As three seventh grade boys from St. Giles decided to become a band, they never thought they would end up where they are today. What first started out as a couple of friends playing together for fun soon turned into the friars’ favorite performers: The Vigilantes.

Even as seventh graders starting out, the members had deep roots in music well before becoming a band. For example, they performed in various school bands such as the St. Giles Concert Band and St. Giles Jazz band. Additionally, many of the members attended School of Rock, where they worked to improve their musical techniques.

Their love for rock music is what brought the members together. As band member Joe Zawacki states, “We all loved rock music, unlike our peers, and we all played instruments and loved performing.”

The band continued throughout the boys’ years at Giles. However, when came high school, one of the members chose to go to OPRF, so the band introduced a new member. Today, there are four members: Teddy Oberlies, Joe Zawaki, Daniel Castellano, and Vinny Micucci.

The boys all contribute their different musical abilities to the success of the band. In the band, Vinny plays guitar and sings, Teddy plays the drums, piano, and also sings, Daniel plays bass and drums, and Joe plays piano, guitar, and sings.

This musical diversity has aided the band in its success. Member Vinny Micucci adds, “It’s nice to have a group that plays all different instruments, so that we can mix and match depending on the song.”

The band mostly performs rock music; however they also play other genres of music, too. When asked what kind of music the band mostly performs member Joe says, “Were definitely drawn to classic rock (60s/70s) as we feel it is the root of our passions for music but we really love playing any good music from any decade, from pop to hard rock.” Clearly, the band is not limited to a specific genre or decade. Band member Vinny also adds that in the future, the band hopes to perform original music that he and Joe have been working on.

The band’s rehearsal schedule varies. All of the members have extremely busy schedules, so they typically rehearse the days leading up to their performances. These rehearsals tend to be on Saturdays. Even though they may not always have the time to rehearse together, the band thinks it is important that each member rehearse on their own. Vinny adds, “It goes without saying for any band, but every member has to show up to rehearsal with their individual parts already learned, so the parts of the songs can be put together. We’ve improved a ton as musicians since we started, so nowadays our rehearsals tend to be more straightforward than they used to be.”

When it came time to choose a name, the band thought of names that would embody their band. After weeks of thinking, the band finally decided on a name, The Fugitives. However, when the members further discussed the name the following day, they remembered the name incorrectly as the Vigilantes instead of the Fugitives.

When the band arrived to Fenwick, they thought about changing the name. However they could not think of another name like the Vigilantes, and so, the name has stuck with the band since.

The band also enjoys changing things up and trying new things; they try to mix things up as much as possible. For example, they like to have friends sit in with them in rehearsal and such. In fact, the band will be performing in Banua this year with freshman Dante Nottoli.

The band has performed at multiple events. Some of these events include grade school and high school talent shows, fundraising events, quinceañeras, block parties, open mics, the homecoming pep rally, Banua, and last year’s Turnabout dance.

When asked what their favorite performance was, both Vinny and Joe agreed that it was last year’s Turnabout. Joe says, “The energy was just unparalleled and we were having the times of our lives rocking together.” The band loved the energy and the crowd at Turnabout and they hope that they can play at the Fenwick’s next Turnabout.

The Vigilantes are a Fenwick favorite. They always excite and entertain the Friars. Whether they are performing at a pep rally or at a dance, the friars are always singing and dancing along to the Vigilantes. Junior Kennedy Berschel says, “I love the songs that they perform, and their energy always makes everyone in the room excited.” The band’s passion for music is evident to everyone who listens to them perform, building excitement to see what they come up with next.