The Bucket Boys

Hi Guys,

Thanks again for your phenomenal show here at the Des Plaines Public Library last week. We received 26 program surveys after your performance and every one of them rated it excellent. I thought you might enjoy some of the comments that people had:

"Very enteratining and nice children interaction. Have them back!"
"Great program! Thoroughly enjoyed it."
"Excellent choice for a show!"
"Cool!"
"Please (underlined several times) bring them back!!!"
"They are great."
"Please Please Please bring the Bucket Boys back to the library for funture programs. They were awesome."
"It was the best show I've seen in the library."

As you can see, the people have spoken, I think we'll have to have you back. I hope that the rest of your summer goes well.

Thanks again!
Veronica

Veronica Schwartz, Head of Youth Services Des Plaines Public Library
1501 Ellinwood St.
Des Plaines, IL 60016
phone: 847/376-2791, fax: 847/827-7974
- Veronica Schwartz

Hello gentlemen!
I just returned from Hilltop's PTO meeting where praises were being sung by our principal and vice-principal regarding our wonderful Bucket Boys assembly. After all these shows that I've seen you perform (and that would be eight, for those of you counting), you two still AMAZE me. Your energy, enthusiasm, on-the-mark wit, the way you make the kids feel like they are the most important people in the world---it is so incredibly heart-warming for me to witness, which is why I couldn't just drive by Duker today on my way home and NOT pop my head in. So much fun to watch, even when getting picked on. : )

I know you guys have done this sooooo many times and at times you might even dread getting into the shorts and T-shirts for yet another show, but I am so thankful you do what you do. Yep, maybe the time will come when this will no longer be, but for right now, I'm awfully glad it's here for the kids. And adults. People who don't know how, or why, to act silly once in a while---don't ya just feel a little sorry for them?

Thank you, my bucket friends, for not only what you do but for how you do it---with great compassion and caring for the next generation. I'm proud to know you.

And yes, I already knew that this mommy's got rhythm. ; )

Life's blessings to you both!
Your favorite PTO Mom
Mary
- Mary Foland

Hey guys, I just wanted to say thanks for your show on the 19th at the state fair. It was hilarious. You even let two of my daughters participate!!! You guys are very funny and entertaining and I appreciate that you accomplish this all without foul language. I was very impressed (that is not an easy thing to do.) Again thanks for a very entertaining show. GOD Bless -Mike Smith - Mike Smith

Hi Vince
Just a quick note to let you know how much I enjoyed your concert ~ Nice Job! You guys have fun and provide an awesome message for kids and families.

Best regards,

Lynne Voelliger
Simply Stated Communications
- Lynne Voelliger

Beat the band
Anything The Bucket Boys can bang on is an instrument
By KELLY DAVENPORT
STAFF WRITER
It takes a certain amount of self-esteem to bang on a bedpan for a living.
Just ask cut-ups and best friends Mitch Martin and Vince Romanelli. The duo bounces onto Main Street at the Illinois State Fair each afternoon and pulls a collection of trash cans, caution barrels and buckets from under the Verizon Main Street Stage.
They hoist a length of chain-link fence, jangling with pots, pans, a fire extinguisher and of course, the bedpan. "Make a Joyful Noise," someone has scrawled on it in white paint.
So they do.
Out come drumsticks, giddy smiles and plenty of references to "booty-shaking" and corn dogs: "If you're having a good time, yell 'corn dog!'" The guys, dressed in mustard-yellow shorts and Adidas sneakers, call themselves The Bucket Boys. Twice a day, they coax music from metal.
Vince, 20, and Mitch, 21, stumbled upon their talent about five years ago.
They tell the story together, Heckel-and-Jeckel fashion.
"At an orchestra retreat," Vince says.
"We got bored and found two five-gallon buckets," Mitch adds. "We banged 'em around and found some cool noises."
"It's a really good summer job," Vince says.
Each summer, the friends pile into Vince's green minivan and travel to fairs, schools, parties and other events where they turn junk into drum kits. They spend 30 of 90 summer nights in hotels, just the two of them - "and Connect Four," Vince laughs.
Their "instruments" trickled in from friends' attics and basements.
"I think it's a felony to have a stop sign," Mitch says. "But it was given to us by a police officer."
Mitch is a former music major, and Vince still plays more traditional materials when school is in. He studies commercial music at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn.
"It's (basically) a degree in rock 'n' roll," he says. "Which means I'll be working fast food when I graduate."
Mitch wants to work in elementary education. He is a junior at McHenry County College. Both are from Crystal Lake.
Along with a need to entertain, the guys say they promote music education, reading, anti-drug and other positive messages to the youngsters they meet.
"We want to steer them on the right path," Vince says, adding that they'd like to make a career of touring as The Bucket Boys. (They keep a Web site at www.bucketboys.net).
During the show, passers-by stop to gawk as Mitch and Vince gyrate against the chain-link backdrop, crossing drumsticks on the metal as they swivel their hips.
At one point, they sit on milk crates with buckets between their knees and pound away like toy monkeys.
Long-time fans Carol, 46, and Marcy Holub, 16, eat it up.
"They've been to the Jersey County Fair the past two summers," Carol says. She and her daughter come to Springfield to show Marcy's 4-H projects.
They insist on taking a reporter's picture as she interviews the Boys. "I'll send this to you!" Carol crows, as Marcy sighs over how she forgot to ask the guys for an autograph.
All grins, Vince and Mitch visit with the crowd and, as storm clouds open up, they shepherd everyone under the stage tent.
Raindrops ping off metal, striking a familiar tune.
Kelly Davenport can be reached through the metro desk at 788-1519 or kelly.davenport@sj-r.com.
- Kelly Davenport

What ever happened to the Bucket Boys?
Vince Romanelli and Mitch Martin, also known as the Bucket Boys, have been busy under the radar. Their "hip-hop percussive duo" created almost 10 years ago in Mitch's garage and Vince's basement has silently slipped under the popularity scope. Vince and Mitch, or Mitch and Vince, or Vitch or Mince, both Crystal Lake natives, have extensively traveled to promote the significance of music and "The Message." Their hilarious original act contains comedy, crowd interaction, and "a positive life skills message" for all ages. However, their act is far from entertainment, but real and compassionate and genuine. Their hour long duet is not about flashy commercialism or generic advertisement, but a down-to-earth message about saying no to drugs, community participation, teamwork, and motivation to make the best out of the junk in our lives.
Many of you remember the Bucket Boys popularity flourishing with local elementary schools and high schools surrounding Crystal Lake. But, their act has taken on a new perspective and hightened state of awareness. Now, almost a decade later, their local popularity has spread beyond the northerwest suburbs of Illinois and into communities, churches, and schools all across the Nation. Within as little as a week, the Bucket Boys have booked shows in Arizona, Ohio, Michigan, Georgia, Minnesota, Texas, and Oklahoma And, they have already traveled to New York, Los Angeles, and Florida. Word has spread. America's school administrations and associates are taking interest in Crystal Lake's Bucket Boys. Teachers from the West Coast to the East Coast love the originality of their act and the positive message they promote to their community. And, not many know, Vince and Mitch have become docile rolemodels for young students. Maybe even have a crush or two from the girls. But, when asked about the distant future of the Bucket Boys, Vince replied, "Ohio on Thursday. Texas on Sunday."
So, what's the best part about being a Bucket Boy? What motivates Vince and Mitch to battle incessant flight delays and long lines and hours in flight for just about any school in the world that requests their presence? Simply put, it is the students and the teachers and the parents. According to Vince, the relationships with the people they play for are what motivate them to keep going and spread "The Message." The faces and reactions of the crowd always refuel their hearts. Most acts similar to the Bucket Boys lose touch with reality when Hollywood glitz and glamour take over. But, Vince and Mitch have yet to lose sight, because the people they're playing for are still listening. Their message is about postive choices, having fun, teamwork, and, well, just being yourself. Something we, as a society, tend to lose sight of throughout our daily lives. And, despite the traveling and connecting flights, that message and the audience's reaction and response is enough to jump start and motivate them to continue to spread their message over and over and over again. And, their message is not just any message. Vince feels that the Bucket Boys are different, because "[their] approachable-ness, not a word, our connection with the audience, the fact that we're more concerned with a connection with the audience than selling a product after our show" is what separates them from anyone else.
Their routine involves trash. Simple. Convenient. Anything from highway dividers, traffic cones, PVC pipes, stop signs, pots and pans, chain-linked fencing, silver trash cans, and a pair of drum sticks. But, their show is anything but Stomp or Blue Man Group. How can one compare their act to those? It's not about being big or famous, but excitement and adventure. Their act is improvised and predominantly spontaneous. Anything can happen. Plus, their show isn't the same as it was six or seven years ago. Things have changed. "We're always changing it up. Moving things. It's still never the same show twice." One can also describe the show as "nothing you've ever heard before. Or kids on the street playing buckets," but it's more funkier, groovier, and, as Vince described the beats they play, "danceable."
Vince, a graduate of Belmont University, currently resides in Nashville, Tennesse. He splits his time producing and performing music in a studio, performing as a Bucket Boy, and enjoying life's adventures and challenges. He is constantly learning about the music industry as he allegedly "major[ed] in rockstar[ism]." In the past, he has performed in a band called Ashbury and Shortest Way Home. He has personally studied with Chester Thompson who has played with Phil Collins, Weather Report, and Frank Zappa. If given the chance, Vince wouldn't mind even performing a Bucket Boy routine for a Hurricane Katrina relief fundraiser. Vince has an unearthly passion for all types of music, God, Connect-Four, and cookie dough.
Mitch, a student from Lincoln College's Music Education Program, is still a fan of Cry - Sean S.

"What can I say about the Bucket Boys? Simply said, they rock. Honestly, this group engages the crowd and has fun with them. They are extremely entertaining from the moment they step on stage all the way to the end of their show. I love how they get people from the crowd involved in their performance! I go see them as often as I can and it's always a great show!!!
I heart the Bucket Boys!!!"
- Danielle Rice