CRANFORD — There are three important things in Josh Bornstein’s life – his family, his band and Cranford Jaycees.
Bornstein has been living in Cranford for the past 10 years and plays in the rock and soul band Reflux Capacitors. They have a unique combination of traditional rock and roll sound, and a recently added horn section. “It brings a different feel,” said Bornstein. “It gets people excited. They want to get up and dance and groove with us.”
Reflux Capacitors play music from a variety of decades and genres. The set list goes from the 1970s to dabbling in the 2000s; from Chicago to Blink 182.
Six of the band members are also involved in Cranford Jaycees, a nonprofit service organization that raises money to support causes important to Cranford. They played at Octoberfest at Union County College, to raise funds supporting the Cranford First Aid Squad. They also have a Santa toy delivery program each holiday season. They also play a benefit called Bosom Buddies, to raise money for cancer survivors.
Bornstein describes the Cranford Jaycees as “a group of 100 active Cranford residents who happen to be men who want to give back.”
He said, “Cranford is a unique town. People go out of their way to make it that way.”
Reflux Capacitors also volunteer playing Porchfest each year. “No money involved, people giving back to the community,” said Bornstein. “A lot of musicians only play … Porchfest. It’s pretty unique.”
Most of the musicians in Reflux Capacitors have a traditional music background, but Bornstein was involved in musical theater. He also had a choir background. He was also in an acapella group in college. He said, “The idea of being in a band became something I explored in my adult life.”
As the lead singer of Reflux Capacitors, Bornstein said, “For me, the fun becomes making people happy.”
Other band members are Kevin Harrison, lead guitar; Anthony Rossetti, bass; Pete Sommers, rhythm guitar and backup vocals; Chris Thayer, drums; Leo Gutierrez, keyboards and saxophone; Chris Lenza, trombone and trumpet; and Yusuf Mufti, trumpet.
Kevin Harrison is a very accomplished musician. He was in Kevin Harrison & True North, a New York City-based indie folk-rock and blues band. They released several EPs and singles, characterized by Harrison’s songwriting and electric guitar work.
“He brings such incredible talent to our group,” said Bornstein. “People are commenting to us how accomplished he is.”
As a bunch of men ranging from ages 40 to 55, Bornstein said that one of the biggest challenges the band has is staying healthy. Within the band, members have had issues such as knee replacement, rotator cuff surgery and atrial fibrillation. “We want to take care of ourselves,” said Bornstein.
But, of course, staying healthy is not just for the band. Bornstein said that their families come first.
In addition to Porchfest, Reflux Capacitors typically perform at Crossroads in Garwood. They also recently played at the Garwood Rocks Festival.
To learn more about Reflux Capacitors follow their Instagram page at: https://www.instagram.com/TheRefluxCapacitors.
To learn more about Cranford Jaycees, visit: https://www.cranfordjaycees.org/.
Photos Courtesy of Andrew Feldman
