Sleepy Hollow’s Rockin’ Village Administrator

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Sleepy Hollow Village Administrator Anthony Giaccio leads his pick-up band, The Assortments

February 6, 2022

By Barrett Seaman—

By day, he’s in his office on the second floor of Sleepy Hollow’s Village Hall, where, according to his official job description, he is “planning, organizing, staffing, coordinating, budgeting, and evaluating all local government activities.”

At night (at least some, except Tuesdays when he’s at Board of Trustee meetings), Anthony Giaccio is something else entirely—a rock ‘n roll musician, singer and songwriter who plays guitar, piano, keyboard or organ. Last fall, he produced his first album, Outrun the Rain, featuring ten tracks, all songs written by Giaccio himself.

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This past weekend, he performed with fellow singer/songwriter Greg Jacquin up at Ossining’s Sing Sing Kill Brewery. On his CD, he is surrounded by other musicians, all of them from around the rivertowns. They call themselves “The Assortments,” which aptly implies they are something of a pick-up band. Ray Paquette, the drummer, is from Hastings. Ray’s sister Nancy is the female vocalist. Lead guitarist Tony Michelini is from Ardsley. Jeff Schoen played keyboard, and Brad Scheller of Tarrytown, a patent lawyer by day, plays bass. Scheller has his own blues band, The Slicked-Up 9s.

Anthony Giaccio’s ten-tract album, Outrun the Rain

The Assortments, and the subsequent album, which was released in September with a launch party at J. P. Doyle’s in Sleepy Hollow, are in part the result of the pandemic, admits Giaccio, as the lack of live venues over the last two years left many musicians eager to perform.

Giaccio’s musical style “just kind of evolved,” he says. A graduate of Ardsley High School in 1982, he started playing guitar when he was 14 or 15, modeled after traditional rock artists like Bruce Springsteen, The Eagles and The Who. His songs on Outrun the Rain evince a distinct country feel, the result, he says, of his being “kind of a laid-back guy.”

“I’ve been playing in bands my whole life,” he says, “—mostly cover bands.” But everything on his album is his own creation. About five years ago, he started showing up at local open-mic bars, like “Purpl,” a self-described “Sanctuary” in Hastings. It was a chance not only to display his own music but also meet other artists.

As Giaccio sees it, his day job and his nighttime passion for rock music are not mutually exclusive. True, the music is an outlet and a break from the challenges of running a local government staff. “Music has enabled me to get closer to the community,” he allows. Playing at local bars, street fairs—even at the Tarrytown Music Hall as part of a school foundation fundraiser, helps people to “see me as being more approachable.” That in turn “helps me to be more responsive to the issues facing the community.”

To get a feel for Giaccio’s style and talent, log onto https://www.anthonygiacciomusic.com. If there’s a future performance up and coming, you can catch him live—and maybe between sets ask him why your recycling wasn’t picked up last week.

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