Finding Mike Vagas reunites for one show

By John Benson

Two years after calling it quits, Finding Mike Vagas members Maggie Burnett (lead vocals, percussion), Frank X. Nolasco (guitars), Michael Vagas (drums, percussion) and Dave Woodard (bass, keyboards, vocals) have found the time to reunite for a special show Saturday at Barley’s in Youngstown.

“What happened was some of our friends and family asked if we’d ever play again, and we kind of laughed it off,” said Vagas, a guidance counselor at Poland’s McKinley Elementary. “The four of us still do hang out on a fairly regular basis, but it wasn’t something we really thought about or planned on really doing until we were down at Barley’s one night and Jimmy Decapua said he was interested in having us play.

“Then it became more of a serious thing. We sort of threw it around and decided we’d do it. It would be fun; and so that was that.”

Formed in spring 2005, Finding Mike Vagas, which was named by Woodard to mark Vagas’ dual personality of being content hidden behind a drum kit yet often the life of the party, explored an indie pop rock sound with two solid years of playing around Northeast Ohio before calling it quits.

“You could ask all four of us and get a different reason why it happened,” said Vagas, a 1999 Ursuline High School graduate. “To be honest, I had different things going on with my career and schooling, and everybody was kind of doing their own thing. Our final two shows were Party on the Plaza and Vex Fest. So we played two really cool shows and then we decided to kind of stop it right there and move on with some other things we were doing.”

For Vagas and Nolasco, that meant joining The Starlight Darlings, with Woodard in The Sweet Delights. While Finding Mike Vagas did release one EP, it never found time to release a full-length effort. This is despite the fact the quartet has an album’s worth of material, which it will be playing at the upcoming reunion show. Vagas said fan-favorite tunes include the upbeat “6 Seconds,” the Burnett-showcase “Next Week’s Fine” and the revamped dance-oriented “Jacob Wrestling.”

“We just never got back in the studio,” Vagas said. “We probably would have later on that fall if we hadn’t broken up. I think it was definitely in the plans because there was a lot of material that we had written and were playing out. So we’re looking forward to playing it again. It’s been an absolute blast the past few times we’ve practiced. We’ve been laughing our butts off, and we joked around that this is really good stuff.

“I don’t think I realized how much I missed playing those songs and missed playing with those three people together until we get back to doing it.”

Considering it’s obvious to everyone except perhaps the members of Finding Mike Vagas that there is too much love between the former band mates not to get the group back together, it’s hard to believe the Barley’s show is truly just a one-off event.

“You know what, I’d say that it’s not really in the plans, but I’d also say that I never suspected two years later I’d be having this interview,” Vagas said. “So you never know.”