By Kenneth Pastushyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lakeshore News Reporter
They may be young, but the band ‘Leave Those Kids Alone’ are veterans of the local music scene at the tender ages of 14 through 18, playing hundreds of shows over the last six years across Ontario, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and even New York state.
In mid-July, the popular local teen band gave a Sunday afternoon performance at Tecumseh’s Lakewood Park.
“It’s so great to be here, back home finally, after playing so many shows all over,” said Alex Bonadonna, the lead guitarist and vocalist for many of the band’s cover and original songs to an audience of hundreds of loyal fans enjoying a balmy afternoon on the shores of Lake St. Clair. “This is our hometown and it’s great to have you here.”
Tecumseh is now home to 17-year-old Alex and his 15-year-old sister Addisyn, who both attend Tecumseh Vista high school.
Their bandmates, keyboardist 17-year-old Louis Diab of Villanova high school, and bass playing vocalist 18-year-old Luca Angelini of Sandwich Secondary, both graduated in June. Both live in LaSalle, where the band performed at the Strawberry Festival earlier this year.
On Canada Day, “Those Kids” performed at another Essex County show in Belle River, singing and playing note-for-note the classic rock hits their parents and grandparents grew up with while they were in high school.
At the show in Lakewood Park, the setlist included the hits ranging from the Eagles to The Beatles.
“I want my M-T-V,” sang Luca, during the opening for their third song, a cover of Money for Nothing by Dire Straits.
Moments later, Alex, continued with the rest of the lyrics by singing “I should have learned to play the guitar, I should have learned to play them drums” – and he did.
Piano was actually his first instrument, starting when he was six,” wrote John-Paul Bonadonna, the father of Alex and Addi, as well as the band’s manager, via email.
“Then he played drums a bit before moving to the guitar.” According to J.P., bandmate Luca also played guitar before moving to the bass, while Louis started on the piano before adding guitar to his toolbox. All four are enrolled in lessons at Pete Palazzolo’s Canadian Conservatory of Music.
Addi started playing drums at the age of five, guided by J.P. using the video game Rock Band as what he describes as her “primary training tool” at that time. Now, she’s practicing long and hard as is the rest of the group in weekly rehearsals and private lessons.
At the Lakewood Park show, Addi hit the drum kit with her best shot, delivering a two-minute drum solo before singing Pat Benatar’s hit single Hit Me with Your Best Shot. She became inspired to perform a drum solo after seeing Foreigner’s current drummer do the same at a recent Pine Knob concert.
Jimi Hendrix is also an inspiration of Alex’s. At the Lakewood Park show. He dedicated a Voodoo Child note-for-note guitar solo on his baby-blue Fender Stratocaster to his birthday-celebrating grandpa, before segueing into Stevie Ray Vaughn’s Pride and Joy.
Alex’s very own “pride and joy”, according to J.P., is his Gibson Les Paul guitar which he played on Peter Frampton’s cover of Do You Feel Like We Do from the iconic double-live LP Frampton Comes Alive! The song features extended talkbox and keyboard solos which Alex and Louis performed to great applause from the park crowd.
Their setlist also includes a few newer hit songs like Mr. Brightside, which was released in 2003 by “The Killers”, several years before any of the kids were even born.
What’s next for the group as they venture forward into young adulthood? After all, it’s only a matter of time before “Those Kids” aren’t kids anymore.
The LaSalle Post/Lakeshore News asked manager/father J.P. in an email exchange, if there were any plans for rebranding the group as they continue to mature?
“To me, even people in post-secondary are kids!” wrote J.P., who shares that he does have some other ideas that he will be presenting to “Those Kids.”
Longtime musicians J.P. and his wife Michelle were in a cover band together called Blonde Tango from 2005-12 before Alex and Addi became their primary focus. Before that, he played keyboards for the cover band Icy Redd that also moonlighted as a Shania Twain tribute act called Shania Live! The Ultimate Tribute.
“Most importantly, all the ideas I have involve Alex, Addi, Luca and Louis continuing to make music together. Stay tuned.”
Catch “Leave Those Kids Alone” at “Stroll the Street” in Belle River (Lakeshore) on Fri., Sept. 20 and Fri., Oct. 18 at 6:00 p.m.
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