For more than 20 years, the Denice Given Band has been rocking the village from its humble beginnings at the old Printer’s Devil to gigs on the Port Jefferson ferry and they show no sign of stopping. Before that Given had flirted with fame playing clubs in New York City and hobnobbing with legendary music industry producers.

Given, who now also works part time as a receptionist at the Port Jefferson Historical Society, said that she started singing professionally around 1986 when the band she was in tried its luck playing original songs at places in New York City. The first thing she did was seek out advice from a famous producer.

“I hired Sid Bernstein to critique our material,” Given said.

Bernstein was instrumental (pun intended) in creating the British Invasion of the 1960s by bringing bands like The Beatles and the Rolling Stones to America. He also came up with the idea of staging rock shows at sports stadiums.

Bernstein put Given in touch with another legend, Ahmet Ertegun, the founder of Atlantic Records and inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Though Given’s band never got the big break it needed, she never lost hope.

“You just have to be in the right place at the right time but I never gave up on doing what I love to do, so I didn't get discouraged,” she said. “As long as I could sing and perform for a living I was extremely happy.”

Over the years, she’s stayed friends with Bernstein and they speak every week.

“Yes, he still hears from Paul,” she said.

Starting in 1987, Given sat in with a friend at The Printer's Devil and ended up singing there every Thursday Night for the next two years for free. It was during this run that she met her husband, Don Given, who grew up in Port Jefferson and has been a volunteer in the fire department since he was a teenager. They married in 1988. According to Given, her husband has taught her a lot about what it means to be a local in Port Jefferson.

“We are total townies,” she said.

A year or so later Given was finally getting paid for the gig at The Printer’s Devil and that was the genesis of a musical duo called "Broadway and Denice." When her partner left the band, Given continued to perform under the moniker until a Rocky Point bar owner suggested she call her band, "The Denice Given Band." She wasn’t thrilled with the name.

"I hated the name at first and thought it sounded very egotistical," she said.

But, the name stuck and with keyboardist Conrad Taylor, guitarist Chris Carbery and bassist Danny Miranda, they "packed the Print," according to Given. When Miranda since left the band to tour with Blue Oyster Cult, Meatloaf and Queen in the mid-Nineties current bassist Gregory Werner came on board.

Expanding to play at the 56th Fighter Group in Farmingdale and Coco’s Café in Huntington allowed the band to play for thousands of people every week.

"By 1993 my band was working five nights a week, all self booked," she said.

The band grew and eventually started playing corporate events and weddings adding to their repertoire along the way, now playing everything from swing to Lady Gaga.

Over the years, Given amassed quite a musical resume, singing backup for the likes of Genya Ravan and Lesley Gore (singer of "It’s My Party") along with gigs at Oheka Castle, The Hard Rock Café and Nassau Coliseum.

"Jim Faith is the one responsible for getting me to sing the National Anthem at Nassau Coliseum four times, a capella," said Given. "He discovered me at the Printer's Devil."

The band even had the opportunity to have Paul Rogers of Bad Company sit in on a set at the Printer's Devil.

With all her success, Given still has one goal yet to fulfill musically.

“A huge dream of mine is to be able to sing along with Paul McCartney,” she said. “I may get to do that too.”