Album Notes

The Story of CLOSENUF'S original Line-up that led to the award winning Debut Album:
Little did we know it but Closenuf actually started when Adam Vicelich, a singer/songwriter/keyboardist and music teacher from Brooklyn, NY, met Ron Pitkin, a guitarist from Rockville Centre, Long Island, in October 2000. In adolescence, Ron's guitar virtuoso best friend took his own life, and Ron vowed to become the guitarist his friend never had the chance to be. Ron had come to audition for a band that Adam was in at the time. As fate would have it, that band broke up before Ron had a chance to join. Adam went solo for a while and recorded a demo CD; he called upon Ron to help with guitars. In the summer of 2001, the two musicians started playing open mic nights jokingly calling their group "Ad-Ron."
In early September, 2001, Adam walked into Maggio's, a local music store, and spotted a flyer hanging on the wall. Another accomplished Brooklyn singer/songwriter with his own demo CD was looking to start a cover band to raise capital and interest to eventually showcase original music. Adam called the number on the flyer and spoke to Anthony J. Foti for the first time. Finding both a sincere similarity in appreciation and influence of established artists, and a focus on writing for the same genre and fan base, the two quickly realized that they were well on their way to starting a new band.
Adam recruited a colleague, Ivan Reisberg to play drums, and Ron called on an old friend, Jeff Gallo to play bass. They set up the first band meeting on a Wednesday that September. Believe it or not, despite the happenings on 9/11, "CLOSENUF" met for the first time at the Vegas Diner in Brooklyn, NY, on September 12, 2001.
The band quickly started rehearsing classic rock covers, as well as Adam's and Anthony's original songs. Unfortunately, there were some bumps in the road. Shortly into the project, both Ivan and Jeff left the band for personal reasons leaving Ron, Adam and Anthony without a rhythm section to forge ahead with their idea.
Six months later, after lengthy auditions, Henry McDonagh III, a music teacher and accomplished soundman from Queens, NY, signed on to play bass. Interestingly, although being from yet another part of the New York City area, Henry came as a recommendation from his guitar teacher who formerly taught Ron, and graduated from the same college musical education program as Adam (small world!). Shortly after, Trey Roper, a musician since age 7 from Bayonne, New Jersey, found his place behind the drum set. Trey, in the same vein as Ron, had auditioned sometime earlier for a former band of Adam's, and that group disbanded before he could become a permanent member (ah, destiny!).
With this line-up of 5 talented and accomplished members, any of whom could front their own band, a signature sound emerged as each were challenged by the others to be the best at what they do. Since then, Closenuf has established a strong presence on the New York music scene, playing bars and clubs from Staten Island to Brooklyn to Long Island. Closenuf released an all-original (placed on the ballot for GRAMMY NOMINATION for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)) rock-n-roll CD under the Wreckords Records label in 2005.
Like most projects of such extended life, some member shifts are inevitable, but this Debut album is for the rare CLOSENUF collector - AND FOR THOSE WHO LOVE THIS WORK PLEASE ALSO CHECK OUT AVAILABLE AT THIS SITE- on the 15th anniversary of the record label, we celebrate with its latest June 2009 LP release, “CLOSENUF…to a new beginning,” it captures all of Anthony’s writing & lead vocals from the band’s established repertoire, as well as new selections with the fresh sounds of the band’s current line-up (as always, all talented NY Musicians in their own right), as well as alternate mixes of fan favorites with special guest players. Check out the EPK to end all EPKs, www.closenuf.com for info on the latest line-up, photos, news & appearance schedules. They write it, they play it, they rock it! Musical Perfection? CLOSENUF!