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Funtastics seek music fanatics to round out local band's roster

The couple who formed the group, which entertains at nursing homes, sound the trumpet: good musicians wanted.

By BETH N. GRAY
Published July 17, 2005

SPRING HILL - At age 74, trumpeter Ben Fichera and his wife, Kathleen, a vocalist and 76, like nothing better than making music. And they enjoy it most when they volunteer their talents to bring joy to others.

Ben has been playing trumpet "most of my life," he said. Kathleen, "she's been singing since the day I met her, and we've been married 27 years," he added.

The couple are the core of the Funtastics, a group of retired musicians they drew together about eight years ago, primarily to entertain at Hernando nursing homes and to create their own melodic fun.

Over the many seasons, some members have died. The most recent guitar player has taken on full-time babysitting of his granddaughter, so is no longer available for group practices and performances. At the same time, the pianist had to leave for personal commitments.

The Ficheras are looking for some reinforcements for the ensemble.

"We need to replenish," Ben Fichera said last week.

"Basically, we're looking for a guitar player and a piano player. Of course, if someone comes in and says they play the saxophone or clarinet - and drums would be okay, but people don't usually like to drag drums to nursing homes for two hours - I'd say, great, join in."

Retirees fit best because they have fewer obligations than working people, Fichera said.

The Funtastics practice one afternoon a week at the couple's home on Applegate Drive, furnished with two pianos. They play daytime gigs at nursing homes and assisted living facilities about once a week.

"We get them singing, get them up dancing," the trumpeter said.

"You see some of these people, patients more in need, or not as healthy, somebody in a wheelchair. Their heads are down; you think they're sleeping, looking down at their feet. Then you see their feet tapping on the floor, so you know they're hearing," he said.

It gives the musicians a thrill.

"We probably enjoy it more than they do sometimes," Fichera said.

Big-band-era music is the playbill of choice. "That's what people in nursing homes today heard as they were growing up as teenagers," Fichera explained.

Prospective Funtastics who grew up in the 1930s, '40s and '50s, listening to and playing those same sounds will know they have to be able to play without scores. They often must improvise with chords as background for a soloist, whether that be a featured instrumentalist or vocalist, Fichera said.

Kathleen Fichera, although an accomplished pianist, prefers the role of vocalist. She sings alto.

Since the Funtastics put out the call earlier this month for more musicians, two guitarists have inquired. One plays more modern music, so might not be a good fit, Fichera told him. But the man said he could play drums appropriate to the group's style.

Ben Fichera practices every day "to keep my lip." If a horn player loses his lip, he explained, he's lost everything.

His wife accompanies him on the piano. And she practices vocally at home to keep up with the Spring Hill Chorus, of which she is a member.

Back in Syracuse, N.Y., before the Ficheras moved to Spring Hill, they performed semiprofessionally on weekends at clubs and for parties.

In addition to their nursing home volunteer performances here, they have played "for gas money" at church socials, civic association events and mobile home community center gatherings.

Activities directors at facilities for the elderly wax enthusiastic about the Funtastics and other musical groups that bring entertainment to appreciative residents.

Said Tammy Marshall at Forest Oaks Care Center in Spring Hill, which has 130 residents: "They love music. Music brings them back to life. They like the older music. They still prefer the songs from years ago."

Mary Lundin at Atria Evergreen Woods in Spring Hill, with 180 residents, concurred. "They love musical entertainment, especially their time period kind of thing - '30s, '40s, '50s type of music."

Theresa Miller at Brooksville HealthCare said the center's 132 residents enjoy all kinds of music. "Some of them will dance. They'll dance in their wheelchairs," she said. "It's pretty cool."

"We participate for the fun of it," Ben Fichera said.

Anyone wishing to join the group of retired instrumentalists must feel the same: "They have to love the music," he said.

Anyone interested in joining the Funtastics may contact the Ficheras at 688-4682.

Beth N. Gray may be contacted at graybethn@earthlink.net

[Last modified July 17, 2005, 01:06:14]