If you’re local, chances are you’ve heard of Urban Acoustic. As part of the four-piece band, Joe Gentile has been utilizing his new live streaming skills to raise awareness of a coalition close to his heart - while keeping his fans entertained. 

Keep reading for highlights of our conversation, or tune in to the whole thing - including his performance - here!

Tell us about your Facebook Live shows.

Well, you know, I've always wanted to do something live like that. It's unfortunate that the situation we find ourselves in has kind of forced me and a lot of my fellow musicians to resort to live streaming. But you know, it serves two purposes. 

First of all, I love music, I love to play music, it's in my blood. 

And, you know, when we don't have a live show to go to, I start getting a little antsy, so I have to do something. So I was doing little recordings that I put up on YouTube. But then I really felt like doing a live show would be good, not just for me and for my soul, but, for the fans that have accumulated onto our Facebook page over the many years that Urban Acoustic has been around. 

I wanted to kind of find a way to give back to them, because I'm missing them. I think they're missing us. I hope they're missing us. So it's an opportunity that they can tune in and see me solo. And we're actually talking about getting together in someone’s backyard, six feet apart, and stream a live show.

Has there been a learning curve for you to figure out how to get the sound right to perform virtually?

That's a great question because it's absolutely been a learning curve. I always want to give my fans something that looks good and something that sounds good. So I did, I went through a learning curve to bring on this other application, OBS which I interface now with the Facebook Live stream. I plug everything from my mixer directly. There’s been a lot of trial and error, but it's been a fun journey because I'm really enjoying doing it this way. I think I've worked out so many of the kinks now that hopefully, the next few shows will just kind of run nice and seamlessly. 

A Live Stream Fundraiser

I decided for my first live show, I wanted to do a fundraiser. I know that in the middle of this COVID-19 and all of us being quarantined, that's something that a lot of people were doing fundraisers for. 

But my story and my wife's story is a little bit more personal, and I felt the need to raise some money for the Manhasset Women's Coalition Against Breast Cancer.

It’s an organization that has been there for us and very helpful to my wife logistically, emotionally, spiritually, socially. She's just gained a lot of  friends, a lot of networks, and even opportunities through that organization. Ones that you would never even have been exposed to, you know - the journey unwanted. We’ve met a lot of great people, so I really wanted to get back to the Manhasset Women's Coalition Against Breast Cancer. I was pretty proud that I was able to write a nice check to Manhasset for that.

Manhasset Women’s Coalition Against Breast Cancer

Among the various things that they do is to really support the individuals and the families that are going through this. I can tell you firsthand and as well as my wife, Susan, that this breast cancer hits on all levels. And it's a struggle. It's a struggle for many reasons, and you don't realize it until someone that you love is really going through it. It's an emotional wear, it's a physical wear, and financial wear. 

As we speak today, my wife, she is in her final round of chemotherapy. She's gone through eight rounds of it. 

And over the several months while we've been, you know, in quarantine through COVID, it's been very stressful from that standpoint, too. We're sending her strength today, and we're very proud of how strong and how much grace she is showing through this whole entire thing. 

Make sure you stay tuned on Urban Acoustic’s Facebook page for upcoming live streams!

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