happenstance

Jessica Crisci

For as long as she can remember, Jessica has been surrounded by music. Her dad being a guitarist, the two of them would sing old country songs and music by Creedence Clearwater Revival all of the time. Jess has always been influenced by the pioneers of classic rock - Janis Joplin, The Doors, The Grateful Dead, and Crosby Stills and Nash, to name a few. She also has a great appreciation of big band music and the jazz vocal greats, particularily Peggy Lee and Ella Fitzgerald. She's inspired by the doo-wop music of the 50's amd 60's, and believes that the music she listens to has framed the soundtrack of her life.

Jessica attended the Crane School of Music for vocal music education. Three weeks before returning for her graduate studies, her dream job at her high school alma mater opened up, and the rest is history. She currently directs the middle and high school choirs at Scotia-Glenville CSD. She has participated in various community theaters, both on stage and on production teams.

Being in a collaboration like happenstance... was never in "the plan", but it has been a most welcome adventure.

Robert Przedwiecki

From rap to boy bands to classic rock, Rob never found a specific genre of music growing up. His first cassette tape was the Beastie Boys - Licensed To Ill, and his first CD was Billy Joel - Storm Front. Being from Long Island, Billy Joel was mandatory listening, and Rob tried to emulate the piano stylings of Mr. Joel by studying with a one man band keyboard player. Never mastering the skill of using "both" hands to play the piano, he quickly reverted to playing chords with his left hand while singing songs he found throughout the pages of the many Fake Books that he owned or borrowed from the local library. With an instrumental career in doubt, he devoted his time to singing in the high school choir and select choir.

College was spent in Troy, NY at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, studying Computer and Systems Engineering, at which time he purchased his first guitar. Deliberately learning chords from the many online chord charts available on the newly launched "Internet", he began to teach himself how to play. Still unable to master the art of using both hands to play, he continued to accompany himself and sing by learning a few strum patterns and choosing songs with few chord changes. The life of a rhythm guitar player had begun.

A healthy dose of Celtic inspired pub songs and Guinness followed the college years, along with an unhealthy obsession with Canadian Rock bands such as The Lowest of the Low and The Tragically Hip. Song lyrics were always an important aspect of finding quality bands, which ultimately led to the discovery of The Decemberists. Along the way, a few songs were written, eventually becoming more than a few songs.The creation of happenstance... has allowed Rob the opportunity to stop hiding behind his guitar and let his voice become his dominant instrument. It has also forced him to revist the songs that have been hidden away for the past decade, ready to be shared.

Sound Check