in
Infernophonic.
The reunion
The
decision to do a reunion show only came up recently. Bolembach had
attended the Mucky Pup reunion show in April 2008 and was greeted by
Non-Fiction fans that hoped for a reunion show of their own.
"It
had been on my mind for a while," Bolembach said. "Usually I’m against
what’s popular and nostalgia has been popular for a while now, but the
fans kept coming and asking when we would play again, and after the
Mucky Pup show, I figured it would be worth doing; to do it for the
fans, because after several years the music is still influential."
Bolembach
brought the idea to Lorenzo and Tecchio, who brought Cristi back to the
stage for the show. The band then reached out to the owner of Dingbatz
in Clifton to set up a date.
"After
all these years, to perform sporadically is fun," Lorenzo said. "When
it’s your job it becomes less fun, but there are a lot of loyal fans
both in the area and out-of-state that are coming."
Because
Non-Fiction has not played together in 10 years, the band is busy
scheduling practice sessions so they can be ready for the show.
The
reunion show will be held on Saturday, Nov. 7, 9 p.m., at Dingbatz
nightclub, 620 Van Houten Ave., Clifton. Crewman Number Six will open
the show before Non-Fiction takes the stage. Tickets for the show can
be purchased by visiting www.dingbatznj.com under "Events" for the
Non-Fiction reunion show. The cost is $12.
The
band will perform songs from their three albums, "Preface," "In The
Know," and "It’s a Wonderful Lie." The nightclub has an age limit of 21
and older.
For more information about Non-Fiction, visit www.myspace.com/nonfictionnj.
For Non-Fiction fans who miss the Hades lineup, Lorenzo and Tecchio are planning a Hades reunion in April 2010.