Thrive
Will Thomas Scecina wins Catalyst video contest
The message is short, sweet and very direct: Wear a mask.
Scecina
Will Thomas Scecina’s animated musical video won the Catalyst PSA contest – the singer, songwriter and guitarist takes home a $1,000 prize, and the video – animated by his longtime friend Michael D’Antuono, who also composed the song – will be broadcast in rotation on Spectrum channels.
“Mike lives up in Beacon, New York, around where I grew up,” says Scecina, who’s been in the bay area, performing and teaching music, since 2009. “Originally, he made this video, but he’s not really a guitarist or a singer. He contacted me and said ‘My wife thinks the song is cool, but I don’t really sound great doing it. So could you …”
Scecina re-recorded the “Wear a Mask” ditty, playing several instruments and singing the harmony vocal parts himself.
It’s a nice gift for a working musician with no work since March, when the Covid pandemic began. “I’ve been teaching online since everything started,” says Scecina, a solo performer and a member of the jazz/fusion band Anyan Devery.
“The teaching is kind of new. I’ve been a freelance guitarist, vocalist and bassist in the Tampa area, but also around the country.”
Honorable mention to Cary Reich for his original tune.
The contest was sponsored by St Petersburg Group Insight Board members Paul Carder and Ruth Ross in partnership with the St. Pete Catalyst, the City of St. Petersburg, Spectrum, and the St. Pete Chamber of Commerce.
