80 Blind, the class of 2024’s resident cover band, put on a concert fundraiser in the auditorium on March 25th to raise money for senior prom. The band is made up of seniors Anthony Lerro on lead vocals and bass, Jaiden Diaz on guitar, Andrew Passcucci on drums, and Josh Berlin on the keyboard. They all contribute vocals to support Lerro on the lead.
80 Blind took the stage after their two openers Shawn Bailey and Alec Spar, and paused for an intermission to allow Thomas Conway to perform a soulful rendition of Katy Perry’s “Roar.” The openers were fantastic with Alec and his supporting band of Jaclyn Silverman, Jamie Ambrosio, and band director Dan Aviles performing a piece composed by Spar. Bailey performed Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” which was met with flashlights shining from the crowd towards the stage as his performance took their breath away.
80 Blind’s set covered popular favorites spanning decades from songs in our parents’ cassette collections to hits that we grew up with on the radio. The setlist in full was “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns ‘n Roses, “Hey Ya!” by Outkast, “This Love” by Maroon 5, “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon, “Finesse” by Bruno Mars, “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen, “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield, “I’m Still Standing” by Elton John, “Monkey Wrench” by Foo Fighters, “Kilby Girl” by The Backseat Lovers, “Everybody Talks” by Neon Trees, and finally, after some persuasion from the crowd for “one more song,” an encore of “Forget You” by Ceelo Green. You may be wondering, how did the band build a setlist that was both full of hits and completely agreed upon by everyone in the band? Guitarist Jaiden Diaz said the guys “made a pool of popular songs and took a vote” on what they wanted to perform, building the perfect setlist for the event.
Similarly to the band’s Senior Variety Show performance, there was a mad rush of students looking to support the band and commemorate this special occasion by purchasing 80 Blind t-shirts, which were available in limited quantities and sold out multiple times. Vocalist Anthony Lerro says the pressure added to the event by performing for their peers makes the show more fun for the band. This event brought to mind the Koleslaw concert put on by Matt Spitteri and his bandmates of the graduating class of 2022 to fundraise for their own senior prom.
The members of 80 Blind are all longtime friends with a passion for music and having fun. While Diaz describes an 80 Blind rehearsal as “goofing off and having fun” until they sound good, Josh Berlin says they work hard on songs that need it and then move to perfect the set list. Fun fact, the band often rehearses without vocals when learning a song to preserve Anthony’s voice to keep it fresh for performances or any shows he may be performing in at the time.
Due to the fundraising efforts of 80 Blind and the attendance of students and parents alike, over $1,200 was fundraised for the class of 2024 senior prom, adding to the class of 2024 fund and lessening the cost of tickets for students. Diaz accredits the fundraiser idea to the aforementioned Koleslaw and explains that planning was a group effort between the band, the class of 2024 advisers, and building administration. The band was in meetings for months with admin to get approval to put on their show. “We really just wanted to play at school again and thought it was a perfect idea,” Diaz explained.
As for the future of 80 Blind as we look towards graduation and beyond, there are no big plans right now, but we never know what the future holds. The band plans on performing at graduation parties and holding a concert in early August as a send off for the class of 2024 to their college careers. Lerro also states that the band has worked on some original music but none they were happy with. They hope to record some original music soon. A common sentiment of the band was stated simply yet profoundly by Diaz as he said “I wish we had more time.”