<\/p>\n
We all know the Pittston Tomato Festival will take place this week starting on Thursday and for Greater Pittston, it\u2019s a very big deal. It is single-handedly the biggest public gathering in the Pittston Area.<\/p>\n
It is nationally known and it may be internationally known as well.<\/p>\n
There is also another international phenomenon happening as well, and it\u2019s not an event, but a person.<\/p>\n
Pittston native Chris Cerulli, better known in the rock world as Chris Motionless of the international sensation, Motionless in White.<\/p>\n
Chris has been playing in bands in the Pittston area while at Pittston Area since around 2002 when his first band, New Car Smell, were young teens as well as the following bands One Way Ticket and When Breathing Stops. Eventually, they changed the name to Motionless in White.<\/p>\n
In fact, the first show the band did as Motionless was at the now defunct Northeast Fair in 2004 during a Battle of the Bands contest.<\/p>\n
Even back then, Chris and the band had a bunch of originals they threw in the line up along with covers for that show. Unfortunately, it rained that day and the show got interrupted. That\u2019s show business, I guess.<\/p>\n
If you had to say anything about Motionless in White, Chris and the band were determined to succeed and in 2005 they played at the popular spot in Pittston for live music \u2014 The Staircase.<\/p>\n
They kept working and plugging and started to develop and mature and hone their craft, creating their own niche in metalcore music.<\/p>\n
Granted, metalcore is not everyone\u2019s cup of tea, but Chris has developed into a great lead singer and front man for the band.<\/p>\n
Over the years, all the original band members left or were replaced with Chris being the franchise player.<\/p>\n
Motionless\u2019 first studio album Creatures was released in 2010 followed up by Infamous (2012), Reincarnate (2014), Graveyard Shift (2017), Disguise (2019), Scoring the End of the World (2022), and this year, Decades (2026), released on July 17.<\/p>\n
Until Decades, Reincarnated reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200 chart, which is not too shabby for band that started in the Pittston Area.<\/p>\n
The only other bands that come to mind with any kind of Billboard success was The Buoys with \u201cTimothy,\u201d a single that reaching No. 17 on the U.S. Billboard chart and No. 9 on the Canadian chart.<\/p>\n
Local band Synch\u2019s single \u201cWhere Are You Now\u201d peaking at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1989 and No. 3 on the Adult Contemporary chart the same year.<\/p>\n
Chris has never forgotten his roots, crediting our environment and work ethic in Greater Pittston as instrumental is shaping Motionless in White.<\/p>\n
In fact, in a 2026 interview with the website The Travel Addict, Chris talked about the band\u2019s latest release from inspiration of the band\u2019s 20-year history.<\/p>\n
Another factor in the album Decades theme, is the band listened to what the fans loved about its earlier work, according to the website Blabbermouth.net.<\/p>\n
Since the July 17th release, Motionless in White has been dominating Billboard\u2019s Hot Hard Rock Songs chart.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfraid of the Dark,\u201d \u201cPlaying God,\u201d \u201cR.I.P.\u201d featuring artist Skylar Gray, \u201cFight Like Hell,\u201d all reached No. 1 status. \u201cR.I.P.\u201d spent three weeks at No. 1.<\/p>\n
What is amazing about Decades, Motionless in White occupied 12 of the top 25 positions \u2014 almost half of the entire chart.<\/p>\n
The other three top 25 hits are the title track \u201cDecades,\u201d \u201clog_in\/\/crash_out,\u201d and the remake of Cory Hart\u2019s \u201cSunglasses at Night\u201d from 1984, which is a departure of Motionless\u2019 regular lineup of songs.<\/p>\n
Right now, Motionless in White is killing it on the charts, filling venues like Red Rocks Amphitheatre with nearly 10,000-seat capacity in Colorado.<\/p>\n
They will continue the tour after a short break now and resuming on Sunday, Sept. 20 in Canada. They will tour around Canada before returning to the states on Oct. 8.<\/p>\n
The tour will continue until Nov. 20 in Pittsburgh. No doubt additional dates will be added, and according to their tour schedule on the band\u2019s website, they already have two dates booked overseas next year.<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t tell you how happy it makes me to see one of our own just killing it out in the world.<\/p>\n
The great thing about Chris is \u2014 he is always representing us \u00ad\u2014 Greater Pittstonians and people from NEPA. He wrote a song titled, \u201c570,\u201d which he said is his favorite song he\u2019s ever written.<\/p>\n
During the current tour, the background screen on stage is a photo of Scranton\u2019s \u2013 The Electric City sign. I don\u2019t know about you, but if I lived in another state and took in a Motionless in White concert and saw that, I\u2019d freak out.<\/p>\n
From what I understand, Chris does head back to Pittston frequently and with this current break, it\u2019s possible he will be home.<\/p>\n
I would like to do an article on Chris one-on-one when he is back in Pittston. If anyone who knows him or his family is reading this, please send him my way.<\/p>\n
As a voting member of the Luzern Co. Arts & Entertainment Hall of Fame, I\u2019m glad I voted them in last year.<\/p>\n
Thank you, Chris, for keeping Greater Pittston and NEPA in your heart as you travel the globe.<\/p>\n
Quote of the Week<\/p>\n
\u201cMy entire high school experience and shortly after high school was just going to so many concerts and shows.\u201d \u2013 Chris Motionless, describing the effect music had at an early age.<\/p>\n
Thought of the Week<\/p>\n
\u201cThe (NEPA) scene there that used to be is responsible for giving us that foundation, that launch pad to go from.\u201d \u2013 Chris Motionless<\/p>\n
Bumper Sticker<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re a band that came out of the small-town, blue-collar spirit.\u201d \u2013 Chris Motionless<\/p>\n
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