On April 20, 2026, original members of The Trend from Buffalo, Dave Chiarmonte, Dave Roach, and more recent member Bill Basil gathered In the Flamingo Lounge to reminisce about their journey. From their early days as a hungry local garage band the mission has remained the same: playing great music and having a damn good time doing it.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TREND, 1966 TO PRESENT.
The Trend was formed in 1966 by three grade school friends, Dave Chiarmonte (bass and vocals), Dave Getman (drums), and Dave Roach (guitar). The initial group also included a high school friend, Frank Theeman (guitar). We were 15 years old.
Too young for the bar and club scene, the group played anywhere we could at various venues in and around Buffalo, mostly Catholic Youth Organizations (CYO), high school dances and private parties. One of the memorable gigs was the first dance of the ‘68-’69 year at St. Joseph Collegiate Institute (SJCI). Played in September 1968, the dance drew 2,800 people, approximately 1,000 more than the fire capacity of the SJCI gym. After that, all SJCI dances that year, held monthly, were limited to the fire capacity. That season’s lineup in addition to The Trend included Wilmer and the Dukes, The Spencer Davis Group, Bob Seger, and the Atlanta Rhythm Section.
After high school, college decisions took the group in different directions. However, in the early seventies, the band added Joe Saeli, a school classmate of Dave Chiarmonte and Dave Roach. A friend who worked as a counselor at St. Mary’s School For The Deaf, asked if The Trend could play at the prom for the students. The school wanted us back and we played at their prom for two years in a row. That was the start of a new era.
Frank Theeman was the first to leave the group after graduating high school. As noted, Joe Saeli joined in the early 70s. Law school would take Joe and Dave Roach to Boston in the mid-70s, but upon their return to Buffalo, the group got back together. Of course, there were fewer gigs due to the priorities of family and work.
In 1985, the band cut a tape to audition to be the opener for Heart at Memorial Auditorium. While The Trend wasn’t selected, it did bring the band new motivation and personnel, this time with a new drummer, Glenn Stern, who had returned from a stint in Israel as a music teacher and while there was an alternate percussionist for the Tel Aviv Philharmonic. That version of the band started playing more gigs.
By the 1990s, The Trend was playing on a more regular basis. Dave Getman had returned from a long stint in Texas and rejoined the band as its drummer. That would continue through the early 2000s. By 2010, Bill Basil had joined the band, replacing Dave Getman as its drummer. He also brought Therese Vita with him as a vocalist. In the last year, Greg Amato has joined the band (guitar), replacing Joe Saeli.
For the last 15 years, the band has played more consistently at various venues such as M&T Bank Plaza Concerts, The Sportsman’s, Music on Main, numerous bars/restaurants, private parties, and outdoor concerts. At sixty years and still going, it is one of Buffalo’s longest running rock ‘n roll bands.