Once from the top!” For the first and last time, the Band from Glen Rock High played their reunion show. Perched on the auditorium stage, guitarist Jimmy Vivino said, “This is where all of our careers started.”
Los Angeles-based director Barry Rubinow had the idea to capture the nostalgia of high school and the bond that a high school band shares in a documentary. A Glen Rock alum, Rubinow reconnected with his former classmates to reunite them for a concert on the stage that started it all. He brought together Frank Pagano, Jerry Vivino, Jimmy Vivino, John Feeney, Doug Romoff, Floyd Vivino, Jeffrey Venho and Lee Shapiro for what could be their first and last time playing together on that stage.
The band members all graduated from Glen Rock High School in the late 60s and early 70s and branched off in separate ways for successful individual music careers with some impressive associated acts. With an array of genres and instruments, the music was cohesive and each member got to stand in the spotlight.
During a visit to the school on Dec. 1 for the documentary, a few of the band members reminisced about their years at Glen Rock High School. They were brought back to when they first entered the building in the sixth grade. Fellow classmate and current art teacher, Deborah Cella, gave them a tour of the campus to show them all of the new changes. They peeked down hallways and in classrooms, mesmerized by the little things that have changed throughout the school. The once bare walls of the guidance hallway now displayed their pictures, and members stopped to glance at their younger selves.
Upon their arrival the next day, they took to the auditorium stage where they began to rehearse their set for a concert later that night for alumni of GRHS. The band rehearsed coffeehouse jazz and 60s covers.
The concert was overflowing with alumni from the band’s classes. But, there were a few exceptions, such as Wyatt Cornell, who is a junior at Glen Rock, who attended. He said, “Everyone there was having so much fun.” In addition, he said they talked about what it was like growing up in Glen Rock when they were young.