Hard to believe it's been 10 years since Synergy first took shape in the summer of '98. Someone I ran into lately asked which really made me think and yeah it's been 10 years since the demise of Harsh Reality and the birth of Synergy!It all started late summer of '98 with myself, Eric, Todd Eggleston on guitar, Phil Conroy on bass, and a guy named Rick on guitar who didn't last a month before being replaced by Scott Evans. The five of us started out, Phil naming us Synergy, as a classic rock band covering a lot of hits from the 70's, 80's and adding a 90's tunes to the mix. Our first gig was at the Hideaway Bay in Silver Creek, NY and from there we started playing other clubs in the area. About a year into Scott left the band to follow his day job, which we still all have, to Texas. Several auditions later we recruit Joe Dalimonte on lead guitar. Funny thing was out of 11 songs we gave him he came in only knowing 1 maybe 2 but yet we knew he was the one. With Joe on board we continued to play the local clubs and build the name but soon we would realize three of us were heading in a different direction.Enter Randy Hofgren on bass with myself, Eric, and Joe and Synergy turns from classic rock to 80's hair metal. Had several great times as the new four piece and have lots of stories too long to share from Papa Nick's and Randy rolling his truck to you name it. Our first show was at Rockn' Rick's in Limestone, NY opening for the Kiss Army. In 2000 we recorded our first EP "How Does It Feel" with the title track being spun on 98.2 out of Salamanca and on 103.1 the Fox in Jamestown. Drew Shannon or "Drewski" as we know him was the first DJ to put the song on the air and I can still remember being at Jamie's Place in Warren, (remember the fun we had there?) the first time it was on. Drewski became and still is special guest singer at our shows when he's in town and got us the gig that year in the Warren 4th of July parade. He also did several interviews with us for the Fox one of which Randy said "Whisker Biscuit" in the background of and yet another that never made the air due to "content". Believe 2 hours of interview gave Drewski 20 seconds of material he could use! Oh to have a copy of that one! We also had the opportunity to open for several national acts the first of which was Slaughter followed by L.A. Guns, Warrant, Ratt, Firehouse, Dokken and 2 nights with Quiet Riot. We had a great run with Joe stepping in and out at the end and being replaced briefly by a guy named Dan before Joe and Randy both left in 2004 for a successful stint in the country business.2004 in steps Justin Watson on guitar and Doug Bless on bass. Synergy now moves to a classic, southern, party, anything goes kind of band. Together the four of us really start to build a following in the local scene and surrounding areas. Once again we shared the stage with national acts including Firehouse and Ironhorse the latter featuring Ron Keel from Keel!Also in 2004 we started having an opener at every show in Deep Down Dirty and most recently Saving Chance. For those of you who don't know Ben and Zack form Saving chance are family to me my cousins to be exact. They grew up next door to me and I've known them both since they were in diapers which makes me feel real old. My sister and I used to torture the shit out of them especially Ben but those are great stage stories. What's really cool has been watching them grow as musicians and they say they've learned it from us, but man I learn something from them every time they play. With Charlie in Saving Chance also and practically my brother-in-law the seven of us get along great at every show! Couldn't imagine a better group of guys to work with!!2006 we record our second EP "Catch a Buzz" and soon after Justin departs the band. After a year of auditioning in walks Joe Rico. Now before I go further just want to note that this audition process was interesting, humorous, and somewhat painful. We even had to ask a guy to leave practically throwing him out after a failed attempt. Joe Rico brought a lot to the band in his short run with us from '07-'08 and again we carried on building even bigger crowds and moving into his hometown of Buffalo.Now to the present. Joe Rico has recently departed the band for health reasons but you'll still see him in action from time to time for the remainder of '08. We've now welcomed back Joe Dalimonte to the fold and are carrying on and getting ready for '09. Talk about confusing when trying to explain old Joe, new Joe. As for myself Dalimonte is like a brother teaching me how to hack away at the guitar and I gotta say it's great to jam with him again!! Can't wait to see what '09 brings!There you have it 10 years in a nutshell. If I could get into all the good stories we'd be here awhile but one last thing to all the great bands we've shared the stage with, clubs that have let us grace, (or make a mess of) their stage, and especially all of you who come to all the shows and party with us we just wanna say THANK YOU!! --on behalf of all of us, Chris 9-08..
Synergy at Rock N Roll Heaven 4-19-08..
Synergy at Rock N Rol l Heaven 5-2-08..
Synergy at Rock N Roll Heaven 8-22-08
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