Covering The Classics With Reckless

Since moving back to the suburbs, I've been on this quest to find things to do that I would have normally done in the city. One of them happens to be going out to a casual bar, listening to really great music and having a good time. Nothing too crazy. Earlier this year, I did just that and also happened to discover a really great band. Reckless is a high powered, high energy, rock cover band. These guys are incredibly talented and put on a great show every time they perform. I went to see them for a second time recently so I could interview the band leader and grab some visuals for you guys.

Reckless is made up of 6 multi-talented musicians, with a powerful female lead vocalist which allows this band to cover some of the most loved female artists such as Heart, Pat Benatar, No Doubt, Katy Perry, and more. But that is just the start of it. Along with this comes Reckless's awesome male vocalists allowing the band to deliver a rock show to please everyone, covering the latest hits from Foo Fighters to the classics of Led Zeppelin. This band has a driving force of great guitarists, awesome keys and a rhythm section that pounds your heart, coming together to form one great rock band. The band features Lisa Marie Martusciello as the main vocalist, Anthony Colando on guitar and vocals, Jeff Bruno on guitar, Matt Miller on keyboards, Matthew Woltman on bass and Rocky Latorre on drums and percussion.

I sat down with Lisa to ask her a few questions. Lisa's vocals are incredible. If Pat Benatar and Stevie Nicks had a lovechild, she would be it. We ended up having a half hour conversation. It was a great night and they put on a fabulous show. Read on to see what we talked about...

Christine: What are some of your favorite bands to play? 

Lisa Marie Martusciello: Led Zeppelin and Heart. Those are the bands that really get us going. Bon Jovi had an opening band one year that covered Zeppelin and we were like "Oh my God! We should so be opening for them."

C: That would be awesome! If you could play anywhere in the world, where would you play. What is your dream venue?

LMM: House of Blues. Packed. I'd love to play at the House of Blues with a packed house.

C: What's your favorite thing about performing?

LMM: The audience. Getting them engaged, having fun with them. We just played a wedding and it went really well. It was a really great time. At the wedding we weren't us. There was no advertisement, there was no "We Are Reckless." It was about the bride and the groom. We did what we do but we backed it up a little bit and worked with the DJ. People were loving it.

C: That sounds like it was a blast. I'd definitely have a live band if I were to ever get married. Do you guys have a pre-show ritual? Anything you do to get ready before you perform?

LMM: Not really. I rehearse in the car. I have an iPod with all the songs we play that I'll blast and sing along to. Someone actually recognized me at a wedding once and asked "Do you sing really loud in the car?" She saw me rehearsing before a show. I thought that was really funny.

C: Do you have any special memories from performing?

LMM: At the Tinley Park Music Festival a few years ago, as we were singing Whole Lotta Love by Led Zeppelin, a train came through and blew it's whistle as we were singing Love. It was awesome and I was like "did someone get that on video!" The timing was perfect.

There was also this little boy in the crowd that I brought on stage and danced with. He was autistic and as I brought him on stage and we were dancing, I saw his mother crying. It was such a special moment. The following year, the boy came back and his mother told me that he listens to us every night and he's been waiting to see me. He asked me at the show, "Do you remember me? I've been waiting for you." He comes every year to Tinley. Last year, we were rained out and didn't get to perform. The mom emailed me and said he was so sad he couldn't see us. It just about broke my heart.

You asked me what venue I'd like to play at. What I'd really like to do is have a concert at a really huge venue for kids with autism. I want to have a Blue Concert. We need to start asking these kids to be a part of this world. Especially the ones with Ausburgers. We need them, those are our open heart surgeons. I have a son with autism. I share autism awareness on my Facebook page and people have messaged me privately thanking me for talking about autism. It helps them understand what's going on.

C: That's incredible. I love the idea of a Blue Concert. This should happen one day. I think it would be a great thing for these kids and their families. Here's another question for you. Are there any bands or songs that you haven't covered yet but would like to?

LMM: I'd love to do Fall Out Boy.

C: I love Fall Out Boy. I've seen them in concert and they're phenomenal. Finally, what is your favorite part about being in a band?

LMM: Smiles. When I see people that like what we're doing and they enjoy it. I think that's probably the biggest part. I'm a pleasing person. I want everyone to be happy. This is still a hobby for us. Because it's a hobby we love it and we're able to keep it fresh.

C: I love that and I can tell you guys love it. Everyone can when you get up on that stage. You all have so much fun and we can feel it. It makes us have that much more of a good time being in the audience.

Thank you to Lisa for sitting down with me for such a great conversation. It was great to get to know the band a little more. Let me leave you with some videos from the performance. Make sure to follow me on Facebook to see more!

Catch Reckless at their next show this Saturday, May 9th in Schaumburg at MT Barrels at 9PM. Follow Reckless on Facebook to stay up to date with their shows and what they have going on.

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