Biographies
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Geoff Gay
I grew up in Bensalem, PA. I'm currently a Tactical Aircraft Technician for the PA Air National Guard. I served over eight years active duty and currently serve as a National Guardsman. I've done tours stateside as well as overseas; peacetime and combat. My earliest musical influences are drummers: Neil Peart, Phil Ehart, Buddy Rich and Dom Famularo. Bluegrass early influences are my father, my brother, Flatt and Scruggs, Bill Monroe, Josh Graves and Larry Sparks. Influences today are my father, my brother, Jerry Douglas, Mike Auldridge, Josh Graves, Tony Rice, JD Crowe, Dan Tyminski and The Reno Brothers. I play a 2006 Ray Fairchild quilted maple Large Body squareneck and a 2004 Tim Scheerhorn curly maple L-Body squareneck. My first bluegrass band was Frontier Spirit in Anchorage, AK. In PA I've played with The Lost Ramblers, The Mill Creek Boys, Chester Johnson and the Foggy Mountain Grass, and still play with Second Wind on occasion. I've sat-in with Louis Setzer and the Appalachian Mtn. Boys, Stained Grass Window and Heavy Traffic. Outside of resophonic guitar, I play drums, acoustic guitar, 5 string banjo and acoustic bass. MySpace: for Geoff Gay
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Adam Kruzic
Bluegrass influences came from both sides of my family. My dad and grandfather started teaching me guitar chords in elementary school. All I listened to for the longest time were Tony Rice albums, and I spent many hours trying to learn those guitar breaks. Then I discovered rock music, which didn't quite suit me despite my best efforts to prove I had the loudest speaker in my neighborhood. Somewhere around 8th grade I discovered mandolin, and I thought it was a good fit. Once I started playing mandolin, Chris Thile albums took over my CD player. Now I try to listen to anything that is good music; it's a good thing there isn't a shortage of it!
When
in college I rarely picked up my mandolin (or guitar). Luckily,
after my graduation and wedding in 2005 some good friends asked
me to join their band (later named Pickup Line),
which inspired me to learn more tunes. Later in the year I
joined a Virginia based band called Driving Force
(formally Blue Light Special). This
band played a lot of shows between Pennsylvania and Kentucky for
two summers. The next summer I played with a band in West
Virginia called Whitewater, and spent 2009 playing
with Blue Daze (my dad's band) before joining
Blue Roots. I've treasured every one of these
experiences. MySpace: for Adam Kruzic
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Dave Lucas
I grew up in the small town of Bellefonte, which is 10 miles from the Penn State campus in central Pennsylvania. I have been into music for as long as I can remember. I started playing guitar after seeing The Beatles on Ed Sullivan (younger readers can research this topic on the internet, or in history books), and got into bluegrass after someone told me that’s where the money is. My engineering work in the telecommunications industry has taken me to Dallas, Sacramento, and my current home in the town of Collegeville, PA.
I play guitar and dobro in
bluegrass bands, and play the electric guitar when working with country
and rock bands. In the few years since I moved to PA, I have been a
member of Steppin' Out and Walls of Time, as well as
filling in for several local bands. My bluegrass influences are Flatt
and Scruggs, Reno and Smiley, The Stanley Brothers, Jimmy Martin, Tony
Rice, Ricky Skaggs, The Seldom Scene, and countless others that have
embraced the tradition, power, and beauty that comes from acoustic
ensemble work.
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Ed Lick A next door neighbor was starting to play guitar (Larry Hunsberger) and my dad had always listened to bluegrass but it got into my soul at age 13 when “Dueling Banjos” was blasting the airwaves in 1973. My parents surprised me with a banjo for Christmas that year. I haven’t been the same since! Collingswood, NJ is where I grew up. It’s a great town and enjoyed my childhood there. Currently I am a Computer Aided Design (CAD) Analyst and Manager at a large Engineering firm. Like most jobs its demanding but just as rewarding for me. During the 70’s the Seldom Scene and John Stey, the leader of a Philadelphia based bluegrass band, Skookil Express were very influential. Those that really influenced me were all the band mates of Jersey Grass. My son Jimmy and his musicianship inspire me today. I currently have two favorite banjos. One I’ve had for five years it’s a 1985 Stelling “Golden Cross” and recently purchased a Huber “Lancaster”. There were many local musicians that I have had the pleasure of jamming, performing and getting to know as close friends. I am truly blessed with that. At age 15, I was a fill in banjo player for The Whites. I played pedal steel for a while and our band, High Noon opened for many name acts – Kathy Mattea, T. Graham Brown, Charlie Daniels and Eddie Rabbit. Rhythm guitar and Pedal Steel are other instruments I love to play but more for my own personal enjoyment now. MySpace: for Ed Lick
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Owen O'Malley
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Band photos by Lisa Schaffer Copyright 2010 All rights reserved
My
first musical endeavor was drumming. I started at age 8 and still
play today with a rock band. I grew up being forced to listen to
bluegrass and never took it seriously until 1998 after seeing
Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder live.
Growing
up, I was the youngest of five children (and I still am). We were into the
folk scene, and the Beatles drove me to playing music. I
listened to a lot of Weather Report,
Return to Forever, and Yes. I became very
interested in Jaco Pastorious and what he could do with a bass. Eventually,
I was introduced to The David Grisman Quintet album. I became a huge fan of
Tony Rice and his style of guitar playing. I listened to a lot of
Sting, and really liked his work with Police. My CD
collection goes from Andreas Vollenweider to Bill Monroe and everything in
between.