Though the five-man band has only been playing together for roughly a year, all the members are classically trained musicians and have been playing since childhood.
"We've been playing instruments since we were babies," said Dan Rocco, guitarist and back-up vocalist. Besides the band, the members are all involved in other musical ventures. "We all come from such different musical backgrounds, and are involved in pit orchestra, jazz ensemble, chamber orchestra, and others in and outside of school," said Pete McGaughey, bassist.
'Show Me Action' is comprised of Dan Rocco, Jack Tangney, Pete McGaughey, Alex Lipton on guitar, and Jack Donoghue on drums. All are from Rockville Centre, and range from juniors in high school to a freshman in college. Prior to their involvement in 'Show Me Action,' the members, except for Tangney, were involved in another band, 'Paid Programming.' However, once Tangney came aboard the band went through some significant developments, including recording a six-song professional demo at Killingsworth Recording Company in West Babylon.
Though the band would most likely fit into to the alternative rock niche, their songs include a varied mix of styles from rock to pop to dance-type melodies. "It's hard to answer [what style of music we play] because we just kind of write music," said Lipton. "We don't think about making it a certain style, it just sort of works."
Lipton writes the majority of the music for the band, while Tangney provides the lyrics and vocal melodies. "We work off each other pretty well," says Lipton. "For the instrumental part, we know exactly what we're doing down to every beat, and then Jack comes in and wings it and figures out this awesome melody over it. He's a little more free-flowing, while we're a little more structured," Lipton continues. This juxtaposition gives the band a unique sound that weaves musical technicality with instinct.
The band currently plays shows all over Long Island, in New York City, and even in Connecticut. Two weeks ago, they played at CBGB's, the legendary New York City underground rock club. Upcoming shows include the Vibe Lounge in Rockville Centre on May 20 and Glen Cove Lanes in Glen Cove on June 9. Rocco, who is responsible for booking gigs and dealing with venues, also has numerous shows planned for the summer.
Beyond summer shows the future of the band is a bit uncertain. Rocco and Tangney plan to attend Lehigh University and Nassau University, respectively, while the other members finish out their high school careers.
"Success is always right there, to take [the band] further, but it's 'wait, I have to go to college.' There's so many different ways it could go," said Rocco. The members plan to continue playing in Rocco's absence and work on new material. "We're open to keeping it going because we think we've got something really good," says Lipton.
The members of 'Show Me Action' seek to exude the essence of what music should be before it's corrupted by outside influences and circumstances. For them, it's not about displaying a rock star persona or making it big in the industry, the music is what really matters to this atypical band; even if no one listened, they'd still keep playing because it really is what they love to do.
"We're not going out [on stage] to look cool, we're just going to play music," McGaughey said simply. More information on the band can be found at myspace.com/showmeaction.
