Band History
Ted
Millen and Mike Zawada grew up together in the 1960’s as neighbors
in West Concord, Massachusetts where Mike was taking piano lessons
and Ted was taking drum lessons. Mike started a band in 8th grade
called “Lite” and his first drummer didn't last too
long. That is when Ted joined his band. Ted and Mike were in and
out of bands throughout high school. One of the bands Mike joined
was Bob Lituri’s band from Maynard called “The Satin
Blues”. This was when he first met and played with the Maynard
based lead singer/lead guitar player. Ted was not a member of that
band.
In
Mike’s junior and senior year of high school he joined a band
from Lincoln and Sudbury called “Brownstone” which is
when he met Mark Beaton - the first bass player of Coming Alive.
Ted Millen eventually joined Brownstone and that band stayed together
for a number of years with different musicians coming in and out
at various times. Around 1978 Mike attended a 50's dance at the
Concord Elks to see his friend Bruce Bolton play. The band Brownstone
had just split up and he was looking to put another band together,
but wanted to do something different.
Being
at the 50's dance gave him the idea of playing 60's music. Mike
liked the music that came out in the 60’s, (Billboard top
40, Motown and WBCN) and at that time bands weren’t playing
60's music. Mike knew Bob Lituri was not currently playing in a
band and the same went for Mark Beaton. So Mike floated the 60’s
idea to the both of them and they were “in”.
They needed a drummer, Ted was already in a band, Mark said he knew
a drummer -- Peter Grady from Stow. The band tried Peter out and
he won the spot. Now they just needed a name for the band and it
was Mark and Peter who came up with the name “Coming Alive”.
The
band started out by performing mostly Beatles, Beach Boys and songs
that were number one hits in the 60's. Their first job was a hockey
banquet in Waltham in the Spring of 1978. The band later auditioned
for a music agent and started playing the circuit from Revere Beach
to Nashua NH and everywhere else in between. They were booked every
weekend. After three years, the band had become very popular and
had a very large following. Peter Grady then left the band when
he got married and that was when Ted joined Coming Alive.
Ted played with
the band for a couple of years, but then he left again, and Peter
was reinstated as the drummer for Coming Alive. Mark Beaton left
the band in 1982…so the band now needed a bass player. That
was when Ted introduced Bill Sivret to the guys, the bass player
with whom he had played with in “Cuckoo's Nest”. At that
time, Bill was playing bass for “American Teen”. He
thought Bill would be a perfect fit for the band, and he was right!
The addition of Bill’s strong vocals gave Coming Alive unique
three part harmonies, which allowed the group to enhance their repertoire
of music to include tunes by The Doobie Brothers, The Eagles, Van
Halen and add other, more challenging classic rock and roll songs.
Coming Alive
then played the club circuit for a number of years. The Red Line
Junction in Westford, MA, the Halluwa in Nashua NH and the Maynard
and Concord Elks were all mainstays for the band. In 1990 the band
started moving in a different direction; playing more weddings and
other private functions.
It
was around this time that Peter Grady had to leave the band a second
time due to a serious illness, which unfortunately, took his life
one year later at the tender age of 34. He was, and still is to
this day, missed dearly by the other band members and those who
had the pleasure of knowing him. His loving manner and funny, unique
sense of humor endeared him to all who knew him. Peter was always
a gentle and considerate man who invariably put other people’s
needs ahead of his own. His untimely death closed a chapter in the
history of the band on a very sad note. Teddy once again returned
to the band as the permanent drummer for Coming Alive. Teddy’s
unique talent and renewed presence in the band allowed Coming Alive
to continue the legacy of making great music; one which Peter was
so passionately instrumental in starting so many years earlier.
The
band went on playing until 1994 when they realized that playing
out was taking quality time away from their families. Mike, Bob,
Pete/Ted, and Bill had played for thirteen years together ….It
was time to hang it up.
Eleven years later, Bill made a call to the guys to see if they would like play at a benefit for the Maynard Stow Baseball Charitable Corporation in January of 2006. They thought it was a good idea to get together for this one function, but as they began rehearsing, they quickly realized how much fun it was playing and reminiscing about old times. After five weeks of rehearsals they agreed to get the band back together. This time, though, the goal of the band quickly evolved into a desire to perform classic-progressive rock hits that most other bands wouldn’t even try to play - live. This lofty goal required changes to both the music the band chose to perform and a dedication by all band members to “ratchet it up a few notches”.
In March of 2007, Jim Sanchez joined Coming Alive as their new drummer / percussionist. Jim’s amazing sense of rhythm and unique ability to lay down the perfect groove proved to be the final key element needed to embark on this new musical journey. Today, as one of New England’s premier Progressive Rock bands, Coming Alive continues to work hard to deliver on that formula, combining stunning power vocals and impeccable musical delivery, dazzling audiences with near-perfect renditions of hits by The Eagles, Boz Scaggs, Steely Dan, The Beatles, Toto, Little Feat, Chicago, Lynyrd Skynyrd and many more. |
