With influences like Bruce Springsteen and The Grateful Dead, Fort Hunt rock band Black Moon Tonic has been playing a mix of hits and originals in the D.C. area for the past seven years. 

But in November, the local venue, which regularly hosted their shows, shut down.  The band says that there was nothing like the “feel” of The Village Wharf Restaurant.

Singer and acoustic guitarist Adam Fazackerly says that at The Village Wharf Restaurant the fans’ enthusiastic response was “the key to the band.  The crowd is what we’re there for.”  He continues,  “We’ve played at the Wharf well over 40 times.” 

Charlie Zdebski, who sings for the band and plays guitar, says that at The Village Wharf, the band had to tape down their mike stands. 

“Sometimes people would start dancing and banging their heads into the microphones because they were so into the music.”

The members of Black Moon Tonic are hoping that a community-oriented business moves into the space and hires the band to play again for their beloved local fans.  “Then we can use that as a home base again,” says Fazackerly.

The members of Black Moon Tonic root their musical experience in the neighborhood.  They are particularly proud of their original music.  “There are songs that were born in Fort Hunt, Alexandria,” says Fazackerly.

One of their most popular songs is an original, which Fazackerly wrote that was inspired by his wife, Amy.  Called “Honey Child,” was a favorite among the band’s regulars at The Village Wharf.

Although the band members miss The Village Wharf, they continue to perform steadily at other venues.  They have appeared at places such as The Birchmere Music Hall, The Collingwood Library and Museum, and St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church.  “We [also] do a ton of pool parties and graduations,” says Fazackerly.

“We play country clubs to dive bars to rooftop offices in D.C.,” says Zdebski.

Lead guitarist Mark O’Connell adds that the band performs for charity as well.  “We played at the United Community Ministries Charity Gala.”  They have also played for a benefit for the Alexandria Community Trust (ACT) in April of 2009. On February 11^th the band will perform in Rock Against Hunger, a fundraiser for Mount Vernon charities.

The idea for the six-member outfit started one summer day in 2003 at the Riverside Pool, when three of the original members – O’ Connell, Zdebski, and drummer Jim Woods – talked about forming a rock band.  That fall, Zdebski asked Fazackerly to join, and the group began rehearsing together.  Not only did their first gig come almost immediately, the band itself didn’t know about it until the last minute.

“Charlie’s wife threw him a surprise 40th birthday party at St. Aidan’s [Episcopal Church],” recalls Adam.  “My wife [Amy] and I were driving to the party from out of town and I said, ‘I think there’s going to be a band there – wait a minute, are we the band?’”

O’ Connell says, “We did the show, even though we only knew the first ten bars of five songs.”

Black Moon Tonic has come a long way since then, playing four hours of music in a typical show.  The current lineup includes – in addition to Zdebski, O’Connell, Woods and Fazackerly – Craig Feneley on bass and Paul Murphy on horns and percussion.

Murphy says, “I talked my way into the band.  I said, ‘You have to do “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” [by the Rolling Stones].  I’ll do the horn solo in the beginning.’” 

Bassist Feneley says he responded to a Craig’s List ad.

“We also advertised in The Washington Post,” says Zdebski.  “’Successful Dad Band Wants Bassist.’”

When he is not playing bass, Feneley is a captain for United Airlines.  All of the members of Black Moon Tonic have full-time careers and are married with children.  Zdebski is a lawyer and has six kids.  Fazackerly runs his own web design business and has three children.  Woods is a financial planner, O’Connell is in information technology, and Murphy is an industrial engineer.

“We balance life with the band,” says Fazackerly.  “When we have a show we’re quick to ask our wives.”

You can catch some homegrown Alexandria music – plus covers by many rock and roll artists – on Saturday, February 5th, when Black Moon Tonic plays the Paradiso Restaurante Italiano on Franconia Road.