Red Nothing

As a young, ambitious kindergartener, Erik Pelligrino vowed he would be in a band someday; he even had a name in mind—Red Nothing.
So when Pelligrino’s current band was playing a show and people asked for a name, the group decided to stick with the keyboardist’s childhood plan.

Red Nothing, a folk-rock band from Wheaton that also experiments with rap, blues, reggae and jazz, will be one of several groups performing for the Celebration of the Arts festival this weekend.
The band’s slot will be 3 to 4:30 p.m. Friday on the stage outside of the Doudna Fine Arts Center.
Mike Silvestri, the vocalist and guitarist for Red Nothing, said he started playing guitar as a sophomore in high school because of the influence of the “Guitar Hero” video game.
He and Pelligrino formed a band while they were in high school, but Red Nothing wasn’t formed until last August.
Silvestri, a senior business major, is the only member who attends Eastern, and because they aren’t always together, writing and practicing songs can be challenging.
The last show the band played together was Jan. 10.
Silvestri said he went home for Easter, and over that weekend the band practiced for six hours each day.
“It’s hard, but we’ve done it enough and we know the songs to a point where if we forgot it, it comes back to us,” he said.
Though band members all bring different musical styles to the table for a blended sound, Silvestri said the group’s dynamic inevitably works.
“We all come into practice and we have an open mind for what it sounds like, and we’re kind of shooting for something that’s really original,” he said.
One songs the band has recorded is called “Cocoa.” The song features a piano intro and breaks into the vocalist alternately rapping and singing lines like “I know that Satan’s got a plan for you…Cocoa and I need you, I don’t care what they say; Loco is what I’m feeling when you’re not here to play.”
Silvestri said most of the bands lyrics are sad, but with a glimpse of hope. He said the band plans to release two EPs with three songs each and then a full-length album, which is why members have been more focused on recording than playing shows.
Another song the band is still working on is an acoustic song called “Ivory.”
Silvestri said the song is unique for the band because it is blues-driven and has no rapping, only singing.
“I feel like we surprise the crowd,” he said. “Some songs are slow with a relaxed beat and melodies to them, and then (our) second set is usually very high energy; people get up right away and start dancing.”
One bartender was so surprised at the group’s versatility that he asked if an R & B ballad Red Nothing played was actually an original.
“He was like ‘No it isn’t, no way,’ and were like ‘Yeah it is,’ and he’s like ‘OK, I’m buying you guys shots,” Silvestri said.
Stephanie Markham can be reached at 581-2812 or DENverge@gmail.com. - The Verge