In the 1960s, Eddie Brigati, a Jersey Boy from Garfield, became world-famous for his work with his iconic band, The Rascals. For that legendary Jersey group, Brigati and his songwriting partner, Felix Cavaliere, created some of the most enduring songs of their generation, notably “A Beautiful Morning,” “Groovin’,” “People Got to Be Free,” “I’ve Been Lonely Too Long,” “You Better Run,” “How Can I Be Sure,” and many more.
In 1970, Brigati left The Rascals, but was reunited with the band 42 years later in 2012 when he and his colleagues — Felix Cavaliere, Gene Cornish, and Dino Dinelli — performed at the Capital Theater in Port Chester, NY, for six shows and, in 2013, for fifteen dates at the Richard Rogers Theatre on Broadway in a production entitled Once Upon a Dream. The show was produced by long-time Rascals’ fans, Steven Van Zandt — well-known for his work with another Jersey group, The E Street Band — and Steven’s wife, Maureen, who co-starred with him on television’s The Sopranos.
Following the success of the North American tour of Once Upon a Dream, in 2017, Brigati went on to appear in Eddie Brigati: After The Rascals, a show specifically created for him by the Van Zandts, in which he played to packed houses in New York City and — even more recently on August 4, 2017 — to a sold-out crowd at Tim McLoone’s Supper Club on the Boardwalk in Asbury Park, NJ.
And on August 26, 2017 at 7pm, Eddie Brigati will once again perform at the Jersey Shore in a show called The Rockit Academy Performs Music from The Summer Of Love at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank.
The Summer of Love concert will feature talented young people associated with the Rockit Live Foundation, an organization which strives to enable young performers to reach their full artistic potential via a music education program that takes place at The Count Basie Theatre.
The leading live performance program for young musicians in the Garden State, Rockit alumni have gone on to tour with Steve Vai, perform with Keith Urban, appear on television’s The X-Factor, and sing on Broadway. The Rockit Live Foundation Advisory Board not only includes support for the program from the likes of Steven and Maureen Van Zandt, but from others in the entertainment field including legendary Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice, and a former Rockit participant who became a finalist on NBC-TV’s The Voice, Jacquie Lee.
In the concert on Aug. 26, current Rockit students will perform music from The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album, in addition to performing several classic Rascals’ numbers live with founding member, Eddie Brigati.
Just days after his triumphant performance at McLoone’s, Spotlight Central had an opportunity to chat with Brigati about his extraordinary recent performance in Asbury Park, in addition to his role in the upcoming concert with the Rockit Foundation in Red Bank. During our conversation, Brigati also talked about his youth as an up-and-coming musician in Garfield, and shared a message for all of the Rascals fans who have supported him for over half a century.
Spotlight Central: As a Jersey boy yourself, how did you enjoy playing for the sold-out Jersey crowd the other night at McLoone’s in Asbury Park?
Eddie Brigati: That’s our base. That’s who we are. That’s our melting pot. We’re storytellers — and when you add music, that brings it to a whole other level. Life is drama and karma — it’s opera. And that’s what it felt like — the audience was enthusiastic and we gave to each other, back and forth.
And that’s the highlight of performing — when you can put something out there and people come back and just give it back to you, with the applause and the love of it all. You feel like you’re touching each other — and that’s the basis of the whole performance.
I often wonder on stage, “What am I doing here? What am I trying to do?”
And what you’re trying to do is relate to people and to be accepted and to be appreciated and to be validated. And there’s really no better way to do that than through the art of music.
Spotlight Central: So tell us about your association with Rockit — a music education program for young performers offered at Red Bank’s Count Basie Theatre.
Eddie Brigati: I’m honored and grateful to be accepted by the Rockit Live Foundation.
Bruce Gallipani is “the guy” there. He’s super dedicated and he has a vision, and what he’s doing is providing a great opportunity for our future entertainers. They’re being nurtured and guided by Bruce — along with Steven Van Zandt — they’re both champions of that effort.
Bruce is a professional who has gathered other successful professionals, and — as I mentioned — I’m honored to be included among them. In various aspects of the arts, young people are selected for their interest and enthusiasm in this program, so they have to really come up to the bar. This program isn’t something that was available to our generation, but these children now have the advantage of being groomed and cultivated to be performers at a world-class level.
Spotlight Central: So is it an arts education program for both singers and instrumentalists?
Eddie Brigati: Absolutely. In all these areas, we want the Rockit students to be performers — singers, players, and dancers — and quite a few of them are multi-faceted where, for example, keyboard players and drummers can switch off and show how well they can play guitars, too!
I was really fascinated getting a chance to hear them. I recently went to the premiere of Steven Van Zandt’s new band, Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, at the Count Basie Theatre. I was sitting in the “green room” and the Rockit band was performing, and it was great to see that these young people are grasping the music of the past — what I call the “roots “music — so they’re really grasping the sounds of the ’60s, the ’70s, and the ‘80s.
Spotlight Central: Can you tell us about your own musical education as a young person?
Eddie Brigati: My older brother, David, led me into the music business when I was still a minor. At the time, I hadn’t had any professional musical training. My brother had a group called the Hi-Fives, which was an a capella group — they did some great recordings on Decca — and then he became a member of Joey Dee and the Starliters who had a number one record with “The Peppermint Twist.”
And my first recording experience was in that band. On one of Joey Dee and the Starliters’ last recordings, they recorded a song by Johnny Nash called “What Kind of Love Is This.” I was a second tenor on that recording at sixteen years of age, so that was my indoctrination into the music business.
And then David also helped us out with the music of The Rascals. See — altogether, Joey Dee and the Starliters had seven albums, and The Rascals also had seven albums — eight if you count the Greatest Hits album — and David helped us out with all the Rascals’ background vocals.
We come from, predominantly, a rhythm and blues background and a love of music by groups like The Flamingos and of the black singers who sang in the church. All the harmonies come from the simulation of “oohs” and “aahs” — we called it doo-wop — but it’s “oohs” and “aahs” that were simulating strings and horns. And the language of R&B lyrics inspired us, too — so that’s all in The Rascals’ material — even though Joey Dee and The Starliters was basically a dance band.
And then, later on, I had the gift of two of the greatest champions — ten-star human beings: Steven and Maureen Van Zandt — who embraced The Rascals and reunited us for a year for the Once Upon a Dream tour. It was one of the most incredible productions I’ve ever been involved in. We performed for 100,000 people in America and Canada, and it was an incredible rejuvenation — one which the entire next generation could see.
Spotlight Central: And speaking of the next generation, we understand that, as a singer, you’ve been on the cutting edge of technology in that you’re using a new music education app which was just recently made available to the public. Is that right?
Eddie Brigati: Yes. Katie Agresta is my music coach. Like Steven Van Zandt, she’s another iconic musician. For singers like The Jersey Boys, Cyndy Lauper, and Bon Jovi, she’s their music teacher, and I was very fortunate that Steven sent me to work with her.
So, basically, Katie has an app called Performance Day where you practice vocal exercises — and you can take it to whatever level you’d like. For example, if you want to be a professional singer, you can even get Katie to weigh in on analyzing your vocal capabilities — so that’s something that’s available where users can phone in and even develop a professional rapport with Katie, personally.
Spotlight Central: So this app sort of ties in with the Rockit notion of cutting edge music education — and it’s for anyone with an interest in music?
Eddie Brigati: Yes! You don’t have to be a professional — it’s like asking somebody to go to the gym or perhaps a yoga class — if you have ability, it encourages you; it inspires you.
And I have a little program which I personally developed where I nurture children by coaching them. I say to parents, “Select five or ten songs your child likes.” Then they download those songs, they find the right keys to the songs, and the kids perform the songs. And with the program, children begin to develop their own musical profiles; so, for example, they can choose patriotic songs or religious songs — whatever their selections are.
So it’s great that learning music through coaching in a variety of different ways is really available to everybody these days.
Spotlight Central: And speaking of music, do you happen to have any more Eddie Brigati: After The Rascals concerts coming up in the Garden State?
Eddie Brigati: I hope to be reinvited back to McLoone's with my show -- which is really more like a musical play. It was developed a la Broadway, with a story line to it. And Steven is the director and the producer, which makes me the luckiest guy in the world. Or should I say, in my world? [Laughs]
The second song in the show — which Steven wrote — explains my whole situation. It’s called “Eddie’s Song.” It seems many of us, these days, are coming to a place in our lives where we’re reexamining everything, and the theme of that particular song is, “Allow me to introduce myself to me.”
That concept applies to all of us — and it also ties in with the nurturing of young people.
You say to children, “Ok, you have a story to tell.” Each song a child selects is a story, but, together, those songs create one big story. And if you develop your “book” — or repertoire — of songs, you can juggle them around, you can express all the feelings that you need to express and, hopefully, you will get to create and write your own story!
Spotlight Central: Exactly! So is there anything else you’d like to add?
Eddie Brigati: Well, I need to express a deep, deep, deep appreciation to all the people — to all the fans — who gave me love and support over the years and actually helped to create my success. I’m trying to inspire everyone to have their time to express themselves, and even though not everybody is a performer, everybody you talk to does sing in the shower… so, everyone — make your “book” and “tell your story!”
For more information about The Rockit Academy Performs Music from the Summer of Love concert with special guest Eddie Brigati at Red Bank’s Count Basie Theater on August 26, 2017 at 7pm, please click on: www.countbasietheatre.org. To learn more about Eddie Brigati, please go to www.facebook.com/ebeedbee/. For further information on Katie Agresta’s Performance Day music app, please go to www.katieagresta.com.
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