Gimme Four is an international medalist and CARA Award-winning barbershop quartet based in Caldwell, New Jersey. Paul, Dave, Will, and Joe have been singing together since 2011. The quartet was formed out of a mutual love for barbershop harmony, friendship, and a burning desire to reach the highest level possible. Gimme Four has had the tremendous privilege of spending the last decade touring the country competing, performing, teaching, and making lifelong friends. All four quartet members sing in the Dapper Dans of Harmony, based in Caldwell, as well as East Coast Sound, a youth-focused chorus which draws membership from NJ, NY, PA, and beyond.
The quartet is heavily involved in youth outreach and music education through barbershop singing, having coached students across the tri-state area in multiple different venues. The quartet has achieved great success in barbershop contests as 2018 Mid-Atlantic District Quartet Champions and finishing as high as 3rd internationally. The quartet also had the enormous privilege of being featured at the legendary Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center in NYC alongside James Langton's New York All-Star Big Band in 2015. Gimme Four continues to sing with the Big Band, appearing on the Intrepid, at the Algonquin Arts Theater, and at the Cutting Room in NYC. In 2017, Gimme Four opened for Jay Leno at the Freeman Stage at Bayside in Delaware and toured St. Petersburg, Russia, which are only a few of the long string of unique and extremely fulfilling ventures the quartet has been honored to undertake. In 2018, the quartet was very proud to release their first album, "Gimme Four: Volume One", and Volume Two was released in 2022.
The quartet loves to compete, loves to teach, loves to coach, loves to work, and loves to make friends, but more than anything else, loves to make music that leaves a lasting impression - one that changes someone's day, and maybe even their life.
PAUL FRANEK is the tenor of Gimme Four. Paul was introduced to the genre though his high school a Cappella group, the Retromen. He is incredibly passionate about barbershop, serving on the Music Team of the Montclair and Caldwell chapters, the Board of Directors of the Caldwell chapter, and previously the Finance Committee of the Barbershop Harmony Society. He has also been inducted into the Mid-Atlantic District’s honors chapter in recognition of his service to the District and our art form. Paul works in the investments industry in NYC and lives in West Caldwell, NJ.
JOE SERVIDIO sings baritone in Gimme Four. Just like Paul and Dave, he learned of barbershop while singing with the Retromen and was invited to Dapper Dans rehearsal. He serves on the Music Team of the Caldwell chapter and is also its president, and is the director of the Montclair chapter. He is also a member of the MAD honors chapter. Joe works in refrigeration sales and lives in Morris Plains, NJ with his wife, son, and cats.
DAVE AMMIRATA sings lead in Gimme Four. Like Paul, he learned of barbershop when he was singing with the Retromen in high school. He serves on the Music Team of the Caldwell chapter and formerly directed the chorus. He has also been inducted into the Mid-Atlantic District’s honor chapter. Dave works at the Happiest Place on Earth and lives in Orlando, FL with his wife and dog.
WILL DOWNEY is the bass of Gimme Four. Will also sang with the Retromen, but did not immediately find barbershop from there like Paul, Dave, and Joe. Instead, in 2011, he invited himself to a Dans rehearsal and fell in love with the genre. Will now directs the Caldwell chapter and also directs the Retromen, the very group that got each quartet member started. Will, too, is a member of the MAD honors chapter like his quartetmates. He is a music teacher and lives in Lincoln Park, NJ with his wife, son, and birds.
Choruses
Please check out both of the chapters that we represent and lead!
- Montclair Chapter - The Dapper Dans of Harmony: www.dapperdans.org
- Caldwell Chapter - East Coast Sound: www.eastcoastsound.org
You can reach us directly by messaging us on Facebook or emailing us!
gimmefourquartet@gmail.com