The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Chappaqua Dads

Seven Chappaqua Dads Are Rockin’ Out

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(L-R) Jason Asch (drums), Seth Corwin (bass guitar and vocals), Mike Liebowitz (guitar), Greg Renza (keyboards and vocals), Glen Carnes (lead guitar and vocals), Jordan Saletan (saxophone), Eric Negrin (guitar and vocals).
PHOTO BY JESSICA PASCHKES/PRETTY PICTURES MARKETING

I was supposed to be flying to Florida in a few hours, but when I heard the other six guys were available for the gig, I moved my flight. There was no way I was missing Garcia’s,” said Jordan Saletan, saxophonist for the Chappaqua rock band, The Station Agents. They were just offered their biggest gig yet, a headlining set at Garcia’s Bar inside the legendary Capitol Theater in Port Chester, where their childhood heroes performed.

The Station Agents formed like many great bands before them: from a big impromptu jam session at a party. The jam led to an email list that led to rehearsals for nothing yet in particular. “Then pretty quickly it was whittled down to the seven of us from Chappaqua. And then it just stuck,” said Saletan. Unlike a lot of bands, The Station Agents didn’t grow up together. In fact, their kids are currently growing up together. “We knew each other through our kids. At least one person was connected to everyone else, and then we just came together and finally all met at our first rehearsal,” said Saletan. The Station Agents hold their practices at the Chappaqua Transportation garage where the school buses are kept, which is owned by a member of the band. “We’re a true garage band,” said Saletan. Their logo is even of a school bus. If they ever open up a Dad-Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, it would be difficult to think of a more fitting image.

“We have very eclectic tastes, but we try to pick songs that most of the crowd are going to know so they want to sing and dance along. That always comes first for us,” said Saletan. All seven members of the band bring their own unique tastes and influences, but all come from a bedrock of classic rock. “We started with all the old stuff like Bruce, The Stones, Tom Petty, and the Allman Brothers, then slowly branched out. Now we do a big block of 90s music and even some Disco too.” Not only is the band a whopping seven musicians, they have four singers. If you’re wondering if it’s common to find a seven-piece rock band that includes three guitarists, a saxophonist, and four vocalists – it’s not. “Having four singers really makes us unique because everyone has their own range and specialties.”

“A couple years ago my son sat in on alto sax and Mike’s son sat in on trombone,” said Saletan. Situations like this are something of a holy grail scenario in dad rock as the schedules of the kids can be as busy as those of the adults. Saletan laments the fact that they haven’t been able to recreate the moment or get the kids around for every show, especially as many of them are held in bars and pubs, but he’s beyond grateful for the support The Station Agents’ friends and family have shown them. With seven dads, no matter who is able to show up on any given day, they still have quite the audience and cheering section for their gigs. And what more could a rock star hope for than that?

“One of our guitarists has a friend who underwent a double lung transplant, so we’re honored to be able to play the Benefit for the Transplant Forum at Columbia University Irving Medical Center again after the success of last year,” said Saletan. The event will take place on Saturday May 4 at Captain Lawrence Brewing, Elmsford. On June 8th, they will perform at the First Annual Greeley Sports Boosters Bash, a fundraiser at the Captain Lawrence Barrel House, Mt Kisco. “All of us are Chappaqua dads, so we’re really excited about this one!” said Saletan. The Station Agents will perform for their third year at the Chappaqua Summer Concert Series on Wednesday, July 17, at Recreation Field Gazebo, Chappaqua, and will make their debut at the Briarcliff Manor Summer Concert Series on Thursday July 25, at Law Park, Briarcliff Manor. Visit thestationagents.com And their Youtube at: youtube.com/@stationagentsband

The Devil in a Day

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(L-R): Matt Chmielecki and Walter Staudenmaier

The Devil’s Path is considered one of the most difficult hikes in the country. Located in the Catskill Mountains about a two-hour drive north of Chappaqua; the trail is approximately 25 miles long with six peaks and 16,000 feet of elevation. For most brave adventurers who take on this challenge, it is tackled over the course of two to three days; but for the past four years an ambitious group of Dads from Chappaqua have partaken in what has become an annual tradition of completing the hike in one grueling 14-hour stretch.

When the weather starts to get warm, but before summer’s heat sets in, the men call in a personal day at work and forgo their usual train commute into the City. They pack their cars with supplies and convoy north to the Catskills.

Practice hikes take place in advance. Brian  Cook takes his training very seriously. To prepare for his inaugural hike he was often seen walking around town with a weighted backpack to simulate the supplies he would be carrying. Andy Shaiken, who has also completed the New York City marathon, considers the hike to be “more difficult and more rewarding” in comparison.

The men depart on a Thursday night. They leave one car full of supplies at the halfway point and another at the end. It is not an out and back trail, so they finish at a different point from where they start. They then check into the Kaatskill Mountain Club Hotel and attempt to go to bed early; but nerves prevent much sleep. At 4 a.m. they wake up and the long day begins.

Walter Staudenmaier, who will be hiking the Devil’s Path for the fourth year this Spring, packs seven bacon and banana sandwiches, fourteen GU energy gels and twelve liters of a 50/50 water and Gatorade mix as his personal fuel of choice.

They rendezvous in the parking lot and head to the trail for a 4:45 a.m. sharp departure. There is excited and nervous banter at the beginning. A brisk pace is set. It’s dark, so headlamps are needed for the first 45-minute gradual uphill climb. Putting one foot in front of the other, the monotony of the hike sets in and the first hill quickly disappears. A regimen is established; the hikers briefly stop every 45 minutes to take salt tablets and supplements to offset what their bodies are expending. Few additional stops are taken.

The first half of the hike consists of three intense peaks. “There is an incredibly steep descent to the halfway point of the trail that rattles your knees, your toes are banging into your boots at every step.” Recalls Staudenmaier.

At the halfway point, the men take a well-deserved 30-minute break. They get off their feet, massage their legs, change clothes, replenish supplies, use tiger balm to try to get muscles loose and prepare to set off again.

The second half begins with a torturous vertical climb and exhaustion quickly sets in. A third of the way into the second half the hikers feel extremely uncomfortable. The last four hours are “complete misery; every single step hurts.”

(L-R): Chappaqua Dads, Brian Cook, Andrew Skala, Andy Shaiken, Walter Staudenmaier, and Eric Rose

About halfway through the second half is the point of no return. Until then, the path is always no more than a couple of miles away from a put out; but towards the end that option is lost because it’s the same distance to finish as all other exit points. At about eleven hours in, with approximately three hours remaining, there is no way out except to finish.

“Hiking for 14+ hours straight is a whole lot easier when you are sharing the struggle with good friends.  It also helps to have a cooler full of beer at the end of the trail waiting for us.” Says Matt Chmielecki, a Cross Fit enthusiast who will be hiking the trail for the third year this Spring.

Overall, the first half of the hike is much more technical and challenging; there are a lot of rock ledges and obstacles. The second half is easier but exhaustion gets in the way of appreciating it. The fatigue gets so intense in the second half, the hikers don’t take many photos; only at the very end.

The journey shifts from struggle to relief once the hike is complete. A steak dinner at the hotel is the final reward, in addition to the satisfaction of having completed “the Devil” in a day.

PHOTOS courtesy of Sabra Staudenmaier