Lyme-Old Lyme Teacher Brett Eckhart Goes From Classroom to Stage With ’90s Alt-Rock Reunion

OLD LYME, CT – Brett Eckhart, a favorite teacher at Lyme-Old Lyme High School, is going retro in a comeback concert of Radiotricity, the band he was in more than 30 years ago.

The band will be performing at Hygienic Art Park in New London on Saturday, Sept. 12. Eckhart, of Waterford, will be joined by original guitarist and backup vocalist Ben Parent of New London, drummer Trevor Chandonnait of New London and guitarist Eric Gelfond of Norwalk and Boston. Dante Piacenza of New London is taking over on bass in the comeback and will do backing vocals.

According to a write-up from the band, their music is “loud yet dynamic, distorted and jangly, rhythmic yet sinewy, with the honey-throated lion’s roar of lead singer Brett Eckhart on top of it all.”

In 1994 and ‘95, when Eckhart was a 27 year old from New London, the band played rooms from Toad’s Place in New Haven to the El ‘n Gee in New London to the Rathskellar in Boston. They opened for acts including Joan Osborne, Velvet Crush and The Reducers of New London. 

Former bass player James Ruth, who isn’t part of the reunion, eventually joined. There were other bass players before and after Ruth, according to Eckhart, but he was the longest. 

According to Gelfond, the guitarist, the tale of Eckhart’s arrival as frontman came with twists and turns, along with the shocking realization of just how creative the singer could be. 

The band tried a couple of  musicians as lead singer but didn’t find anyone who really clicked, Parent said. He was friends with Eckhart, so recommended giving him a try.

“At first we thought it wouldn’t work,” Gelfond said. “He came back with these wonderful lyrics …We were surprised that he had a poetic side.”

These days, Eckhart is known for locally teaching world history, psychology and economics. A class advisor for more than a decade and a half, he has also spoken at three high school graduations, an honor bestowed on the teacher who gets the most votes from the graduating class. 

Eckhart said he has a more casual approach to teaching than some, and a student once asked if he was ever an actor. 

In fact, he received a teaching degree from Central Connecticut State University, where he also got a bachelor’s in psychology and theater. He has a master’s degree in curriculum from the University of Saint Joseph.

Eckhart didn’t actually admit he was a popular teacher, but said if it’s true, it may have something to do with his outgoing, fun attitude in class and penchant for getting involved with the students and their activities. 

He said he has played in student-teacher basketball games and done lip syncs with other staff members.

“Then one year, I went rogue and did it with my econ class,” he said. “I like to get involved in the school, and the kids are tremendous. I care about the kids so I guess that shows.” 

Old Tapes

The return of Radiotricity was the brainchild of Parent. A continued presence on the local music scene, Parent and his wife, Nancy Parent, have fronted The Rivergods since it was formed in the late 1990s – a couple of years after Radiotricity’s breakup – by Gelfond and Parent. Gelfond left in 1999. 

Parent said he came up with the Radiotricity reunion idea while he was driving one day. When one of their songs popped into his head, he remembered he had written it, but couldn’t remember all the lyrics. He called Chandonnait and then Eckhart looking for old tapes. 

The request sent a pang through Eckhart. He had all the band’s masters and one rehearsal on cassette and said he has never quite forgiven his wife for tossing them. A sole tape with 10 songs – including the one Parent was looking for – remained and has been digitized.

When Eckhart sent Parent the songs, he had the idea for the reunion.  

“These are pretty good songs,” Parent said. “The world deserves to hear these.” 

Eckhart and Gelfond liked the idea; Chandonnait was less enthused but agreed to give it a go.

“I normally don’t like to revisit old things,” the drummer said. 

In their first rehearsal, they were “stripped down,” just trying things out, he said. 

“I was just playing on a box on a milk crate, really just to get the basics down because Dante was trying to learn the music,” he said. “So it was very quiet, very subdued.”

Even with the music so restrained, Chandonnait realized after two songs that it was going to work. 

“Once we did them a couple times, I was like, ‘That’s it. It’s going to be fun, not a chore, not a job,’” he said. “This was a piece of cake.”

Next Generation

To add to the fun, Eckhart’s son Dylan Eckhart and his band, The Dylan Read Band, will open for Radiotricity at the Sept. 12 concert. He will also play a song with the band. 

Dylan Eckhart, of Waterford, said the music the two groups play is a “very similar genre”: alt/indie rock and singer-songwriter. 

Eckhart added that his son’s music leans more toward the indie side of things, while his band “is more alt.” 

Before playing with Radiotricity, Dylan Eckhart had never heard the band live. He had heard some of the songs through his father’s recordings.

“So obviously I was very intrigued when I heard this was happening,” he said.

The gang is happy to be together again and to perform at the show. They said the tunes came back pretty easily after their 30-year hiatus.

“It never felt like finished business,” Gelfond said. “It never really saw its potential.” 

Radiotricity’s music can be found on Bandcamp and will soon be available via Spotify. The Dylan Read Band can be found on Spotify.

For more on Radiotricity, go to www.instagram.com/radiotricityon. 

Radiotricity’s “30th Anniversary of the Break-Up” concert, with special outdoor music and multimedia show, will be held Saturday, Sept. 12 at Hygienic Art Park, 79 Bank St., New London. Gates open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 each.