UNION — In 2006, Richard Kubicz decided to put a band together with an old high school friend. “I was never a fan of tribute bands, but I realized they brought something more to the table than a regular cover band,” he said.
Regarding Tom Petty, Kubicz said, “I think I could sound like him. I look a little bit like him. Those are elements that are important.”
Damn the Torpedoes started performing at small places, such as bars, then just started getting bigger and bigger. By 2010, they were playing BB King’s Blues Club in Memphis, Tenn. They’ve even played to 5,000 people at SteelStacks Cultural Center in Bethlehem, Pa. Other popular places include Darryl’s House Restaurant & Live Music Club in Pawling, N.Y., and The City Winery in New York City. The band is booked well into 2027.
“We’re playing the same rooms national touring acts are playing,” Kubicz said.
Kubicz first discovered music, as a little boy. Living in Union, there was a piano in the house. “My mother told me she wanted me to learn to play,” he said.
He took lessons locally in Union. He didn’t like it. But, at 10, he started getting into the guitar. “Dad got me a guitar at 11,” he said. “I started taking lessons. My mother wasn’t happy. She was from a classical Eastern European family. She said, ‘You’ll never make a living.’ She thought classical was more refined.”
Nevertheless, his parents encouraged him to play, sing and write music. “I started writing music when I was 14,” said Kubicz. “One of my biggest bands I loved was Queen. I was a big fan when ‘We are the Champions’ came out.”
Kubicz liked all the classic rock groups, including Tom Petty.
“Tom Petty was like a singer/songwriter,” he said. “I admired him and his band and the music he put out at the time. And still putting out in older years.”
Prior to Damn the Torpedoes, Kubicz said he didn’t have much of a career, “besides being a singer/songwriter coffee house kinda guy.” His musical challenges used to be trying to fill a room. Now, with Damn the Torpedoes, they are selling out.
What’s special about Damn the Torpedoes is that they took some of Tom Petty’s songs and made them their own. Kubicz said, “We have audience participation songs like ‘Free Falling,’ ‘Don’t Come Around Here No More’ is the same kind of thing. We’re more than just musical. One of the big things that makes us stand out, we’re really good at engaging the audience. We have a really decent following, 14,000 followers on Facebook.”
In addition to Damn the Torpedoes, Kubicz is in an original band called Wanted in April. In 2022 he moved from Union to Sussex County. He said, “I love being on the farm here. We have an acre. We’re always making improvements. Gardening is my other thing. I’m going to start taking up golf again. I have a bike.”
The musician is still connected to Union, having family there and in nearby towns. And he says he’s still connected to his high school friends.
Other band members in Damn the Torpedoes are: Lee Boice, lead guitar; Johnny Pisano, bass/backing vocals; Gary Castellucci, keyboards/guitar/harmonica; and Ross Kantor, drums/percussion/backing vocals.
To learn more about Damn the Torpedoes, visit: https://www.pettytunes.com/.
Photos Courtesy of Tyler Kubicz
