Sibling Rivalry gives way to harmony

Justin and Alina Zimmerman of Howell are siblings who don't play together the same way that most siblings do. While other children might play Monopoly and video games, playing together for the Zimmermans means making music.

AMY ROSEN Alina and Justin Zimmerman of Howell will perform at the Monmouth County Fair in Freehold Township on July 24 as part of Sibling Rivalry. The talented brother and sister duo have been singing for their family and friends for as long as they can remember. They have been performing for audiences as Sibling Rivalry for the past year. They do, on occasion, fight like most brothers and sisters when they rehearse, and that's where the name of the band came from.

Justin and Alina's most recent endeavor was one that tugged at their hearts and those of all who watched them perform at the American Cancer Society's annual Relay for Life fundraiser held at Freehold Raceway on June 21-22. Justin, 15, and Alina, 12, were invited to perform at the survivors luncheon prior to the start of the relay and they serenaded 250 people whose lives have been touched by cancer. They also rode in the honorary chariot for people who could not walk around the entire racetrack, serenading them as they went.

In addition, the two were given the honor of performing an original song, "Gone From Me," in front of thousands of people at the Relay for Life. Justin wrote the song in memory of his two aunts, Millie Rosado of Perth Amboy and Eleanor Miller of Secaucus, who both succumbed to cancer in 2007. Alina sang lead vocals on the song while Justin played guitar and harmonized.

Their mother, Lisa Zimmerman, explained that their aunts loved to hear them sing and gave them a lot of encouragement.

"They were both so thoughtful and full of life," she said. "Aunt Millie always wanted to see them perform on her favorite Spanish variety show, 'Don Francisco,' and she always told the children to keep following their dreams and not let anything get in their way. Eleanor also always encouraged them to sing. She dug up letters and information about their being distantly related to Ethel Merman, whose real last name was Zimmerman, and proved that Justin and Alina's great-grandfather and Ethel Merman's father were cousins. Eleanor always told them they inherited their talent and powerful voices from Ethel Merman."

Justin said, "I wrote 'Gone From Me' for my two aunts who passed away from cancer. It was a way of letting them know they are not forgotten and how they touched our lives. I wanted to express the feeling of losing someone, but it also talks about making a promise to go on with life no matter what happens. You might lose someone, but you can't stop living.

"It truly was an honor for us to perform 'Gone From Me' at the Freehold Relay for Life," Justin said. "I wrote the song for my family and myself as a way of dealing with our loss, but when I saw all those people in the audience who could relate, the experience was overwhelming. Seeing all the people who fought cancer and survived gives everyone hope. You can tell that they really appreciate life, and it made us realize that you should appreciate the small things in life. " Alina said, "Iwas emotional when I sang the song. I saw a girl crying to her mother and it made me feel like crying, too, but I knew I had to be professional. I had to hold it together because I wanted to get themessage across that they had to go on with their lives, no matter what happens."

Lisa Zimmerman said, "It was a bittersweet experience. My husband, Darrell, and I were so proud of them."

WRAT-FM host Robyn Lane saw Justin and Alina perform and sent them the following e-mail message: "I thought the two of you were fantastic at the ACS Relay For Life event. 'Gone From Me' is a beautiful, heartfelt song and I hope to hear more original music from you in the future. Great songwriting talent mixed with beautiful, angelic voices."

Justin and Alina have performed at such venues as the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, at the Prudential Center, in Atlantic City, in Bryant Park and Rockefeller Center in New York, at Disney World in Florida, and on "TRL" on MTV with Rock & Roll Chorus, an a cappella group led by Joe Cantaffa, a teacher at Howell High School.

Justin also sings with Rebel Yell, an a cappella group for students at Howell High School, also conducted by Cantaffa.

Justin and Alina have performed at Big Joe Henry's talent showcase in Point Pleasant and at Toms RiverFest. They have also worked with recording artist Brenda K. Starr.

Sibling Rivalry currently has an original reality series with Kidzbop that airs online at Kidzbop.com, as well as on the local Comcast on Demand network. To view their segments directly, visit www.kidzbop.com/ sibling-rivalry.

"A friend told us about a contest on Kidzbop.com," Justin explained. "We entered a video but it was too late. After a few months, one of the producers called us and wanted us to create an original Web series, along with four others that were chosen. We have five episodes so far and two more on the way. Episodes focus on how it is being in a brother and sister band, school projects, shows/concerts, etc. The next episode to be featured will be about the Jersey Shore and its artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi and The Nerds. The episode usually ends with a song that we try to tie in with the topic of the show. Kidzbop.com provides a fan-wall, so we can get feedback from our viewers, and communicate with them."

"Justin's fourth-grade choir teacher, Mrs. Mori at the Land O' Pines School in Howell, told us he had a gift," Lisa Zimmerman said. "Before that, I knew he could sing, but I had no idea how well. She recommended a vocal coach, Scott Davis, and Justin began to work with him. He also took guitar lessons with Peter Beckett from Old Bridge and Justin began writing his own songs."

In the summer before fifth grade, a local DJ, Dave Kapulsky (aka "Dave the Rave"), heard Justin sing and introduced him to Jim Garcia, the lead singer of The Nerds, a popular area cover band. Garcia was helping his son, Evan, form a band called The Punks and they invited Justin to be the lead singer. The Punks have been performing with The Nerds at outdoor family events for the past five years.

In addition to Justin on guitar and vocals, and Evan Garcia, 14, on keyboards and vocals, The Punks are Christian Composto, 16, on drums; Jack Kapulsky, 15, on guitar; and Anthony Casale, 14, on bass. Justin lives in Howell and the other band members reside in Freehold.

During a concert in Freehold Borough on July 10, The Nerds invited Alina up on stage to perform "Proud Mary" and she wowed the audience.

Jim Garcia said of Justin and Alina, "I think they are a remarkable talent. I've known Justin for so long and I knew he was talented. I've only lately come to hear Alina. Her pipes are fantastic and I think they both have a great future."

"We are so grateful to Jim and The Nerds for giving us the opportunity to perform with them," said Justin.

"We feel so close to them and it's like we're one big family," Alina added. "They make it easy to perform on stage."

"Alina started to whistle in tune at 2 years old, and I knew she had an ear for music," Lisa Zimmerman said. "She could whistle better than she could talk! She wanted to sing and play drums when Justin started singing, so she took lessons, too."

Alina also loves to act and recently played Jasmine in Howell Middle School North's production of "Aladdin."

"People say Alina sounds like Amy Lee from Evanescence," her mom said.

Justin and Alina are working on a demo of four original songs including "Gone From Me," "Affliction," "(Sorry) I Wasn't There" and "It Is God."

"All my songs are from discoveries or experiences that I or a person has felt," said Justin. "My biggest influences are Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi."

Justin and Alina's parents work as a team to support them. Lisa acts as their agent and Darrell is the roadie and films their shows.

"We are very proud of our kids," Lisa said. "They have been blessed with a gift. They have such confidence and a love for what they do, and they are so willing to give back by performing at benefits and charity events to help others. They are also a part of a Christian youth group called Life Teen, and they are involved with the music ministry at Saint Veronica's Church in Howell."

"You can find them most Sundays playing and singing at their 5 p.m. Sunday Mass," added Darrell. "The music is always uplifting and inspirational at that Mass. Having them be a part of that really makes us proud of them. It's something they enjoy doing all on their own."

Sibling Rivalry will perform at 9 p.m. July 24 in the 4-H tent at the Monmouth County Fair in Freehold Township. C.J. Marsini, 13, of Middletown, will join them on keyboards, along with his brother, Ryan Marsini, 16, on bass, and Mikey Rosen, 13, of Manalapan, on drums.

All three have impressive performing histories, with C.J. and Ryan having television credits under their belts including commercials and television shows. C.J. was on Kraft cheese commercials and television shows and Ryan was a regular on the ABC daytime soap opera "One Life to Live," and has made appearances in other TV shows.

Mikey, who has been playing the drums since he was old enough to hold the sticks, is in several other bands and recently won the title of Rock Idol in the drum category for his age group in the Rock'n Music Academy's Rock Idol competition held in Middletown.

Evan Garcia will be making a guest appearance as well.

The Monmouth County Fair will be held at the East Freehold Park Showgrounds on Kozloski Road, Freehold Township, from July 23-27. Justin and Alina will also perform on their own in the fair's talent showcase slated for 7-8:30 p.m. July 24 and 1-2:30 p.m. July 26.

Justin and Alina will be performing again with The Nerds and The Punks at 6 p.m. July 17 at Pier Village in Long Branch and at 6:30 p.m. July 23 at John F. Johnson Jr. Memorial Park on Kierych Drive, Jackson. The duo will also perform at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 3 at the Big Joe Jersey Talent Show Contest at Jenkinson's, Point Pleasant Beach.

For more information on Sibling Rivalry, visit www.myspace.com/siblingrivalryz.