Pleasantville Music Festival a Homecoming for Broverdose Founder
Growing up in Pleasantville, Nick Bodner caught the love for performing in seventh grade after he played “Wipeout” on the guitar at the school talent show.
More than a decade later, his band, Broverdose, will be playing on the Village Stage at the Pleasantville Music Festival.
Bodner, who now lives in Brooklyn, is the band’s principal songwriter as well as the vocalist and guitarist. Also in the band is lead guitarist Chuck Yovino, Brendan Dunn on drums and Brendan Plesha keeps it all together on bass. All of the band members are 25 years old.
This will be Broverdose’s first appearance at the festival and it is more than just a homecoming for Bodner. Broverdose released its latest EP on June 29. The self-titled recording is the fourth release from the band and was funded through a Kickstart campaign, which helps people generate startup funds for different ventures.
“We were apprehensive at first about using Kickstart,” admitted Bodner. “We didn’t know how much to ask for. We were nervous about not making out goal within the 30-day target. If you do not make your target you do not get any of the money. Much to our surprise we were able to reach our goal in two days.”
Broverdose set out to raise $1,500. After 30 days, it had raised almost $3,000.
Broverdose was birthed after Bodner started going to concerts and music festivals while attending SUNY Binghamton. He enjoyed various concerts, but craved to be the one on stage. The solution was simple–start a band.
With a group of his college friends, Bodner played the Binghamton college circuit and their band started to make a name for itself.
Its original songs have a ’60s psychedelic feel with a hint of garage band jamming and a dash of fun. The catchy rhythms, like the one in the song “Have You Seen My Socks,” helped the band grow in popularity. Broverdose even ended up on the front page of “The Press and Sun Bulletin,” a local Binghamton newspaper.
“We were playing on stage and we offered for people to join us,” said Bodner. “Like 25 people came up and started dancing. It was so cool to be in the middle of it. A photographer got a shot of it and it ended up on the front page of the newspaper.”
The band released its first independent full-length album, “Better than the Pegs,” in 2008 and then “Weird and Good Things” in 2009. In 2011 Broverdose released “Metaforest.”
Although the band lost their first bass player, Kirt Robinson, after he was offered an internship at NASA in California, Plesha, a fellow Binghamton student who was roommates with Yovino, filled the spot.
“We kept the shows going while we were all still going to Binghamton and it has been a bit trickier but we have been able to continue playing even though we don’t live so close to one another anymore,” Bodner said.
The band practices in Pleasantville at Bodner’s father’s house. The toughest challenge is for Plesha who lives near Boston.
“Brendan Dunn, Chuck and I practice about once a week,” said Bodner. “Plesha makes it about once a month to rehearsals and to all of the shows.”
Broverdose is taking the Village Stage at the Pleasantville Music Festival at 1 p.m. Bodner cannot wait to be in front of the crowd.
“When you are up on stage is when you get the most immediate satisfaction out of playing music,” said Bodner. “You have people cheering for you. Looking up and seeing people have a good time is so worth it.”
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
