Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ music will “come around here” when Damn the Torpedoes performs Jan. 9 at the Musikfest Café, located in SteelStacks’ ArtsQuest Center, Founders Drive, Bethlehem.

The Central/North New Jersey tribute act takes its name from the same-titled, breakthrough 1979 Petty/Heartbreakers album. “Damn the Torpedoes,” which includes hits such as “Don’t Do Me Like That” and “Refugee,” heavily influenced Rich Kubicz, the tribute band’s lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist.

Damn the Torpedoes, which regularly plays area venues, also features: Lee Boice, lead guitar; Gary Castelluccio, keyboards/piano, guitar, harmonica and vocals; Johnny Pisano, bass and vocals; and Ross Kantor, drums/percussion and vocals.

Petty and the Heartbreakers, inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, released 13 studio albums from 1976 to 2014. Petty, who passed away in late 2017, also recorded three solo efforts, plus two albums each as a member of rock bands The Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch.

Raised in Union, New Jersey, 1970s child Kubicz grew up on classic rock and late-1960s psychedelic and British Invasion music.

“Tom Petty fit those influences perfectly for me all in one package,” he said. “I fancy myself a singer/songwriter, although with only one fully produced album” and some unrecorded material.

How it started

Kubicz, who with his wife, maintains a micro farm in their residence of Sussex County, New Jersey, conceived the Petty tribute act with another player as early as 2006. He formed the band, which fully came together in 2007, to fulfill his desire to play live music to an appreciative audience.

“After years of playing in small coffeehouses and bars, I wanted to find something special that might get me to step up to better venues and larger audiences. The early years were a revolving door, with a mix of talent and abilities within personnel.

“As I got better,” he continued, “I was able to attract better players. We made some major breakthroughs in 2014; a stellar cast came together, which attracted better venues and dedicated management. I haven’t looked back since.”

In regard to what made Petty and the Heartbreakers such admired and important figures, Kubicz believes it was “the hooks, the looks, the production and the attitude of their music. None of it could be ignored. It’s rare when stars such as those all align.”

A dedicated group

Each Damn the Torpedoes member saw Petty and the Heartbreakers live on several occasions, though “none of us have ever met any of them, as far as I know,” Kubicz said. “We were slated to play a show the day after Mike Campbell’s Dirty Knobs were to play a show at the same venue as us.”

That show, he added, was postponed because of a snowstorm, “but we were on the same marquis. That’s the closest I can attest to any of the Heartbreakers being aware of us.”

When it comes to Petty and the Heartbreakers’ catalog, Kubicz has favorites. He suggests putting headphones on and listening to “Won’t Last Long,” “Drivin’ Down to Georgia,” “Somewhere Under Heaven” and “Angel Dream.”

Favorite live songs, Kubicz said, “are when we engage the audience. ‘Don’t Come Around Here No More’ is one of those. I also have a tendency to favor songs we don’t always do at every show.”

Damn the Torpedoes has 80 songs in its repertoire, with 25 maximum slots for a two-hour-plus show. Songs, Kubicz said, such as “American Girl,” “The Waiting,” “Refugee,” “Free Fallin’,” “Even the Losers,” “Don’t Do Me Like That” and “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” appear in every show.

“The greatest challenge I have putting together the set list is the in-and-out songs,” the musician added. “Not all of them appear every time, but they appear some of the time: ‘Fooled Again,’ ‘Honey Bee,’ ‘Room at the Top,’ ‘King’s Highway,’ ‘Rebels,’ ‘Saving Grace,’ ‘Somewhere Under Heaven.’”

Not just Petty

While Damn the Torpedoes has not considered recording an album of Petty music, “we are all currently working on original music,” said Kubicz, adding that he released an album, “Echo Lake,” in 2005.

Other members have released or played on several albums. Pisano, a member of the Willie Nile Band, has worked with a number of mainstream artists, including Bruce Springsteen, Billie Joe Armstrong, Joan Jett, Alice Cooper and Ryan Adams.

Damn the Torpedoes’ career highlights, Kubicz said, include playing big stages and garnering a vast following, with live gigs ranking among the band’s top achievements.

“The show we’ve created gets continual buzz. I consider that a very big accomplishment.”