The stylings of the duo Saving Starz, made up of guitarist Geno Zezza and vocalist Anthony Banks, are so diverse and hard to come by that they have taken the St. Croix Valley and beyond by storm in the past few years — really getting going when Zezza played a whole bunch of same-day shows in a row in Stillwater as a last second fill-in.
Banks has a deep, rich haunting voice that works perfectly for even tough-to-do songs such as those by Pearl Jam. Don’t watch him for very long, and it’s hard to miss that he moves his mouth near to the microphone and then away, which gives a rough edge to his vocals that only adds to their appeal.
He provides the only percussion by beating on a large conga-type instrument balanced between his legs, steadily producing sounds of differing pitches by pounding alternately on the middle of the skin, then on the edge, and in-between. (The duo adds a drummer, Cory Wavinak, at some of their shows).
Zezza, who has Hudson roots, is known for his hard-picking on the acoustic guitar, producing a lot of sound and enabling the duo to perform some songs that are more rock than pop. They even take on a more rockish song by Days of the New at many of their performances. “I used to break strings, all the time,” he said, adding that he then learned to tone it down a bit, and that the rate of occurrence differs in acoustic vs. electric guitars. “If it happens when you’re solo, ouch!”
Zezza is perhaps the most energetic and outgoing person you’ll meet, and he invariably greets members of the audience with a tight hug. When he sees me, Zezza comes over quickly and says, with an exaggerated Italian accent, “Mr. Vinta,” then gives me a noogie on the neck.
Zezza also takes a turn at comedy when hitting the right scene. “50 cent isn’t a tip, it’s a band,” he jokes when playing certain bars. He just laughed at a recent show when a drummer in another band kept shouting a request to hear a cover of hard rockers Soundgarden — although Zezza just might try it.
The duo recently was asked to play a prominent benefit concert in the Twin Cities at which Bret Michaels of hair-band Poison fame was the headliner. (The difference was that Saving Starz did the gig for free, and Michaels got $15,000, although to earn the money he did sit through a meet and greet). Another performer with strong local ties, Nikki Peppar, also played.
This isn’t the only high-profile concert Saving Starz has played. Their star really rose, and they took a prominent place on the local nightlife map, a couple of years ago when being handpicked as the musical act for an appearance by several Green Bay Packers. This day-long event in Hudson’s Lakefront Park and its bandshell was arranged by civic and Chamber of Commerce officials.
Most recently, Saving Starz was asked to perform in North Dakota in the area where lots of oil drilling is being done, and construction workers are being called in to work around the clock and make big bucks, Zezza said. Entertainers also are being shipped in from places as far as Vegas, as these mostly single guys have lots of disposable income and not much to do with their free time, in what is becoming essentially a new frontier town, he said.
That kind of lawlessness isn’t a real big draw for Zezza, as he is a traditional Christian who often looks for ways to insert some of that content into his songs.
Zezza says his favorite song to perform, in part for its spiritual value, is Wonderwall by Oasis, and they have a lot of tunes with that kind of tone. In concert, he and Anthony sit quite far apart from each other, although they get on the same page with eye contact. They sit crosslegged on a stool with legs tucked under in an almost yoga-type pose. The duo wears a lot of plaid and slightly torn jeans, especially Zezza, but the Saving Starz play list is much more than revamped grunge. It includes dozens and dozens of diversely styled songs.
Saving Starz plays largely in the Hudson area, but hits venues all around the St. Croix Valley and to the northeast, and also the Twin Cities. Their website is Reverbnation.com/SavingStarz, and they also are on Facebook, Myspace and YouTube.
You can often catch them at Dick’s Bar, Uncle Mike’s and the Willow River Inn.