If this Oceanside resident hears it, he can play it

Brian Amato, of Oceanside, may have difficulty expressing his thoughts through words, but his love of music is unmistakable to anyone watching him play the drums.

Sitting behind the drums with his band, Westlake, Amato flashes a smile as he lays down rhythms for covers of songs from the Allman Brothers Band, the Beatles, Grateful Dead and Nirvana.

Amato, 27, has autism. His gift for music was discovered around age 9 when he sat down at a piano in the family home and just started playing. During a trip to the Sam Ash music store with his grandmother, Maria Heller, to purchase some sheet music, Amato found his way to a drum set in the store and played well enough to convince the salesman that he had been playing for more than just three minutes. He had never previously taken a piano or drum lesson.

Amato’s parents, Ann and Peter, then actively pursued avenues to develop his gift, enrolling him in the iSchool of Music and Art, which put him together with other kids to form an ad hoc band. That was Amato’s first experience playing with other people and a band teacher.

“Brian is very creative, very spontaneous with music and can learn a song in no time,” Peter Amato said. “He can hear a song and remember almost the whole song. He can do that with the drums, and he can do that with the piano, and he can remember most of the words.”

The members of Westlake are all Oceanside residents. Amato plays drums and sings backup vocals; Owen McCain, 25, plays bass guitar; Joe Knipe, 24, is on lead vocals, rhythm guitar and drums; Grayson Rosen, 22, plays rhythm and lead guitar and lead and backup vocals; and Sean Harkins, 23, plays lead guitar and vocals. Several of them are members of other bands as well.

Amato met Rosen at Oceanside High School through a program that paired someone without a disability with someone on the autism spectrum. Both shared a love and talent for music and were able to play their instruments together.

Westlake had formed organically during Covid when many musicians were out of work. Several music teachers lived in Amato’s neighborhood, and since he receives funding through Medicaid for community classes and lessons because of his autism, he was able to pay these musicians to come to his house and to play some music with him.

They were astonished at how much music he knew and how well he could play. The band members had a lot of fun jamming together and started calling themselves Westlake, after the street where Knipe lived. As many people did during the pandemic, they kept themselves in a “bubble” and wore masks during rehearsals.

When Covid restrictions began to ease, the band started taking outdoor gigs, and Westlake became even more popular. Peter Amato, the band’s informal manager and reluctant roadie, gets phone calls for band gigs all the time. They play about once every two weeks, sometimes every week, at private parties and public venues. Peter said it’s hard to turn down some of these opportunities.

“I’m my son’s best advocate because he’s never going to promote himself,” Peter Amato said. “He’s just happy to play in the community. Music is his love and being out in the community with people is his love. He loves to be applauded and cheered for. Money means nothing to him.”

Westlake practices for about an hour and a half four days a week at the Amatos’ house. During the summer, Brian attends Camp Anchor, returns home to take a nap, and then gets up for a 4:30 p.m. practice. Camp Anchor is a facility for children with special needs that has operated in Lido Beach for the past 50 years.

“He’s got his priorities, that is what he wants to do,” his father said. “He loves what he does. He’s really enjoying himself.”

Knipe, the lead singer, is also a direct support provider for Amato, completing day-to-day community habilitation work for him. Comparing his role to a life coach, Knipe views it as part of his mission to ensure that Amato is having a good time.

“The best part of it is music because playing gigs live is community habilitation work,” Knipe said. “I’m out in the community with Brian, he’s out in a public area performing, doing a service for people. It goes hand in hand with my daily work with him. I feel good about doing this.”

Westlake has a packed schedule in August, performing at The Warehouse in Amityville on Aug. 7; at Sonny’s Canal House in Baldwin Harbor on Aug. 10; at Jordan Lobster Farms in Island Park on Aug. 16; and at Barrier Brewing Company in Oceanside on Aug. 23.