The Right Pitch
An All American baseball player at Brown, David DeLuca ’64 never hung up his cleats—he’s been playing flag football and slow-pitch softball ever since. But DeLuca, a lawyer who moonlights as part of an a cappella quintet, says the athletic rigors pale when compared to those of music. “In the realm of team activities,” he told the Daily Record of Rochester (N.Y.) in December, “singing is more demanding than any contact sport.”
Cabinetmaker
Fellow Brown grad and newly elected Rhode Island governor Donald Carcieri ’65 tapped former venture capitalist Michael McMahon ’69 as his top economic-development adviser. McMahon’s $114,000-a-year salary as head of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation barely registers next to the money he made in the private sector, but as he remarked to the Providence Journal in December, “How many times do you get the chance to be in someone’s cabinet?”
Spam in a Can
After developing pet food for Quaker Oats and rice dishes for Riviana Foods, food chemist Michele Eison Perchonok ’77 joined NASA to cook up grub for a three-year mission to Mars. “The psychology behind food selections is as important as the practical matters of storage and chemical processes,” Perchonok told the Houston Chronicle in November.
Letting Go
After being ranked the best female triathlete in the world for two years in a row by the International Triathlon Union, Siri Lindley ’91 called it quits in November. “I had achieved all I wanted to in the sport, and I had no more dreams to fulfill,” she told Inside Triathlon.com. “I never wanted to be an athlete who hangs on too long.”
Earning It
Being the daughters of famous musicians may have helped pianist Navah Perlman ’92 and soprano Arianna Zuckerman ’94 secure gigs, but their parents can’t follow them on stage. “Doors open for lots of reasons, but you have to stand in the room by yourself,” Zuckerman told the Ottawa Citizen in December. Asked about the same issue by a reporter for the Denver Post in December, Perlman replied: “People want to know if you’re riding on coattails. But to tell you the truth, I’m not a phony. I play.”
Spin & Scratch Here
Stephanie Gardner ’96 is turning the tables in the right direction for aspiring Manhattan DJs. At her BackSpin Studios in the East Village, DJs can rent space and equipment to practice and learn the art of spinning and scratching. “Typically DJs would have to set up in their house to practice,” Gardner told TheSquare.com in November, “so people had to get used to the idea, but it’s starting to catch on.”
Still Smoking
Ward Richman ’00 grew up on Guns N’ Roses and punk, but he set aside his electric bass for an acoustic model after a conversion to rockabilly. “I told my mom I’d quit smoking if she bought me an upright base,” Richman, a member of the “cowpunk” band Slick 57, told the Houston Press in December. “And now I owe her $1,000.”
