Pittston native Chris ‘Motionless’ Cerulli shares his journey from NEPA to international fame
PITTSTON — There have been a lot of people who put Pittston and Greater Pittston on the map over time, some famous and some infamous, but the name at the top of the list or near the top is someone you may not know at all.
If you grew up in Greater Pittston, you knew about football great Charley Trippi, baseball Hall of Famer Hugh Jennings, billiards champion “Machine Gun” Lou Butera, the comedy of Marion Lorne aka Aunt Clara of “Bewitched,” Shawn Klush as Elvis, and football and TV’s Jimmy Cefalo.
The one name not on that list is a 40-year-old Chris Cerulli, a 2004 graduate of Pittston Area and a native of the city of Pittston. Chris should not only be at the top of the list, but he is a legend in the making.
Cerulli may not be a household name known to everyone in Greater Pittston, but to the world of rock ’n’ roll, in particular metalcore, he is known around the world as “Chris Motionless.”
Chris, the son of Jerry Cerulli and Karen Zimmerman, who both attended Wyoming Area School District, is the frontman and original member left in the metalcore band Motionless in White (MiW).
MiW’s 20-year journey started in the halls of Pittston Area School District.
The metalcore genre is a form of metal music incorporating screaming or growling into the lyrics, which could be rough on Chris’ voice, but there is a technique behind it.
“Metalcore became this really new, motivating style of music that I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I want to learn this,’ and I want to try to write a song like that,” Chris said. “It’s always been an effort to just musically expand my horizon and those (metalcore) artists really seem to have stuff that affected me in a way that no other ones have at that moment.”
He continued, “I felt like the metalcore, the hardcore bands, were singing about life in a way that just hit me a little bit harder. I just kept diving in and diving in and finding more bands (to listen to) and thankfully, MySpace, at that time, was really popular, so it was super easy to find music and find bands.” As for his voice, Chris had to learn screaming techniques the hard way by trial and error before learning the proper skill.
“There was way too many times when I blew out my voice, and I had to admit, I don’t know how to freaking do it,” Chris admitted. “In the early days, there was no technique, I was just screaming just as loud as I can and we had to end practice a few times because I just didn’t have a voice left.”
That was a long time ago, and through proper methods, Chris is riding the crest of being one of the biggest metalcore stars worldwide.
Early beginnings
MiW got its start when Chris was a student at Pittston Area, eventually learning to play drums and guitar. During his high school years, he entered the school’s talent show performing sophomore year through senior year with various schoolmates.
Growing up, Chris didn’t know how to play an instrument or read music. In fact, his biggest interest was playing video games; music was the furthest thing in his mind.
“At first, I just wasn’t interested in playing anything,” Chris said. “I think I was just too young to think about it, I was more of an outdoor kid, into every sport and constantly outside. When I wasn’t, that was the age when Nintendo and Sega were big and it was so exciting to play video games with my brother.”
According to Chris, when he finally fell in love with music, it hit him like a ton of bricks.
“Oh, this … this is amazing,” Chris said, as he was describing how music entered his life. “This is speaking to me, and then I said I wanted a drum set.”
His parents bought him a drum kit and eventually his grandfather, Charles Zimmerman, purchased his first guitar, with which Chris became self-taught.
Singing wasn’t on his radar because he was only interested in playing guitar and drums.
Chris’ dad, Jerry, was a singer, and few other members of his family were musicians, so, he was surrounded by music.
Jerry’s musical tastes rubbed off on Chris with such bands as Rush and Metallica along with classic rock and metal music.
“With my grandfather, father, and uncles playing music, it was hard not to be eventually involved in music,” Chris admitted. “I feel like music was around me for my whole life.”
From elementary school up to high school, Chris started to surround himself with people with musical abilities and began to set up jam sessions at his house.
“You know, we weren’t good, but we were super excited to just get together as friends and play,” Chris recalled. “And it felt like this moment of my life just exploded, where it was every person I knew within Wyoming Area, Pittston Area, even further out into Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, people were coming over and we were just jamming and learning cover songs.”
At the time of graduating from Pittston Area, he formed a band featuring himself (lead vocals, guitar), Frank Palumbo (guitar), Kyle White (bass), and Angelo Parente (drums) — the first version of what would eventually be called Motionlesss in White.
Jerry Cerulli’s key roll
Chris’ dad recalled the early days when the band played gigs and practiced at Parente’s Restaurant on Main Street, Pittston.
“They (Parente’s) had a big room in that building and they let the band come in there and play and do shows and stuff like that,” Jerry recalled. “We actually made a homemade light show. It was one of the things that Chris and I made; a lot of stuff was made of wood, and we had wooden stands for lighting, and we had a simple light controller.”
Chris said his dad was an integral part of the success of the MiW story. Jerry was very skilled making and manufacturing many of the production pieces and props for the stage.
One particular piece of equipment constructed by Jerry was a metal microphone stand for Chris in the shape of a skeleton made from motor and car parts welded together.
The skeleton stand was featured on tour and could be seen in the concert video recorded during COVID-19 at Pennhurst Asylum, an alleged legendary haunted house, located at Spring City, north of Philadelphia.
The concert was recorded during the pandemic without an audience because of restrictions.
“Chris said that was one of the hardest things he had to do — performing without an audience as if they were there,” Jerry said.
With the advance of technology, Jerry’s services have been cut back, but he has no problem getting his hands dirty if needed, so for now, he and his girlfriend, Kerri Kusma-Burge, get to enjoy concerts whenever time permits them to attend.
Chris particularly enjoys seeing his father soak in the band’s success since he was there from the beginning.
“It’s cool because … he is … the quintessential dad, dad fanatic,” Chris said. “He’s wearing our (MiW) shirts every day. He’s going around, if we play up at, like, Mohegan, he’ll walk around the venue like he’s the mascot. He’s just out there seeing and taking it all in and walking backstage, and it’s like, ‘What’s up, everybody?’ He’s more hyped up than everybody else is, and I think that’s cool because it’s like he’s all been so involved in helping us in so many ways since day one, whether that be using his truck to get to shows with our gear, or he and I building a bunch of props for our stage. And it’s cool that he gets to take that in as an unofficial member of the band, you know?”
For Jerry, he’s astounded by his son and the band’s popularity.
“It shocks me when I see people from other countries flying all over to see Chris and the band,” Jerry said. “They literally travel from all over the world — it’s amazing.”
It shocks Jerry that the band has gone from using a pickup truck to travel from show to show to now utilizing 10 tractor-trailers with stage gear, lighting, props, instruments, sound systems, and merchandise.
Early days of MiW
In 2004, Chris, Palumbo, White, and Parente had their first big break by playing at the now-defunct Northeast Fair in Pittston Township. The band’s name at that time was called New Car Smell.
As Chris recalls, the Northeast Fair did not go as planned.
“It was a total disaster. We played five songs and then it started pouring, pouring rain and we had to stop. It was a Battle of the Bands, and we were really excited to go up and just put it down.”
That short show was enough to solidify that Chris knew exactly what he would do for the rest of his life.
“There was a mixture of covers and original songs, and I thought it went well, but for me it felt like it was right,” Chris said. “It was like the first time performing on like a big outdoor stage with a lot of people, and the fire was lit. Yeah, it was already burning from local shows and the talent shows and stuff, but man, going up there and playing original songs that we spent so much time on in our basement was life-changing.”
Over time and a few more band name changes, they settled on Motionless in White, which has remained for 20 years.
Band members like local musicians Josh Balz, Michael Costanza, and Thomas “T.J.” Bell have come and gone over the years but were big contributors in taking the band to the next level.
Today’s lineup of MiW consists of Ryan Sitkowski (lead guitar), a Wyoming Area graduate from West Pittston; Ricky “Horror” Olson (rhythm guitar); Justin Morrow (bass); and Vinny Mauro (drums).
MiW today
With seven albums under its belt, MiW has been making the steady climb in metalcore over the years. Today, it is at the top of its game and the top of the charts.
This fall and past summer, MiW has been playing arenas all over America and Canada. It recently played at Xfinity Mobile Arena, the home of the Philadelphia 76ers, on Halloween night as the headliner along with openers Dayseeker, The Devil Wears Prada, and Dark Devine.
It was a special night for MiW as it officially celebrated its 20th anniversary. It was called “Apocalypse Fest: Performing 20 Years of MiW Music.”
MiW closed the 20-song set list that night playing its song “570,” which pays homage to the area where the band was born.
One of Chris’ favorite songs is “Afraid of the Dark,” which the band wrote on embracing uncertainty and adversity, framing personal struggles as necessary for growth and self-discovery.
The song’s chorus: [chorus lyric unchanged from your original], urges a listener to confront fears and forge their own path despite hardship. It’s a song they wrote for the fans.
Today, Chris is the primary songwriter for MiW, often collaborating with other band members with songwriting varying from song to song.
There are several shows left on MiW’s tour schedule with the closest show at Newark, New Jersey, on Nov. 19 and finishing up the tour for 2026 on Nov. 20 in Pittsburgh.
The band’s success
MiW has produced seven albums with the current release, “Decades,” yielding 12 songs in top 25 on the charts.
Three of the songs on the album, “Playing God,” “Afraid of the Dark,” and “R.I.P.” featuring artist Skylar Gray, hit No. 1.
As of Thursday, “R.I.P” was the No. 1 song on the Rock Metal Chart, ahead of bands like Foo Fighters (No. 3), Papa Roach (No. 6), Evanescence (No. 9), and Three Days Grace (No. 10).
MiW was just named the winner of the Critic’s Album of the Year by Bigmouth Music Awards for the album “Decades.”
Showing how diverse Chris and MiW can be, they released a remake by Cory Hart from 1983 on “Decades” titled “I Wear My Sunglasses at Night,” a song Chris has wanted to do for many years.
For Chris, creativity means continuing to explore rather than simply repeating past successes.
Even after completing an album he considers his best work, he said he sometimes wonders how he will top it, but once the next project begins, new possibilities emerge.
His expectations remain high, particularly when he has the time to experiment and pursue an idea until it feels right.
That same attention to detail extends to the band’s relationship with its hometown. MiW has embraced the idea of homecoming shows, bringing fans from around the world to the region where its members began.
At the end of this tour, MiW will have a few months off before hitting the road in 2027 embarking for shows already lined up in Europe, South America, and Mexico.
“We are going to Europe next year — that’s in the summer, so we do have two or three months off,” Chris said. “We have the holiday time frame off (this year) and then we have another tour starting in February.” Check www.motionlessinwhite.net for a full schedule for 2027, to be released in the future.
Life on the road
Chris said he is trying to be more health-conscious as time goes on. The life of a rock star is difficult at best with touring, which makes balancing life difficult.
“That is an interesting part of life that I feel like I’m constantly juggling,” he admits. “I think being on the road is really tough. … I used to be able to handle not being able to sleep well, but more recently, it’s kind of kicking my ass. I just can’t figure it out. So it’s kind of a period of life where I’m trying to build new routines and really adjust to prioritizing these things rather than like, ‘I’m on tour, I don’t care.’”
He does say he is trying to eat healthier, leaning toward a more vegan lifestyle.
Back in the Valley
Still having a love affair with Greater Pittston is very helpful when MiW plays at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza or at Montage Pavilion.
“There’s a very prevalent vibe of like easygoing, very relaxed, very home, and it’s something that you can only get when you feel that way,” Chris said. “When you’re back home, of course, if you’ve had a good relationship with it, like I have, you know, seeing my family at shows and seeing friends from the area that used to come to see us at Cafe Metropolis and Staircase, you know? I miss the Staircase.”
Nothing like home
During MiW downtime, Chris enjoys heading back to Pittston to visit family and friends.
Returning home is about the simple things: spending time with family, gathering for meals, visiting relatives, and enjoying a quieter pace after life on the road.
“It just feels so relieving and very exciting to come home,” Chris said, on coming back to the area. “It feels like there’s a part of the weight of the world elsewhere that sheds off of you.”
As the lead singer of MiW, Chris has built an international following through the band’s distinctive blend of heavy music, theatrical performances, and emotionally charged songwriting. Yet, amid the touring, recording, and demands of a successful music career, the Pittston native continues to value the place and people who helped shape him.
“I really want our home area to be proud of the band and feel like we have always been vocal about loving coming from here,” he said.
That connection is more than nostalgia; it remains an important part of the band’s identity.
Chris has no shortage of ambitions for MiW, but his perspective remains grounded in where he came from.
The stages may be larger, the audiences international, and the creative possibilities seemingly endless. Still, Pittston remains the place where he discovered his passion, learned to write music and began building a career that continues to evolve.
When the touring finally pauses, home offers something even a worldwide audience cannot provide: a chance to reconnect with the people he loves and places that made the journey possible.
Chris lives by the lyrics from MiW’s song “Afraid of the Dark”:
“Dark inside, with purpose and passion, Sweat in blood, from Stockholm to Scranton, Fight or fright, arise from the pages, Fear not the dark, if you mean it, you’ll make it.”
Local journalism matters, and your support makes it possible. You can help sustain this work by making a donation or choosing one of our subscription options. Subscribers enjoy valuable benefits, including full access to our e-edition, a reduced ad experience on timesleader.com, and more.
Your support helps ensure independent, high-quality local news remains available today and for future generations. Thank you for standing with local journalism.
Click for subscription offers.