INTRODUCING THE BAND:

Lee Schmidt - Vocalist:  raised on the vocals of metal gods Rob Halford and Bruce Dickinson, Lee is a lover of all quality of music from Rush to Steely Dan, from to Yes and Cracker.  Lee's musical palette has broadened to everything you'd expect and much you wouldn't from the classic rock of Styx and Foreigner, to the modern metal of Moonsorrow and The Deftones, and of course, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, and the Beatles. Lee is a husband, father, and grandfather, and he thanks God for this opportunity and every single day.

Brian Sherman (Sherm) - Drums and Percussion:  a self-taught musician, Brian's influences are broad which defines his style and ability to play to any style of music presented to him.  His influences include: his father Dan Sherman, Liberty Devitto, Ian Mosley, Mike Portnoy, Steve ‘Machine Gun" Smith, Neil Peart, and his two musically talented sons: 1) Julien (a masterful drummer who in high school was selected to the U.S. Army All American Band, marched the world-class circuit with Phantom Regiment, is currently on the Baltimore Ravens drumline, and sang on 4 digitally released songs for JD & The Image) and, 2) Lucas (who is a guest on this EP on saxophone, plays violin, is an honor graduate of Carnegie Mellon University in Musical Composition, is currently moving to NY, NY to forward his musical career, and has played on various others' releases).   Brian’s favorite albums include: any from Billy Joel (with “52nd Street” and “Songs in the Attic” having special meanings), any Marillion releases, Neal Morse's work including Spock's Beard, solo work, and The Neal Morse Band, Kansas' “Two for the Show”, Rush's “Moving Pictures”, Journey's “Captured”, any Van Halen album; and though no specific albums, he thoroughly enjoys jazz and fusion and enjoys listening to and learning Christian music.  Brian is also active conducting Drum Circles mostly in the area of his residence that provides fun and joy for those gathering who are dealing with life's various challenges.  Brian's gear includes: Tama - Imperial Stars, Remo and Evans Heads, Zildjian Custom A Cymbals, and Vater Drumsticks. 

Ethan Alexander - Lead and Rhythm Guitar:  playing guitar for over 13 years, Ethan draws his lead guitar inspiration from artists Eddie Van Halen, John Mayer, Jimi Hendrix, Foo Fighters, and Jimmy Page.  Ethan's playing is rooted in blues and rock, and he finds melodic inspiration from albums such as Van Halen's Self-Titled Debut, “Fair Warning”, and “1984”, John Mayer's “Continuum”, and Led Zeppelin IV. Although he has not spent much time performing with a formal band, he has shared memories of music with friends over the years and is grateful for opportunities to contribute to recording projects.  Outside of music, Ethan works as a recreational therapist at an impatient psychiatric hospital where he occasionally incorporates live performance into his work with patients to bring the greatness of music to people who are struggling the most.  When Ethan is not playing guitar he enjoys martial arts, golf, video games, and spending time with family and friends.  For Ethan, music has always been one of the most meaningful ways to connect with himself and others, and to express what words sometimes cannot.  

Brian Boboige (Brog) - Bass, Rhythm Guitar, Piano, Organ:  Brian could write a book as to why music and his musical influences are important to him, but here is a summary list in a somewhat timeline of discovery of the formable influences: 1) Elvis Presley for whom Brian has a great appreciation of Elvis' roots and his microcosm presentation of rock 'n' roll/rockabilly/blues to his macrocosm presentation with multi-instrumentalists and vocalists at his Las Vagas shows and subsequent tours, and for Elvis' inert ability to know how to produce, arrange, and perform songs of many genres, 2) KISS, the original line-up, and in particular Gene Simmon's bass lines and Ace Frehley's lead guitar playing and the tone of his Les Paul, 3) Billy Joel. Brian took piano lessons wanting to play like Billy, and it was from Billy that Brian wanted to try to write songs (none of which though survived from those early days). Brian also appreciates Billy's band members from his album days, 4) The Beatles and the Rolling Stones who were also songwriting and guitar influences, 5) the blues, of course, with The Allman Brothers and Stevie Ray Vaughan as favorites among many others from various eras and in particular Eric Clapton on the albums Derek & The Dominos' “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs” (also Duane Allman's guitar playing on that one) and John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers' The “Beano” Album. Also stemming from this is an appreciation of some Southern rock bands, especially Lynyrd Skynyrd, 6) 1940's to early 1960's jazz including Monk, Coltrane, Davis, Brubek, Coleman, and others.  Brian states his songwriting can never reflect the work of these giants, but he loves hearing the far-reaching capabilities in this music of piano, sax, trumpet, bass, drums and their various combinations, and hearing the dissonance reflected from this era's work that reflects the no-bounds approach that can be realized in music, 7) the debut album by Boston for its songs, guitar and bass playing, and sonic tone for the era, and 8) country music from the Outlaw country era and any great honkytonk, country, and bluegrass pickers.   Brian also needs to thank: 1) his wife whose conversations are inadvertently ignored and whose time is taken up by Brian writing and recording; she puts up with Brian's music with what is essentially a hobby and not a living, 2) his sister who has always been a musical and artistic influence and who is also a great drummer with whom he recorded a full-length CD of songs in the early 1990's, 3) his parents who sacrificed to purchase a piano and acoustic guitar so lessons could commence, and 4) friends who are musicians, singers, and songwriters who provided their influence and encouragement along with friends who have provided literary, poetic, and philosophical references and influence.  Brian hopes no one has been left out.  Brian's gear used on the EP: Fender Stratocaster (made in Japan era), Epiphone SG, Fender Squier Jaguar Short-Scale Bass, Yamaha PSRE453 (piano), AKAI Professional APC Key 25 with IK Multimedia Hammond B-3X software (organ), and IK Multimedia AmpliTube 4 software for guitar and bass tones.

Lastly, Brian gives many thanks to, 1) the band members/artists listed above who made the EP release possible because they took his rudimentary song demos and musically and artistically transformed them into what is wonderfully and forever captured on our EP, and 2) the guest musicians on the EP who also provided their invaluable touch to the songs (the guests are listed below).

Guest Musicians:

Lucas Sherman: as mentioned above in Brian Sherman's bio, Lucas is his son and provided all of the sax parts on "Fools Errand".

Andy Gibson: Andy was hired through Airgigs and played all lead guitar on “There's No Black or White to Your Blues (1 Gibson)" and with much of the same lead being in ”There's No Black or White to Your Blues (2 Gibsons)".  Note, Ethan plays the first lead in the (2 Gibsons) version.

Alex Paclin: Alex was hired through Airgigs and played harmonica on “It's Wilde”.

Note, the CD insert contains reference and contact info of these fine guest musicians.

Special Mention:

We thank Lee Earnhardt at Sound Mind Studio in Fowler, OH for recording vocal tracks; see the CD insert for which tracks and for Lee's contact info.

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