UD-made musicians
Frankie Valli tribute band boast proud Blue Hen roots
October 17, 2024
It’s a trip back in time.
When Robert Fleishman, AS03, and fellow Blue Hen bandmates, Daniel Goscicki, AS01, and Chris James, AS02, take the stage as Lights Out, a premier a cappella tribute band to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, their audience reverts to memories of the past.
The crowd, mostly retired with teenage dreams long behind them, often recall “their first dance, their first kiss, their first time driving with the windows down and the music playing,” says Fleishman, who loves speaking with attendees after each show.
For Fleishman, the time travel is a bit more recent.
He, Goscicki and James return to Newark, Delaware, 1998, when they first met in the UD Marching Band. The musicians, including longtime former member Chad Moroz, AS97, struck an immediate bond and quickly took their show on the road.
From residence hall to residence hall, the singers would travel, assessing their skills by “how long the door would stay open.”
Everything we learned about music we learned at UD.”
-Robert Fleishman, AS03
A chance encounter would connect the students to Boyz II Men bassist Mike McCary (close friends and neighbors with Fleishman’s grandfather), and under the management and mentorship of former UD music professor John Sarro [AS78], the group even opened for country singers Martina McBride and Trisha Yearwood.
But their niche as a Frankie Valli tribute band came after graduation. From playing six shows in 2007 to more than 80 today, the Lights Out group now includes member Ron Ceglia.
As the band travels the country, Fleishman still enjoys sharing their humble origin story.
“We mention our dorm room beginnings at every show,” he says. “Everything we learned about music we learned at UD.”
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