Singing to make a point

By Nancy Kriz
MONROE — Many thought it was brilliant, while some thought it was in poor taste.

It initially started out as a musician’s interest in writing lyrics for a song to sing at Monday’s Monroe Town Board meeting to spoof a misspelled word in a town hall sign, while taking a jab at the board for the way the KJ annexation proposal is being addressed.

But Monroe resident Steve Pavia, a chiropractor by trade and a musician with the Mighty Spectrum Band for over 30 years, said his song, “That’s Monore,” which is becoming hyper locally viral on YouTube, morphed into a demonstration of civil protest and disobedience done by generations of people worldwide.

A way to protest
“That’s Monore” is a parody of Dean Martin’s hit, “That’s Amore.” Up until recently, a large sign in the town hall had the town’s name misspelled as “Monore.”

“It was civil protest,” Pavia said. “Some people throw rocks, some people curse and swear. This is a harmless way of saying we’re not going to take it anymore. That sign was there for two years. To me it’s funny. The lyrics just came out so easily, I wrote the song in just 10 minutes.”

Pavia said his decision to bring his accordion to the meeting wasn’t made hastily. “I think the people need some relief," Pavia said. "I feel it’s a much more harmless way of making a protest. This is like Irish Step Dancing, which was a protest to English rule.”

As one of the people who signed up to speak during the meeting’s public comment portion, Pavia had planned to sing his song to knowingly take “a jab” at the town board.

But by all accounts, and according to videos posted on YouTube, the meeting became heated after town board officials called for two “time outs” as angry public comments continued.

Those who signed up to speak were already aggravated, he said, because Town Supervisor Harley Doles indicated public comment would be limited to agenda items discussed at that meeting.

Delaying tactics?
Pavia said the more than 200 people who packed that room were also mad because they knew public comment wouldn’t be allowed until the tail end of the meeting, which was well after 9:30 p.m.

They were tired as well, Pavia said, because the room was 76 degrees, many came straight from work with no dinner, and some had children with them who were getting antsy.

“The time out was designed to have people leave,” Pavia said. “People have families, people haven’t had dinner, by the time the second time out had happened, Emily (Convers) was arguing with Dan Burke who was telling her she wasn’t allowed to speak.”

Tensions further mounted after Emily Convers, who leads the anti-annexation movement through United Monroe, had her comments cut off by the board.

When her microphone was turned off, people responded with loud yelling, including some profane comments.

Doles quickly called “a second time-out,” Pavia said which further angered the crowd. The first, he added, was almost 15 minutes in length, and by then it was already after 10 p.m.

Pavia was next on line to speak. But rather than waiting for when the meeting resumed, he picked up his instrument (which he still uses in his band), and began walking around the room, playing the “That’s Amore” melody.

People didn’t initially know what he was up to, Pavia said, and a security guard attempted to stop him. But he continued to play as the crowd admonished the security guard to step aside.

It was then Pavia began to sing his song, to the cheers of those who still remained. Cell phones and cameras captured the moment. When he finished, the crowd erupted in roaring support.

“I was looking to get it over with, I was going to do it as part of my privilege of the floor,” he said. “But I decided I was going to play then. I didn’t expect the time out to happen."

No apologies
Pavia - who said his song provided comedic relief and was a tribute to his father who bartered accordion lessons for him as a child in exchange for chiropractic treatment - doesn’t regret his decision to sing.

“It was a playful jab,” he said. “Do I make apologies for it? No. The people need a time out from the stress and the bottled up emotions that we have. If they (the town board) have a conscience, they might say, ‘We knew we were wrong and we get your joke.’ If somebody jabs at you, you respect them and know where it’s coming from.”

Pavia hopes the town board now realizes public comment should take place at the beginning of the meeting, and include any topic a person wishes to address.

“Respect the lives of the people,” he said. “It would be great if they respond to our questions, they put off the answers to when they want to answer them. We want to ask our questions before 9 p.m.”

Leaders who listen
Pavia said the KJ annexation issue is the most serious in the town’s history.

“The board does not represent the people, they are belligerent toward them, they’re nasty,” he said. “Are we respectful back? Maybe not, but we’re responding to their lack of respect.”

Pavia understood some might not appreciate his intent, but the larger issue of elected officials needing to respond to their constituents was important.

“It started out as a fun thing but it ended up being something more than it was meant to be,” Pavia added. ‘I think people in America should have their leaders listen to their comments and hopefully respond.”