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The idea for Mad Orchid began back in 2007 in the ever-creative mind of singer/guitarist Mike Ostuni, who was drumming for the signed band Craving Lucy at the time. Eager to pursue his love for singing and driven by a passion for writing music and lyrics of his own, he began to compile songs he had been working on. He also started searching for musicians who were emotionally attached to and inspired by the same vein of music as he was writing.
His first call was to long-time friend and bass player Kyle Berardinelli, with whom he had collaborated on projects many times previously and who had studied music at the University of Hartford. Kyle was on board after just one listening session and the writing continued. They also began to play acoustically as a duo while continuing their search for the other pieces to the puzzle.
The next step in the formation can be contributed only to fate. After many months of searching for the right drummer with no luck, a friend of Mike's mentioned someone they had seen play previously with a band called The Givin. While they agreed that he was an excellent drummer, no one knew his name or contact information, and the website listed for the band (who had now disbanded) did not have any current information on it. It actually scared Mike and Kyle when the next morning, Mike awoke to find an email from Tony Dilonardo inquiring about an ad he had seen for a drummer on Craigslist. Tony just happened to be the drummer from The Givin. They got together a few times to hang out and play and shockingly, Tony was exactly the person they had been looking for to join up.
While the trio continued to write and rehearse, they felt the need to add one last piece to the puzzle. That piece came in the form of Berklee College of Music grad Joe Bastura. Joe had recently disbanded from the Jagermeister-sponsored band Pushboxx and was looking to start his own project when he stumbled upon an add on Bandmix.com seeking a lead guitarist. After some long conversations, they all met up, listened, played, and in almost no time at all knew that Mad Orchid was complete.
