BarackNRoll: Obama Hangs Out With Pittsburgh Band After They Serenade His Motorcade

Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 11:20 am

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What do you do if President Obama and Vice President Biden roll into your town outside of Pittsburgh, to the Community College just a stones throw away from your house? If you’re the band Comfort Tech, you turn the driveway into a stage and play an original song, Lumberjack, as the POTUS motorcade rolls by and hope he notices.

He did.

Watch here:

Comfort Tech is comprised of “Sean Conner and Eric DiFiore on guitars and vocals, Kevin Stripp/ Dan Morgan on drums, and Brett White on bass and vocals”, per their FB page. In their video of the event, they were deeply appreciative of the courtesy extended to them, “Serenading Mr. President Obama as he arrives with his motorcade. Most appreciative of President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and their kind staff for their outstanding courtesy…

Watch the Motorcade Serenade here:

Lexi Belculfine at the The Post Gazette reported:

When singer and guitarist Sean Conner, 24, realized POTUS and VPOTUS would be in their back yard, he said he knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But how to get the attention of the leaders of the free world?

They made a red, white and blue banner reading “Welcome Mr. President!” and hung it on their porch, above the driveway-turned-stage. The plan was to be respectful and not disruptive, he said.

It worked! The Secret Service wouldn’t let the President stop to hear the band, so Obama had the Secret Service ask the band to come and meet him, which they did. They noted on their Facebook Page that they heard the President asking, “Where’s Comfort Tech?”

The President told them to send their CD over when it was done, and then offered to pose for a picture.

Bass player and singer Brett White told the Post Gazette, “I did not touch him until he put his arm around me.”

The band was then invited to stay for the speech, during which the President gave them a shout out. All in all, a tremendously cool outcome from their plan to serenade the motorcade.

The White House followed up, reminding the band to send over their next album:

Hey @ComfortTechBand, the President really enjoyed meeting you. Remember to send over your next album: http://t.co/VnjnXoUAM8 #BarackNRoll ♫

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 18, 2014

It’s really difficult to imagine any previous Presidents other than Bill Clinton doing this, and certainly not getting praised for their courtesy.

Sarah Jones

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Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.

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