Upon finding out that Mr. Jarrett Krause was in several bands, I dropped a classic piece of Mrs. Sickler lore on him: My dad was once in a band. Mr. Jarrett Krause, an actual band member in several actual bands, asked the appropriate questions: “What instrument did he play?” “Did they write their own songs?” “Did he sing?” “What years were they active?” “Are there recordings?”

To fully understand, I have to let you in on a secret, my dad was in a lip-syncing band called The Sync-erz. As in, my dad and three to five of his closest friends pretended to play instruments and pretended to sing along to hit songs such as, Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison, Gimme Some Lovin’ from the 1980 classic movie The Blues Brothers, and even Genie in a Bottle by Pittsburgh Native Christina Aguilera. Additional context is they would dress in theatrical costumes to add a certain je ne sais quoi to the performance.

I realized that I needed Mr. Krause to meet The Band. I invited him to join my dad and his buddies at the local Blairsville meet-up spot: Dean’s Diner, known for their 24/7 service, delicious homemade pies, and being my first and only waitressing job. Our experience is detailed below in audio clips of a heavily-edited recording.

To begin, Duck (born Daniel Dettore) asks, “Ever hear the one about when they set me on fire?” and Coke (born Michael Delcoco) says, “We could set him on fire right now if you want.” It is all downhill from there.

The band consisted of the following members:

Mike Delcoco, referred to as “Coke” because of the last name. (left)

Mike Uncapher, referred to as “Unc” because of his last name and “Dad” because he is my actual dad. (Middle Back)

Mark Henigin, referred to as “Uncle Mark” because he is my mom’s brother and thus my actual uncle. (Right)

Frank Harsh, referred to as “Uncle Frank” despite not being my actual uncle. (Middle Front)

Dan Dettore, referred to as “Duck” because someone once threw something at him. He is not pictured as he is not one of the “original members.” His time with the band is referred to as “After Duck” or “AD.”

Now, you may ask, why would a group of grown men subject themselves to this for 15+ years? Money, as detailed in the following clip.

Over the years, the band performed in many venues and in front of many crowds.

The following audio clips contain some notable examples:

• The time the band set the dressing room on fire:

• A Bat Mitzvah which led to the renowned Magical Realist Painter, Henry Koerner painting the band in action at the Italian Club in Blairsville:

• The time a brawl broke out at a fire hall wedding and the cops showed up while the band was in their lime green bikinis (a crowd favorite featuring Aretha Franklin’s Respect):

The following details Mr. Krause’s experience of our Dean’s Diner interview.

I grew up thinking this was a very normal experience. I kind of thought everyone’s dad and his friends did something like this. When I became an adult I realized that the sort of friendship my dad had with his grade-school buddies (65 years of friendship!) is something quite rare and quite lovely. I feel grateful to have grown up surrounded by men who cared for each other, made each other laugh, and brought some joy into the world. As my Dad said, they were “legends” – to which his oldest friend Coke ruthlessly replied, “Legends?! We were just dumb is what it was.”