Young musicians get their ACTS together at benefit BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY staff Above, Mike Terpak, 12, Union Beach, rocks out on guitar as he performs "Rock 'n' Roll, Part 2" during the second annual Absolute Community Talent Show at St. John's Church, Hazlet, July 22. Left, Holmdel's Max Phillips, 9, performs "Clocks" at talent show. HAZLET - It may not have been "American Idol" tryouts, but the level of talent in town Sunday may have been enough to make someone think Simon Cowell was present. The second annual Absolute Community Talent Show (ACTS) was held Sunday at St. John's Methodist Church and was made up of students who take lessons at Absolute Music, located in Airport Plaza on Route 36. Students who voluntarily signed up for the day's event were eventually placed into duets, trios and small groups put together by store owner John Albino, who has operated his business for eight years. Albino said last year's show was great, but was nothing compared to what transpired over the weekend. "Things were amazing. It was probably about two-and-a-half times the size of last year's event," Albino said. "It was a packed house. We had 28 acts, and the people that came out to see it were ecstatic about the whole thing." Albino decided to donate the proceeds, which he said would be no less than $3,000, to the church where the event took place, along with its related ministries. "That's my regular church and I know that they could really use the money," Albino said. "There's been plenty of times when it's been raining and they've had buckets to catch some of the water inside. So to me, it made perfect sense to donate 100 percent of the proceeds to St. John's Methodist Church." Besides putting on the talent shows the past two years, Albino has been very active in the Hazlet community, donating his time to performing at local schools and educating children about musical programs. "To me, the kids are everything, and that's what makes this place great," Albino explained. "When we started Absolute Music, we wanted it to be a place where kids can come and experience music and enjoy it. And because of that, our talent show this year was dynamite. The kids showed what they gained out of working hard every time they came in for rehearsals." Boys and girls showed their stuff on stage for the four-hour recital, although one performer may have looked a bit out of place. "At one point I even hopped on stage and played some bass and guitar with the kids," Albino said. "You can't help but want to get involved with the whole program. The kids worked like crazy to get prepared for this, and it was such a successful day."