Thursday, January 19, 2012
Staff report
CORTLAND
The punk and rock band Burkley advanced Saturday to the final round of the 2012 Tri-C High School Rock-Off at Cleveland’s House of Blues for the second consecutive year. Burkley is one of three bands Lakeview High School junior Frank Toncar and his friends have entered in the competition this year.
Toncar is competing as a solo act Jan. 27, and his new seven-member ska/reggae/punk rock band Two Days Until Tomorrow takes the stage Sunday afternoon. Doors open at 3 p.m.
The three bands are among 60-plus high-school acts competing over three weekends. The 18 finalists will play in the Final Exam on Feb. 11.
Burkley consists of Toncar (lead guitar and vocals); Lake-view classmate Zach Nussle (bass guitar, vocals); Tristan Phillips (guitar) of Joseph Badger High School; and Dakota Davis (drums) of Southington.
Two Days Until Tomorrow came together last spring, after Toncar completed work on a solo acoustic CD, and talked with friend and classmate Jerry Runyan about forming another band. In addition to Toncar, Nussle and Runyan (trumpet, vocals), other Lakeview students joining on are Alex Miller (saxophone, vocals), Seth Hughes (drums), Joe Nidel (trombone) and Josh Chordas (trumpet).