When Massachusetts natives think of the local music scene, most minds settle on Boston, a city packed with emerging musical talent looking to make it big. But in the Merrimack Valley, an increasingly thriving arts culture is producing more and more musicians hoping to grab their piece of the spotlight, big or small.
When I walk into the basement recording studio of Seabrook producer Bob Catalano, Mike Bertolami offers me a beer.
I accept, and we chat for a few moments in the entryway of Bobcat Studios, where Bertolami’s band, Sunchunck, is putting the finishing touches on their second album. After casually informing him that I once recorded a song with a makeshift band made up of former work acquaintances, he offers up the opportunity to sing backup on one of their new tracks.
I hesitate, but then gracefully decline, as I decide I would rather keep my dignity. “Come on,” Bertolami says. “It’d make a great story.”
True, perhaps. But Sunchunck doesn’t need the awkward efforts of a writer-turned-wannabe singer. This band has a great story all its own.
A trio of laid-back 30- and 40-somethings that includes Bertolami, a mortgage broker from Plum Island, John Catino, a real estate attorney living in West Newbury, and Brett Manoloff, an Amesbury High School physics teacher, Sunchunck placed fourth in last summer’s Boston Emergenza Music Festival—a musical tête-à-tête that features unsigned bands battling it out on stage—playing their hard-to-pigeonhole sound for crowds at the Middle East, Avalon, and Paradise.
“That gave us a lot of exposure,” says Bertolami, a singer and the band’s bassist. “I just remember thinking ‘I can’t believe how far we’ve come.’”
Sunchunck has come a long way since the summer of 2002, when Bertolami, Catino, and Manoloff were playing beach volleyball and first decided to jam together. None of them had been in a band before and each had different tastes in music—from heavy metal to jazz and blues, with a little bit of pop in between.
“We didn’t know any of the same songs,” remarks Catino, a guitarist and singer and the only one with any formal training (at Berklee College of Music). “We rented some space in Amesbury and started drinking beers once a week.”
Their music crosses several genres, giving Sunchunck a unique melodic sound. “That’s the beauty of your music,” he tells the guys as they prepare to lay down some final vocals for a track called “Flower,” for their latest album titled “Late.”
In the last five years, Sunchunck—named after the word Catino invented when the sun poked through the cloudy sky during a Key West vacation, before the band formed—has developed a respectable local following. They debuted their sound at parties, and then played a fundraiser they organized for the Boys and Girls Club of Lower Merrimack Valley, raising $5,000 for Kidz Rock, a hands-on music program band members started there. Now they find themselves rocking places like the Chit Chat Lounge in Haverhill, and Michael’s Harborside and The Grog in Newburyport.
“We have a core of fans that always supports us,” says Manoloff, the drummer who shows up to the recording session with a glockenspiel, an instrument resembling a xylophone he plans to play on one of the new tracks. “Our goal is to put on a great show every time we play.”
The band’s fans—who the guys affectionately call SunJunckies and who turn up at shows wearing tees bearing Sunchunck’s logo—span all ages. Bertolami’s niece, Amanda Jenkins, who lives in Lowell and sat a bit anxiously in the studio waiting to try her hand at singing backup, is one of the biggest SunJunckies around.
“I get a lot of flack when I ask my friends, ‘Do you want to see my uncle’s band?’” explains Jenkins. But those who she’s brought to shows are instantly hooked.
Fortunately, the guys haven’t let their success go to their heads. They still appreciate the little things, like fans singing along to their songs.
“When people are singing your songs back to you, that’s pretty cool,” says Manoloff, who often sports a Mohawk during performances. “We pride ourselves on befriending everyone who goes to our shows.”
The band also prides itself on the collaborative effort it takes to write their songs and the airplay they’ve received from local radio stations. Sunchunck is also proud of something they say differentiates themselves from other musicians.
“A lot of bands out there are negative,” says Bertolami. “We try to be like, ‘You know what, I had a great upbringing. I like my family, and we can still [expletive] rock.’”
For more information about Sunchunck, and for a list of upcoming shows, visit their web site at www.sunchunck.com.
Musician Profile – Sunchunck Positivity Rocks – Spring 2007
When I walk into the basement recording studio of Seabrook producer Bob Catalano, Mike Bertolami offers me a beer.
I accept, and we chat for a few moments in the entryway of Bobcat Studios, where Bertolami’s band, Sunchunck, is putting the finishing touches on their second album. After casually informing him that I once recorded a song with a makeshift band made up of former work acquaintances, he offers up the opportunity to sing backup on one of their new tracks.
I hesitate, but then gracefully decline, as I decide I would rather keep my dignity. “Come on,” Bertolami says. “It’d make a great story.”
True, perhaps. But Sunchunck doesn’t need the awkward efforts of a writer-turned-wannabe singer. This band has a great story all its own.
A trio of laid-back 30- and 40-somethings that includes Bertolami, a mortgage broker from Plum Island, John Catino, a real estate attorney living in West Newbury, and Brett Manoloff, an Amesbury High School physics teacher, Sunchunck placed fourth in last summer’s Boston Emergenza Music Festival—a musical tête-à-tête that features unsigned bands battling it out on stage—playing their hard-to-pigeonhole sound for crowds at the Middle East, Avalon, and Paradise.
“That gave us a lot of exposure,” says Bertolami, a singer and the band’s bassist. “I just remember thinking ‘I can’t believe how far we’ve come.’”
Sunchunck has come a long way since the summer of 2002, when Bertolami, Catino, and Manoloff were playing beach volleyball and first decided to jam together. None of them had been in a band before and each had different tastes in music—from heavy metal to jazz and blues, with a little bit of pop in between.
“We didn’t know any of the same songs,” remarks Catino, a guitarist and singer and the only one with any formal training (at Berklee College of Music). “We rented some space in Amesbury and started drinking beers once a week.”
Their music crosses several genres, giving Sunchunck a unique melodic sound. “That’s the beauty of your music,” he tells the guys as they prepare to lay down some final vocals for a track called “Flower,” for their latest album titled “Late.”
In the last five years, Sunchunck—named after the word Catino invented when the sun poked through the cloudy sky during a Key West vacation, before the band formed—has developed a respectable local following. They debuted their sound at parties, and then played a fundraiser they organized for the Boys and Girls Club of Lower Merrimack Valley, raising $5,000 for Kidz Rock, a hands-on music program band members started there. Now they find themselves rocking places like the Chit Chat Lounge in Haverhill, and Michael’s Harborside and The Grog in Newburyport.
“We have a core of fans that always supports us,” says Manoloff, the drummer who shows up to the recording session with a glockenspiel, an instrument resembling a xylophone he plans to play on one of the new tracks. “Our goal is to put on a great show every time we play.”
The band’s fans—who the guys affectionately call SunJunckies and who turn up at shows wearing tees bearing Sunchunck’s logo—span all ages. Bertolami’s niece, Amanda Jenkins, who lives in Lowell and sat a bit anxiously in the studio waiting to try her hand at singing backup, is one of the biggest SunJunckies around.
“I get a lot of flack when I ask my friends, ‘Do you want to see my uncle’s band?’” explains Jenkins. But those who she’s brought to shows are instantly hooked.
Fortunately, the guys haven’t let their success go to their heads. They still appreciate the little things, like fans singing along to their songs.
“When people are singing your songs back to you, that’s pretty cool,” says Manoloff, who often sports a Mohawk during performances. “We pride ourselves on befriending everyone who goes to our shows.”
The band also prides itself on the collaborative effort it takes to write their songs and the airplay they’ve received from local radio stations. Sunchunck is also proud of something they say differentiates themselves from other musicians.
“A lot of bands out there are negative,” says Bertolami. “We try to be like, ‘You know what, I had a great upbringing. I like my family, and we can still [expletive] rock.’”
For more information about Sunchunck, and for a list of upcoming shows, visit their web site at www.sunchunck.com.