Despite all of the hardships and uncertainty throughout the last year and a half due to the COVID crisis, creativity was running rampant among the artistic community. Long Island-based musicians Tom Schinkel, of Lake Grove, and John Tocco, of Quogue, both released original material during the pandemic that received widespread acclaim within the local music community. Once live music began to slowly reemerge here on Long Island last summer, the pair began preparing a Simon and Garfunkel tribute set for a Halloween-themed cover event. It was then that they locked in on their chemistry as a duo, setting plans in motion for their new EP, Live 21.

Disclaimer: I recruited both Schinkel and Tocco, along with fellow Long Island musicians Nick Bavaro and Emi Pellegrino, to play an outdoor gig at Danford’s Hotel and Marina, a popular tourist attraction in Port Jefferson, NY back in the summer of 2019. We would, collectively, become known as Young Hip and Cool. Schinkel and Tocco have gone on to become not just trusted collaborators, working with me on original music and other cover projects, but also the greatest of friends. I sat down with the pair over diner breakfast, a pastime of ours, to discuss their new project, and have a few laughs along the way. 

Due to a prior commitment, Schinkel arrived at our first group rehearsal at the very, VERY end of it. This did not sit well with Tocco, who described his first impression of Schinkel as, “blinding fury.” However, the pair quickly settled into one another, recognizing each other’s abilities. “I was very impressed by John’s ability to take on the role of musical director,” said Schinkel. “And to ensure that the band, as a group, were playing to the standards that we should have been playing. His versatility on the guitar is also impressive.” Tocco, on the other hand, made note of Schinkel’s technical skillset. “He had amazing ears. He knew what to play on the bass to make it sound like whatever the style was, and he has a great ear for harmonies and everything else like that.” 

After our initial run as a group, to my delight, everyone began collaborating with each other on other projects. The duo would work together on a number of occasions, but one particular instance of creative chemistry stands out to Schinkel as a defining moment for the pair going forward. 

“John had just put out his album, Almost On The Bright Side, so I was playing his originals,” he said. “So there was some creative back and forth going on there. I was able to contribute in that setting some ideas as far as live arrangement, some very anecdotal songwriting-type things that John was kind enough to be welcoming to. That’s where the mutual respect as creative minds began.” 

The Live 21 EP consists of reimagined duet versions, all acoustic, of the pair’s original songs. Two by Tocco, “21” and “Tomorrowland” and two by Schinkel, “Ashley” and “Sun Dials.”

“The nice thing about our collaboration is that we give each other constructive feedback well,” Tocco shared. ‘Everything is very collaborative no matter whose song we’re working on.” 

The acoustic format of the project was inspired by a spontaneous jam of “The Boxer” by Simon and Garfunkel, which only fueled the fire for their desire to collaborate. 

“The concept is that we wanted to continue the instrumental arrangement of the Simon and Garfunkel duo set we did that went over so well, and do it with original music,” said Schinkel. “We had John on acoustic guitar and me occasionally on acoustic guitar kind of just Garfunkel-ing next to him.” 

The live element of the project was critical. “The biggest part of it was recording and filming it live,” said Tocco. “We wanted to emulate it the way Simon and Garfunkel would have recorded it. A lot of those recordings from the mid-60’s were done live so we wanted to emulate that sound and that feel.” 

The highlight of the project is, easily, the duet of “Ashley,” off Schinkel’s solo record, Sunshine. Tocco, though well-versed in pop/rock stylings, digs into Schinkel’s track with his more classical-leaning vocal delivery to gorgeous results. “Tomorrowland,” released as the first single leading up to the project’s release, is another high point with its imaginative lyrics and poignant, emotive harmonies. Jumping onto each other’s original songs was a challenging yet rewarding experience for the pair. “It was definitely unique because Tom writes differently from the way I do,” said Tocco. “Because he writes differently, I had to adjust. But, I was able to put my input in to make it our own. It still felt very honest, for me, to be performing it even though it wasn’t my song.” 

Another track from the EP, “Tomorrowland”, was partly inspired by scenes from “Mad Men” but also came from real-life experiences. “I was in relationship limbo,” said Tocco. “I wrote the song telling the story of my worst nightmare. The pandemic made me realize that you can never really plan for anything. You can try to plan out your whole life, but it never works that way.” 

COVID inspired the line, “I don’t want to go to Tomorrowland, I don’t want to ever have a plan” due to the uncertainty of what could happen next. Despite the emotional nature of these songs, there was no fear in sharing them and allowing the others to add their own personal touches. 

“Having a different arrangement than I intended was sort of the purpose of it,” said Schinkel. “So, I was eager to contribute in that sense.”

Interpreting each other’s songs wasn’t an issue, but despite having worked together previously, this more intimate experience allowed for a deep dive into each other’s artistic development, only strengthening their connection. 

“What was most interesting was learning about each other’s writing processes,” said Tocco. “I don’t throw songs away. I might spend weeks or months editing it to the way I want it, before I record it. Tom, on the other hand, will spend a lot of time on the whole song. If he likes it, he’ll keep it. If he doesn’t like it, he usually just won’t touch it again,” Schinkel elaborated. “I try not to err on the side of becoming emotionally attached to my own ideas when they might not be my best material because that could sabotage my own creativity.” 

While “Tomorrowland” and “21” were written, by Tocco, for the purpose of this project, the pair would like to, one day, try their hand at writing together, Lennon-McCartney style. After quipping back and forth about who was Lennon and who was McCartney, I asked for one word to describe the entire process. After some more quipping, they reached a viable answer. “Effortless,” said Tocco. 

The pair played their record release show at Country Corner in Setauket, NY the week the EP was available for play on streaming services. Natural chemistry and familiarity, as well as a mutual respect for each other made for a stellar performance from the pair, who began and ended their set with Simon and Garfunkel classics, celebrating the music that brought this project together. 

You can listen to Live 21 here: