HIDDEN DRIVEWAY

The Ride

This web-site is designed to share the wealth of love and joy we have for everyone involved in Hidden Driveway. The band is a family and we want you all to join us on this fantastic ride. We love to play music and we love to see you enjoying yourselves with us at our gigs. We really appreciate everyone’s support of the band and welcome any suggestions you may have to make us a better band. We also welcome any musical suggestions you may have. We want to play songs that we love and that you know and love as well.

The Beginning
Hidden Driveway is a result of 5 close friends sharing the same musical passion. Sometime around 1994, four of us (Frank Caliendo, Russ DeBonis, Pat Gleason & Tom Gomez) rented a rehearsal studio in Bellmore, Long Island and jammed together for the very first time. We sounded good that first jam and got together one or two more times within the next month or so to continue rocking. The 4 of us have shared many fun moments in life and have always talked musical shop over the years. Frank and Pat were always singing, often harmonizing together, on our many trips to upstate New York. Singing was something they almost always did. Pat has always possessed a very unique voice often doing impressions that are dead on accurate. Applying his vocal styles to music was a natural flow. Frank has been involved with playing music the longest of all of us. He's played in bands and had aspirations of playing music for a living. He is multitalented with an ability to play many instruments. Tom was always up on the many musical styles out there both past and present. Guitar is the instrument that ultimately won him over. Talk to Tom at one of our gigs about music and you will not be disappointed. Russ was always tapping and fidgeting to just about any song he heard especially when it came to rock and roll. Early frequent visits to his neighbor Jerry and Robert Sehring's house, in East Meadow, allowed him to sit behind a kit at an early age.
We all were born and raised in East Meadow, Long Island and share the same passion for music. Russ, Pat and Tom became friends in high school in 1979 when we were about 16 years old. Frank is a few years younger and came into the friendship around 1981. The 4 of us have remained very close friends since the day we met. After the 1994 jam, we spent countless hours together hanging out and having a blast living life. Almost every time we saw each other we would say "we have to get together in the studio and jam again, it was such a blast.” Fast forward to 2003, we decided to put an end to the small talk and get back into the studio.

The "A Room"
We checked out some local studios and booked The "A Room" in Bethpage, Long Island. We clicked. We were really bitten by the jamming bug this time around. We regularly booked time at The "A Room" and loved every minute of it after a 9 year hiatus. We continue to rehearse there and Steve Ronsen, the owner, really takes care of us. Pat sings, Russ plays drums, Tom plays guitar, and Frank sings, plays guitar, bass guitar as well as keys. We learned more than a handful of tunes that sounded damn good.

The Name
The band name is credited to Russ' buddy John Conforti. To quote John "How annoyed is the guy who put in a hidden driveway at the guy who invented the sign". You must know John to appreciate his spin on that quote. The band loved it and the name stuck. I bet in your travels you will now really notice all the hidden driveway signs.

Enter Sean
Russ’ wife Stasia is a physical education teacher in Bay Shore, Long Island. One of her co-workers, Sean McGee, is a very talented musician. Stasia knew that Sean would love to jam with us. We invited him to the "A Room" one night and he clicked with us on all levels. He plays guitar, bass guitar as well as keys. The 5 of us became a band. We continued to regularly get together and jam and have a blast. All we want to do is have fun playing music. Things got to be so much fun that we all decided that we want to take things to the next level and play publicly at places where we could gather all of our family and friends.

Chrissy’s Party
Chrissy Greene is one of Stasia’s childhood friends. She graduated nursing school in 2003 and invited us to play at her graduation party in Islip, Long Island. This was our first gig. Russ rented a drum kit from the Long Island Drun Center, we borrowed a PA and speakers from our buddy Sal and the gig was ours. We were very well received and very appreciative to play for everyone. Everyone's encouragement for us to continue playing, despite our limited catalog at the time, was very inspiring. We will always be thankful for Chrissy for giving us our very first gig on a very cool night in May, 2003.

The Journey
The 5 of us continued to rehearse and learn new tunes and build a catalog. We would play gigs, on Long Island and Pennsylvania, that were well received. Since 2001, Pat and his family have been living in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. He drives to L.I. for rehearsals and gigs. A truly amazing feat driven by the love of his friends and music. In 2004, life’s journey guided Sean to Maryland with his wife. Sean commuted back to Long Island for rehearsals and gigs as well. Unbelievable. From time to time, we all would go to NJ and PA for rehearsals to accommodate Sean and Pat as best we could. After awhile, the commute was a bit much for Sean and he could not really get to Long Island as often as he would like and he gracefully bowed out. Sean has become a great friend and is always welcome anytime to play with us. We all know that.

Enter Paul
Paul Carmichael joined Hidden Driveway in 2004 after Sean moved to Maryland. Paul was replaced in 2008.

Enter Steve
Steve McLaughlin joined Hidden Driveway in 2008. Steve has been friends with Frank Caliendo since high school where they played in the same band. After high school, life took them on separate journeys and some 20 years later their paths crossed. We're glad they did.

Enter Mike
Frank's cousin Mike Conry joined Hidden Driveway in 2011. Mike and Frank periodically dabbled together playing and recording music since they were kids. After sitting in on a gig in December 2010, Mike was offered a place in the band when founding member Tom Gomez elected to step down. While Tom will surely be missed, we look forward to a new phase of HD with Mike. 

The Family and Friends
This band is a team with many members. Elaine Caliendo, Stasia DeBonis and Joyce Gleason have been there since the beginning supporting Hidden Driveway every step of the way. We all have children and full time jobs and it’s because of these ladies that we are able to rehearse and play. They are at every gig supporting us and helping promote every gig as well in an effort to get as many people as possible to show up so the venue will invite us back to play again. Our close friend for many years, Steve Pirkl is a key component to this team keeping his eyes and ears open for places for us to play. He helped us launch this web-site and continues to play a major role in our growth.

The Now
We continue to rehearse, play gigs and build our musical catalog. We want to play places that feel our groove and are right for our supporters. Check out our Live Dates page and come see us play. Say hello because we would love to meet you. If you like Classic and Modern Rock, there's a good chance you will enjoy our band.