The Real Story In the fall of 2002 a band was born out of the love and respect of the music of Chicago...........it was called Beginnings. This story starts from two different worlds. Mike DelGuidice (Big Shot) decided it was time to form yet another tribute band out of his love for his childhood favorite Chicago Transit Authority. With his great ability to emulate, he hand picked Marty Safran (Just 60"s) and commissioned the wall of sound known as the "Funky in The Middle" horn section. On the other side of the world, there were these two tormented Chicago fans, who talked about forming a tribute band since their days with the "Royal Scam".  The common link was the "Funky" horn section. Upon hearing of each others intentions, the DelGuidice and Antonucci/Colombo worlds collided. After the first rehearsal, we knew we had the right combination. Beginnings went on to dazzle audiences at venues such as The Downtown, Pauls Jeans. Fulton Street Pub, Huntington Festival and an amazing concert at the Patchogue Theater. As time went on, Big Shot's schedule became overwhelming for Mike and it was time for him to make a decision. With a heavy heart, he knew it was time to leave. This was a tremendous loss to the band. Who would we get to play bass, who would sing Peter Cetera and who would learn this bass book in such a short amount of time? We prayed, we chanted, we even thought of advertising (that would have been a Nightmare). As the sun rose one morning, God gave us Mason Swearingen. After finishing a two year stint with Big Shot, Mason was suddenly available. He was a wonderful bassist, but not one of us were really sure he could sing the Cetera songs. After a two week hammering, Mason came to us not only being able to play the charts with authority, but sang Cetera as if he was raised by the man himself! And he scored big points with my two young daughters who think he walks on water. We are very lucky to have Mason Swearingen! After a few wonderfully successful shows with Mason, the band is preparing to embark on what we know will be an entertaining and fun filled run.  We hope you make the time to come out and see the band. We know it will prove to be one of the most entertaining shows you will see. The music of Chicago is really wonderful, especially performed by this talented group of musicians. It is certainly my honor and pleasure to be part of Beginnings. Phil Antonucci