Category: Community News

Posted on

The colors of life: Deborah LaFogg Docherty

A “colorist,” her professors in college had called Deborah LaFogg Docherty.  She is a colorist with talent for color, which is why she likes pastels.  LaFogg’s compositions are saturated in detail, and beneath the layering,  the surface of sanded pastel is full of pigments with little binder.  LaFogg brings the colors in life forward and into this month’s focus.

“It has to have motion, color, and contrast—oh man, there is always something to learn,” explained LaFogg. “The right textures and, most importantly, it is the composition that has to be right.”

Toy in the Attic (38″ x 28″). LaFogg’s first exhibition was at the Yale University Art Gallery in her senior year of college. “Toy in the Attic,” an oil painting on gessoed board, was exhibited there; it is of LaFogg’s Raggedy Ann doll that she found in the attic.

LaFogg, who grew up on a farm in Connecticut, was inspired by her mother at a young age to pursue art. One could say the “writings were on the wall”—when LaFogg was only 4 or 5 years old, she did a full mural of dogs, cats, trees, and birds on the wall of the hallway. Of course, her parents thought it better to give her coloring books, paints, and crayons instead, for her to continue on. And she did just that.

LaFogg, having graduated with honors in illustration and commercial art from Paire College, later relocated to South Florida, where she worked in illustration, cartooning, and as a designer for the Sun Sentinel for several years of her life. There, she did a plethora of work in the artistic field, including prepress, editorial, and advertising. She was a Special Sections designer in Deerfield Beach, and it helped her to further develop her skills in compositional strength throughout the experience.

Commissions. During and after her Sun Sentinel career, LaFogg has continued to do commissions for art lovers. Her commissions range from portraits to animals, in extensive use of detail, and even with an Impressionistic piece. She has illustrated a couple of books, including “Rosie’s Song” and “Woodrat Jill,” in themes about conservancy and nature. While LaFogg is naturally drawn to pastels due to her talent for color, her works are shaped from oils and even acrylics. Her tendency to equip detail is apparent, while maintaining balance between her softened backgrounds to pronounce the foregrounds of the composition’s focus. This cute little fur ball (pictured) is a recent commission, 11″ x 14″ oil on canvas.

Wildlife. LaFogg lives in Boynton Beach, where she works from her studio. Her property is in fact a wildlife habitat. Known well for her wildlife works, LaFogg’s achievements in wildlife conservation efforts cannot go unnoted. Winning first place in fine art in the Endangered Art4Apes International Exhibition, fourth place and honorable mention in the wildlife/animal category of the Pastel Journals International Pastel 100 Competition, and honorable mention in the International Artists Magazine Wildlife Challenge, these are just a few of many of her achievements. Her work is often featured in the NYC Salmagundi Club shows, and she’s been published in the International Artist Magazine, the Pastel Journal, and the WildScape literary journal.

LaFogg’s wildlife paintings cannot be missed. Since 2018, after she became a part of an artists group to visit Kenya for conservation efforts to bring the Northern White Rhino back from the brink of extinction, she continues creating paintings for the National Parks Trust and strives to raise awareness about the importance of wildlife conservation.

Among some of the animals painted are the wolf, the cougar, the black bear, and many more. However, her favorites are the birds, LaFogg’s main subject. She loves how they symbolize freedom and beauty, a topic very important to her.

“Frost,” an 11″ x 14″ pastel on archival sanded pastel paper, is a testament to that. The lone cardinal is the focal point of the painting, drawing the viewer in by his natural predominance—color, defining the composition by his inherited hierarchy upon the wires. As he looks on, it hints to the viewer a suggestion, perhaps, in hopes for the spring.

LaFogg’s works are spread nationally and internationally, including in China and Spain. In the U.S., a piece well worth mentioning is her real-life cowgirl, whose portrait is a 16″ x 20″ pastel on archival sanded pastel paper, titled “Ready to Ride Out.” The offsets of the composition come into focus by the pronouncing of life to her face, where her position is to skin tones, mellowed by the balance at which it borders by color. It all is complimentary—as the cowgirl looks to the light, the background remains mysterious, leaving the fluidity to the viewer in a pending sense before her journey into the great wide open.

Every little detail to experimental abstracts. After a great year in 2024, LaFogg is currently rebuilding her inventory. Subsequently, recent interests have delved into abstracts. Her “Koi Pond,” a 16″ x 20″ acrylic on canvas, explores her applied techniques into simpler strokes. Form, however, remains defined by color, as the core emphasis is toward the Koi fish. Koi, also known as Nishiikigoi, is a species that originated in China and later were extensively bred and popularized in Japan.

Inspiring others. LaFogg’s aim is to inspire others by doing demos and teaching. Currently, she teaches art at the Boyton Beach Arts & Cultural Center every Wednesday from 1 to 4 p.m. On April 4, 5, and 6, LaFogg will be at the Delray Art Fair. On April 12, she’ll be at the open house of Delray Beach’s Creative Arts School. And on May 3, LaFogg will be painting life at the Palm Beach Zoo.

For more information or to contact Deborah LaFogg Docherty, go to https://lafogg.com.

 

Posted on

Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse: A historic treasure

One of the brightest lights in the world shines from Hillsboro Inlet—the light beam emanating from the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse, which can be seen from 28 nautical miles (just over 32 miles) away. Built in 1907, the lighthouse has withstood major hurricanes and fires to guide ships through the shallow waters and coral reefs of Hillsboro Inlet for the past 118 years.

In 1855, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designated Hillsboro Inlet as hazardous to the safe navigation of ships and recommended that Congress authorize the funding of a lighthouse. However, due to a lack of funds, more than 50 years passed before the approval and construction of the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse began.

During that time, Hillsboro Inlet continued to challenge ships. In 1900, the SS Copenhagen, a British cargo steamer, sank after striking a reef in 25 feet of water off the coast of Pompano Beach. Finally, in 1901, the United States Lighthouse Board persuaded Congress to authorize the construction of a lighthouse at Hillsboro Inlet. “The sinking of the SS Copenhagen really jumpstarted getting this lighthouse,” says David Velez, a Hillsboro Lighthouse Preservation Society (HLPS) volunteer. The HLPS, a nonprofit organization, works with the U.S. Coast Guard to maintain the lighthouse.

At 147 feet tall at its highest point, the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse is one of the tallest lighthouses on the East Coast. One hundred and sixty-seven winding steps lead to the watch deck of the lighthouse, which offers sweeping views of the coast and overlooks part of the Florida Reef, where sharks and fish are commonly spotted.

One of the lighthouse’s most unique features is its second-order, bivalve Fresnel Lens, which dates back to 1907 and was the most technologically advanced at the time. “The lens is original from 1907,” says Amber Velez, membership chair of the HLPS, whose grandfather was one of Hillsboro Inlet’s original lighthouse keepers. “Only a few of these lenses are still active, one being ours. Others are on display in museums. Ours is rotating just as it was in 1907.”

The lens comprises 356 glass pieces that form a large diamond. “When it was first put into service, the lighthouse had a vaporized kerosene light visible up to 15 nautical miles out,” explains David Velez. “They created the lens in such a way that no matter where the light was coming from the kerosene flame, it would refract and create a horizontal beam shooting out into the ocean.”

In 1932, the lighthouse went from kerosene to electrical power, and in 2021 it switched to an LED light visible from 28 nautical miles out. “That’s only at 50% brightness,” says David Velez. “If we increased it to maximum brightness, we’d probably get complaints from residents.”

Originally the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse used a mercury bath to rotate its Fresnel lens, which weighs about 3,500 pounds. Floating the heavy lens on a pool of liquid mercury allowed it to rotate quickly with minimal effort, creating the bright flashing signal that lighthouses are known for. “This was done on mercury because mercury is frictionless,” explains Ralph Krugler, a historian with the HLPS and author of “The (Almost) Complete History of the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse.”

“Once the lens was floating, with one finger, you could push a giant lens around in circles,” says Krugler.

The lighthouse keepers were responsible for maintaining the mercury bath. When dust, sand, or other impurities built up in the mercury, they had to strain it. “They would drain the mercury and run it through a cheesecloth,” says Krugler. “These guys weren’t wearing gloves and were doing all this by hand.” Sadly, keepers were commonly referred to as “mad hatters,” as constant exposure to the bath often led to mercury poisoning and abnormal behavior.

Throughout the years, several major hurricanes caused some mercury to spill out of the basin. Thankfully in 1998, all mercury was removed from the lighthouse, and the mercury bath was replaced with a ball-bearing system that would rotate the lens. In 1974, the lighthouse became fully automated, meaning keepers were no longer needed.

On Friday, March 14, the HLPS is hosting its annual fundraising gala. Those who attend will be treated to a private tour of the lens room and an up-close look at the original 1907 Fresnel lens, an experience not available on public tours.

Proceeds from the gala—which takes place under the full moon on the lighthouse grounds—will go toward upkeep, repairs, and HLPS’s restoration project.

The million-dollar restoration project involves a complete overhaul of the struts, cables, and turnbuckles, along with the blasting and repainting of the lighthouse to restore it to its original color scheme composed of three black sections and two white.

“It’s a 10-year restoration plan with a 10-year guarantee,” explains Amber Velez. “We’ll have 10 years of guaranteed service, so if anything happens with the paint or rust starts coming back, the restoration company will come back and take care of it.”

Because the lighthouse is located on U.S. Coast Guard grounds and is bordered by the Hillsboro Club, it is only open to the public once a month for public tours. Upcoming tours are scheduled for March 8, April 12, May 10, and June 15. Visitors meet at the Sands Harbor Resort and Marina in Pompano Beach and are transported by boat to the lighthouse grounds.

For more information, visit www.hillsborolighthouse.org.

Posted on

Death of chocolate?

Chocolates are a favorite romantic gift for Valentine’s Day—everything from a rich chocolate truffle to chocolate-covered strawberries. Beyond the happy smiles of chocolate enjoyers everywhere this Valentine’s Day, there are changes lurking in the industry. The future of chocolate is murkier than ever before.

If you have ever seen a chocolate plant, you will find the fruit quite different from the smooth, creamy chocolate in your favorite confectionary. The cocoa fruit pod is the size of a melon, and it’s grown in hot, rainy, tropical areas around the equator. Each melon-sized pod yields around 30 to 40 cocoa beans, which are dried and fermented before the next steps in the production process.

The dried beans are further roasted, and shelled into pieces before being ground into a paste, commonly referred to as chocolate liquor. The chocolate liquor is often processed to separate out the cocoa power from the cocoa butter (commonly referred to as grinding in the industry). Traditionally, chocolate is often made by adding more cocoa butter and sugar into the chocolate liquor.

It takes about 10 of the pods to yield enough dried beans to make one pound of chocolate. At a recent peak in 2022,  the world produced just under six million tons of these dried cocoa beans in 2022, mostly in Africa.

Recently, the supply of this delicious treat has been under threat. The cocoa commodity index has jumped 500% since 2022, after decades where the prices have been stable. The total cocoa supply in 2024 has fallen to around 4.4 billion tons (25% reduction since 2022), and the lowest in 45 years.

The increase in cocoa prices has impacted consumers with price increases, and it has reduced product sizes. Some manufacturers have resorted to substitutions, and some companies are offering non-chocolate products, or completely removing cocoa from their products. One potential alternative that some producers are working with is carob, from the tree of the same name grown in the Mediterranean region.

For craft chocolate makers targeting high-end chocolate enjoyers for key holidays like Valentine’s Day, they do not have that luxury. Some craft makers have increased their prices by 10% to 20% in the past few months—all due to the shortage in cocoa production.

How did the grinch steal our beloved chocolate? There are several long-term factors impacting the shortage.

Cocoa trees become increasingly prone to disease as they age. So old farms are abandoned, with new ones established in fresh forest. But this is becoming increasingly difficult due to a lack of new land to farm, and competition with mining interests in the growing area. Farmland is often sold to miners, exacerbating the production challenges.

Recent weather patterns in western Africa, often associated with the recent El Nino cycle, have been reducing production from the cocoa tree farms. The same weather phenomenon that has suppressed hurricanes in the past couple years has caused drier weather in West Africa, contributing to increased plant disease that devastated the trees in that region. The weather impacts not just total production, but also the quality of the beans produced, further stressing the craft makers who rely on top-grade beans.

Meanwhile, chocolate demand is continuing to grow at around 4% annually. So the mismatch between supply and demand is likely to be further strained. Because most manufacturers tend to hedge their long-term supply agreement pricing, according to a senior analyst at RaboResearch, the recent steepest price increases are likely to trickle to consumers in 2025.

Long term, farms worldwide may grow more cocoa trees as a result of this steep increase in price, but it will take three to four years to begin producing beans. And across many of the traditional growing regions, new farms in West Africa and South America will still face the same challenge of disease and weather patterns that has weakened production.

Carob, the alternative you can already buy, has been thriving since the 1970s as a natural sweetener and thickening agent. It is low in fat, and rich in fiber, calcium, and antioxidants, a potentially healthier alternative. But it has a distinct flavor and texture, and a more nutty and sweeter taste profile for consumers to adapt to.

Other startups have been looking at newer alternatives in trying to create a more perfect substitute for the diminishing chocolate supply aimed at a taste-conscious chocolate lover. One promising process uses fava beans. Most of the plants being looked at as alternatives have less demanding agriculture needs than the cocoa tree, mitigating the ecology impact to the chocolate supply chain.

Even further out, some other companies are looking at options of growing cocoa plant cells in a bioreactor, to produce chocolate without relying on the trees. The development is in early stages, but it uses the same technology advancements in the pharmaceutical industry for cancer drugs and nutrient supplements.

As the price of chocolate stays at all-time highs, these alternatives will likely gain more traction in the industry, especially for the price-sensitive segment of the chocolate industry. Short term as the supply drops, and the price increases, the industry is already seeing consumers pulling back on satisfying their sweet tooth. Data from a Jan. 16, 2025, report show North American chocolate grinding falling 1.2% in 2024 year-over-year, following similar trends in Europe, where its grindings dropped 5.3% in quarter 4, and fallen for two years in a row.

So expect 2025 to be a year in which you’ll likely see both a shortage of high-quality chocolate as well as increased prices. And on the horizon, if the chocolate alternative startups gain traction, we may see more and more chocolate using less and less cocoa, and the use of more alternatives to cocoa. It will be hard to conceive a world without chocolate, but we may be entering a period where consumers will be seeing hybrid offerings of both original and newer alternative chocolate.

Posted on

From Ironman to Centenarian – A Bodybuilder’s Legacy

A lifetime commitment to physical fitness, healthy and drug-free living and a passion for bodybuilding has paid off for Parkland resident and WWII veteran, Andrew Bostinto, as he celebrated his 100th birthday on Jan. 11 by – what else – doing what he loves – working out at the gym.

His long and fulfilled life is defined by two passions – his three years spent in the army in the 101st Regiment, 26th Infantry – and his years devoted to bodybuilding.

In 1979 he founded the National Gym Association (NGA) a not-profit organization that supports the philosophy of natural strength training and bodybuilding with a mission to encourage drug-free athletes and is still active today.

He was the first in the industry to develop a personal trainer’s fitness certification program and in 2006 co-authored, “Become Your Own Personal Mental Fitness Trainer.”

He was friends with other well-known body-builders (or, as they called them at the time, muscle-men) Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno and Jack LaLanne and in 1977, won the title of Senior Mr. America, at Madison Square Garden.

In 1963, Bostinto opened his own gym, the Olympia Gym and Health Club, in Queens, N.Y.

He lectured at Queens College on exercise and nutrition and personally trained many well-known celebrities, including Cyndi Lauper, Regis Philbin, Al Pacino during filming of the 1993 film, “Carlito’s Way,” and his favorite, Patrick Stewart from “Star Trek:  The Next Generation.”

He officiated at numerous national and international events, such as Mr. Olympia 1970-1971, and was a guest on many local New York television shows discussing physical fitness and bodybuilding.

In May 2025, he plans to earn the title of the “World’s Oldest Bodybuilder” for the Guinness Book of World Records in a competition in Deltona, Florida.

“Andy is still in great shape,” says his wife of 34 years, Francine Bostinto, 67, who is the current president of the NGA.  The couple, who met at Jacob Riis Park beach in Brooklyn, has been together 44 years and have one son, Dillon, 27, together.  Andrew Bostinto has a son (now deceased) and daughter from a previous marriage.

Aside from some knee and balance issues, Francine Bostinto jokes, “I take full credit for his longevity; this is what happens when you marry a much younger woman.”

Looking more like 75, than 100, Bostinto says when her husband wears his hat and medals, people mistake him for a Vietnam-era veteran, not a WW II veteran.  With smooth skin and no wrinkles (his mother lived to 99), Bostinto says her husband is a “good talker,” likes to watch TV, go grocery shopping and likes to cook eggs, pasta and burgers.

For Francine, he cooks her favorite pasta dish, pasta with green peas.

He doesn’t follow a special diet but his wife says he has a good metabolism and eats mostly anything.

In Joe Bonomo’s 1943 book, “Body Power,” Bostinto was called “one of 20 of the world’s most perfect super-strongmen,” and in 1972 at the age of 46 was featured in the magazine, “Muscle Training Illustrated,” where he talked about his diet and training regimen of leg presses, bench presses, parallel dips, sit-ups, shoulder, triceps and lat reps.

In December, the couple returned from a trip to Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany on the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, (“the greatest American battle of the war”), Hitler’s last major offensive against the Western front, which paved the way for a Allies’ victory.

“This was the most meaningful event of my life,” says Bostinto about the experience, where he and other returning veterans, Louis Brown, Ed Cottrell, Jack Moran and Lester Schrenk, all of whom are between 99 and 102 years old, were treated like royalty and returning heroes.

“Going with Andy on this trip is the best decision I ever made,” says Francine Bostinto.  “These countries laid out their red carpet for these American veterans.”

Organized by Boston police officer and Iraq and Afghanistan War veteran, Andrew Biggio, author of “The Rifle,” Biggio is the founder of Boston’s Wounded Vet Run, New England’s largest motorcycle ride dedicated to severely wounded veterans.

Inspired by nostalgia and to honor an uncle and namesake who lost his life fighting in WWII, Biggio bought a 1945 M1 Garand Rifle, the most common rifle used in WWII, and had a neighbor, a WWII veteran, sign it.

This launched him on a mission to find the remaining WWII veterans and have them sign his rifle and tell their stories in his book.

Funded in part by a GoFundMe campaign which raised $32,814, Biggio, organized the trip to bring the American veterans back to the site of the battle in Bastogne, Belgium.

He told the Boston Herald in December, “What was important about this is that there isn’t going to be a 90th anniversary for these guys, same thing for D-Day. This was the last big anniversary for a big number of them.”

According to statistics from the Department of Veterans Affairs, fewer than 1 percent, or roughly 66,000, of the 16.4 million Americans who served during WWII are still with us today.

“We’re both so grateful to have had this opportunity,” says Francine Bostinto, where in a whirlwind week, they met the king and queen of Belgium, the duchess of Luxembourg, Senator Bob Graham of Florida, the mayor of Bastogne and other dignitaries, Helen Patton, the granddaughter of General George Patton, actors from the film, “Band of Brothers,” took part in a parade, visited a castle and the Bastogne War Museum and met with many locals, who Francine Bostinto says were “profusely grateful” to the Americans.

“It was “overwhelming” Andrew Bostinto says.  “There was so much gratitude.”

He was particularly moved by the fervor of little kids who waited in long lines and turned out to shake his hand and buy an autographed copy of “The Rifle,” which he and the other veterans signed for more than five hours.

In a post from Facebook on Dec. 15, reflecting on that day, Francine Bostinto writes, “Wherever we go, people applaud and bring gifts.”

They also visited Wereth, Belgium and a memorial to 11 American Black soldiers from the African American artillery battalion, a segregated unit, who were tortured and massacred by German SS troops on Dec. 17, 1944, in an event known as the “Werenth 11 Massacre.”

They appeared on the front page of many local publications, including the German newspaper, “Bild,” (“Der Terminator und der U.S. Veteran (99)” with the sub-heading, “Arnie Owes his Career to this Friendship.”

“I think the Belgian people remember tremendously,” Biggio says in a video post. “They crowd the streets, they crowd the museums so that we can’t even walk because they just want to get a glimpse of an actual WWII veteran who liberated them.”

“They’re taught at a very young age that these guys are superheroes,” he says.  “Most of them want autographs to keep and to wear on their jackets.”

Being a hero was not on Bostinto’s mind, but being focused and methodical was.

Training since the age of 13, Bostinto still works out on the treadmill and does weight training, including his favorite lat pull-down, five days a week at the Planet Fitness in Coconut Creek.

The self-described, “very analytical, very organized and very disciplined” bodybuilder and veteran who was born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and grew up poor in Brooklyn, shares the wisdom he’s garnered over a productive and meaningful century of life.

“Know yourself,” he says.  “Know your priorities and your values and who you are innately.”

Nolan McMurry, 25, the manager at Planet Fitness and a self-described “WWII fanatic” says, “As a WWII veteran, Andy is a piece of living history.  I’m honored to know him and always enjoy hearing his stories about his time serving overseas.”

McMurry says the gym plans to mark Bostinto’s birthday with cake and a celebration.

“Andy had an amazing career as a professional bodybuilder and with founding the NGA and he’s still dedicated to helping people, working out and staying fit,” he says.  “He always has interesting stories to share and I always learn a lot from him.”

“He’s one of a kind and truly a living legend.”

Posted on

Third annual music for a cause Musicians raise money to fight Parkinson’s disease

Singer Jade Ciel T of the band Sippin Fire, singer-songwriter Cheryl Arena of the Good Bread band, and guitarist Roderick Kohn are just a few of the musicians volunteering their time and joining forces to raise funds for the 3rd Annual DOB Parkinson’s Charity event on Dec. 8 at Sharkey’s Bar and Grille.

The local nonprofit was founded in 2012 by musician and Oakland Park resident Dan O’Brien, 70, along with his friend Wayne Belfer, 67, a retired senior executive of an auto insurance company who’s now living in Boca Raton.

The charity receives 100% of the proceeds and provides support and resources to individuals and families affected by Parkinson’s disease.

“It’s a big honor to be part of this fundraiser and to help find a cure for Parkinson’s disease,” says Arena, lead singer for the high-energy rock and blues band.

Arena, whose brother John also suffers from Parkinson’s, is grateful to O’Brien, who helped start her career in South Florida. “It’s personal,” says Arena, who is performing for the second year at the event.

“It hits home,” she says. “We’re thankful to all these musicians who come out on their own time and own dime and give of themselves to support this cause.

“Dan is a great guy and great musician, and we all want to do what we can,” says Arena.

The ’70s-themed night features a lineup of six duo acts, including blues and soul singer Dottie Kelly and Darrell Raines, Shannon Battle and Tom Piano, Dean Summers and Liz Sharp, Jade Ciel T and Giaco Pop Rock, and Cheryl Arena and Roderick Kohn, and five solo acts, including blues legend J. P. Soars, Ericson Holt, Billy Livesay, Sara Ann, and Jose Almonte from Havoc 305.

“Moving here from New Jersey, where we had similar charities, I noticed there wasn’t anything like it down here,” says Belfer. “Dan and I decided to put something together, and he was all for it as long as I could do most of the work.”

The two hope to eventually grow and expand the charity to help many people who need it and to create a worldwide network of communities, so that no one has to face the challenge of Parkinson’s disease alone.

O’Brien, a married father of two grown sons, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in August 2012. “This disease is horrible,” he says. “It really sucks.”

Signs of Parkinson’s disease include motor symptoms such as slowness of movement (bradykinesia), stiffness (rigidity), and resting tremors.

According to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, approximately 1 million people in the U.S. and more than 6 million people worldwide are affected by the disease.

To mitigate symptoms, experts suggest eating a healthy diet, exercising, educating yourself about the disease, finding a movement disorder specialist and determining the right treatment plan, building a support system, staying socially active, and getting involved in the Parkinson’s community.

Many patients are treated with the medications carbidopa and levodopa, a combination medicine used to treat the stiffness or tremors associated with the disease.

O’Brien had an “amazing career” in music. He knows and played with many big-name musicians—including the Lovin’ Spoonful, Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits, and locally with the band Shakey T and with recently deceased bass player Chuck Fiori, who played with John Denver.

He now has a stringent exercise routine: He walks, goes on the bike, has a gym in his home, does balance and strength training, and goes to physical therapy twice a week.

He still works in his home studio and continues to play guitar and write songs. “I’m hoping to be a 70-year overnight success,” he jokes.

Suffering from a “tremor-dominant” form of Parkinson’s, in 2020, O’Brien underwent a surgical procedure known as deep brain stimulation to mitigate the movement disorders associated with the disease.

He had great success with the procedure and says for him, it is a “game-changer.” He went from taking 12 pills a day to taking none and is now able to brush his teeth, shave, button his shirts, and play his guitar (to prove his point, he performed a short riff on the guitar).

“Parkinson’s disease is not a death sentence,” O’Brien says. “You don’t die from the disease; you die with it.”

Keeping a positive attitude is key.

“You have two choices: adapt or give up,” O’Brien says. “And I’ve got way too many things to do, including working to find a cure for the disease.”

The 3rd Annual DOB Parkinson’s Charity event will be held Sunday, Dec. 8, from 5:15 to 9:15 p.m., at Sharkey’s Bar & Grill, 10365 Royal Palm Blvd., Coral Springs. Advance tickets are recommended and can be purchased for $35 at dobparkinsonscharity.com. For more information, visit sharkeysfl.com or call (954) 341-9990. To learn more about the charity, visit it on Facebook or at dobparkinsonscharity.com.

Posted on

The Milk Drunk Foundation Creating happy endings for animals in need

With the philosophy that every orphaned baby puppy or kitten deserves a fighting chance, the nonprofit Milk Drunk Foundation, founded by former midwife Michelle Bucur, 40, in 2023, feeds, nurtures, stimulates, cuddles, and loves the newborn animals so that they have a chance to live and find a good home.

“I saw a need to focus on the most vulnerable animal populations,” says Bucur, who previously volunteered at the Wonder Paws Rescue in Fort Lauderdale.

Specializing in bottle/tube-fed neonatal babies with anomalies, Bucur set about to fill a need in the community. Anomalies can include clefted bulldogs, especially French bulldogs, puppies born with congenital abnormalities such as heart defects, and animals born with missing limbs or dome-shaped heads known as hydrocephalus.

Born in Ecuador, Bucur discovered her passion for animals at an early age. As a young girl, she hid cats and dogs in her backyard tree house, hoping her parents wouldn’t find them.

But animals aren’t her only raison d’être. Bucur also has a passion for human babies, giving birth to two biological children, adopting another two, and becoming a surrogate mother not once, but twice—in 2016 and 2017.

Married to Claudiu Bucur, a battery scientist and cofounder of the solid-state battery company Piersica, based in Miami, the couple lived in China where he worked for an automobile manufacturing company.

Back in the U.S., Michelle Bucur secured a $10,000 donation to the Wonder Paws Rescue after she found and returned valuable luxury watches valued at $100,000 that were left in a Tesla that she owned and leased.

The family has two rescue dogs—a French bulldog with a cleft palate that Bucur raised since birth and a labrador mix she nurtured from a litter of three—as well as four cats, one with feline leukemia. All of them are currently thriving, she says.

“I’ve loved mothering since I was a child,” Bucur says, noting that this desire led her to become a midwife. “I have a strong desire to help the underdog (or undercat), or anyone who is unable to care for itself.”

Currently, the foundation, which operates in a foster model where every animal is paired with a foster home and family, is nurturing 17 puppies and 28 cats with the goal of getting them healthy and socialized in order to be adopted.

With the foster model, animals are not left alone in cages or shelters and don’t spend nights alone. Neonatal foster parents, who are trained caregivers, get up every two hours to bottle-feed the animals, some of which may need incubators or oxygen as well. Bucur estimates that in a traditional shelter or rescue, nine out of 10 animals would be euthanized, as it is not cost-effective to provide expensive medical care.

In 2023, she says the foundation’s “save rate” was 99%; only 1% of animals were euthanized.

Two of her specialized caregivers (and volunteers) are Abigail Babic, 18, a college student at the University of Florida (UF) in Gainesville, and Amy Osborne, 39, a social media manager for a dog company in Fort Lauderdale.

Osborne, who has a fondness for Shar Pei dogs and has two of her own, has fostered 22 puppies since December 2023. Once the puppies are weaned on raw food, at around 4–5 weeks, Osborne potty trains the puppies until they are 8–12 weeks old. One of her favorite rescues (“my heart and soul”), a puppy named Cheyenne, was adopted by a family in New York City.

Osborne keeps in touch with the adoptive parents and has plans to visit Cheyenne (now renamed Chi-Chi) when she goes to New York in November, where she will walk in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with a friend.

Babic, who is studying public relations and wildlife ecology and conservation, has been involved with animal rescue since the age of 14, during the COVID-19 quarantine. In 2023, she received the President’s Volunteer Service Award from Miami-Dade Animal Services as well as the Best Neonate Foster in Miami-Dade County in 2021 and 2023. And in 2022, she was featured in the first CBS News “Miami Proud” segment, highlighting her work as a volunteer where she bottle-fed kittens every three to four hours through the night.

Knowing she wanted to continue her efforts working with neonate fosters, Babic found Bucur and the Milk Drunk Foundation on a Google search. Accompanying her in her freshman year at UF is her former foster cat, Sticky, who she nurtured from 6 weeks old. Suffering from an upper respiratory infection, blindness, and a fractured arm that had to be amputated, the “super sweet” black cat, now 2 years old, is living his best life in her dorm room.

“Any and all animals deserve a fighting chance at life,” says Babic. “Just because they need extra care doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have a chance at life.”

She recalls one success story where a litter of five newborn puppies requiring special care was left at a gas station in a garbage bag. They managed to foster all the puppies until they were able to find forever homes and be adopted.

“There is no one like Michelle,” says Osborne. “She does everything she can to help and goes out of her way for those in need. She works tirelessly with other organizations and is always willing to go the extra mile.”

Osborne says the foundation is always looking for new foster parents to help them in their rescue mission.

“The Milk Drunk Foundation is the kind of rescue that doesn’t say no,” she says. “We do whatever we can to save the lives of the most vulnerable newborn animals. When a shelter calls in desperation, we step in and do our best to help these animals survive.

“It’s very gratifying,” she says.

For more information, visit themilkdrunkfoundation.org. Foster parents and donations are always welcome. To help in other ways, the Milk Drunk Foundation offers a wish list on Amazon (www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2XH9AEDZSR7ZM?ref_=wl_share).

 

Posted on

Hot Mess offers cool vibes

Putting the “hot” in the Hot Mess band, lead female vocalist Stacey Isaacs, 51—an attorney by day and a pop singer by night—rocks out with the classic rock and pop cover band she formed three years ago with five other local musicians. A partner, along with William Haro and her husband, David Benn, in the WorkInjuryRights law firm, a firm specializing in worker’s compensation, Isaacs, the mother of two teenage girls—Reese, 15, and Jules, 13—morphs into a rock star at night.

“The name of the band, ‘Hot Mess,’ is a great description of my life,” jokes Isaacs. “Multitasking and being pulled in all directions resonate for myself and many women.”

Along with Glen Friedman on bass guitar, Nick Montgomery on acoustic guitar, Adam Gutman on lead guitar, Russ Meadows on drums, and Leo Perez (aka the Keytar God) on keyboards, the group plays at local venues including THRōW Social in Delray Beach, the Biergarten in Boca Raton, and Sharkey’s Bar and Grill in Coral Springs, where they will perform live on Oct. 5.

“I love being a part of the band. It’s an outlet for me. As a busy attorney, business owner, and busy mom, life can be stressful,” Isaacs says on her Instagram page. “This gives me something, whether we’re practicing or performing, where I do not think about anything else but the music.”

Growing up in musical theater, Isaacs always loved performing but suffered from stage fright, which took years to overcome. She was inspired and mentored by her aunt, Hela Young, Miss New Jersey of 1971, who had a talent for singing. As a child, she remembers her aunt performing at Lincoln Center in New York City. She was encouraged by Young, who took her to voice lessons in New York, something she enjoyed doing, and she would come home every night and practice in her bedroom.

Her aunt, who later went on to become the host for the New Jersey Lottery on TV each night and was president of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, helped Isaacs prepare to sing at her law school graduation from Seton Hall Law School in 1997.

Isaacs practiced and sang Simon and Garfunkel’s 1970 hit, “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” in front of 1,000 attendees, an event that helped her overcome her stage fright. “That was a pivotal moment,” she remembers. “Now I love being on stage and performing.”

With a voice that has been compared to that of Alanis Morissette, Isaacs is inspired by singers and musicians Pat Benatar, Joan Jett, and the rock band Heart.

Signature songs include Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” and “What’s Up?” by 4 Non Blondes. She has also been known to perform a mean rendition of Morissette’s 1991 hit, “You Oughta Know.”

Bass guitarist, Freidman, 50, owner of the G-Clef Music Academy in Parkland, is a professional guitar, piano, and trumpet player. He has played with the likes of jazz greats Arturo Sandoval, David Sandborn, and Tito Puente as well as for Walt Disney World, Clyde Beatty Cole Bros. Circus, a number of cruise lines, and on recordings for Emilio Estefan’s Miami Sound Machine.

“Music gets in your blood and soul,” says Friedman, who knew from a young age he wanted to make a career in music. Inspired by Canadian jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson (“my idol”), Friedman also admires Journey, the Beatles, and ’80s Hair Metal bands such as Whitesnake.

Drummer Meadows, a “true Floridian,” lives in his grandparents’ and parents’ former home in Coral Springs. He also plays guitar and sings and was the catalyst for forming the band. In addition, Meadows is the tennis pro at Heron Bay in Parkland.

He forged many connections on the tennis court, including those of Friedman and Perez, and says the concept began as a hobby. Seeing a connection between the rhythm of tennis and the rhythm of music, he says, “we were surprised when it took off so well.”

Meadows continues, “We’ve become one of South Florida’s most popular cover bands. We assembled the right musicians, the right sounds—a mix of pop and rock—and make a good presentation on stage.”

The drummer, who has been drumming for 30 years, admires Led Zeppelin and the Police, especially the Police’s drummer, Stewart Copeland. He loves performing Journey’s 1980 hit, “Any Way You Want It,” and its 1981 hit, “Stone in Love.”

Noting that the band boasts both a female and a male lead vocalist, Meadows believes that this sets them apart from other bands. “We’re the quintessential cover band with a twist,” he says.

For Isaacs, who also hosts the “Success of a Hot Mess” podcast, one of the highlights of being part of a cover band is the camaraderie and the fact that her teenage daughters are proud to bring their friends to see her perform.

Future goals for the band include playing larger venues, such as the Parkland Amphitheatre and the Coral Springs Center for the Arts.

“We’re all good friends,” Isaacs says, “and enjoy performing and doing what we love. We appreciate all the support of our friends, family, and fans—and the best part is that my daughters think I’m cool.”

Hot Mess will perform live at Sharkey’s Bar & Grill, 10365 Royal Palm Blvd., Coral Springs, on Oct. 5. For more information, visit sharkeysfl.com or call (954) 341-9990. Find the Hot Mess band on Instagram at instagram.com/wearethehotmessband.

Posted on

Sharon Shevell: a message from nature

Surrealism is certainly potent in the delicate works of Sharon Shevell. When I went to view them at the Parkland Library while on display until the end of August, I could not help but want to dissect them all. Each of them tells its own story, taking us back to the prevalence of nature and in tune with the realities of today. The works are  dynamic and certainly opposed to the discrepancy-specific environments that each composition entails. Here I explore each of Shevell’s acrylic intricacies and attempt to anatomize the message that she finds and portrays from nature.

“Hope on the Horizon” is an acrylic painting on canvas, with overtones of connotation, and diversions like puzzle pieces that surrealism supplies. The bodiless configuration of the female suggests that the rest of the self is in the background. The emotions are revealing of the water, and the consciousness within the sands. Her roots in the forefront seem to be a bid to cover the mystery that interestingly and inadvertently tells all by the irony of only her right eye being exposed. It is the eye that is the focal point that’s applying the symmetry, and by its subvertical alignment before the integral of vision displaces at the horizon.

Quite possibly, the clouds off the horizon could be analogous to electrical configurations of the subject, and the thought processes, posing at the overall conjuncture of the composition. In the topic of  “hope,” the message could very well be a substance applying the importance of self-awareness.

“Oy Vey” (a Yiddish phrase expressing dismay or exasperation). Well, it is often said we should avoid talking about politics; however, politics seems to be screaming at the reciprocal of this platform, and is quite detailed. The mood changes considerably in this composition and, moreover, toward its undertones that are held of voicelessness and in the context of politics that surround the topic. Instead, Shevell seems to articulate the protection and safeguarding of the nurturement of nature, embracing it as a mother would her child. All the while, the feminine subject is emphasized as still attempting to save her head. The chosen animals involved add to the visual dynamics of this piece. The work speaks its message quite transparently, as Shevell takes the viewer through the storm of its exquisite composition.

“Another Day Another Dollar.” Acrylic, paper, coffee filters, and styrofoam quite clearly deliver what this artwork speaks about, and three-dimensionally. Paradoxically, it is quite fun to look at, while maybe not the evidence that extracted from it likely was. More so, the experience hits the message on the button, becoming a question at hand: Is it all worth it?

“Victoria’s Lament.” This painting in acrylic on canvas is another work that Shevell uses as background to the theme of emotion from off the composition. Here, what an emotionless Victoria lacks in the expression of her face is the emotional journey spread of the sea in which she dwells. And as she grasps what past is entangled with roots, the message is exposed as a question: Is it the effort to reach what washed up on the shore, or is she letting go?

Shevell exposes the hypothetical nature of mythical reasoning to converse about choices, provoking thoughts about which can be claimed, and what came first and why. Too often in life there’s a threshold that forces one to give up one thing for something else. Perhaps this message is about nature’s natural procedural of balance.

“Cry” is an emotional painting of mixed media and acrylic on canvas that seems to be a transcendence from “Hope on the Horizon.” Undoubtedly beautiful, clearly the message portrayed here is about conservation: a very important one at that.

“Eye of the Storm” is acrylic and fabric on canvas that appears as a metaphorical sense of what weather does.  It gives a sense of how time and place both create the environmental stress, and how it functions both as the action and effect.   While a psychological fraction of its pressure costs is left to be freely interpreted, the transcendence of color is interestingly viable from the skies of “Oy Vey.” This three-dimensional concept brings its extraordinary essence of interpretative vision right in front of viewers to investigate for themselves.

“Garden Nymph Contemplating the Effects of Climate Change.” Shevell’s acrylic on canvas has a surrounding seven-piece set of 8-inch-by-8-inch small canvas picked by the theme of its subjects’ motivation. This painting emphasizes the prose of the composition while its muse blends into the delicate magic of care along its landscape. The conjunction of sea life and botany coheres with the abstract thought behind her, riveting color as a tool to emphasize the need for survival. The intensity of this work is honest and provokes emotion, as is seemingly needless for any visual input by its cause. Instead, this painting’s subject is from a perspective at the other side of it. Interestingly, no matter how colorful the composition is, it still leaves the viewer with a sense of emptiness: the irony entangled with the subject at hand.

“Cosmic Winds I & II” is acrylic on canvas, both pieces integrate pebbles into galaxies, expressing the stepping-stones toward the bigger picture. What a lovely path Shevell makes of it, and within the discrepancy that time decomposes, as color fills any negative space rhythmically imposed by the contrast of suggested wavelengths. Its mundane choice of compositional trajectory keeps the subject communicating along with the connectivity of it all. Very powerful.

Sharon Shevell is a New York-raised, local Floridian residing in Parkland who studied painting at the Boca Raton Museum Art School in the 1990s. Her works have been displayed around South Florida quite fluently, and they’re held in private collections between Canada and the U.S. For more information, visit www.sharonshevellart.com.

 

Posted on

Banned in Florida: ‘It tastes like chicken’

There is nothing like a banned food that makes us more curious about it. Sometimes it makes it more attractive to attain.

Some bans are due to the endangered nature of the ingredients, like endangered sea turtles, beluga caviar, and queen conch. Or it’s due to potential risks to human consumption, like the puffer fish, raw ackee fruit, and Kinder surprise eggs (with a toy inside). Or there’s a disease risk, like haggis, due to risks of scrapies from sheep lung in the classic Robert Burns Night dish. Other bans are due to concerns of animal cruelty, like with horse meat or shark fins.

There’s an addition to that list this year, as “cultivated” meat, or lab-grown meat—which is grown from animal stem cells—got the ban hammer in Florida. Other states, such as Alabama, Arizona, and Tennessee, have similar bans on cooking.

The ban doesn’t impact manufactured meat substitutes derived from plants, like tofu-based meat substitutes or Impossible burgers.

Recently, Upside Foods, a start-up working to commercialize cultivated meat, sued to block the ban. So, what is lab-grown meat?

Scientists from the University of Maastricht in Netherlands were the first to create a lab-grown meat designed for human consumption. A hamburger costing more than $300,000 was presented in 2013; the cost was later reduced to around $11 in a few years. The FDA first approved it for U.S. sales in 2023. Also in 2023, the Orthodox Union certified a strain of lab-grown poultry meat as kosher Mehadrin meat, a first in the world.

The cultured meat is grown from animal stem cells. The cells are submerged in a stainless-steel vat of nutrient-rich broth for them to grow and divide. After a few weeks, there is enough protein to harvest. Currently, the food scientists mix the meat and press it into nugget or culet shapes for sale.

For now, lab-grown meat can only be found in a few limited locations, like Bar Crenn, a Michelin-starred eatery in San Francisco, and a Jose Andres restaurant in Washington, DC. It’s not yet widely available.

The objective of the cultivated meat industry is to reduce the environmental impact of meat production, and to be a more sustainable option for the industry. That is a promise not yet proven. The presumption is that when mass-production scale is achieved, it will reduce the land and water use compared to traditional ranching methods.

For those concerned with animal welfare, lab-grown meat introduces a new dimension. A recent poll suggests that half of vegetarians would still prefer to avoid it. Among the total population, the poll suggests about two-thirds will give lab-grown meat a try.

As society and government try to process the emergence of lab-grown meat, the fledgling industry proclaims the meat as the “safest, best protein on the planet,” as the growing methods avoid contamination due to the pathogens and antibiotics that are common in current methods.

It is also conceivable, in the future, that meat from endangered animals, such as bluefin tuna, can be grown in the lab and reduce the stress on wild populations.

For now, growing and selling cultivated meat is a crime in Florida, except for NASA and the space industry, which have been studying cultivated meat for long-term space missions.

Dean Black, a cattle rancher and Florida representative who supported the bill’s passage, stated concerns of national security, as concentrated protein production may lead to attack. And with the ban, the state hopes to protect “the integrity of American agriculture,” according to Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson. Gov. Ron DeSantis, in his statement, raised concern about the “global elite’s plan to force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish.”

Others in the legislature were against the bill, such as our local state representative, Rep. Christine Hunschofsky. She called it a “food fight” and said that it “sends a bad message” to both researchers and businesses who are trying to grow a nascent industry.

Even though the FDA approved the lab-grown meats as safe, it doesn’t mean that they’re healthy. We’ve learned this from studies showing that ultra-processed foods have negative health implications. Even if the ingredients that go into ultra-processed foods are all safe, it’s better to eat minimally processed options. The new industry is still working to show that the micronutrients you find in your grocery store meat are present in the lab-grown variety.

So the jury is still out on the new culinary frontier, but early reviewers who have tried the cultured meat have given it good reviews. An Associated Press reviewer, who tried a cultured chicken, commented that it “tastes like chicken.”

Posted on

Sharon Shivel: a message from nature

Surrealism is certainly potent in the delicate works of Sharon Shivel. When I went to view them at the Parkland Library while on display until the end of August, I could not help but want to dissect them all. Each of them tells its own story, taking us back to the prevalence of nature and in tune with the realities of today. The works are  dynamic and certainly opposed to the discrepancy-specific environments that each composition entails. Here I explore each of Shivel’s acrylic intricacies and attempt to anatomize the message that she finds and portrays from nature.

“Hope on the Horizon” is an acrylic painting on canvas, with overtones of connotation, and diversions like puzzle pieces that surrealism supplies. The bodiless configuration of the female suggests that the rest of the self is in the background. The emotions are revealing of the water, and the consciousness within the sands. Her roots in the forefront seem to be a bid to cover the mystery that interestingly and inadvertently tells all by the irony of only her right eye being exposed. It is the eye that is the focal point that’s applying the symmetry, and by its subvertical alignment before the integral of vision displaces at the horizon.

Quite possibly, the clouds off the horizon could be analogous to electrical configurations of the subject, and the thought processes, posing at the overall conjuncture of the composition. In the topic of  “hope,” the message could very well be a substance applying the importance of self-awareness.

“Oy Vey” (a Yiddish phrase expressing dismay or exasperation). Well, it is often said we should avoid talking about politics; however, politics seems to be screaming at the reciprocal of this platform, and is quite detailed. The mood changes considerably in this composition and, moreover, toward its undertones that are held of voicelessness and in the context of politics that surround the topic. Instead, Shivel seems to articulate the protection and safeguarding of the nurturement of nature, embracing it as a mother would her child. All the while, the feminine subject is emphasized as still attempting to save her head. The chosen animals involved add to the visual dynamics of this piece. The work speaks its message quite transparently, as Shivel takes the viewer through the storm of its exquisite composition.

“Another Day Another Dollar.” Acrylic, paper, coffee filters, and styrofoam quite clearly deliver what this artwork speaks about, and three-dimensionally. Paradoxically, it is quite fun to look at, while maybe not the evidence that extracted from it likely was. More so, the experience hits the message on the button, becoming a question at hand: Is it all worth it?

“Victoria’s Lament.” This painting in acrylic on canvas is another work that Shivel uses as background to the theme of emotion from off the composition. Here, what an emotionless Victoria lacks in the expression of her face is the emotional journey spread of the sea in which she dwells. And as she grasps what past is entangled with roots, the message is exposed as a question: Is it the effort to reach what washed up on the shore, or is she letting go?

Shivel exposes the hypothetical nature of mythical reasoning to converse about choices, provoking thoughts about which can be claimed, and what came first and why. Too often in life there’s a threshold that forces one to give up one thing for something else. Perhaps this message is about nature’s natural procedural of balance.

“Cry” is an emotional painting of mixed media and acrylic on canvas that seems to be a transcendence from “Hope on the Horizon.” Undoubtedly beautiful, clearly the message portrayed here is about conservation: a very important one at that.

“Eye of the Storm” is acrylic and fabric on canvas that appears as a metaphorical sense of what weather does.  It gives a sense of how time and place both create the environmental stress, and how it functions both as the action and effect.   While a psychological fraction of its pressure costs is left to be freely interpreted, the transcendence of color is interestingly viable from the skies of “Oy Vey.” This three-dimensional concept brings its extraordinary essence of interpretative vision right in front of viewers to investigate for themselves.

“Garden Nymph Contemplating the Effects of Climate Change.” Shivel’s acrylic on canvas has a surrounding seven-piece set of 8-inch-by-8-inch small canvas picked by the theme of its subjects’ motivation. This painting emphasizes the prose of the composition while its muse blends into the delicate magic of care along its landscape. The conjunction of sea life and botany coheres with the abstract thought behind her, riveting color as a tool to emphasize the need for survival. The intensity of this work is honest and provokes emotion, as is seemingly needless for any visual input by its cause. Instead, this painting’s subject is from a perspective at the other side of it. Interestingly, no matter how colorful the composition is, it still leaves the viewer with a sense of emptiness: the irony entangled with the subject at hand.

“Cosmic Winds I & II” is acrylic on canvas, both pieces integrate pebbles into galaxies, expressing the stepping-stones toward the bigger picture. What a lovely path Shivel makes of it, and within the discrepancy that time decomposes, as color fills any negative space rhythmically imposed by the contrast of suggested wavelengths. Its mundane choice of compositional trajectory keeps the subject communicating along with the connectivity of it all. Very powerful.

Sharon Shivel is a New York-raised, local Floridian residing in Parkland who studied painting at the Boca Raton Museum Art School in the 1990s. Her works have been displayed around South Florida quite fluently, and they’re held in private collections between Canada and the U.S. For more information, visit www.sharonshevellart.com.

 

Posted on

Rubixx brings the ’80s to life

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.

 

Posted on

Smokin Renegade The amazing world of playing in a rock cover band

Finding a niche in the South Florida cover band scene was not easy, but Frank Vestry, 62, lead vocalist of the Smokin Renegade classic rock tribute band, found a niche covering the music of rock bands Boston and Styx, both popular in the late 1970s–80s.

The band takes their name from the Boston song “Smokin’ ” on its 1976 debut album, the B-side to its first single, “More Than a Feeling,” and the 1979 Styx hit song “Renegade” from its “Pieces of Eight” album.

“When the band gathered together for the first practice, it was in a word—amazing,” Vestry writes on the band’s website. “Once the first run-through of the songs was complete, we knew we had something special.”

Vestry says, “Everything gelled together.”

He put the two song names together and “it seemed to work.” He notes that the band have been playing together in South Florida since 2018.

The band—which spotlights Boston’s “More than a Feeling” and Styx’s “Come Sail Away”—is known for their searing guitar licks, vintage synthesizers, pounding rhythms, and vocal harmonies, led by Vestry.

In addition to Vestry, the band comprises Dean Summers, lead guitarist and vocals; Ken Urquhart, keyboards, vocals, and musical director; Rob Darmanin, drums, percussion, and vocals; and Howi Hughes, bass guitar and vocals (who changed his name from Patrick to Howi because the real Howard Hughes wasn’t using it, he says).

The musicians have toured with national acts and played in some of the biggest tribute bands.

Vestry, a Long Island native, came to his vocal abilities naturally, as both parents were musical. His mother, Marie Elena, was a singer before marrying his father, Frank Vestry, a professional tenor. His dad played at renowned nightclubs in New York City, including the Copacabana and the Latin Quarter, and filled in for Tony Bennett.

A shy kid, Vestry started a garage band at age 15, and by 18 he decided that singing was what he wanted to pursue as a career. His band, Devias, played iconic venues in and around New York City and Long Island—including the Cat Club, the Limelight, the China Club, L’Amour, the Stage Door, Industry Steel, and My Father’s Place. Its members later went on to play with Alice Cooper, Dokken, and Ted Nugent.

Among his top musical Influences, he counts vocalist Brad Delp from Boston (“love his voice”), Stevie Wonder, Elton John, and the Beatles.

Driven by the love of music, the desire to be the best he can be, and the joy of seeing people loving the music is what gets Vestry up and going in the morning.

Now married and the father of two daughters, Vestry says he’s thrilled to be making music all these years later. “It’s amazing to be doing something I love and earning a living doing it,” he reflects. “It’s a blessing.”

Highlights of his career including writing original songs in the melodic rock genre and releasing an album with Rob Marcello, a Swedish guitar player, which garnered 100,000 views on YouTube, as well as playing with Bon Jovi, Van Halen, and White Snake, among others, at the National Association of Music Merchants trade show in California in 1998.

Urquhart, 53, a Florida native who now lives in Delray Beach, met Vestry when the two played together in a bar band called the Evil Monkeys.

Learning keyboards from his father as a child on an electric Lowrey organ, Urquhart sang in the church choir, where he learned to harmonize. He found his early musical influences in Billy Joel and Elton John and later with British keyboardists Howard Jones, Rick Wakeman, and Keith Emerson.

He jumped at the chance to join Vestry in the Smokin Renegade band and says, “It’s an incredible honor to play on stage in front of so many enthusiastic people.”

Urquhart jokes, “This is as close to rock-stardom as we get.”

When the band formed, they released a recording of their first live stage show on Facebook to determine fan reaction and were gratified that band promoters reached out and contacted them immediately.

They have performed as far away as Kansas and Georgia, but these days they prefer to stay within driving distance. In July, they returned to the Daytona Bandshell for the city’s Star-Spangled Summer Concert Series where they performed for a crowd of 3,000. Other highlights include playing the Plantation Seafood and Music Festival, Rock the Park in Abacoa, the Riley Center in Ocala to a sold-out audience, and the House of Blues in Orlando.

Although the band takes their music seriously, Urquhart says they don’t take themselves too seriously. He says they are all motivated to go on stage and indulge in a musical conversation.

“We’re genuinely having fun,” he says. “We’re all on the same page. What sets us apart is the focus and detail to the sound.”

Because the original Boston doesn’t tour anymore, Urquhart says, audiences are excited to hear their music live. “Music is memory,” he notes. “It’s so touching when people tell us the moments they remember when they first heard this music.”

This fall, the band plans to add the music of Foreigner, now on its farewell tour, to their repertoire.

Still on an upward trajectory, Vestry and Urquhart say the band has no plans to slow down, although Urquhart does admit to a fantasy of going out on tour. “Just once,” he says. “It’s on my bucket list.”

Whether or not that happens is yet to be determined, but doing what they love is the immediate priority.

“It’s special to participate in this magic,” Urquhart says. “We can’t ask for more.”

Smokin Renegade will perform live at Sharkey’s Bar & Grill, 10365 Royal Palm Blvd., Coral Springs, on Saturday, Aug. 24. For more information, go to sharkeysfl.com or call (954) 341-9990. Visit: SmokinRenegade.com.

 

 

 

Proudly powered by WordPress