Photo courtesy of Mel Trotier

Singing “I’ll melt with you” by Modern English, social studies teacher Mel Trotier performs at Circa Pub & Grill in front of hundreds of people. The “Circa All Stars” band members rotate between 10 musicians every three or four songs. “We’re all very flexible. It was a random Saturday night and we decided to perform just for fun,” Trotier said. “The audience sings along and there’s always a group of people dancing.”

Pursuing his musical talents and passions, social studies teacher and assistant football coach Mel Trotier has played in a band for the past five years. Talented on the microphone, guitar and bass, Trotier alternates roles during performances with nine other band members, all Parkway West parents. The name of the band is not yet set in stone, but temporarily known as “Circa All Stars,” they cover late 80s and 90s music, primarily ACDC, Def Leppard, The Gogos and Tom Petty. 

“It all started when [football] coach [Jamie] Martin and I started talking at practice one day. He heard I play guitar because I had his son in class and I have a guitar in my classroom. He invited me over to play with a band one weekend and it all went from there,” Trotier said. “I’ve been interested in music since I was young, and I’ve always wanted to do something like this.”

Prior to COVID-19, Trotier and the other band members met up once a month and played two or three times a year. Their first performance was at Sky Music Lounge, a local band venue owned by a band themselves. 

“[Sky Music Lounge] was our first paid gig; we felt like a real band,” Trotier said. “I’ve run into a lot of people there, it’s full of random standard Dad Bands. We all love the same songs so we go, play our favorite music and have a good time.” 

The band consists of 10 revolving people, occasionally including junior Andrew Martin and his family. Trotier and the Martins most commonly perform at Circa Pub and Grill, a restaurant owned by the Martin family. 

“While we’re not trying to tour to make money, it does help the Martins’ business,” Trotier said. “For all of us, it’s not about money but being able to make the same music as all of our favorite artists, and we have a great time doing it.”

The band’s last performance was in March. Due to schedule issues, the members face difficulty when searching for times they all can perform and practice together. 

“We haven’t done anything in about nine months. We all have different jobs to tend to,” Trotier said. “For me, it’s football and coaching. For the Martin’s, they just bought a restaurant, so they are busy with that. It’s frustrating sometimes, but we all understand each of us have a busy life outside of our band. ” 

When practicing and performing is too difficult to schedule, the band bonds by going to concerts together and going out to eat.

“This band has been a fantastic release and escape from work and everything else,” Trotier said. “It’s been a really good way for me to become a better musician and understand music more. I’ve understood it better in the past four years than my entire life. It’s fun socially, people show up to see us, we run into people. It’s overall a very important part of my life outside of teaching.”