Greg's Fender Benders plays '60s rock in the Joliet area

JOLIET – With a repurposed jalopy as a de facto band mascot, and a sound straight from ’60s AM pop radio, Greg’s Fender Benders has set out joyfully to celebrate the past while making the present more enjoyable for its fans.

The group – Greg Bucciarelli, owner of Greg’s Body Shop in Joliet, on guitar; Ziggy Mikuvzis of Shorewood on drums; Robby Jokubauskas of Lockport on lead guitar; and Jerry Travis of Plainfield on bass – formed after jam sessions more than 15 years ago in the space above Bucciarelli’s shop.

Those impromptu fits and starts playing through the catalog of hits of the late ’50s through the early ’70s led to the formation of the band. It has become a source of happiness for Bucciarelli, as well as his bandmates.

This particular group of guys has played together for five years now, Bucciarelli said.

“We’re really just all about people having fun. That’s what we’re doing on stage, and that’s what we want people seeing us to take away from it,” said Bucciarelli, 62, of Shorewood.

But it’s not just all fun and twangs for the Fender Benders. The band also has a reputation for playing benefits, such as the May 16 fundraiser for the Homeless Animal Rescue Team of Illinois NFP.

Furthermore, if the band is available, Bucciarelli said, it will play anywhere for anyone.

“A lot of people contact us to play,” Bucciarelli said. “Part of it is from people coming to see us at other benefits or at other gigs and enjoying our shows. And part of our exposure comes from the Bendermobile.”

The Bendermobile is a fun, easy way to promote the band, Bucciarelli said.

“The Bendermobile is a beat-up old ’39 Ford with graffiti spray-painted all over it and the name of the band on it, that we park outside our gigs and outside places to promote the band,” Bucciarelli said with a laugh. “It’s kind of like our signature, kind of warning people we’re on our way.”

Bucciarelli picked up an exuberance for performance at an early age, he said.

“We were a musical family. My father, Ernie, was an operatic tenor, and I grew up with music in my house, encouraged to pursue it,” Bucciarelli said. “I started playing piano, and that evolved into guitar, and that turned into a passion. I was a music nut from the time I was young, and my father was my biggest fan and my biggest influence.”

That camaraderie is felt within the group – which Bucciarelli dubs a “garage band” that plays “body shop rock” – and extends toward the patrons that come out to hear it play.

In short, Bucciarelli said, members feel as if they’re 16 years old when they step onto the stage. Their moves prove it.

“We’re always out in the audience, very interactive, very much making it so the people watching us can be a part of the show too,” Bucciarelli said.

Greg’s Fender Benders is starting to write some original music, too, Bucciarelli said, which it hopes to record soon. That music will have the same ’60s sound, he added.

Also a part of the band, albeit unofficially, is his support system at home, Bucciarelli said.

“I am nothing without the people around me,” Bucciarelli said. “My family, my friends, my fellow band members. We’re all a tight-knit band. We’re a family. We have great fun with what we do, and we want to share that and give back to the community. It doesn’t get much better than that.”

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IF YOU GO

WHAT: Greg’s Fender Benders

WHEN: 9 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: Kuchie’s, 1356 Houbolt Road, Joliet

VISIT: gregsfenderbenders.bandpage.com

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IF YOU GO

WHAT: Greg’s Fender Benders

WHEN: 2 to 8 p.m. May 16

ETC: Band plays at 3 p.m.

WHERE: Loyal Order Of Moose Lodge 300, 25 Springfield Ave., Joliet

VISIT: gregsfenderbenders.bandpage.com

CALL:  815-725-6660