Manhasset resident Michael Ottavio is in an enviable position for a 16-year-old boy — he’s about to be around the aspiring starlets of the Miss Long Island pageant for the second straight year.
But Ottavio, a singer and guitarist, will be working during the July 12 competition at the Patchogue Center for Performing Arts, along with a handful of his friends.
As members of the youth group rock band Pursuing JC, they’ve been tapped to fill the gaps between the poses and smiles.
“Last year, we played 30 songs, but it gets easier when you’ve been practicing on weekends for four hours at a time,” he said.
Featuring musicians from across Long Island and operating primarily out of the Shelter Rock church in Syosset, Pursuing JC has more than 100 covers and original songs in its repertoire.
But as the band has grown since its inception in 2011 — its lineup is now up to as many as nine members — its musical arrangements have had to expand to often accommodate multiple keyboard and guitar parts.
“There are so many things you have to make sure are absolutely perfect,” said Jasmine Benjamin, 15, a Manhasset Hills resident and Herricks High School student, who sings and plays the keyboard.
The band also has family dynamics at play.
Pursuing JC began with bandleader David De Rosa’s three children, Corinne (drums), Gregory (keyboard) and Kelsey (violin), and more recently Ottavio’s younger brother Alex, 12, joined on guitar.
“We have people ranging from 12 to 17 years old, and even though I’m the youngest it doesn’t really feel that way,” Alex said. “The point is to show that even though we’re young, we can play.”
The brothers Ottavio are about to get even closer, as Alex, a soon-to-be seventh grader, will join Michael at the Manhasset Secondary School.
“If anything, it’ll be me shoving him into lockers, rather than having to defend him from other people,” said Michael, who will be a senior in September, chuckling.
Despite performing at last year’s pageant, preparing for a second stint as the house band has presented its own set of challenges.
The competition has been pushed back from August to July, and Michael said rehearsals often conflicted with studying for final exams.
Some members of the band are also attending the music program Camp Electric in Tennessee next week, breaking up full rehearsals.
“I’ll be practicing,” said Alex, who will not be attending. “We’ll be ready.”
Pageant organizers attended the band’s rehearsal on Sunday, during which Pursuing JC breezed through 15 songs in a little more than an hour.
Final set list preparations are still being made, but Michael said the band expects to play 27 songs during the competition.
“We don’t really get told what to play, but there are times we’ll have to play while the competition is going on, so that gets tricky,” Michael said. “[Rehearsals for Miss Long Island] have been more intense, but I think that’s because we’re playing at a higher level. We’re definitely at a higher level.”
