By Kate Bartlett
This Saturday, October 7th, one of Buffalo’s most popular bands Nerds Gone Wild takes the stage at Ellicottville Brewing Company in celebration of Fall Fest Weekend. The award-winning band, celebrating 10 years, puts on a ‘bodacious, wicked-rad, righteous’ show of the ultimate 80’s music.
Eddy Tabone, president, CEO and drummer, founded the band in 2013 after many months of planning. “I saw the need for an 80’s band in the area,” says Eddy.” The music from this era is so lively and energetic, and makes a great show. When a popular 80’s band in the Buffalo area was dissolving and another in Erie, PA was taking a break, I decided to take action, as there was no 80’s band from Rochester to Erie.”
Eddy assembled 5 band members and decided on a ‘Nerds’ theme. “It was bright, colorful and fun, like the 80’s.” The band took the stage donning pocket protectors, taped glasses and suspenders, ready to put on a totally rad show. And they did. Nerds Gone Wild was born.
Initially, Nerds intended to play about 1 show a month in the Buffalo area, but they’ve grown to play 90-100 shows every year in 9 counties spanning Western New York with a nationwide following. The band has won the Buffalo Nightlife Music Awards for Best Showband for 10 years, and the Buffalo News Best of 716 ‘Best Live Band” for 3 years. Eddy is proud but humbled by the success of the band, “I knew it’d be successful, but not this successful. We’re proud to be bringing back the energy of the 80’s in such a colorful show.”
While Eddy is the only original band member, the other 4 bandmates have been with Nerds since 2020. The current Nerds include lead singer Ed Wyner, John Gibbon on Bass, lead guitarist Eric Rover and Brian Beaudry on keyboards. “We’ve found such a great group of musicians with a passion for performing. We have such a great time together, and we love what we do.” The band shows no signs of slowing down. In addition to the 9 counties, the band has started to look to expand their reach to nearby cities including Cleveland, Pittsburgh and southern Ontario, just to name a few.
Their typical show is far from ordinary. In addition to their fun outfits and energetic choreography, each show aims for crowd participation and includes trivia contests and lots of dancing. “We love getting the crowd involved in our shows. We deliver a quality 80’s show, playing lively, interactive, energetic performance each and every time.” It’s not uncommon to see the crowd dancing on stage or some of the 99 red balloons released during the famous song.
Nerds Gone Wild has gained such a large following in the area, that you can now Cruise with the Band on Norwegian Cruise Lines. “We were approached by Cruise Planners of Buffalo to set sail with a group from Buffalo to the Caribbean Islands. We are now going into our 5th year of Cruising with the Nerds this March 2-9th. We provide a private concert and dinner for our Nerds Group on the first night of the cruise. Everyone gets to know each other and is up for a good time. It sets the tone for the trip, and there’s a fun vibe on the boat. We play a performance for the entire cruise ship on the last day of the cruise and it’s always the highlight of the trip. We go out with a bang.” Anyone interested in more information about the cruise can contact Eddie on their website @ www.nerdsgonewildwny.com.
Family friendly, the crowd spans generations. “One of my most favorite moments is when I sit back and see 3 generations of fans in the crowd enjoying our music. We have our Junior under-21 Nerds, the 21-45 year-old party crowd, and the 45+ music aficionados all brought together by this music. This diverse crowd is enjoying the music together, and it’s awesome.”
Eddy loves watching the crowd enjoy the show, all while watching the band perform. “I have the best seat in the house as the drummer, and I love every minute of it. I get to watch my bandmates put on an amazing show, and I get to watch the crowd’s reaction. As the drummer, I keep the show running. I make sure there’s no dead air, and the show runs smoothly. It’s fast and upbeat, satisfying and incredibly rewarding.”
Be sure to catch their show in Ellicottville during Fall Fest at Ellicottville Brewing Company on Saturday October 7th as they take the stage around 4pm. For more information visit https://nerdsgonewildwny.com/ and follow on social media @ NerdsGoneWild.