Just like the iconic symbol of the 1980s, the Rubik’s Cube, the local tribute band Rubixx takes its name from that symbol of purity, stability, and endless possibilities.
Founded in 2018 by Coconut Creek resident Rob Lankenau, 60, the tribute band specializes in ’80s music, including New Wave, Top 40, and pop.
“I’m part of the MTV generation,” says Lankenau. “I graduated high school in 1983, and I’m fascinated by ’80s music.”
The six-member group consists of Thomas Pisani on keyboards/rhythm guitar, Rory Hickey on bass guitar, Francis Cast on lead guitar and backing vocals, Dominick J. Daniel on drums and percussion, and female lead vocalist Lisa Maciolek (also of the rock band Fifth Wheel’d). Both Daniel and Cast were members of the ’90s punk-rock band Livid Kittens, and Pisani was a leader in the rock-and-roll band Happy Daze.
Rubixx was founded as a five-piece band. Lankenau, a New York native, knew he needed to add a woman to the mix. “You cannot call yourself an ’80s tribute band without the ‘ladies of the ’80s,’” he jokes. “What would the ’80s be without Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Whitney Houston, or Olivia Newton John?”
“I wanted to do it right,” he says. “And with Maciolek, we hit pay dirt. Lisa is one of the hardest-working people in the business and takes the bull by the horns.”
Trying to think of a good ’80s name for the band, Lankenau experimented with “The Breakfast Club” and “Members Only,” but when he hit on “Rubixx,” he knew he had a winner.
“What’s more ’80s than a Rubik’s Cube?” he comments.
Lankenau’s interest in singing began in high school, where he sang in chorus and in the “select chorus,” which competed throughout New York state. He credits his choral teacher, Ellen Levine, for her instruction and still keeps in touch on Facebook. “She was a big influence,” he remembers. “I loved to sing, and she taught me harmony and gave me purpose.”
Known for their breadth of ’80s music, the band plays locally at THROW Social in Delray Beach, Café 27 in Weston, Gigi’s Bar & Café in Pompano Beach, Crazy Uncle Mike’s in Boca Raton, and Sharkey’s Bar & Grill in Coral Springs, where they will be playing on Sept. 21.
Lankenau, the owner of Rad Pest Services in Coconut Creek, gives a shout-out to Richard Kushner, owner of Sharkey’s Bar & Grill. “We love Richard,” he says. “Sharkey’s is one of our favorite places to play, and we always get a huge turnout.”
Lankenau does his due diligence listening to ’80s music to rediscover new songs for the band’s repertoire. “It never gets old,” he says.
And while he can appreciate the energy of hard rock, metal, and dance music, it’s Freddie Mercury and Queen that hold a special place in his heart.
Queen’s 1991 hit, “These Are the Days of Our Lives”—which recounts a story about looking back with pleasure on your life and seeing it through the eyes of your kids—resonates most for Lankenau
“It always brings a tear to my eye,” he says.
Other bands that Lankenau likes include Van Halen, Long Island’s Blue Oyster Cult, U2, and his favorite, the Australian rock band INXS.
For his wedding, he danced to Elton John’s “Your Song” and serenaded his wife with Eric Clapton’s ballad, “Wonderful Tonight.”
“It was a satisfying moment,” Lankenau says. And while he says, “I killed it,” the actual proof is on a long-forgotten VHS tape.
Lead vocalist Maciolek, 48, whose singing style has been compared to that of soul singers Chaka Khan and Aretha Franklin and vocal abilities to Celine Dion, says she is blessed to make her living doing what she loves.
In addition to performing with Rubixx, the Boca Raton resident has performed on the cruise-ship circuit and has her own business, Songbird Sessions, along with Fifth Wheel’d.
Growing up in New Jersey listening to Motown, Doo-wop, the blues, Jackie Wilson, Smokey Robinson, and Aretha Franklin, Maciolek entered a talent competition at the age of 11. With no formal training (“I came out whaling”) other than singing along to the radio in her basement, she prepared and sang “The Rose” by Bette Midler.
“It was the most exciting, frightening, and exhilarating moment of my life,” Maciolek remembers. “It sparked passion and changed my life.”
She spent six years in the program at a local performing arts high school where her career goals as a singer and entertainer were cemented. Later, she worked with many of her childhood heroes such as Benny King, Leslie Gore, and Frankie Lyman on the Doo-wop circuit and at oldies radio WCBS-FM in New York.
Maciolek opened for Vito Picone & The Elegants and Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge. “I sing with heart and power,” she says. “It makes people feel what you’re feeling.”
Maciolek says she is excited to work with Lankenau and Rubixx and that she and Lankenau hit it off vocally. “It’s the music of my time,” she says. “Even though we all come from different worlds, I feel at home.”
They are all on the same page musically, Maciolek says. “We want the same heartbeat. We are the most driven, passionate, and talented individuals and make magic happen out of nothing.
“It’s inspiring to find others filled with the same passion,” she says. “It’s great to be a part of something greater than yourself and share the fire.”
Rubixx will perform live at Sharkey’s Bar & Grill, 10365 Royal Palm Blvd., Coral Springs, on Saturday, Sept. 21. For more information, visit sharkeysfl.com, call (954) 341-9990, or
visit them on Facebook.