“I had a friend who was hosting open mic night, and I thought we could throw some songs together and go out and play,” recalled Bryant of the band’s first public performance at the Corner Vault in Reedsville.

The guys had performed at open mics previously, but the pandemic shut down that scene. When some normalcy returned, Bryant convinced his two friends to take their musical talents on stage. “It was more of an OK. All right, why not give it a shot and try it,” Buffington said. “We could have done one show and that was it; it’s not like there were any expectations.

“It was literally like, ‘Let’s go do this,'” Buffington added. “We went and did it and we’re still doing it. We were having fun, so we looked for a gig and started playing.”

Officially, The Unmentionables started performing a year ago, although they’ve been jamming as friends for much longer. Buffington sings lead vocals and plays guitar, while Bryant plays guitar and Trinclisti is the drummer.

The Unmentionables are scheduled to play at the Hungry Run Distillery in Lewistown on Friday from 6 to 9 p.m.

“A lot of them seemed to enjoy it,” Trinclisti said of the band’s turnout for open mic night. “(After a set), we went up to the bar for another shot, and the bartender asked us what our band name was. We were still getting our feet wet.”

And the band members realized they needed a name; The Unmentionables were born.

“I think as a group, collectively, we like music, but we hang out at home (to play) and from time to time we go to see bands,” Bryant explained.

“We’re unmentionable. We came up with that name because we jam, but we’re not like that band you expect to see on stage,” Bryant added. “I kind of pushed these guys to go out and jam and be mentionable. I think we all kind of agreed on it (name) after we talked about it.”

They are a cover band who plays music of artists that are certainly mentionable. “We play everything from Stevie Nicks to the (Red Hot) Chili Peppers and Ozzy, but we’ve got some new stuff from The Beatles and country by Zach Bryan and John Prine. “We try to play songs we like and think people would also really enjoy,” Trinclisti said.

All three men have taken similar paths to get to where they are at. Buffington started out his musical escapades in concert band when he was in elementary school. He played percussion, xylophone and baritone up through high school. He quit concert band in high school and took up the guitar. “I was kind of thumbing around with the acoustic guitar,” Buffington said. “I wanted to do something in music from the expression aspect and writing.”

Trinclisti has always been around music even at an early age. “I remember going to a Moody Blues’ concert when I was 6. I was in concert band playing trumpet until I got braces; I tried playing guitar but that didn’t work and singing, which didn’t work. The band didn’t have a drummer, so I picked up drums a decade ago and fell in love with them.

“It’s a stress release,” Trinclisti added. “It’s a stress release. It filled a need, and I found a love.”

Music has always been a way of life in the Bryant family. “My dad’s side of the family was very strong into music, Mom’s too,” Bryant said. “I started out at an early age — like preschool. I sang at church when I was a kid.

“My dad played guitar, and I dabbled in piano,” Bryant added. I got bored with things quickly, so I played a lot by ear, or with the trumpet or the piano. When I was 10, 11 or 12, I picked up a guitar and never looked back.”

Buffington and Trinclisti are employed by Philips Ultrasound Inc. in Reedsville, while Bryant works at a similar manufacturing plant in Centre Hall.

Their friendships date back to Little League days as well as mutual friends. “We’ve known each other for a long time,” Buffington said.

Which also made it the perfect time to take their show from the basement to the stage.

“I wanted to do it with my friends,” Trinclisti said. “That’s what music is to me — no expectations. We wear it on our sleeves, and hopefully everybody like them (music). I was excited; I wanted to do it with these guys.”

He admits playing in other similar bands, but none ever performed on a stage.

Bryant also played with a couple bands in the past. “We’re still pretty fresh to this,” Bryant said. “I cut my teeth playing in front of 10 or 200 people.”

While the band currently plays covers, they’ve hope to incorporate some of their original songs in the future.

“We don’t do note-for-note covers,” Bryant said.

During their first year on stage, The Unmentionables have averaged about a gig per month.