The Watergate Brigade

The Watergate Brigade was a nine-piece ska band from East Islip, Long Island New York. Forming in October 2005, the band orginally consisted of Terrie Alfieri on drums, Billy Sakitis on bass, and Steve Baierlein on guitar. The band began as a rock/experimental group and soon turned towards ska. The band then added TJ Schaper on trombone, Josh Devries on bass trombone, Andrew Bedell on tenor and baritone sax, and Dan Wendelken on trumpet. After Josh parted ways with the band Eric Borbee was added on alto sax and Damien Pagan on trumpet. After this solidified lineup of rhythm and horns, the band searched for a singer. Adam Spitz of ZG FlatT and The Vagabonds, later joined and that completed the current lineup of The Watergate Brigade. The music The Watergate Brigade covers many genres and mixes a variety of different sounds ranging from reggae, ska, jazz, and rock. The Watergate Brigade played their first show in front of a packed out crowd of over 800 at East Islip High School on February 8th, 2006. Over the course of their run they played close to 100 shows which include The Knitting Factory, The Crazy Donkey, Village Pub South, The Rock Lobster and The Wave. In November of 2006 they released their first album, a four song EP titled "Eponymous" which sold over 300 copies.