The Steel Silk Band is decidedly atypical.
The nine-piece band, composed of several Long Island musicians, is committed to performing covers of a wide range of songs with accuracy and gusto. From classic rock to Motown, the band promises to bring back “some of your fondest memories from yesteryear.”
“We are not classified as any one style; we do everything,” said Mike Zervos, the band’s manager and one of four lead vocalists.
Zervos, who has been in the music industry for more than 30 years, decided to put a band together after a 13-year hiatus.
“I decided I’m going to give it one more shot,” he said. “I started to hunt down some of the top musicians and vocalists in the tri-state area. In the beginning of 2014, it started to gel. Since the end of 2014, this band has really taken off.”
The band performs at libraries and larger venues across Long Island, catering to varied age demographics with an eclectic mix of songs.
“I try to find bigger venues where I know there’s going to be a large amount of people to get the band’s name out there,” Zervos said. “The people are coming because of the show that we do. We don’t just get up there to stand and play music. There’s a lot of interaction with the crowd and members on stage. We try to get everybody involved. The feedback we’re getting has been nothing less than amazing.”
Logan Michael, drummer for The Steel Silk Band, enjoys the challenge of working with eight other musicians.
“We all just know how to react off of each other when things are going on,” he said. “If the vocals are going to be softer, we all drop down. We’re constantly paying attention to body language. With this group, it’s so easy. The thing I enjoy about playing with the band is the band members. They’re all fun, professional and so talented. It’s so easy to enjoy the time on stage, and that all translates to the crowd.”
Michael, a resident of Glen Cove, said that there is a certain singularity in playing for Long Island audiences.
“They expect a different type of song repertoire,” he said. “Everyone loves Billy Joel, but on Long Island, people really love Billy Joel. It’s a hometown feel. I’ve played all over the place, and I don’t think that some songs would work outside of Long Island.”
Michael said he believes the band’s “rich, thick” harmonies elevate the sound of the songs beyond their original sonic dimensions.
“They blow your mind,” he said. “It sounds good, and it feels really good.”
The band is performing at the Memorial Park amphitheater in Mineola on Saturday, Aug. 6, at 2 p.m. Zervos expects anywhere from 100 to 400 people to come to the show.
“We haven’t had less than 125 people at a show,” he said. “We didn’t expect it to take off as well as it has.”
Recently, the band has been working on covering Billy Joel’s “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant,” a song that is sure to be a crowd favorite.
“If you really sit down and listen to the song the way we do it, we make it much spicier. It’s like an epic,” said Michael, who cites the tune as one of his favorites to cover.
John Pinna, the band’s bassist and a Farmingdale local, said the chemistry of the band is a natural byproduct of their collective musical experience. “We’ve all been playing for years, so it’s really a matter of knowing when to hang back and letting the other parts do their thing,” he said.
Pinna said he is eager to share the results of the band’s rehearsals at the upcoming Mineola show.
“We have a whole bunch of new songs that we’re working on, which is awesome,” he said “We’re playing songs that you just don’t play in other bands and the band has so much depth to it. We do a little bit of everything, and everybody loves it.”
