No deception — W.H. rockers in Hall of Fame

A group of West Hempstead teens did something almost impossible — they formed a rock band — The Illusion — and lasted.

Now adults, those teens — John Vinci, Mike Maniscalco, Rich Cerniglia, Chuck Alder and Mike Ricciardella — were inducted into the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame last month. At the induction ceremony, the childhood friends able to attend performed onstage together for the first time in 51 years.

Maniscalco passed away in 2022 and his wife Carol accepted his induction trophy on his behalf. Vinci, the band’s lead singer, could not attend but recorded an acceptance message played during the ceremony. 

“Is this cool or what?” Vinci said in his recorded acceptance speech. “I would like to thank the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame for recognizing the Illusions contribution to the Long Island music scene during the 1960’s and 70’s when rock was at its infancy. This is a great honor and I’m proud to be among your illustrious inductees.”

At the induction ceremony on Oct. 7, Cerniglia, Alder and Ricciardella reunited and played on stage for the first time in decades. Since two of the original members were absent, they recruited some talented musicians to play their hit songs including Dennis Folger, Billy Alessi, Mike Barberich, Vinny Ricciardella, and Jimmy Javino.

The Illusion is largely credited with being groundbreaking in the rock music genre influencing other bands and most notably legendary musician Jimi Hendrix at the time with their performance style and psychedelic outfits. They first met Hendrix by chance at a recording studio very early in his career and they went on to become friends and frequently played together at the Steve Pauls’ Scene Club and opened for Hendrix in Boston Gardens. Alder said they didn’t really think about making history at that time, it was just something they did.

“Nobody was dressing like that, nobody was moving around on stage doing a show, getting the audience participation, that was all new,” Alder said.

Alder said it was great to be back on stage with his former band members. “It was like no time had passed at all. I was right back to being a 20-year-old rocking and rolling. I loved it!”

Ricciardella recounted those days when the Illusion set the tone for Long Island bands that would follow.

“The Illusion, I believe, lit the fuse for all the Long Island bands because there was no Long Island groups playing at the time,” Ricciardella said. “Billy Joel was in a group called Hassles. They opened for us. The Vanilla Fudge were the Pigeons. They opened for us.”

Ricciardella said bands from Long Island were largely shunned. Musicians had to pretend to be from Manhattan. “There was nothing going on on Long Island,” he said. “So, what we did was, we put an amazing show together that we felt would draw people… and we started drawing people.”

Ricciardella, now a Lindenhurst resident, has the unique distinction of being the first ever two-time LIMEHOF inductee, first with Barnaby Bye in 2012 and the Illusion 2023.

“We had four days to put this together and it was amazing,” Ricciardella said. “After fifty something years… being up on stage with those guys, I felt like we never left. We really, really put it together.”

Ricciardella’s son Vinny, a drummer himself, was there and performed on stage with the band for a few songs.

“My son, Vinny, has been watching me and playing since he was 3 years old,” Ricciardella said. “He has been playing drums and developed into an amazing drummer. I would play with him anywhere. Having him up on the stage with me was the greatest thing in my life.”

The Illusion shared the stage with such acts as Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Allman Brothers Band, Chicago, The Temptations, Richie Havens, Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent, Little Richard, BB King, Iggy Pop, and countless others. Acts and artists like Kiss, Aerosmith, The New York Dolls and Billy Joel cited the Illusion as one of their major influences.

"The Illusion has had such a major impact and influence on so many of the performers who later themselves became inductees into the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame, it is high time they themselves became inductees,” said Barry Fisch, general manager of the hall.

The Long Island Music Hall of Fame is a nonprofit organization that promotes Long Island’s musical and entertainment heritage. To date, the organization has inducted more than 120 musicians and music industry executives, and also offers education programs and scholarships, and awards to Long Island students and educators.