PITTSTON — If you’re new to Greater Pittston or have lived under a rock for the past 25 years, the cover band Flaxy Morgan wouldn’t sound familiar at all. But thousands of people in Northeastern Pennsylvania know that Flaxy is Pittston’s top band.
The band threw itself a 25th anniversary birthday bash with 200 of its family, friends and best fans at St. Joseph Marello Hall on Oct. 26.
Flaxy Morgan can easily be just one person – Richie Kossuth. Richie is Flaxy Morgan, the founder and only original member of the band. That said, Richie’s brother Billy has been right by his side, working the technical end of the band.
Two years before Flaxy Morgan was formed, George Kossuth teased his brother by telling him he had his own band. When asked the name of the band, George shouted out, “Flaxy Morgan.” The name stuck with Richie so, when he decided to form a band, he named it Flaxy Morgan.
Flaxy Morgan was the name of a stuffed dalmation owned by Joanie Cunningham, played by the late Erin Moran, on the TV sitcom “Happy Days.”
“Not many people know the origin of the name of the band or even the ‘Happy Days’ reference,” Richie Kossuth said. “The dog, even though it was shown in scenes for many years, the name only came out once and it was early in the first season of the show.”
In 1994, when Flaxy first graced stages in and around Greater Pittston, the TV show “Friends” took the air by storm, Nelson Mandela was elected president of South Africa and “The Lion King” was a smash hit in theaters, featuring songs by Elton John.
“We knew 25 years of Flaxy was going to be this year; we wanted to have a nice celebration of family and friends and most people here today are people that I’ve known all of my life or are close friends,” Kossuth said. “We kind of got stuck with the amount of people we could have invited because the hall is limited and it took off quicker than we expected.”
Kossuth didn’t rule out another event to celebrate a quarter of a century of music with former bandmates in the future.
“When Flaxy Morgan first started out, I never even looked at the future of the band,” Kossuth said. “It was just always lets see how long we can go with this band. Times change, people leave, new people come in and I never really looked at anything like to say hey, I hope I do this for 25 years. You blink your eyes and where did the 25 years go?”
There wasn’t an itinerary for the evening and, according to Kossuth, “We just pretty much want to play as much as we can. The special part of the night is we wanted to do something special. We got cupcakes, shot glasses and wine, but the special part of the night is everybody being here.”
The band has had a number of lineup changes over the two and a half decade run. The current lineup includes Christopher Iorio, Zach Jones, lead singer Cierra Cellerari and Kossuth.
Cellerari has been with band for the last four years upon Krysten Montgomery-Shemanski’s departure.
“I’ve known Richie for about eight years now and I started as a fill-in for Krysten and, when she left, I took her place,” Cellerari said. “It’s been a lot of fun for the last four years.”
Cellerari not only found herself in a band, but she and bandmate Christopher Iorio eventually became a couple.
“Friendships and family came out of the band; we’re like a family,” added Cellerari, who graduated from Wilkes University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Musical Theater. “I couldn’t ask for more out of that and it’s always a good time and we enjoy each other’s company.”
In addition to her Flaxy Morgan career, she’s had a solo album showing her talents as a singer/songwriter.
Mary Sarti, a family friend of Kossuth’s for the last 26 years, was on hand to help behind the scenes of the anniversary party.
“In the beginning, things were as crazy then as it is now,” Sarti said. “As long as his arms and legs are moving, there’ll be a Flaxy Morgan. He will go until he can’t go anymore.”
Barbara Sherinsky, now 60, met Kossuth when she was 16 years old.
“The first time Richie showed up at my house was when he was dressed up as the Easter Bunny for my three younger brothers,” Sherinsky said.
Kossuth and the band have donated a lot of time for many causes over their 25-year history.
“He’s such a wonderful, kind person, that would help anybody and would do anything for children,” Sherinsky added. “He’s great.”
