Meet the band: Poncherello

Meet Poncherello. Poncherello is a band composed entirely of current and previous faculty members in the Encinitas area, one of which being our own principal, Adam Camacho. In the band is singer Kaitlyn Wood, an English teacher at SDA. The Guitarists include Paul Juliano, a social science teacher at LCC, and Corey Bess, a previous administrator in the district. On the base is Don Quinn, a Japanese teacher at CCA. Collin Elliot, a social science teacher at SDA, plays as the lead guitarist and a male vocalist, and Mr. Camacho is on the drums.

The original band was called “The Credentials” but since around 2012, has gone by the name of “Poncherello”. The name “Poncherello” comes from a show that is nostalgic to the members of the band. When thinking of a band name, the members were reminded of a character (Poncherello) on the 1970’s show CHiPs. The band agreed that the name was perfect, and it has stuck ever since.

When the band plays, they raise money to support education. Camacho said that the money they had raised at one point had accumulated to hit around $80,000. When asked what his favorite band moment was, Camacho talked about an event from around 3-4 years ago where the band played for families of the school. He said “just knowing that I was doing something more, outside of this role that just kind of shows another side of me, and that our community was enjoying it,” was the best part. 

Camacho says “When that comes to an end you get to that crossroads, and it’s interesting how we all chose education.”. Is it just by chance that these teachers found each other, or was it meant to be?