Victor Cappiello:
CLASS OF 1969
Kennedy High SchoolClass of 1969
Port jefferson station, NY
SUNY at Stony BrookClass of 1975
Stony brook, NY
SUNY Suffolk County Community CollegeClass of 1971
Selden, NY
Comsewogue Elementary SchoolClass of 1965
Port jefferson station, NY
Woodland Avenue Elementary SchoolClass of 1963
Hicksville, NY
Victor's Story
Life
I was born in the Bronx on August 15, 1951. At age 6, we moved to Hicksville, N.Y. I went to Woodlawn Avenue School for the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th and part of the 6th grade. Third grade was spent at Nicholai Street School.
At age 8, I got my first ukelele. I wanted a guitar but I was too small to hold one. My mother promised me a guitar the following year, if I learned how to play the uke. I did! At Christmas the following year I got my first guitar...a Sears Silvertone for $9.99. It changed my life.
At age 12, we moved to Port Jefferson Station. I attended Comsewague School for the balance of the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. Ninth through 12th was spent at J.F.K. Jr. Sr. High School. I don't have any fond memories of school. I was an outcast and was extremely happy when I graduated and moved on to college.
I have an A.A.S. From Suffolk County Community College and a B.A. from the State University of NY at Stony Brook. While in college, I became the person I am today.
As far as music goes, I've been playing guitar since I was nine years old. I started my first band at age twelve called "The Victors" with my brother and sister. By the age of thirteen, I owned my first electric guitar...a red Hagstrom. I used to plug it into my Sears Silvertone 1484 30 watt, 2-12" Jensen Speaker Combo and terrorize the neighborhood. We played at my school's talent show that year and I was immediately hooked on music...not phonics!
I started playing professionally at age 21. My equipment had changed by then (thank God). One guitar has grown to become many over the years. The Silvertone Amp has been replaced by four different Marshalls over the years. Currently, I have 12 guitar amps and 27 guitars.I. Nowadays we also use pedalboards which contain a bunch of effects pedals. I have many on 4 separate pedalboards.. A man must have his toys!
In the year 2000, I completed recording my first CD. It's actually quite good. I might be a little prejudiced though.
In an attempt to complete the things on my "bucket list" (those things one would like to do before he/she kicks the bucket), I c...Expand for more
ompleted restoring my 1979 Corvette in 2013. I eventually sold it in 2020. In parallel, I had been counting the days until retirement since 1600 days. I finally retired! My first day of retirement was Sept 1st, 2017!
My last job was working for Northrop Grumman Laser Systems in Apopka as an Engineer Planning Analyst. I had been there for 14 years and five months. I had been in Planning, Scheduling and Production Control since 1978. All the time, I had been performing in bands on the weekends and sometimes during the week. The day job paid the bills while the music kept me sane....sort of.
I finished building an electric guitar on July 4th 2015. It's a Rickenbacker 330 clone, the size of a Gibson Les Paul with 24 frets. I installed my favorite 3 Seymour Duncan pickups, a 6-position switch and a zero-fret nut. I call it the "815 Custom" after my birthday...8/15. On Nov 9th, 2015, I finished building another 330 clone but based it on John Lennon's guitar. It's black and has 3 Toaster pickups...I added a 6-position switch on this one, too. Building guitars is my latest passion.
On August 18, 2016, my wife Karen died suddenly from a brain aneurysm. We had been married for 40 years. Her passing has left a big hole in my heart. Life is so very fragile. We had a beautiful service for Karen on August 28th. It was standing room only that day. She touched a lot of people over the years.
Karen is survived by me, our daughter Samantha (age 46) and our son Jesse (age 30). Samantha is married and working while Jesse graduated from Seminole State College and is working full-time for Chevrolet as a Service Writer.
With Karen's passing, my life has been turned upside down. I was so looking for retirement and when I finally retired, I found myself just going through the motions and not really living. As time passes, things have gotten a little better.
In 2018, I FINALLY joined FACEBOOK! Better late than never? You can find me under "Vic Cappiello".
I still have a list of things I want to accomplish and do before I die but am saddened to think that I will be doing them alone.
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