Westchester Band with Unique Background to Perform Next Saturday at Rini's in Elmsford

Butch Barbella’s Streets of The Bronx Band will perform at Leo Cattarini’s Rini’s Restaurant & Wine Bar on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015. The Elmsford establishment does not impose a cover charge for entertainment.

Butch Barbella, band leader and double keyboard player, is a Yonkers resident; lead singer and percussionist Jerry Brown lives in New Rochelle; drummer Bobby Rustici dwells in Yonkers.

Barbella has a unique background. He started out as a music director and composer, and wrote the score for Robert De Niro’s film The Bronx Tale.He was the music director for The Duprees, the Earls and the singer Dion. He wrote the original music for The Dukes, a 2008 movie about a once-famous band struggling to cope with changing times.

Barbella has been called Butch since birth. On his first day in school, his teacher called Butch’s mother and asked for his real name. “That’s the only name he’s ever been called,” the teacher was told.

The coming entertainment schedule for Rini’s follows:

• Friday, Jan. 16, 8 p.m. Johnny Z, 1230 WFAS-FM disk jockey
• Saturday, Jan. 17, 8 p.m. Butch Barbella’s Streets of the Bronx Band
• Friday, Jan. 23. Tony T Jazz Masters and Steve Kaz
• Saturday, Jan. 24, 8 p.m. The Magic Touch (Acapella)
• Friday, Jan. 30, 7:30 p.m. Alive n Kickin Trio
  
• Saturday, Jan. 31, 8 p.m. Johnny “B” and John Christopher
• Saturday, Feb. 7., 8 p.m. Frankie Sands, “Frank and Dean”
• Friday, Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m. Tony T Jazz Masters and Susan King

Butch Barbella’s Streets of the Bronx Band has played at many Westchester venues including the Westchester Broadway Theatre in Elmsford where they appeared on the same program with The Drifters, Gaetano’s in Croton-on-Hudson, and San Martino in Yonkers.

Rini’s Restaurant & Wine Bar is located at 12 West Main Street (Route 119), Elmsford, NY, 914-592-6799, www.rinisristorante.com

Photo: Leo Cattarini, proprietor of Rini’s Restaurant & Wine Bar in Elmsford