By ED SALVAS
Six months and several operations after an on-stage mishap sent him to the hospital, Village People performer and Asbury Park resident Felipe Rose is looking forward to returning to the stage and joining fellow members of the world famous disco group as they tour the world celebrating the 30th anniversary of their signature song, Y.M.C.A.
Rose and the Village People were at the Epcot Center in Orlando, Fla. last October getting ready to perform three shows a day for three days at the Food and Wine Festival when bounding on stage for the first show, he landed wrong as he tells it and hurt his left foot. The pain was immediate.
 Felipe, a member of the Village People and an Asbury Park resident, is pictured with one of his paintings. |
I knew I did it, it didn’t feel good, he says as he sips a cocktail at Mattison Park in downtown Asbury Park reliving the excruciating pain that he felt. But Rose says he was reluctant to seek treatment right away and continued performing but discovered at the end of the day when he removed his boot that his foot had turned into a purple mass and that’s when he called for help.
Initially, that help came from the physician-father of another group member, Biker Eric Anzalone. Dr. Anzalone got in touch with a colleague, Dr. Harold Vogler, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in foot and ankle problems, who immediately ordered Rose admitted to the Sarasota Memorial Hospital as the other members of the Village People moved on to their next appearance in Sarasota. Rose said the group of five performed without him until an understudy could fly down and take over his position on stage.
Once in the hospital and after x-rays and closer examination it was found that the situation was as bad as it looked. He had fractured two toes and also split the skin between the toes. Over the next several weeks, Rose would undergo four operations to repair the damage caused by that on-stage mishap. Everything seemed to be going smoothly until he started feeling physically ill and the next diagnosis was a real shocker: Necrotizing Faciitis, a serious infection that’s often called the flesh eating disease, that is sometimes fatal. Treatment of the infection was successful and after five-and-a-half weeks, Rose left the Florida hospital and returned to New Jersey where he would continue his recovery and embark on a plan to change his life, and lifestyle.
I have to give my life some balance, he says, noting that a 30-year career has taken him all over the globe performing the string of disco hits that brought the Village People international fame.
I’m very blessed and very, very lucky he says, but also noting that that success came with a price. He missed many important family events such as birthdays and weddings because work always came first. And the punishing schedule of appearances also takes a toll.
Three-a-day at 23 is OK, but at 53 it’s hard. he says, having recently celebrated his birthday.
One career event he does regret missing was the recent filming of a TV commercial with comedian and talk show host Ellen De Generes which features the Village People and will begin airing nationally later this year. The Village People make between 80 and 90 appearances a year and their popularity doesn’t seem to be waning. Rose says they’re booked well into 2009 and the group travels extensively throughout the U.S., Europe, Latin America and Australia. Rose expects to rejoin the group on stage in July.
I don’t want to be the person I was before the accident, he says as he continues his recovery with three to four therapy sessions a week. He’s also taken up painting again, a hobby he put on hold when he started performing, and he’s working on a book about his life.
Rose, a part Lakota Sioux Indian, has recorded several albums of Native American music and is slated to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Native American Music or NAMMY awards in October.
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