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Ribbon cutting for Wild Birds Unlimited in East Setauket. Photo courtesy of Three Village Chamber of Commerce
Ribbon cutting for Wild Birds Unlimited in East Setauket. Photo courtesy of Three Village Chamber of Commerce
Ribbon cutting for Wild Birds Unlimited in East Setauket. Photo courtesy of Three Village Chamber of Commerce

Members of the Three Village Chamber of Commerce, Brookhaven Town Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich, mascot Dee Dee the Chickadee, staff, friends and family joined Brooke Ramirez in celebrating the grand opening of her second retail location of Wild Birds Unlimited in Suffolk County with a ribbon cutting on Aug. 2. 

Ramirez (pictured with scissors) is also the owner of the Wild Birds Unlimited nature shop at 911 Montauk Highway in Oakdale, having been the manager of that store prior to her purchase in 2021. After successfully growing the business in Oakdale over 16 years, she has built another “nest” in East Setauket to “bring people and nature together” on the North Shore. 

Located at 4046 Nesconset Highway, East Setauket in the Kohl’s shopping center, Wild Birds Unlimited employs “certified specialists” who will help you shop for bird baths, feeders, houses and a large selection of birdfood for your backyard friends. In addition, the store offers a large selection of nature-themed gift items for the home and yard as well as personal care products. Members of their “Daily Savings Club” receive discounts on food products, earn points towards coupons called “bird bucks” and get member only specials.

Prefer to shop online? Wild Birds Unlimited delivers. The same people that help you in store will pack up your order and deliver it right to your door. 

“I’m happy to welcome a business like Wild Birds Unlimited because of the impact they have on building appreciation of our natural world. They are dedicated to not only benefiting wild birds and the broader environment but are also dedicated to educating residents about our local birds,” said Councilmember Kornreich. 

“This is a wonderful addition to our district, providing a haven for bird enthusiasts and nature lovers alike. I’m looking forward to seeing its impact in our community and ecosystem,” he said. 

Store hours are Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 631-403-4419 or visit eastsetauket.wbu.com.

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Pixabay photo

By Nancy Burner, Esq.

Nancy Burner, Esq.

In December 2017, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”).  This tax bill was an overhaul of the tax law affecting individuals and businesses in many ways. One of these changes substantially increased the Federal estate tax exemption.  

At the time the law was inked, the Federal Basic Exclusion Amount for an estate was $5.49 million ($5 million, indexed for inflation).  This meant that no taxes would be owed on the estate of a person dying in that year with a taxable estate less than that.  For estates over that amount, the overage was taxed at 40%.

The TCJA stated that for deaths in 2018, the exemption increased to $10 million, indexed for inflation.  Currently, in 2023, the estate tax exemption is $12.92 million.  This is an individual exemption, so a married couple enjoys $25.84 million between them.  

While this increased exemption is helpful for many families, it is not a long-term solution.  The law expanded the exemption but only for a limited period of time.  Barring any action by Congress to extend this further, this and other provisions of the TCJA sunset at the end of 2025.  As a result, where an individual dies on or after January 1, 2026, the exemption will return to the pre-2018 scheme of $5 million, indexed for inflation (likely to be just under $7 million).  For single persons with less than $7 million in assets, and couples with less than $14 million between them, there is no cause for concern when it comes to Federal estate taxes, even after the sunset.

With this looming sunset of the exemption amount, couples and single individuals may be able to take advantage now of the higher exemption amount with proper planning.  An alphabet soup of tools are available including SLATs, GRATs, IDGTS, etc.  The general idea being to remove assets from your taxable estate while you are alive, utilizing your expanded exemption, thus reducing the taxable assets at the time of death and passing more along to your beneficiaries.  There are also planning mechanisms for the charitably inclined that will serve to further reduce one’s taxable estate.

For New Yorkers, the State estate tax, currently $6.58 million, has been the larger concern.  Unlike the Federal, the New York exemption is not “portable” between spouses, meaning that the exemption of the first spouse to die cannot be saved to be used when the second spouse dies. Planning must be done to utilize each spouse’s exemption at the time of their respective deaths. 

Not all planning opportunities will suit your individual circumstances.  Determining the proper estate planning tools will depend upon your family structure, asset structure, and intended beneficiaries.  You should speak with your estate planning attorney today to better plan for tomorrow. 

Nancy Burner, Esq. is the founder and managing partner at Burner Prudenti Law, P.C. with offices located in East Setauket, Westhampton Beach, New York City and East Hampton.

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From left, Kool Rock-Ski accepts LIMEHOF’s induction of The Fat Boys from EPMD’s Erick Sermon and Public Enemy’s DJ Johnny Juice. Photo courtesy of LIMEHOF
Photo from LIMEHOF
Kurtis Blow, another LIMEHOF inductee, has a personal connection to The Fat Boys, as he produced their first two albums.
Photo from LIMEHOF
Photo from LIMEHOF

Hip-hop group The Fat Boys was recently inducted into the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF) at its newly opened museum location in Stony Brook on Aug. 6. Kool Rock-Ski (Damon Wimbley), the last surviving member of The Fat Boys, accepted the induction in person from hip-hop legend and LIMEHOF inductee Erick Sermon of EPMD. Public Enemy’s DJ Johnny Juice (also a LIMEHOF inductee) was also on hand to show support and speak about the group. 

“It’s definitely an honor on behalf of the group, two members who are no longer here,” Kool Rock-Ski said. “To accept this on their behalf is huge, because they brought so much to the culture. Their legacy lives on with an award like this. We got to the pinnacle of our success—and we got there the hard way, by doing a lot of hard work.”

The Fat Boys rose to fame in the 1980s, where they pioneered their influential beatbox style of hip-hop music. The group was from East New York in Brooklyn and included “Prince Markie Dee” (Mark Morales), “Kool Rock-Ski” (Damon Wimbley), and “Buff Love” (Darin Robinson). They would heavily influence hip-hop culture through beatbox, comedic charisma, and rhymes. The trio released seven studio albums, four of which went gold by RIAA. In addition to their music, they went on to star in three feature films: Krush Groove, Knights of the City, and Disorderlies.  

The Fat Boys had several successful singles which included “Stick ‘Em,” “Can You Feel It,” “The Fat Boys Are Back,” “Wipe Out,” “Fat Boys,” and “Jail House Rap,” to name a few. Throughout their career, they participated in several tours, one of which was Fresh Fest. And despite having eventually broken up as a group, each of the three members maintained a strong brotherhood. The Fat Boys is credited as having had a strong influence on the development and growing popularity of hip-hop. 

“The Fat Boys introduced the beatbox, to the world and the song they made was funky to me,” said EPMD’s Erick Sermon, himself a LIMEHOF inductee, when he officially inducted The Fat Boys on stage. “I’m honored to do this because my memories of my kitchen on that ledge was playing The Fat Boys album.” 

Kurtis Blow, another LIMEHOF inductee, has a personal connection to The Fat Boys, as he produced their first two albums. 

“The Fat Boys being inducted into the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame is so well deserved,” Blow said in a written statement which congratulated the group on this honor. “These young men were talented and passionate about their craft at a very young age. Producing The Fat Boys was one the highlights of my career. Rest in peace, Buffy (the Human Beatbox Master) and Prince Markie Dee (Mark Morales). I will never forget you, and you are greatly missed. Continue to carry the torch, Kool Rock-Ski!”

LIMEHOF has long recognized the unique talent and contributions that Long Island artists brought to the hip-hop genre. Notable hip-hop inductees include LL Cool J, Run-DMC, Public Enemy, Eric B. & Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Kurtis Blow, Whodini, Salt-N-Pepa, and EPMD. Earlier this year, LIMEHOF held an event to honor the 50th anniversary of hip-hop which had a strong participation and turn out from Long Island artists.

“This historic induction—coupled with our recent 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop Concert—cements Long Island’s legacy as one of the most important regions in the country for contributing to hip-hop’s long-term success,” said Ernie Canadeo, LIMEHOF Chairman.  

“Inducting The Fat Boys into the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame is a tribute to their enduring influence—recognizing their role in shaping the genre and inspiring generations,” said Tom Needham, LIMEHOF Vice Chairman and longtime host of the “Sounds of Film” radio show, and who organized the induction event.

At the induction ceremony, Kool Rock-Ski announced that he is working on a documentary film about The Fat Boys and intends to hold the premiere at LIMEHOF when it’s released. 

For more information about events and future inductions, visit www.limusichalloffame.org/museum/. 

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136 students comprise the RSOM Class of 2027, shown here reciting the Hippocratic Oath.
New RSOM student Jasmine Stansil (center), with her parents and grandparents at the school’s White Coat Ceremony.
Dean Peter Igarashi, MD
Adam Bruzzese wearing his first white coat after receiving from Andrew Wackett, MD, Vice Dean of Undergraduate Medical Education.

136 students launch journey into Medicine at traditional White Coat Ceremony

At the Renaissance School of Medicine’s (RSOM) White Coat Ceremony, 136 incoming students donned their physician “white coats” and took the Hippocratic Oath for the first time. Held at Stony Brook University’s Staller Center, the annual ceremony brings students, their families, and faculty together as the academic year begins and members of the Class of 2027 embark on their journeys toward becoming physicians. The RSOM has held the White Coat Ceremony since 1998.

The incoming students are a select group, and according to RSOM administrators is one of the most diverse classes in the school’s history. Only 8.5 percent of all applicants to the RSOM for 2023-24 were accepted into the program. Approximately 20 percent of class consists individuals from historically marginalized communities, and 54 percent of the class are women.

Collectively the students received their undergraduate degrees from 66 different colleges and universities from around the country. Stony Brook University (20) and Cornell University (17) were the undergraduate schools with the most representation. The class has a combined median undergraduate GPA of 3.89. While many of the new students are from different areas of the country, 77 percent hail from New York State.

“To the Class of 2027, you are entering medicine at an exhilarating time,” said Peter Igarashi, MD, Dean of the RSOM, who presided over his first White Coat Ceremony. “Scientific discoveries in medicine are occurring at a breathtaking and awe-inspiring rate. Diseases that were rapidly fatal when I was a medical student, such as multiple myeloma and leukemia, are now routinely treated. Advances in human genetics have enabled truly personalized medicine, and the development of an effective Covid-19 vaccine less than one year after the onset of the pandemic saved almost 20 million lives and underscored the essential role that science plays in public health.”

All of the students have a story as to how and why they have chosen Medicine as a profession.

For New York City native Adam Bruzzese, an NYU graduate, his family’s difficulties and challenges they had within the healthcare system was a big trigger to increasing his passion for medicine. Adam’s 11-year-old sister had mysteriously become paralyzed, and he played an integral part in providing her healthcare as a teenager and college student. He witnessed disparities of care as she moved through the health system, plus the myriad  of tests and physician opinions along the way. It was eventually determined her paralysis was caused by Lyme Disease.

Manteca, California native Jasmine Stansil, a standout student in high school and at the University of California, San Diego, was always fascinated by the human body as a kid. She also became captivated by how physicians can have an incredible impact on human life when she watched Untold Stories of the ER. But she was most inspired to pursue Medicine because of her grandmother, who endured multiple strokes.

“Watching doctors provide her care made me want to do the same for others,” says Stansil. “I am hoping to become an academic physician who will provide clinical care, teach and conduct research.”

Jerome Belford, one of the 20 class members who attended Stony Brook University as an undergraduate, described his interest in medicine as coming from a “passion that stems from a desire to promote physical and emotional health and wellness.”

From Long Island, Belford is a volunteer EMT who decided to attend the RSOM because of its broad research and clinical opportunities and standout education that provides experiential and hands-on medical training. He hopes to eventually provide patients who have historically not had access to the best medical resources improved care, either as an emergency physician or though primary care as an internist.

White coat ceremonies are an initiation rite and are symbolic to Medicine as a profession that combines professionalism with scientific excellence and compassionate care. In an era of telemedicine, aging populations, new knowledge about infections and diseases, and emerging technologies, Medicine remains a dynamic and changing profession that continues to impact the health and well-being of society.

All photos by Arthur Fredericks

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Elizabeth Brost is one of four scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory selected by DOE’s Office of Science to receive significant funding through its Early Career Research Program. Photo courtesy of BNL

By Daniel Dunaief

This is part 1 of a 2-part series.

Half of this year’s crop of recipients from New York State for Early Career Awards from the Department of Energy came from Brookhaven National Laboratory.

With ideas for a range of research efforts that have the potential to enhance basic knowledge and lead to technological innovations, two of the four winners earned awards in basic energy science, while the others scored funds from high energy physics and the office of nuclear physics.

“Supporting America’s scientists and researchers early in their careers will ensure the United States remains at the forefront of scientific discovery,” Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said in a statement. The funding provides resources to “find the answers to some of the most complex questions as they establish themselves as experts in their fields.”

The DOE chose the four BNL recipients based on peer review by outside scientific experts. All eligible researchers had to have earned their PhDs within the previous 12 years and had to conduct research within the scope of the Office of Science’s eight major program areas.

In a two part series, TBR News Media will highlight the work of these four researchers. This week’s Power of 3 column features Elizabeth Brost and Derong Xu. Next week, TBR will highlight the work of Joanna Zajac and Esther Tsai.

Elizabeth ‘Liza’ Brost

Elizabeth Brost is one of four scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory selected by DOE’s Office of Science to receive significant funding through its Early Career Research Program. Photo courtesy of BNL

In work titled “Shining Light on the Higgs Self-Interaction,” Brost, who is an associate scientist, is studying properties of the Higgs Boson, which was a long sought after particle that helps explain why some particles have mass. The Standard Model of Particle Physics, which predicted the existence of the Higgs Boson, also suggests that the Higgs field can interact with itself. This interaction should produce pairs of Higgs Bosons at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland, where Brost works.

A significant challenge in Brost’s work is that the production of such pairs occurs 1,000 times less frequently than the production of single Higgs Bosons, which researchers discovered to considerable fanfare in 2012 after a 48-year search.

Brost is leading the effort to use machine learning algorithms to cherry pick collision data in real time. Since these events are so rare, “it’s very important that we are able to save promising collision events,” she explained in an email.

The LHC collides protons at a rate of 40 million times per second, but the facility only keeps about 100,000 of those.

Thus far, everything Brost has seen agrees with the Standard Model of Particle Physics predictions, but “that just means we have to work harder and develop new strategies to search for new physics,” she said.

Brost earned her undergraduate degree in physics and French from Grinnell College and her PhD in physics from the University of Oregon. When she learned she’d won this early career award, she “couldn’t believe it was real for quite some time,” she wrote. “The hardest part was keeping it a secret until the official announcement.

She explained that she was only allowed to tell a few select people at BNL and close family members about the distinction, who were also sworn to secrecy. 

The award will allow her to expand the scope of the work she’s doing and to hire additional staff.

As an experienced mentor, Brost recognizes that there is “a lot of pressure to work on whatever is the newest or coolest thing in order to stand out from a crowd” at a collaboration like ATLAS [an extensive particle detector experiment at the Large Hadron Collider] which involves over 3,000 people.” She urged researchers to work on the physics they find interesting and exciting.

Derong Xu

Derong Xu is one of four scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory selected by DOE’s Office of Science to receive significant funding through its Early Career Research Program. Photo courtesy of BNL

An Assistant Physicist, Xu is working to enhance the  efficiency of the Electron-Ion Collider, a marquee tool that BNL will start building next year and is expected to be operational in the 2030’s.

The EIC will collide beams of electrons and protons or other atomic nuclei. By reducing the beam size, or packing the same number of particles into a smaller space, the EIC can increase the likelihood of these collisions.

Specifically, Xu plans to flatten the beam, which has never been used in a hadron collider. He will explore ways to reduce the interactions between beams and superconducting magnets. He will pursue a combined approach using theoretical and experimental methods, which will affect the parameters for the future EIC.

Generating flat hadron beams in existing hadron machines remains “unexplored, making our project a pioneering effort dedicated to investigating methods for maintaining beam flatness,” Xu explained in an email.

In addition to leveraging flat iron beams, Xu is also considering ways to increase the beam intensity by injecting a greater number of particles into the accelerator, which would boost the collision rate. Such an approach, however, means more electromagnetic force between the beams, requiring additional effort to maintain beam flatness.

To explore these potential approaches and determine an optimal trade-off between strategies, his project will collaborate with leading experts in accelerator physics, conduct comprehensive simulations and investigate an array of techniques.

“Through pushing the boundaries of accelerator technology and exploring diverse construction and beam creation techniques, we aspire to unlock novel scientific frontiers and achieve groundbreaking discoveries in nuclear physics,” he explained.

Receiving the award filled Xu with “immense excitement and pride.” He and his wife called their parents, who are traditional farmers, in China. When he explained to them that the award is a substantial amount of money, they advised him to “try your best and not waste the money,” he shared.

At an early age, Xu showed a strong interest in math and physics. His parents rewarded him with snacks when he got high scores. 

“That was my first equation in my life: high scores = more snacks,” he joked.

To share the subatomic world with people outside his field, Xu often makes analogies. He compares the collision of an electron beam with a proton beam to shooting a flying ping-pong ball with a gun. The ping-pong ball’s size (which, in this case, is a collection of protons) resembles the diameter of a human hair. The collisions create scattered products that provide insights into the subatomic world.

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MEET TATER!

This week’s featured shelter pet is Tater, currently up for adoption at the Smithtown Animal Shelter, 410 E. Main St., Smithtown. This 5-year-old male tabby was found as part of the shelter’s TNR program in 2018. He was blind from birth and adopted as a kitten. Due to no fault of his own, he was returned to the shelter this July. Sweet, gentle and affectionate, Tater needs a quiet home with lots of love. This boy is a gem and deserves the best that life has to offer. Call 631-360-7575 to meet him today!

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Pixabay photo

Summer is often a time to enjoy the beach, barbecue or to simply catch up on outdoor chores. But with increased activity and heat, the summer sun can also be a trigger for chest pain, or angina. For those who have coronary artery disease, or at risk for developing the disease, those hazy, hot and humid days can be potentially life-threatening. With approximately 9 million patients in the U.S. having symptoms, angina is a serious condition occurring when there is reduced blood flow to the heart and can serve as a precursor to a future heart attack.

Robert Pyo, MD, Director, Interventional Cardiology and Medical Director, Structural Heart, at Stony Brook Heart Institute, offers some tips for protecting your heart during the summer heat.

Your Heart in the Heat

Sweating is one of the ways your body rids itself of excess heat. But as temperatures and humidity climbs, there’s so much water vapor in the air that sweating (evaporation) becomes increasingly difficult and your heart, in trying to cool your body down, winds up working overtime.

Further attempting to shed heat, your body reroutes blood flow from the warmer environment of your internal organs to the cooler surface of your skin, causing your heart to beat faster and pump harder and putting significantly more strain on not just your heart but on your lungs, kidneys and cardiovascular system. The higher the uptick in heat and humidity, the greater the burden on your heart and the greater the risk. In fact, on a hot day your heart may have to circulate two to four times as much blood each minute as it does on a cool day.

Beating the Heat and Protecting Your Heart 

Some easy but effective strategies for staying heart-safe this summer:

  • Keep cool. Stay indoors or in the shade as much as possible during peak sun hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Chilled air is the best way to cope with the heat. Cold compresses applied to your ‘pulse points’ — the areas where your veins are closest to your skin’s surface, including wrists, neck, temples and armpits — can assist in cooling down. Extreme exertion, whether in hot weather or not, can bring on angina.

  • Stay hydrated. Hydration helps the heart to more easily pump blood. Drink water before, during and after going outside in hot weather. Avoid caffeine and alcohol as both of these may increase dehydration. And, be mindful of sports drinks that may contain high amounts of caffeine and/or salt as they have the potential to place stress on the heart.

  • Eat water-rich foods. You get about 20 percent of your water from the foods you eat. A hot weather diet that emphasizes cold soups, salads and fruits can both satisfy hunger and provide extra fluid.

  • Protect your skin. Sunburn affects your body’s ability to cool down and increases dehydration. Wear a wide-brimmed hat, wraparound sunglasses, and lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitting clothing. Apply plenty of broad-spectrum or UVA/UVB protection sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher to all exposed skin 30 minutes before going out. Reapply every couple of hours.

Who’s At Risk for Heat-Induced Chest Pain? 

While anyone’s health can be at risk in extreme heat, soaring temperatures and humidity are particularly stressful for those who already have a weakened heart. In addition to individuals with cardiovascular disease, hot weather precautions are especially important if you’re an older adult, are overweight, have a history of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, lung or kidney disease or stroke. Medications such as diuretics (water pills), beta blockers, antidepressants, antihistamines and decongestants may also make you more vulnerable to the heat. It is important to talk with your doctor to fully understand your individual risk factors and take precautions.

“If you’re experiencing chest pain symptoms, the Stony Brook Chest Pain Center is where you want to be,” says Dr. Pyo. “Our dedicated heart care specialists and state-of-the-art advances in critical protocols are a powerful combination that can save critical treatment time when it matters most.”

Making Every Minute Count 

The key to avoiding damage to your heart, is getting treated as quickly as possible. Angina is often the first symptom of heart disease, but in addition to chest pain, discomfort can also occur in such easy-to-ignore places as your shoulders, arms, neck, jaw, abdomen or back. Angina may even appear to be indigestion.

Although for some people their chest pain symptoms might be ongoing but stable for years, for others, there are no red flags at all — allowing blood flow to eventually become completely blocked and a heart attack to occur out of seemingly nowhere.

Don’t take chances with chest pain. If you or a loved one experience any red flag symptoms, don’t wait; call 9-1-1 and get help.

To see a Stony Brook chest pain specialist, call the Chest Pain Center at Stony Brook Heart Institute at (631) 44-HEART (444-3278).

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Robin Wilson Photo from LIMEHOF

By Kevin Redding

As a teenaged self-taught singer and “bedroom songwriter” in Tempe, Arizona, Robin Wilson would comb through ads of local bands in the paper—dreaming about being in one someday. The powerful yet tender voice he’d honed, mostly in his room and car, ultimately landed him in a new band that was blowing up in Tempe called Gin Blossoms.

Not long after that, the group found major mainstream success. Throughout the 90s, Gin Blossoms’ catchy harmonies and jangle guitar-driven pop rock dominated the airwaves with massive hits like “Hey Jealousy,” “Follow You Down,” “Found Out About You,” “Til I Hear It From You,” “Allison Road,” and “As Long As It Matters.” 

Wilson and his bandmates had music videos on MTV, became mainstays on late night shows, and were nominated for a Grammy. They’ve not only contributed to the soundtracks for such movies as Wayne’s World 2, Empire Records, and Speed, but for many people’s lives. 

On Aug. 25, Wilson will be inducted into the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame in Stony Brook Village. He’s bounced between Arizona and Valley Stream since the mid-90s, but says he became a full-time Long Islander in 2001 and even more so over quarantine. 

TBR News Media had the opportunity to interview Wilson by phone last Sunday as the singer/songwriter took a trip down memory lane.

What does this induction mean to you?

It makes me very proud and it’s really great to be part of the “Big Rock Story” and to know that we’ve had the same sort of impact that so many of my favorite groups did. I was just onstage last night [in Reynoldsburg, Ohio] looking out at 6,000 people who all know the words to a song I wrote in my bedroom and I was thinking, ‘Ya know, we really did great. Nobody thought we could still be doing it this long.’ And here we are 35 years later…I’m very gratified and grateful that I still get to do this for a living. It’s bewildering to me.

We got inducted into the Arizona Hall of Fame back in 2017 alongside the Meat Puppets, one of my favorite bands. I still just shake my head in disbelief because one minute you’re a teenager going to open mic nights and thinking ‘God I hope someday I can be in a band that plays this bar’ and now we’re among the most successful acts to ever come out of our homestate, alongside Jimmy Eat World and Alice Cooper. 

More than anything else, I’m really proud for my family here. It really feels like their achievement and it means the world to me that so many of them are going to be there for the ceremony. My son’s band is rehearsing and his biggest influences all come from the 90s.

What was it like to be a rock band in the 90s?

There were so many great moments where we knew we were accomplishing something very rare. Most of it was the grind of doing the work and being a touring rock band…it’s only with the perspective of time that you realize how grandly we succeeded. We’re going on tour in a couple weeks with some of my all time favorite bands to tour with: Fastball, Tonic, and Sugar Ray. We’ve been on these package tours with Lit and Everclear and Smash Mouth and none of them have done “Saturday Night Live.” 

We performed at the American Music Awards and I got to front KISS on Letterman! There was a lot of diversity [in the 90s] but the bands that survived as the soundtrack of those times were delivering high quality music and really great, memorable songs. I think certainly the key to our success has been having really good songs.

How did you come to join the band?

As I was finally forming my first band with my best friend, Gin Blossoms called and asked me in for an audition. They had only been playing out for a few months but as soon as they hit the local scene, they were a big deal. I already knew our bass player, Bill Leen, and our original guitar player/songwriter Doug Hopkins [who penned many of their early hits and passed away in 1993]. We all went to high school together. They were a few years ahead of me, but they were the only kids that had a band and putting out records. I was listening to Bill’s and Doug’s music since I was like 15. 

Bill and Doug had heard me sing at a couple of parties so when they needed somebody for Gin Blossoms, I got the call. I auditioned on a Wednesday, they gave me the job that night, we rehearsed on Thursday, and then we did three days of shows that weekend, Friday-Sunday. I was playing rhythm guitar and they’d let me sing a couple tunes. Jesse Valenzuela [Gin Blossoms’ guitar player] was the lead singer. I got the job because he and I sounded so good together; it was really special right from the beginning. 

A few months in, Jesse said, “You and I are gonna switch. I’m gonna be the guitar player and you’re gonna be the lead singer.” I was just blown away. In the history of rock and roll, has a lead singer ever done that? It was just such good fortune and destiny…the right place at the right time with the right skillset.

What’s your favorite song to play live?

Doug started the band with this incredible batch of songs, including “Found Out About You,” so it was easy for me to just step in and sing them. And then there were a handful of songs he and I wrote together. The only one of them we ended up recording was “Hold Me Down” [off their 1992 LP “New Miserable Experience”] and that one’s really special to me. Playing the hits is very gratifying too. There’s a song I wrote for our last record called “Break” and it’s great to see them react to it and to know it’s a song that holds up to the rest of our catalog.

What was it like bringing your own songs to the band?

Being in Gin Blossoms with seasoned composers, it helped me to raise my [songwriting] game at an accelerated pace. It wasn’t until I wrote “Allison Road” that the whole band seemed to realize I was approaching their level as a songwriter. Earlier this year, our hometown of Tempe honored us by renaming a street Allison Road.

What’s the strangest bill the band has been on?

[Laughs] We did a show once with Missing Persons, MC Hammer, Joe Walsh, and Toto. And it was just like, ‘How did we end up on this bill?!’ Missing Persons was on before us and MC Hammer was on after us. That was like 12 years ago or something.

In honor of Empire Records, if you were in a record shop right now, what would you be looking for?

My favorite band right now is called White Reaper. They’re one of the best bands of their generation and I love them to death. If I walked in right now, I’d be looking for White Reaper on vinyl. My favorite band of the last couple decades is The Darkness, and I’m excited they’re going to be performing in Tempe in October and so my son and I are going to home to Arizona at a club I’ve played a bunch of times to see them. Another great rock band I love is called Volbeat.

What’s it like being a rock star on Long Island?

This is the first time since winter that I’ll be home here on Long Island for more than five days. I’m home until the Hall of Fame induction and then I leave town the day after that and I’ll be gone for about six weeks. But I have until the 26th to actually be in the same place so I’m fixing to make the most of it, spend time making the racket down in the basement in our new studio, exercising. I played a lot of video games during the pandemic. I bought a Switch and I love that system.

A few years ago, when the pandemic hit, that’s when I really got to meet my neighbors, and they’re like, ‘Oh, you’re in a band, huh?’ I’m like ‘Yeah’ and they’re like ‘Well, you keep at it!’ And then a few months later, the neighbor will come up and be like ‘Holy ___, apparently my brother has your record!’

It took me a while to get used to living here, but I’m finally a citizen. And I’m the only guy on Long Island who flies an Arizona flag on his front porch.

The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame, 97 Main St., Stony Brook will hold an induction ceremony for Robin Wilson on Friday, Aug. 25 from 7 to 10 p.m. Wilson will perform with special guests on the Exhibit Hall stage as part of the evening’s ceremony. Tickets are $40, $35 members at www.limusichalloffame.org or by calling 631-689-5888.

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Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Pesto

By Heidi Sutton

I was telling my friend John the other day how my garden has gone rogue and is now spilling over the raised beds onto the lawn. Tomatoes, peppers, string beans and basil — all out of control and growing like weeds. I guess that could be a good thing too. Now there’s plenty to share with neighbors. Here are two delicious recipes to try if you have a bumper crop of tomatoes and basil.

Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Pesto

YIELD: Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 pound thin-cut chicken cutlets

1/4 cup basil pesto, divided

1 large tomato

8 slices crusty sourdough bread

4 ounces Brie, thinly sliced

1 cup packed baby arugula

DIRECTIONS: 

Heat grill to high. Combine 1/4 cup olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper; pour into plastic zipper bag. Add chicken, seal and marinate at least 30 minutes. Grill chicken 2-3 minutes, turn and grill another 2-3 minutes, or until chicken registers internal temperature of 160 F. Remove and reserve. 

Spread each piece of bread with 1/2 tablespoon pesto. Slice tomato into eight slices. Place chicken on four bread slices. Top with Brie slices, arugula and two tomato slices. Top with remaining bread slices, pesto side toward tomato. Brush outside of each sandwich with about 1/2 tablespoon of remaining olive oil. 

Place on grill, reduce heat to medium and grill 2-3 minutes per side, or until bread is nicely toasted and cheese is melted. Remove from heat, cut each sandwich in half and serve.

Pasta Salad with Tomatoes

Pasta Salad with Tomatoes

YIELD: Makes 8 servings

INGREDIENTS:

8 ounces regular or whole-wheat rotini or rotelle pasta, cooked according to directions

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil, divided

salt and pepper, to taste

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

4 cloves garlic, minced and divided

1 medium green bell pepper, finely chopped

10 to 15 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 slice whole-wheat or multigrain bread

DIRECTIONS: 

In bowl, cover and chill pasta. In large mixing bowl, combine vinegar, 2 tablespoons basil, salt, pepper, 2 tablespoons oil and half of minced garlic. Whisk to combine well. Add pasta, bell pepper and tomatoes, and toss gently until well coated.

In food processor or blender, pulse bread to produce coarse crumbs. In medium skillet, heat remaining oil over medium-high heat. Stir in breadcrumbs and garlic. Saute 1 1/2-2 minutes until browned and crisp. Remove from heat and let cool. 

Top pasta with garlic crumbs and remaining basil before serving.

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Photo by Elyse Benavides

TO CACHE OR TO EAT? THAT IS THE QUESTION

Elyse Benavides of Coram spied this blue jay with its favorite food, a peanut, in its beak outside her window on Aug. 13 and snapped this beautiful photo. According to the Wild Birds Unlimited website, blue jays will cache seeds and nuts to retrieve later, and make repeated trips to feeders to gather food and hide it in a safe spot. Research studies have recorded blue jays making over 1,000 trips per day when hiding food, earning them the nickname ‘the Caching Extraordinaire.’

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