NEXT GIG: The Edge at Lulus • Sun. April 28, 2024
The Playin' English Band
We would like to introduce you to the five guys who comprise this exciting new band!!
Sam Powell
Lead Vocals, Guitar, Keys, Sax
Sam is known around these parts as the bassist for two highly regarded Long Island bands, FM: A Steely Dan Tribute and Sir Duke - A Stevie Wonder Tribute, but in Playin' English he wears a couple of different hats: singing all the Squeeze tunes and playing electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards and sax.
Check out his Christian music at www.sampowellmusic.com and his amazing artwork at www.sportraitz.com
Darren Gallagher
Lead Vocals, Guitar
A veteran of the NY Area music scene. Darren's searing guitar work, and heartfelt vocals have been heard in Net Prophets, Badlands: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen, Drive: The Cars Tribute, as well as his solo original project, which you can catch around Long Island.
Tom Huber
Drums
A born and raised Strong Islander, Tom has been playing and Recording music in the tri-state scene for over 30 yrs. Everything from club dates to the corporate gigs to wedding dates to short tours. Over the years he has accompanied musicians as diverse as Cornelius Bumpus of The Doobie Bros to Brian Johnson of AC/DC. He is currently juggling gigs with not only Playin English but also The Red Hots and his own band, “Tom’s Dad’s Band”. Having always been a lover of the 2nd British invasion bands like Squeeze, Joe Jackson, Elvis Costello etc., Tom is the perfect fit as Playin English digs into the vast library of great music these fine artists produced. Tom still lives on Long Island with his wife Sheri and adult children, Thomas, Chris and Kerry….oh, and a crazy, lovable chocolate Lab named Lily!
Tom Flyntz
Lead Vocals, Bass
Tom Started taking piano lessons at 10 and switched to bass at 14 when his guitar player brother Mike wanted to start a band with Ricky Roche on vocals. They played Beatles & Stones etc. and eventually switched to playing all originals as Evolution.
Tom also played in all an original band, The Radios, and the club date/wedding band Groove Train, performing in between periods at Islander games at the Nassau Coliseum.
Started playing with Peter Mazzeo and the Hit Squad in the early 2000’s. That band morphed into the well known tribute band The New York Bee Gees in 2014, playing shows across the tri-state area including on the field at Met Life Giants Stadium. Multiple shows at the Paramount in Huntington, all across Florida, and in theaters in cities across the U.S. including San Diego, Portland, Tacoma, Reno, Charlotte, Birmingham, Boston, Philadelphia and many more. In 2019 they played the Tilles Center with the Nassau Pops Symphony Orchestra, and have more symphony shows scheduled in 2021 and 2022.
Rich Coyle
Keyboards
Rich is a veteran of the Long Island music scene who loves performing Rock Classics with like-minded players who strive for quality authentic sound.
In 2006, he started performing many Long Island venues with an 11 piece band called Behind Closed Doors, which featured a heavy Soul/RNB groove.
In 2010, Rich joined Net Prophets, which took pride in performing a diverse collection of classic rock material not usually heard by other bands in the area.
In 2015, Net Prophets would eventually be reformed into a successful tribute band called Badlands, which specializes in recreating the music of Bruce Springsteen and The E-Street Band.
In 2018, Rich was invited to join another successful tribute called Four Way Street which focuses on Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.
After the long pause in 2020, Rich is thrilled to be back on the scene with Playin’ English, and covering some of the best material to come out of the “Second British Invasion”.
