I went away for about a week. so it seems like forever since I heard these guys, but I would be remiss not to mention that Saturday late afternoon when they were playing to a dinner crowd at the Captain's Inn in Forked River, New Jersey. Setting up in the corner of the bar section, I was doing my best to try and figure out what style of music they were preparing to fill the air with. I watched two guys bring in an electric bass guitar, an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar while enjoying my Veal and Shrimp Parmigiana special that melted in my mouth. Other cases made their way to the corner as I dug underneath my meat to reveal my penne.
When the first few notes were sounded I stopped in my quest for that perfect cut piece of veal and had to listen. The first thing I noticed was that these two musicians and singers were not your ordinary bar band. The La Stella Brothers were tighter than my belt got as I shoveled food into my mouth. They had beats playing on a loop to fill the sound, but in a complimentary way not a distracting one. If I could make a comparison, I would swear that it was Steely Dan up there.
Another thing that I could tell was that these guys were professional. They reminded me of those unheralded session musicians that aren't in it for the glory but the love of playing music. They played an eclectic array of numbers covering songs by Zac Brown, Santana, Chris Stapleton, Looking Glass and the Eagles, as well as numerous others. The best part was that while they played songs by different artists, they never lost their own sound. At one point, I had to put my utensils down and just listen.
On Saturday, March 30th, the La Stella Brothers will be performing in Beach Haven, New Jersey, at Buckalew's Restaurant and Tavern. If you happen to be in that area of New Jersey, I highly recommend that you check this duo out.