Lisa Grace
Vocals | Percussion
Some of Lisa’s earliest and fondest memories involve singing at the top of her lungs to 8-tracks of Italian music in her parents’ Dodge Swinger. Note: These are not some of her parents’ fondest memories.
Participating in the occasional Catholic school choir concert as a youth, Lisa started singing in earnest at 16 as part of Mahopac High School’s rock band, Illusion—the highlight of which was playing a two-week summer concert series at the Orange County Fair in NY.
College and a career in magazine publishing then took precedence until her 30th birthday, when she put together a cabaret act and performed around the West Village in New York City for a year.
Music was put on hold for a second time after a move to NJ and a couple of kids, but the ubiquitous Ridgewood music scene pulled her back in. She played with various bands in the area for a dozen years, until finding her true calling in The Heartbreak Beat. Once an ’80s girl, always an ’80s girl.
Matt Dunn
Keyboard | Guitar | Vocals
Matt has been playing piano since the moment he could pull himself up onto the piano bench in his family’s living room. As a teenager, he moved onto guitar because chicks seemed to dig guitar players more. This was the 90s, after all—synths were on their way out and guitars were back in.
Fortunately, Matt’s fondness for the keys never quite dissipated. In his 20s, he wrote three albums worth of original music—all of which can be found on Bandcamp (under his alter-ego Eliza Effect). Matt’s entry to the cover band/tribute band scene only happened post-pandemic. He spent a few years playing everything but 80s music, then finally found the right fit in The Heartbreak Beat. Now Matt gets to play and sing songs that he loves. Together with The Heartbreak Beat, Matt hopes to redefine what it means to be a new wave tribute band!
Barney Poole
Bass | Percussion | Vocals
Barney is the only British member of the group. He is also, to the best of his knowledge, the only member of the group to have (very briefly) been on the same record label as Brittany Spears and auditioned in front of Simon Cowell. And speaking of Simon’s…Barney had an impromptu espresso made for him by 80’s god-like frontman Simon Le Bon…it tasted bitter.
His musical journey began on piano, then continued on guitar, until finally settling on bass—for the obvious reason that it’s easier to play AND look cool while playing it!
His musical taste is broad and eclectic, from Prokofiev to Faith No More via Sinatra/ABBA/Rush/Duran Duran and many more. But his main band-focused training ground was 90’s UK ‘Britpop’: bouncy tunes, anthemic catchy choruses, angular guitars, and groovy infectious bass lines! Barney played with his brother in The Parade (check out Terrorize the Dance Floor here!) through the ’90s and early aughts, and continued to collaborate with his siblings, who are also musical, before moving to America with his family in 2020. The Heartbreak Beat is the perfect vehicle for him, plus it gets him out of the house on a regular basis.
James DeRose
Guitar | Banjo | Synth
James started learning guitar as a tot, and by middle school had formed his first band. Through high school he covered mostly Rush and Boston (didn’t we all?), but after discovering early electronic acts like Perry & Kingsley and Wendy Carlos, and fusion icons like John Scofield and Pat Metheny, his musical journey turned on its head —so much so that he decided to study audio engineering and classical guitar in college.
Post college in the early 2000s, James backed original artists and played with cover bands all over New Jersey and NYC. Since then he’s been honing his love of writing music (most recently with his originals band, Please Be Careful) and embracing the technical side of the business—which the Heartbreak Beat benefits from greatly!
The Heartbreak Beat is happy to provide James with the kind of music and musicianship that keep him inspired.
