SSMS Rockers Provide Soundtrack for Local Fundraiser

As kids enter into adolescence, most begin to generate a set of skills and hone their interests. Some like numbers and history. Some like sports. Others want to make music in their parents' basement.

The Rockville Centre music group Opposite Orange fits into the latter category. The band is comprised of a trio of 13-year-old musicians with Daniel Massoti on guitar and vocals, Alex Maher on bass and vocals and Harrison Kravis on the drums. All three are friends and students at.

“Dan and Alex had started playing when we were in fifth grade and I eventually got invited to play with them,” Kravis said. “We’ve been playing together for three years and have been really serious about it for two years now.”

Since meeting at , the group has rocked any stage they can jam out on.

This past Sunday, Opposite Orange provided the rock soundtrack for the Kindness for Kendall fundraiser, an event to raise money for Kendall Curnuck — an 8-year-old RVC resident diagnosed with Leukemia. The group played everything from Audioslave’s “Like A Stone” to Long Island’s own Blue Oyster Cult’s “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper.”

Playing a mixture of cover songs and originals, Opposite Orange draws their influences from a variety of groups. Many of their covers are classic rock favorites, from the prog rock of Rush, the reggae punk of The Police and the spaced-out experiments of Pink Floyd. On the modern side, they lean towards indie rock, the group said.

“I listen to a lot of The Hold Steady and The National, who are really good compared to the old bands,” Maher said. “I actually think they can be just as good.”

“Music is always going to be changing,” Massoti said. “This generation’s music is voicing itself in its own way. I don’t think one is necessarily better than the other, but they are different.”