If you go
Who: Open Fire
When: 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Sept. 11
Where: Crickets, 1942 N. Wickham Road, Melbourne
Admission: No cover
Information: 321-242-9280
When: 3 to 7 p.m. Sunday
Where: Mister Tony’s, 1549 Palm Bay Road, Palm Bay
Admission: No cover
Information: 321-409-4595
On the Web: www.myspace.com/openfirepalmbay
When Open Fire’s charismatic lead singer Joey Vutano lost his life in June because of complications from diabetes, the band struggled with the decision to carry on in memory of their fallen leader, or call it quits to the band that began in 1991. Fortunately for Brevard County audiences, they forged on and are a favorite to win the coveted Brevard Live Music Award for Entertainers of the Year.
The band includes Brevard music veterans Buddy Zappa (vocals), Eric Hotton (guitar), Mike Cote (drums) and John Ragozino. Derailed by tragedy and reunited by friendship, Open Fire is quickly reclaiming its position as one of Brevard’s most powerful and entertaining bands on the market.
I spoke with Hotton about the band’s beginning, its recent loss and their determination to continue. So let’s Shake, Rattle & Know: Open Fire.
SRK: Some form of the band has been around since 1991, with some layoffs in between. What has fueled the desire to keep the band together for so long?
Hotton: I would have to say when it comes right down to it, friendship is the main reason. Even when we parted ways and did our own separate thing, we were always friends. One day, our old lead singer, Joey V, just said, “Let’s get the band back together,” and we did. It didn’t matter what we were doing separately, we would get together for holidays and on the weekends, and there was no reason for us not to do this. We also realized as we all got older, we weren’t trying to make it big anymore and land a record deal, we were doing this for fun, because we wanted to, and for no other reason than that.
SRK: You recently lost your lead singer. How hard was it to want to get out there and start performing again after such a devastating loss?
Hotton: At first, we all thought we were done and wouldn’t do this anymore. When we went to Joey’s funeral and we saw the family, they told us we should continue, and that there is no way Joey would have wanted us all to stop having fun because of him. A few days later, we got a call from Buddy and we invited him over. Buddy already knew all of our songs, and it wouldn’t take much time to get the band up to speed. Having Buddy eased the pain of Joey’s passing, and he gave us hope again.
SRK: What would winning one of the Brevard Live Music Awards mean to the band?
Hotton: It would mean a lot. We are nominated in two categories. One for Best Cover Band and one for Entertainer of the Year. It would be an honor to win either, but we hope to win this year for Entertainers of the Year. That one comes with a trophy that we would like to give to Joey’s son in honor of him. He was there when we were nominated, and Buddy has helped us since. It would be a nice way to pay tribute to Joey.
If you have an artist/band you’d like to recommend for review, contact Nunez at www.myspace.com/shakerattleandknow or fantasyforecaster2005@yahoo.
