About the Vagodas

The Vagodas were formed in 1988 as rock-n-roll supergroup whose sole intention was to play a single gig at the John Jay High School auditorium in Dutchess County, NY.  The idea to undertake the venture was originally conceived of by senior classman Ray DiPietro. Ray created a roster of the top musicians at Jay at the time and then went our and recruited  them. At that point rehearsals were scheduled, permissions were obtained and a sound system was rented for the event.  Local rock station WPDH was brought in to introduce the group. It was the largest rock event John Jay had seen since nationally renown rockers 'Mountain" had played the auditorium in 1974!

The event was an unmitigated success, bringing together various social groups in a way that no other school event had achieved previously.  The jocks, the heads, the geeks, the preps and the punks all let go of their differences to participate in a rock extravaganza highly inspired by the 1980 movie hit "The Blues Brothers." Based on their auditorium success, the Vagodas went on to play all the remaining major school events until the band members graduated later in the year.

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Though they thought their work was done, 35 years later the Vagodas realized that their presence was once again required to bring back the spirit of the late 1980s high school scene to Dutchess County, NY.