Rocco & Lizzie

Two years ago Megan DiBello found herself enjoying a night in the city with some friends – wearing a bright blue silk jacket, which happened to catch the eye of Colin Clough.

Colin, a Virginia native, found himself instantly enamored – with both Megan and her infamous jacket. He approached her, and what followed was a whirlwind romance – that started with the pair writing a story over e-mails, losing touch, and then somehow finding each other once again in the city where it all started.

Eventually, Colin found himself setting down roots in Astoria – with Megan. They found they both had a passion for writing, and for music. Megan has always been a singer, as well as the founder of Poetry Teachers NYC. Colin got his start by being in a bad when he was much younger, and continued on the path effortlessly.

Before long, Colin and Megan realized they worked together musically just as well as they did romantically.

“There’s just this great synergy between us,” Megan tells us, “We started writing lyrics together in 2013 – Colin came to New York with his guitar, and we hung out and wrote for three days.”

The lyrics were then put to music, backed by Colin’s guitar. As Megan puts it, “Colin is an absolute musical genius!” Colin, in response, smiles – and reminds us that Megan is a lyrical genius. Clearly, they know each other well.

By combining their talents, Megan and Colin created Rocco and Lizzie – a musical duo that emerged from their desire to create a type of music that no one has heard before.

“Megan came up with the name Rocco and Lizzie. At first I wasn’t sure about it, but it grew on me,” Colin tells us.

The two began to work on their EP – titled #SomethingforEveryone.



The title perfectly describes the music – it’s essentially a conglomeration of different musical and lyrical styles, with each song being a little different from the last, but all perfectly coherent in their own way. Each song, though, has a clear and concise purpose. Colin tells us he considers himself a composer, and this EP is just pieces of the puzzle pulled out of his mind.

“I see everything before it comes to life. In my mind, I know exactly what the song is going to be. It’s just about creating it from there.”

The process of writing the EP was focused and intense. Megan and Colin tell us they listened to no other music while writing the songs.

“We wanted it to just be genuinely us,” Megan says, “Something that is completely original and new. We both write in a similar way, where we just hunker down and focus, and create something.”

The music they created isn’t something easily definable. It has influences from punk rock, as well as opera, and lyrics that range from stories inspired by Colin’s grandfather, to astrology, to rebirth in New York City.

To celebrate their first EP, Megan and Colin are having a release party at COFFEED on April 1st – a place where they have found themselves consistently since it began hosting The Inspired Word.

“Coffeed, and even Astoria in general, has been a great hub for us. Mike Geffner, the founding of Inspired Word, has always been supportive of us and our music, and really helped us along the way. We perform regularly at Coffeed, and from there we met so many artists – like Shako Khiski, who plays lead guitar on the album.

We’re really inspired by our environment, and inspired by a neighborhood that is so supportive of the arts.”

The EP was also recorded in the neighborhood – at Continental Recording Studios in LIC. Phil Duke, who owns the studio, has been a supporter of Rocco and Lizzie since he first heard their music.

If you want to support this local duo, come on out to their release party! No matter what kind of music you like, you’ll find a song that fits your style – after all, that’s the purpose of #SomethingforEveryone. - Give Me Astoria

Some things are just meant to be and are destined to come together — and in the case of Megan DiBello and Colin Clough, one encounter over a bummed cigarette has transformed into a perfect musical match.

DiBello and Clough are the creative minds behind the Astoria-based band Rocco & Lizzie, which is set to release its first EP titled “#SOMETHINGFOREVERYONE” on April 1 at the LIC Bar.

The two Astoria residents and poets met three years ago in Manhattan when DiBello asked for a cigarette from Clough. This led to a next-day brunch invite and a 7-hour phone call, and although Clough returned to his home in Virginia, by mid-2014 he made the move to New York.

Since then, the two have come together to create music. DiBello is the main lyricist of the duo and Clough composes the music on various instruments.

The name of the band comes from DiBello’s middle name, Elizabeth (“Lizzie”), which she said is the “sweet and nice” part of the group, while the name “Rocco” represents Clough and his more intense nature.

“They’re our personalities,” DiBello said of the names. “They are the driving forces of this album.”

Although their Facebook page categorizes them in the post-punk and rock genres, DiBello added that their music differs from song to song.

With the band’s heavy community involvement – writing the music in Queens, recording the EP at the Continental Recording Studio in Long Island City and constantly supporting the local music and literary community – she said she would call their music “Queens Rock.”

“I never heard of it, but I think it would be really cool,” she said of the new genre. “We’re a rock band but there are so many different levels, every song is very different.”



At the moment, the band consists of primarily DiBello and Clough, with contributions on the EP by guitarist and bassist Shako and drummer Tony Shing Siu Sze. However, the duo hopes to soon find a permanent bassist and drummer.

DiBello added that the music on the EP, which will consist of five tracks, shares their personal stories. For example, a song called “Jonsey Boy” talks about the transition of a boy making a move, just like Clough made the move from Virginia to New York.

“If you want people to buy it, you have to give them the reason why,” DiBello said. “We’re really living the story. [The music] is unique and completely community driven. And for myself, it’s some of the best poetry I’ve written in my life. They’re all stories about how we live.”

After the debut of their EP, plans are to release 14 more tracks by the end of the summer while also trying to play a lot of shows. They hope to perform during musical festivals and even have ideas of potentially starting their own music label to help others share their passion.

“We have a message. We want to show people that you can overcome any adversity in life as long as you’re passionate,” DiBello added.

Rocco & Lizzie’s EP release show will be at the LIC Bar, located at 45-58 Vernon Blvd., on April 1 at 7 p.m. Admission is free. - Queens Courier

Here’s a little diddy about Rocco and Lizzie: Southern boy meets Long Island gal on MacDougal Street one summer night in 2013. Cue the sparks. A year later they come together in the cultural mecca that is Astoria, Queens to record their first EP. Arriving April 1st, Something for Everyone is a poetic and powerful rock album for music lovers of all stripes. To celebrate, the band will perform a free release-night show at L.I.C. Bar in Long Island City.

Rocco and Lizzie are Colin Clough, a Virginia transplant with a melange of musical talents, and Megan DiBello, a Floral Park native and poet/entrepreneur. They write their lives—scrawling words on the subway, humming notes through the sidewalk din.. Megan’s charged lyrics help shape Colin’s nuanced compositions. Together, they’ve nurtured fragments of inspiration drawn from each other and their vibrant community into five original songs with a strong, unifying arc.

#SOMETHINGFOREVERYONE represents a “new species of music,” blending hard rock riffs with smooth guitar licks, sonorous and bellicose vocals. Track #4, Universal Degrasse, embodies this electric dynamicism. “Musically and lyrically it goes from petting a dog to a bee sting—it can be felt, it can reverberate,” says Megan, who reveals her performative range. To Colin, the track is a metaphor for the startling but often beautiful volatility of life.

Rocco and Lizzie share a story that is both personal and universal, encouraging listeners to dig deeper and be inspired. “We are doing this for the poets and musicians in the world who need people to believe in them as we believe in each other...we’re grateful to have a community that supports us,” says the pair. Phil Duke of Continental Recording Studio in Long Island City, Queens helped produce the album, with contributors including Greg Johnson on drums and Shako Khiski on bass and lead guitar. - Floral Park Gateway

Our first show in April of 2015 with a full band was a hugely momentous occasion for us. We had really sacrificed and worked incredibly hard to make it happen. I also believe that our peers were sincerely impressed that we were able to deliver on such a big commitment. We had the opportunity to play the world famous Viper Room in L.A., Bowery Electric in NYC and The Bitter End in NYC. If you are a band and have become famous you've played one or all of these places. It was a huge privilege to have the ability to stand on stages that so many great musicians have graced ..." -