Interview: Pino Farina (and His Band) Are Huntley Hometown Heroes

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HollywoodChicago.com: Do you think you’ll continue to perform online as frequently once we clear the quarantine?

Pino: Moving forward, there will be great value for me as an artist, and also for live music lovers, to continue streaming. I am not sure the frequency will be as much, as I will be back to my full time day job and will continue to pursue playing live gigs at least two to three times a week … which was the the rate I was going before the quarantine. 

There is a lot to juggle between family, work and music. One new way to continue and combine the streaming is to do one at a live gig. That was something I had never considered before, but maybe it would be a great way to reach the audience at home from those venues, for those unable to attend or not in the area.   

Pino Farina of the Pino Farina Band
Photo credit: Jeff Doles for HollywoodChicago.com

HollywoodChicago.com: Do you feel more comfortable performing in front of an audience or in front of the camera? How does your performance change based on the medium you are using?

Pino: Interestingly enough, I will say that nerves and butterflies remain a constant, whether at a live venue or a stream. Moments before show time, I always get a little nervous and the adrenaline kicks in the same either way. I remember my first stream, back in mid March, I felt like a deer in headlights. But like anything else, the more exposure you have to any situation, the easier it becomes.  

I was afraid that the connection to a real live audience would be lacking when doing the streams, but surprisingly it has still felt like we are all in the same “room,” partying together. I think the audience and performer have adapted in these times, where we can still feel a release and escape from reality through the music. The community feeling has been the most rewarding part of the whole experience.

HollywoodChicago.com: What has surprised you about the reaction to your Facebook Live performances? What have people commented on your wall or reached out to you directly to say?

Pino: The main thing I have taken away from the Facebook streams, and the reactions to them, is the positivity of it all … the sense of community and connections I have been able to make. I have been blown away by the private messages from folks who are so appreciative and moved by the performances, and the importance of music in their lives. As a musician, knowing that you can positively change someone’s minute, hour or day with our songs is honestly the ultimate goal and reward. I have been seriously grateful for those special moments that we have all shared together. 

HollywoodChicago.com: Talk about one of your original songs. For example, what inspired you to write it?

Pino: During the quarantine, while on furlough from the company that I’ve worked at for over 20 years, I was gratefully able to spend more time focusing on family and music.

One evening, in late March, I was feeling the weight of our current situation and wrote a new song called ”What on Earth”, which I recently released on my YouTube channel. I wrote in one evening, and then shared it with my bandmates. We were able to be socially distant and collaborate on the recording from our own home studios, and then put the completed track together. It is a song of uncertainty and unrest, that I believe many of us can relate to at this moment … and maybe the moments that will be beyond this situation?     

Pino Farina Hits All the Right Notes
Photo credit: Jeff Doles for HollywoodChicago.com

HollywoodChicago.com: You speak of music so reverently, how important was it for you during these very challenging times?

Pino: Music has always been and continues to be therapy and release for me. I think at this time, especially, when everyone has felt so distant and unable to socially interact. We couldn’t enjoy the simple times of going out to bars and venues to enjoy the energy of live music, we are all hungry for that connection. 

Before the quarantining hit the States, we were seeing YouTube videos of people across the world, for example in Italy, singing and dancing from their balconies while in quarantine. For me, it was emotional to see that interaction … that innate feeling of communication, sharing common thoughts and fears. It’s that energy and language of music that makes it universal, and allows it to be such a healing, healthy distraction in the rough times, to bring us all together.

Follow Pino Farina:
Website: Click here 

YouTube: Click here 
Facebook: Click here 

Thanks to:
Tee Shirt Designer & Artist Terri Murphy: Click here for her website. Click here for a behind-the-scenes look at creating the Pino Farina Band “rock tee.”
Order Shirts Here: Click here
Bill Banks, Owner of Palatine Imprinted Sportswear: Click here
Huntley Fall Fest & Bryant Hanizewski: Click here
Village Vintners in Algonquin, Illinois: Click here
The Anvil Club in East Dundee, Illinois: Click here

For the latest Pino Farina Music live stream (recorded earlier), click on Sunday Night Campfire!

Interview by: Jeff Doles
Published by: Patrick McDonald, Editor, HollywoodChicago.com