There’s an old saying that when you love what you do, you never have to work a day in your life.
If that’s the case, Tony Carlucci hasn’t worked for several years.
He’s the band leader and trumpet player for “Brass Transit: The Musical Legacy of Chicago,” which will perform at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 20 at the Bromeley Family Theater at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford as part of the Bradford Creative and Performing Arts Center’s (BCPAC) season.
“The band came to be about late 2007 or early 2008,” Carlucci explained to The Era. “It was a little idea I came up with to have some fun.”
A musician since the age of 8 or 9, Carlucci — a big fan of jazz-rock group “Chicago” — looked at the other tribute acts in Toronto and realized there weren’t any for “Chicago.”
“I said ‘this was time to have some fun,’” he explained. He started a band, they started rehearsing and “landed one or two gigs.”
“The main thing that happened, that changed it all, was we got an offer to be used as guinea pigs for a brand new filming company,” Carlucci said. It was the band’s second job, and the video turned out better than expected. So he put it on YouTube.
“It just sort of took off,” he said with a laugh. “It was kind of weird. And I’m still going with the ball. We’re having a great time with it. We’re playing in front of fairly large markets where ‘Chicago’ doesn’t play.
“We’re winning them over one job at a time,” Carlucci said.
In the years “Brass Transit” has been playing, they’ve gained some important support — “‘Chicago’ has heard the band play. “They know who we are. We’ve hung out with them backstage. They are super nice guys. They like the idea that we’re carrying the torch a bit.”
Calling the band members his heroes, Carlucci said it’s a pretty big deal to the tribute band to be recognized by the originals.
“Your heroes are going ‘Great job,’” he said, expressing how good it felt. “I never expected it to go this far.”
Describing a “Brass Transit” show, Carlucci said, “It’s high energy, a lot of movement.”
Unfettered by cords or amps, the brass players don’t stay in one place. It’s common for the band members to go out in the audience during the show.
Comparing the show to “sounds of ‘Chicago’ from the 1970s,” Carlucci said, “You’ll close your eyes and you will think you’re at a ‘Chicago’ concert. We have a lot of fun.
“I enjoy meeting people who enjoy the exact same thing we do,” he added. “If you love ‘Chicago,’ you’ll love this. It’s actually the music we grew up with.
“The songs are beautiful. They are classic for sure.”
Band members are Neil Donell on lead vocals, Carlucci on trumpet, Don Breithaupt on keyboards and backing vocals, Paul DeLong on drums, Doug Gibson on trombone, Paul McAlpine on guitar and backing vocals, Phil Poppa on saxophones and backing vocals, and Jay Speziale on bass and backing vocals.
