If you had asked Keith Volpone what he would do as a career while still in high school, you would have received a very ordinary answer – lawyer or something. But if you asked anybody who had a chance to view his skills on the local stage, they would have told you he would wind up in the arts.
Late last year, Volpone – under his pseudonym "Seven" with his band called "Seven and the Sun" – signed a contract with Atlantic Records. Their new CD "Back to the innocence" has been getting significant air play on New York radio stations – in particular the song "Walk with me." This tune has no only broken through on top 40 stations like X-100, but was used in last year’s Julia Roberts film, America’s Sweethearts.
But only a handful of local residents know who the lead singer, Seven, really is, or the fact that he grew up in Secaucus and that he had been a star on stage here during high school in the late 1980s.
Seven was hardly mild-mannered even when living in Secaucus, a key member of the town’s former Theatric program, CAST, and, in fact, a recipient of one of the program’s scholarships in 1990 when he graduated Secaucus high school.
"If it wasn’t for CAST, I don’t think I’d be where I am today," he said, giving credit to people like Joan Kashuba and Bill Millevoi. Kashuba was one of the key organizers of CAST. Millevoi, currently a Board of Education member, has been involved in education for several decades.
Seven, as he likes to be called, had music in his blood at an early age, not only singing, but also writing songs.
"I wrote songs for myself," he said. "I used to put them on tape."
He called it an exercise in imagination influenced by performers such as Queen, The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, and even the soundtrack to Jesus Christ Superstar.
But Seven was a bit shy to perform in public, something Kashuba soon helped him overcome.
Other students at school heard him singing to a record in the cafeteria one day and encouraged him to join them in submitting a musical entry to MTV’s unsigned band contest. Their entry finished second or third, but caused him to start thinking seriously about a career in music. He got involved in local theater productions, playing roles such as Danny in Grease.
Yet even at this point, Seven didn’t think he would go into show business as a career.
"I wanted to be a lawyer or own my own business," he said. "CAST helped change that."
But he had little doubt about his new career once he got to college. After graduating from high school, Seven attended Jersey City State College where he got involved in the artist program.
"I worked my butt off studying music and theatrical performance," he said.
He also formed several short-lived rock bands with some of his classmates. But oddly enough, the current lineup didn’t emerge until he hooked up with two brothers, Walter and Bill Brandt, and a local guitar legend named Eddy Zak. Ironically, this is a mostly-Secaucus band. Although the twins were born in Jersey City, they grew up on Eighth Street Secaucus.
"But we didn’t meet in Secaucus; we met about eight years ago," Seven said. "I met with the manager for New Kids on the Block, and he said he knew of two people who I might get along with. We became best friends with the same musical interests."
Seven attributes a lot of his musical maturity to his five-year apprenticeship with Mario Lisanti, the Hoboken-based opera and theater voice teacher. By day, Seven sat in on the classes, then went home and wrote songs all night.
“Mario gave me a solid foundation for what I wanted to accomplish. It was like the Karate Kid and Mr. Miyagi," he said.
On the way up, despite his age
At 30 years old, Seven is at the high end of an age bracket challenging for space in the top 40 market, but apparently the work has been praised as a critical success.
"This comes after 12 years of hard work playing all kind of different music," he said.
The name Seven come from his childhood, and the childhood belief that he would be seven forever.
"It was a nickname I got on my seventh birthday," he said. "When I went out on perform, it felt comfortable. It was my alter ego."
All of the music comes from his personal experience.
Seven is also doing some producing, and two of these musical groups are also from Secaucus, including an all-girl group from Harmon Cove.
Seven and the Sun have been playing theaters and stadiums as part of the door, and even opened for Bon Jovi at nearby Giants Stadium.
Seven said his music is pop rock with a strong melodic line, with lyrics around their lives in middle class New Jersey.
"We talk about the struggles of life," he said. "But it is uplifting and powerful, full of pain as well as hope."
He said being part of small town still amazes him, and that even during the tough times, playing everything from weddings to bar mitzvahs, he has never regretted his roots. So much so he recently moved back to Secaucus, buying a house in the town in which he was raised. He remembers doing deliveries for Natoli’s Pizza and the Land Sea Grill. He also gets a thrill each time he walks through the Acme and people stop him to ask about his career.
"There is really great energy in Secaucus, and I loved to support this community. We would be glad to perform here," he said.