“Rockaway Summer Music Spotlight” is a series by The Rockaway Times highlighting the movers and shakers behind the local music scene. In this installation, meet acoustic music duo, Taylor Searing and Pete Brady.
They are firemen. They are family men. They are musicians. Taylor Searing and Pete Brady extraordinarily are able to bring the same “New York’s Bravest” passion to all three roles. And maybe it was in the stars, as that passion led the two to collaborate with local musician, Bobby Butler, and others, on penning a moving tribute with the song, “Raise One For Pat Boys,” to commemorate the life of their dear friend, (also, Pete Brady’s cousin), Patrick Brady, a fellow fireman who died in the line of duty last November.
Searing, a father of two children, started as a firefighter in Brooklyn’s FDNY Engine 227 in Brooklyn and lieutenant in Engine 231, and now captain in Queen’s Engine 311. Brady, a father of three, is a former lifeguard in Rockaway, and firefighter at FDNY Rescue Company 2 in Brooklyn, a specialized unit that coordinates technical rescues and scuba diving runs. Brady said, “With my unit, all those drownings in Rockaway, we come down to rescue.”
The two men share roots not just with the FDNY and as humble performers but through living the beach life in Rockaway.
Brady, age 42, shared, “I lived in Rockaway my entire life. Pretty much, my whole family’s from Rockaway. My parents are originally from Manhattan, but moved to Rockaway when they were younger, and everyone settled and stayed here. I grew up on Beach 129th Street.”
As for Searing, he describes himself as a Rockaway transplant. He said, “I grew up in Valley Stream, surfing in Long Beach. And in 2006, when I was in the market to buy a house, I found that it was more affordable to move into Arverne. So, I moved into Rockaway at around 2007 at the Nautilus Condominiums at Arverne-by-the-Sea on Beach 80th Street. My family lived here for about 14 years. We recently moved to Lido Beach in Long Island.”
As for how the two men’s paths converged, they give credit to quite a few Rockaway legends, who gave them the courage to first step up to the mike.
For Searing, a self-professed late bloomer as a vocalist and guitarist, he said, “I had a connection with Rockaway because of the fire department. A lot of my buddies lived here, and we used to have parties at the Harbor Light, where I had one of my first experiences playing. My buddy, Brian Monaghan, got me up in front of some folks when he was playing. Then Pete and I met, while we were playing Dalton’s.”
As for Brady, also a vocalist and self-taught on the ukelele, he credits both Searing and Bob Johnson of Connolly’s. He said, “Taylor and Bob did the same thing to me that Brian did for Taylor. On many occasions, they each said, ‘You’re playing.’ I said, ‘I’m not doing that.’ For example, Bob said to me, ‘Too bad, I already booked it, so, you’re playing.’ So that’s basically how they all pulled me out of my shell.”
Searing agreed. “We have to give Bob Johnson a shout out because he was the one who saw a clip of me and Pete playing on a family trip together in Pennsylvania. And Bob was like, ‘We gotta get Pete playing.’ I’m like, ‘I’ve been trying for a while, and he doesn’t like to get in front of a crowd. But Bob Johnson was the one who said, ‘Just book it!’”
Brady added, “I used to bar back for Bob at Connolly’s. I also played rugby with Bob, and he got me into working the bar scene. And he’s just an absolute legend when it comes to getting the best out of people.”
As for how the two men finally decided to get over their apprehension to play music as a duo in front of a crowd, Brady said their partnership began after COVID.
He said, “I buckled in during COVID, and just started playing music because there was nothing going on. I got this ukulele and a slew of songs at my disposal. I just decided to play them, and Taylor and I were sending videos back and forth like, ‘try this one out.’ Searing was doing the Facebook live stuff, and well, we got together.”
Both gentlemen have watched as Rockaway’s music scene has evolved and grown.
Brady said, “It used to be maybe some music on Friday nights. Or maybe like a Sunday brunch thing. Now you can go out any night of the week and see live music in Rockaway. Whether it’s at The Wharf, The BayHouse, Callie’s, Bungalow Bar, Pilot House, the concessions and more.
“I feel like that our 40s-year-old age group has the best taste in music out of anyone because we grew up with our parents listening to the classic rock greats, and then we had our own phenomenal groups like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam. And then you get into the newer bands of the 2000s like The Strokes and The Killers. And now even artists like Post Mallone, and country music artists.”
As for how the two collaborated on the song, “Raise One For Pat Boys,” for their friend and family member, firefighter Pat Brady, Searing said, “I was initially nervous to send the rough draft to Pete because it was so new and emotional, but he immediately sent me a message back that said it brought him to tears and he loved it. And we have to record it. Bobby Butler immediately got involved and started laying down the guitar parts and it was all within days of Pat’s passing. I personally felt that Pat was helping us from heaven to complete that song, ‘cause I couldn’t come up with that on my own.
“With the Pete and Searing Duo, Pat was our ‘self proclaimed manager.’ He called us ‘312,’ because Pete and I share the same birthday, March 12. Plus, the Bogmen mastered the song, and Etan Blatt, another fireman from the big house in Far Rockaway put together the video. When writing the song, I was just thinking about Pat and how he lit up any room when he came in. The song, ‘Raise One For Pat Boys,’ was a toast to his life.”
Pete Brady will be performing a solo show today, Thursday, August 13, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at The BayHouse (500 Bayside Drive, Breezy Point). For more info about upcoming live shows, visit: Taylor Searing and Pete Brady on Facebook/Instagram.
