The
music is "Contagious"
Contagious belts
out songs identical to the original
Most people can't help but make their way to the stage to dance, sing along or snap pictures of the vivacious group as it covers songs from 80s rock to country.
Contagious is different than most cover bands - they actually sound like the band whose songs they are covering.
Steve Scott, the lead singer, can shift flawlessly from singing a Jimi
Hendrix song to Garth Brooks and then to a Kid Rock number and sound just like them.
"Steve can sing just about everything, so we do just about everything that we like," lead guitarist Rob Fox said.
What really drives the group’s song selection is the crowd's response.
Lately, the band has heard from its audiences that they would like to hear newer music and more country.
Whatever moves people, gets them dancing and keeps them entertained, Contagious will play.
A big hit lately has been Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy by Big and Rich. Steve hits all the right notes with a country twang almost identical to the original band, and gets the crowd moving with energy that exudes off the stage with every beat.
"The sounds and the way we do it all come from inside," Steve said.
Although Steve lights up the stage with his intense vocals, it is the other members of the band that clench a perfect cover band sound.
Jerry Block plays the bass guitar, Greg Rice jams on the drums and Dennis Zampitella is on the keyboards.
It is amazing that Contagious sounds as good as it does and has only been together for one year.
Rob and Steve originally knew each other through their being in rival bands in the 80s. Steve performed in a band called Erotix and Rob in Kashmir. Both wanted to be the bigger band in St. Louis back then. But eventually - as did many 80s bands - both broke up and went their separate ways.
Fast forward to one year ago. Rob and drummer, Greg, were putting together a new cover band and needed a lead singer.
Steve was the third to audition for the band, and he blew away the other competition with his versatile vocal cords.
The guy looked like an old school teacher, he said. There was no way he would be able to jam out, Rob said he thought to himself.
But when Dennis started singing and playing the keyboard, Rob was floored.
He can and will blow anyone out of the water on keyboards, he said.
He may be the oldest guy in the group, but he has the heart of a teenager, he said.
"He gives us our sound, he is classic," Rob said.
Bass guitarist Jerry was also found on the Internet. Rob had known him from the St. Louis music scene and he fit perfectly with the group.
Contagious was at Backwater Jacks over
Rob said he loves performing at Lake of the Ozarks because the crowd is so amazing.
At some bars it takes the crowd an hour to warm up and start dancing, but at the lake they are ready to party, he said.
"It's fun, it is a no brainer to play in front of a crowd like that," Rob said.
Steve agreed.
"(Most people) have been on the lake all day and are ready to have a great time," he said.
And as an extra bonus - the band gets a vacation, Steve said.
Contact this reporter at erint@lakesunleader.com
