Don’t let the name fool you. Background Noise is sure to grab your attention at Morristown Onstage.
This middle-aged quintet will square off against a dozen other amateur acts from Greater Morristown at the Mayo Performing Arts Center on Feb. 23, 2022, for cash prizes and bragging rights in a benefit for the Morris School District.
Background Noise brings musical chops, rock and roll attitude, and that all-important ingredient that eludes so many bands: Chemistry.
“We all get along. That’s half the battle. We have common goals. We’re older, we don’t want to play out every night. We all like the same songs. I shove in some that are female-oriented,” says Deb Harvey, recruited as lead singer last summer via a posting on BandMix.com.
The group will transport Wednesday’s audience back to the rocking Reagan years, with a medley of Goodbye to You (Scandal), Dream Police (Cheap Trick), Change (John Waite) and Everybody’s Working for the Weekend (Loverboy).
“We all like the ’80s,” explains guitarist Eric Chang, 51, of Morristown.
The competition is open to amateur performers who live, work or attend schools in Morristown, Morris Township or Morris Plains; and to Morristown High alumni.
Drummer Sean Farrelly, the baby of the band at 32, is the other local connection in Background Noise.
As co-owner of the Original Music School in Morristown, Farrelly has instructed aspiring young artists in the finer points of performing and recording. He’s also a Morristown Onstage veteran. In 2018, he backed singer Nina Rangel before a packed house of 1,300 revved-up spectators.
“It was so much fun,” and a little “surreal,” recalls Farrelly, who lives in Hamburg.
Rounding out the band are bassist Scott Glennon, 47, a Rockaway Township resident who works in the insurance industry; and guitarist Rich Filippone, 49, of Clifton. The four men have played together in various combinations over the years.
Filippone, a recruiter at American Dream in Bergen County, was introduced to the guitar way back in 2nd grade.
“I hated it,” he remembers. “My fingers hurt!” He did not pick up the instrument again until his sophomore year in college.
Chang’s day gig is market research. Harvey, the senior member of the band, with three grown kids and two granddaughters, works for a pharmaceutical company as a contract administrator.
She was an alto in the choir at West Morris Central High School, but a latecomer to the popular music scene, venturing to open mic nights at the Stanhope House about a decade ago.
“I was always a little karaoke queen. I didn’t think I had the courage to sing in front of an audience,” Harvey says.
Soon she was in a duo, touring small clubs and piano bars around Lake Placid, NY. She cites inspirations ranging from Cher to Lady Gaga. Her vocal palette has daubs of Olivia Newton-John, Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, Melissa Etheridge, Christina Aquilera and Patty Smyth.
“A lot of people might be so talented, but they might be afraid to do it,” Harvey says of performing. “Why deny yourself or the audience that experience? It’s quite extraordinary.”
It’s also hard work. Being in a five-piece band can be like herding cats, she acknowledges. That’s where that chemistry stuff is handy.
“It’s good to have a sense of humor,” Harvey says. “You don’t want to be a snob. Everybody’s important in the band. They all have a role. All the pieces have to be there. It’s amazing how it all comes together.”
The Mount Olive resident may be the lead singer of Background Noise but, unlike her musical heroines, Harvey is no diva. Her role includes managing the band’s equipment.
Background Noise polished its act with a few outdoor bookings during the pandemic.
For Morristown Onstage, the band mates don’t mind the idea of splitting the $1000 top prize five ways. A Maplewood gig paid them $8, says Chang, flashing a “what, me worry?” grin.
Glennon says his MOS share would go towards new gear. But prizes and stand-room-only crowds are just gravy, according to Filippone.
“Whether you’re playing to 20 people or MPAC, you’ve got to approach it the same way,” the guitar ace says.
MORE COVERAGE OF MORRISTOWN ONSTAGE 2022
The Morris Educational Foundation presents the 15th anniversary edition of Morristown Onstage, a benefit for the Morris School District, at the Mayo Performing Arts Center on Feb. 23, 2022. Tickets are $35-$85. New this year: A raffle with $30,000 in cash prizes.
