Date: Fri 28-Mar-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

Chorus-fund-raiser-Dr-J's

Full Text:

DR J'S ALL STARS w/ cut & artwork

Parents of nearly 150 student singers at Newtown High School have pulled

together to begin a fund-raising campaign, organizing events that will benefit

what has been dubbed The 1998 European Performing Tour. The Newtown Choral

Parents Fund Raising Committee (NCPFRC) is hoping to raise money that will

offset the cost of sending approximately 100 students - members of the NHS

Chorus, Concert Choir, and Madrigal Singers - to Italy in April 1998.

Three events have already been presented on behalf of the tour. There was a

candy sale in the fall, a gift wrap sale during the December holidays, and a

catalogue sale of Princess House Crystal.

The NCPFRC is now preparing an event it hopes will significantly boost the

fund-raising campaign. On Saturday, April 5, the committee will sponsor a

benefit performance by a high-energy five-piece band, Dr J's All-Stars.

Admission for the event is $15 per person, and the event is for age 21 and

over. Groups are encouraged to reserve full tables.

Cake and coffee will be served at the close of the evening, which wraps up at

midnight. Guests are welcome to bring their own wine and hors

d'oeuvres/munchies. St Rose has given the OK for the consumption of alcohol

within the church's hall for the event.

For ticket information or reservations, call 270-1502 or 426-7997.

Performing For Fun

Dr J's All Stars have, for about five years, been performing new and old

favorites from the Beatles to Motown, and rock standards from the Sixties to

today, at countless charity events, parties and social functions throughout

the region. Band members are Tony Summo, lead guitar and vocals; Joe Summo,

lead vocals and backing guitar; John Heithaus, keyboards and vocals; Carmine

Pinto, drums; and George Miller, bass.

Inspired by a song by rock musician Bob Seeger, Tony Summo offers, "I truly

believe rock n' roll never forgets."

"Now we perform purely for fun and to help with charitable fund-raisers and

benefits," added his brother, Joe.

Long before Dr J's All Stars came together, members of the band were all in

love with music and performing live. In fact, it was about two decades ago

that three of the members found themselves sharing the bill at Glen Island

Casino in New Rochelle, N.Y., but each as members of separate bands.

On the main stage at Glen Island, lead guitarist Tony Summo was playing with

the headline act, Steeplechase, in front of a crowd of over 1,000 teenagers.

Meanwhile, Joe Summo, a multi-talented guitarist, songwriter and lead singer,

was performing on the waterfront stage. His band, Bookends, was a folk-rock

band with a sizable loyal following.

And on the third stage at Glen Island, bassist John Heithaus was entertaining

with Piper's Riot, whose renditions of music from the Beatles to Jethro Tull,

along with critically-acclaimed originals, has led his band to hundreds of

performances in nightclubs, colleges and as opening act for The Doobie

Brothers and Leslie West's Mountain.

Fast forward to 1992. The three aspiring rock stars, having learned some hard

lessons of life on the road as professional musicians, have long since

married, started families and settled into "day jobs." Mr Heithaus, now a VP

with Coldwell Banker, has just been transferred from Dallas to Newtown. He

stops in at Newtown Hardware one day, sees a familiar face, and does a

double-take: nearly twenty years later, could that be Tony Summo from

Steeplechase looking back at him?

Both men have lost their long hair and mustaches, and there is a touch of gray

hair around the temples on both men, but sure enough, Mr Heithaus' old

bandmate, Tony Summo, is now managing Newtown Hardware, along with his

brother, Joe. As fortune would have it, the Summo brothers were still

performing music, and happened to be looking for a bass player.

What resulted from that fateful meeting has evolved into Dr J's All Stars.

Joined by Carmine Pinto and George Miller on drums and bass, respectively, the

band has built a reputation for entertaining audiences with consistently

high-energy shows, blending their party music with new and old favorites.

The band is available for private functions, but past recipients of its

fund-raising performances have included the C.H. Booth Library, Newtown

Chamber of Commerce, St Rose School Athletic Association and Newtown

Scholarship Fund. Its newest crusade is to help in raising money for Newtown

High School Choral Parents, which is why the band will be at St Rose Parish

House on April 5.

"Since we are no longer performing only FTM [for the money]," said John

Heithaus, "we have the luxury of adopting a very straightforward rule: If it's

not going to be fun or for a great cause, then we just won't do it!"