Local Students Rock for a Good Cause

They take to the stage, plug in their amps, tune their drum kits, and rock out. And they go to high school, and even middle school.

They're Students Rockin' for a Reason (SRFAR), a collection of local rock bands that band together to perform for worthy causes. Its next show is this coming Saturday in Amityville.

Band members are all local students that attend school together, or in some cases, first met up at the School of Rock, which has a chapter in Melville. The school provides music education to kids looking to do more than simply learn the clarinet. They learn electric guitar, bass, vocals, and everything they need to get in front of a crowd and rock.

'Rockin' came together in 2007 when parents of the musicians decided to have the kids put their talent to good use. So far, they've raised more than $50,000 for charities such as Crohn's & Colitis, Lymphatic Research Foundation, and the inaugural LI2DAY walk last year.

Dr. George Rogu of Dix Hills is one of the coordinators of the group, and his sons Peter and Teddy perform in Spare Change, one of the Rockin' bands. Rogu said that while getting up on stage is great practice for these aspiring rockers, the fact that it's all for a good cause adds an extra bonus to the experience.

"They realize it's not just about fun and playing music, cause you can do that anywhere," Rogu said. "It's their music that helps somebody and touches somebody somewhere."

The members of Spare Change are all 13 years old or younger, and several members attend HHH schools. Peter and Jordan Trichon attend . Teddy is a student at Ostego Elementary School. Lead singer Nico Marulli goes to West Hollow Middle School.

Spare Change is a classic rock cover band, and Peter Rogu says seeing kids do their thing live may spur folks to give charitably.

"If it's just like a regular [charity] walk, people aren't going to pay much attention," said Peter, 13, "but when they see a live band performing, they actually go check it out, pay attention, and get aware of the cause."

Out of the Blue, featuring students Max Harris (drums and vocals), Ethan Udell (bass and guitar), Brandon Kaplan (guitar and vocals) and Zack Goldstein (guitar and keyboard) will also perform on May 22 at Ollie's Point Bar & Grill in Amityville.

(Editor's note: Patch will be at Out of the Blue's next jam session to put together a full profile of the group.)

Other bands in the organization include , whose members all attend Bellmore JFK High School. Nate Koenigstein is one of the founders of SRFAR; his son Austin is in the band and son Jordan is the event coordinator. There's also Studio Nine, featuring members from high schools across the area, such as bassist Kevin Massetti of Massapequa.

"It makes us feel good that we're helping out and it really motivates us, we know it's going toward a good cause and we want to try and help out best we can," Massetti said.

The show at Ollie's Point comes in advance of the June 11-12 LI2DAY walk, with all ticket and merchandise proceeds going to members of the L.I. community affected by breast cancer, and to research. To date, LI2DAY has raised more than $3 million, and SRFAR pulled in $20,000 alone for last year's walk.

"It's a bunch of talented children playing the music that [the audience] grew up with, to raise money for a good cause," George Rogu said.

Tickets for the SRFAR concert on May 22 are $12 for adults and $10 for students in advance, and will be sold at the door for $15. There will also be raffle prizes and silent auctions.  The Downtown Fiction will headline the show. Go to www.LI2DAYwalk.org/students.asp to learn more.