Named for the iHeartRadio station Big 105.9, the Big Rock Band was created for the station by Hollywood resident and deejay Alex Lencina, 57. Inspired by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith, George Clinton, and the O’Jays, the band focused on less-played, familiar songs such as Autograph’s 1984 hit, “Turn Up the Radio.”
“We love to play music that has the audience bobbing their heads and tapping their feet, but is not overplayed,” says Lencina. “So, when they hear it, they remember it and remember they like it.
“That is the key to the band,” he says, paraphrasing Bee Gees guitarist Dan Warner’s parting words, “Groove is everything.”
Other band members include Fernando Santomaggio on bass, Jimi Fiano on lead guitar, Scott Sherman on guitar, John “Johnny O” Onderline on saxophone, Ysauro Hernandez on percussion, Philip Bithell on keys, and Euvoski Cunningham Sr. on drums.
The band plays at Cafe 27 in Fort Lauderdale, Galuppi’s in Pompano Beach, and Crazy Uncle Mike’s in Boca Raton, and they’ll play locally at Sharkey’s Bar and Grill in Coral Springs on April 12.
“We are a band of brothers,” says Lencina. “When we play, we are connected—no attitudes, no hang-ups—just having a good time and sharing it with our audience.”
Highlights for the band included having Big 109.5 deejay Paul Castronovo sing with them at a Super Bowl watch party on Himmarshee Street in Fort Lauderdale in 2018 and performing at Margaritaville in front of 10,000 people for New Year’s Eve this past January. “It was amazing,” says Lencina. “I will never forget it.”
While all the members have separate lives and other commitments, they all say they are happy to have this time to play together.
For bassist Santomaggio, 48, also a marine science teacher at Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines, the time spent playing together is “intimate, deep, and profound.”
He explains, “We’re lucky to have something we enjoy, do it with those we like, and share it with the audience. We have a good time watching the audience watch us have a good time; there’s nothing better than that.”
Santomaggio especially enjoys his interaction on stage with lead guitarist Fiano, 66. “Jimi’s a local legend,” he says. “I looked up to him and now get to share a stage and learn from him.”
Fiano came to guitar playing at the age of 6, after his sister brought a guitar back from Mexico.
“I started playing it and couldn’t put it down,” he remembers. At 14, while still in middle school, he put together a band, and by the age of 16 he started playing in clubs professionally.
Influenced by the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Iron Butterfly, and Blue Cheer—and later, Grand Funk Railroad, a young Eric Clapton and the Blues Breakers (“full of piss and vinegar”), and blues guitarist Johnny Winter—Fiano is passionate about his craft.
Most recently, he put out a blues rock CD titled “Sweat & Pray,” which will be available on all streaming platforms. Shaun Murphy, a Nashville-based singer who sang with Bob Seger, Eric Clapton, and Little Feat, among others, did background vocals on the record.
Fiano says he hopes this CD will be his calling card as an independent artist. “I’d like to bring some like-minded people with me and go out on tour and see the world,” he says.
The father of an 18-year-old son, Fiano is at the peak of his career. He’s currently at work on his second album and says he can’t stop writing songs.
“My son won’t allow me to be old,” he jokes. “And, I want to leave a legacy.”
His advice for other would-be musicians? “Be persistent and color outside the lines,” he says. “Follow your instincts, take chances, and if you believe it, it will happen.
“I love playing with these guys and we genuinely have a great time making music together on stage,” says Fiano. “What could be better than that?”
The Big Rock Band will perform at Sharkey’s Bar and Grill, 10365 Royal Palm Blvd., Coral Springs, on April 12 at 8 p.m. Visit them on Facebook and Jimi Fiano at Jimifiano.com.