By:Jason Scheer
In between the cartoons and toy advertisements, the third-grade student at Milburn Elementary School saw a commercial for Nickelodeon's "Speak Up, Rock Out" contest. The contest invited kids from around the country to submit song lyrics that explained what freedom of speech meant to them. Anthony was interested.
He became a lot more interested when he learned that the contest's grand prize was a special in-school concert by John Mellencamp. "He was watching Nickelodeon, and he saw John Cougar Mellencamp on the commercial, and Anthony started screaming for me to come into the room," Anthony's mother, Virginia Viggiano, said. Anthony is a fan of Mellencamp's music. One of his favorite songs is "Yours Forever," the theme from the movie "The Perfect Storm."
He began looking up words like "liberty" and
"freedom" in a children's dictionary, and wrote lyrics that reflected his thoughts on freedom of speech. "I love America because we have freedom, and I am willing to do anything to keep it that way, as long as I don't get in trouble," Anthony wrote in his contest submission.
Two weeks later, his mother received a call from Nickelodeon. Anthony was the grand prize winner. John Mellencamp was coming to town. "Oh my god, I was screaming, I was so excited," Virginia Viggiano said.
Anthony eagerly awaited Mellencamp's arrival for two months. On Monday, Oct. 11, the eve of the concert, excitement and nerves overtook him. "He was so excited that he went to bed at 8 o'clock so that he would be ready for today," his mother said on Tuesday, only minutes before the concert was to begin.
By that time, Anthony was ready to rock. He had risen early, slicked back his hair and put on a nice striped shirt. He wanted to make a positive impression on a musical icon. But that impression had already been made. Mellencamp, playing in front of 146 students from grades K through 6, congratulated Anthony on his writing and his message. "Freedom of speech is so important," Mellencamp said.
The four-song concert included renditions of Mellencamp hits "Little Pink Houses" and "Small Town." For "Riding in My Car," his cover of a Woody Guthrie song, he asked the children to imitate the sounds of engines and horns.
Anthony was thrilled with the concert, as was the audience of teachers and students, who cheered heartily throughout the show. Afterward Mellencamp fielded questions from students, who mostly wanted to know what being a famous rock star was really like. One student asked if was hard being a celebrity.
"It's not hard being famous," Mellencamp responded. "It's kind of fun sometimes, like today, when I get to come here and play."
It was kind of fun for Anthony and the kids at Milburn Elementary, too.
Comments about this story? JScheer@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 282.
Photos by Rebecca Lopatin/Herald
