Counterfeit Choir

Counterfeit Choir was formed under the roof of St.Michael’s Choir School by Andre Carneiro, Russell Ramoran and me, Marco LaGrotta. Andre was always the musically gifted one in terms of writing and the instruments he played, and so he decided to form a band with Russell Ramoran on bass and our friend on drums. It was a typical day at school when I wandered into the band room where they were practicing; and with my newly acquired bass guitar abilities I began to play with them. It was a joyous moment for me getting to play rock with these guys I hardly ever talked to before. Andre was a guy that was passionate about the music he played and liked to take charge. Russell was…well I can’t describe Russell but he slapped me a lot. I don’t know if I was really good, or Tristan was just that bad; but either way they asked me to join their band. It wasn’t long before I traded my 4 stringed beauty with Russell for a pair of sticks and we became Counterfeit Choir. We were three 14 year old lads that became friends through the power of music, but had no idea what the hell we were going to do next. While I was hiding myself from the world over the summer break, I picked up a paper and pencil and began to write the words for what would eventually become Fear of Mirrors. I wrote the first verse and refrain and decided to hand it off to my new friend Andre. I was supposed to lend him the video game Grand Theft Auto 4, so I stuck the lyrics right inside the game manual. It wasn’t long until Andre’s music writing abilities began to shine and the tune for the song was created. I eventually finished the second verse and bridge of the songs and sent it to Andre via Facebook. The song was soon completed, and I immediately fell in love with it. Clearly I wasn’t the only one who loved it as we were soon signed with a producer and studio and asked to make a second song. Tasked with creating an upbeat rock song, Andre chose the lyrics of Who’s Crazy? from my lyric book as we all sat down and began to brain storm. With more input from the whole band, the song was completed and our two track demo was set to be recorded. We grew more mature as musicians and as friends in the time that followed. Andre’s neighbors called the cops on us more than once which taught us how to keep our cool and hide under a blanket. A year has passed, and we even managed to write an entire album. I hope you can find meaning in these songs the way I did. -Marco LaGrotta (Lyricist and Drummer of Counterfeit Choir)

Band Members

Andre Carneiro (Vocals, Guitar), Marco LaGrotta (Drums), Russell Ramoran (Bass)