Ex-resident of NNY paid to be macho

A member of the Village People is getting some rest and relaxation in the north country before heading back on tour.

J. Eric Anzalone arrived in the area on Sunday for a family reunion and leaves today to return to his New Jersey home and to prepare for a Village People show in Atlantic City on Saturday.

Mr. Anzalone, 42, has played the part of "the biker" in the Village People since 1995. He's staying at Pillar Point, town of Brownville, with his daughter, Samantha, 9, girlfriend, and her daughter, 8. He said it's been about eight or nine years since he's been in the area.

Mr. Anzalone attended elementary school in Black River and Carthage before his parents, Philip L. and Miday (Kuhn) Anzalone moved to Florida in 1978. Eric and his brother, Kevin, moved to Watertown later that year to live with their grandfather and grandmother, Samuel F. and Lillian M. Anzalone of Michigan Avenue. In 1980, while a ninth-grader in the Watertown City School District, Eric moved to Santa Barbara, Calif., with his mother.

Mr. Anzalone spent two years at the University of Miami in Florida, where he studied music and theater. He said he was eager to start working, so he left college in favor of pursuing a career in California.

Mr. Anzalone was born in Ohio, where his father was stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton. His father and step-mother, Patti, live in Florida and his brother lives in California, where his mother still lives.

The relaxed atmosphere of Pillar Point is a different world than the one Mr. Anzalone makes a living with as a member of the Village People, a novelty disco group formed in the late 1970s. But Mr. Anzalone said it's easy to make the switch back to his profession.

"It's become second nature," he said. "I just switch into the leather and I become a macho man."

He said his daughter knows when he's ready to go out on tour again when she notices his beard beginning to grow. "She says, 'Ah, you're getting ready to be a macho man again, dad.'"

Besides Mr. Anzalone, the group consist of original member Felipe Rose, portraying the Native American; original member Alex Briley, portraying the soldier; original member David Hodo, portraying the construction worker; Ray Simpson, "the cop"; and Jeff Olson, "the Cowboy."

This year marks the 30th Anniversary of the release of the group's song, "YMCA" and the band is celebrating with an extra busy touring schedule, including August shows in Italy.

Other hits for the often-parodied group include "Macho Man," "In the Navy" and "Go West."

Mr. Anzalone said he is amazed at the huge crowds the group constantly draws. Some crowds, he noted, can't understand English, but they can make the popular arm movements for the song "YMCA.."

He said the group recently filmed an American Express commercial with talk shot host Ellen DeGeneres that is receiving lots of attention.

"The phone has been ringing off the hook," Mr. Anzalone said. "We're getting phone calls from all over. The job is a blessing."

He noted that after 31 years and more than 100 million records sold, the Village People is scheduled to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but no date has been set yet by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

"I never take for granted that I am able to get up everyday and get paid to do what I love to do most," Mr. Anzalone said. "It's stuff like this that makes me think, 'Yeah, my job is pretty cool.'"