Most people don’t know it, but one of Hawthorne’s police officers used to be a drummer in his own heavy metal rock band. That officer, and HHS alumni, is Guy Tumminello.

Tumminello started playing the drums as a fourth grader in Hawthorne’s Roosevelt Elementary School. “I’ve always loved music and could never stop tapping on things,” Tumminello said.

At the age of 13, Tumminello started his first band, Fallen Angel, with fellow HHS students of the 80s. They built their own rehearsal studio in Tumminello’s garage and practiced constantly. Fallen Angel became extremely popular in the area. “I actually wanted to be a rock star,” Tumminello said.

Tumminello and his band participated in Battle of the Bands, which was a competition but also a fundraiser for the junior class at the time. Tumminello said that 400 or 500 students from the area would attend the Battle of the Bands, which would take place in the HHS auditorium.

As the members of Fallen Angel graduated HHS in 1987, the band drifted apart. So, at age 18, Tumminello and another fellow Fallen Angel member created a new band, named Major Persona. Tumminello loved playing for Major Persona but ended up resigning after four years to become a Tour Manager for an entertainment management company. Tumminello would handle booking venues for bands in the area.  One of the bands Tumminello worked for was a band called Trixter. Trixter ended up becoming an extremely famous band in the early 90s.

In 1994, Tumminello quit his music career and was ready for a steadier job. This was when he decided to become a police officer. Although he no longer works in the music industry he still loves to reminisce about his rock-and-roll days.

“I loved it; it was a fantasy like experience,” Tumminello said.