I started playing drums when I was around 8 years old. My legs, countertops, anything that made some sound when I banged on it. Then I got my first drum set, that was a game changer! I’ve been playing the drums ever since to all kinds of music. Marching band, concert band, jazz band, rock bands, country bands, you name it. I spent almost 15 years playing and recording with Transistor Rodeo an original Country/Rock band. I’m still playing today and enjoying every minute of it!
A passionate musician since high school, I have spent decades honing my craft across the classic rock landscape. I currently channel that experience into several diverse projects, ranging from high energy rock bands to contemporary worship music. For me, there is nothing more rewarding than the synergy of making great music alongside talented musicians. Above all, I am driven by the energy of the crowd, as connecting with the audience is what truly keeps me inspired on stage.
Born in Hawaii, Duane grew up with a multi-genre music exposure. That multi-genre exposure led Duane to explore his own vocal talent range within each genre, including: country, reggae, soul, Christian, Hawaiian, Classic Rock, and of course the Blues! This revealed that Duane’s vocal limits have yet to be discovered. In Duane’s early years, singing was always fun with family and friends. It was when he reached the retirement age of 52, and was provided encouragement from his wife and daughter, that he realized it could be more. With no formal training, but armed with natural talent, an awe inspiring diverse singing playlist, and a love of music, he wondered if he could bring that love to the stage. His wonderment turned into local band success and he has found his calling. The audience is rewarded with music that is true to the song.
Manny Perez is a no nonsense, well rounded, straight ahead
electric bass player with great stage presence. Manny comes
from the S F Bay Area with over 50 years of experience
recording and playing everything from Abba to ZZ Top.
To say he is stable is an understatement, which is his style of
playing: rock solid, laying down the bottom and being in the
pocket. Along with vocal abilities, he is a well rounded musician.
Coming from a musical family, my siblings and I all received musical lessons. For me, I had piano lessons for 8 years from age 8 – 16 and sang all through high school in choir. While raising my family, I was involved in many community events/follies as a singer. I was in a cover band for 10 years through the 1980’s as a lead singer with the Ammin’ City Jammin’ Band in the Chico area, playing at many events each year. In 1987, we opened for Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald at their Silver Dollar Fairgrounds Concert! After 1990, we did several reunion concerts for the next 10 years.
Starting in 2016, I participated in several rounds of the Weekend Warriors program with Skip’s Music in Sacramento, first as a singer and then as a keyboard player, singing and doing back-up vocals. Then I got into a band for 2 years that was called Honey Badgers until one of our guitarists left the group and the band did not continue. I got into another band for 6 years doing keys and singing solos and back-up vocals, first as Highway 50 Blues Band, that was eventually The Grindstone Band. I did another round of Weekend Warriors just recently and now I am in The Classics Band and love it!
Mitch Young is a native Northern Californian with a passion for music that includes everything from the great classical composers to gospel, country, blues, rock, jazz, etc. His early exposure to music came from his two uncles, The Key Brothers, who wrote and played Rockabilly songs across the San Francisco Bay area during the late 1950s and early 1960s, before heading to Nashville to record. This prompted Mitch to join a school music program at the age of 8, and he continued playing percussion instruments throughout high school and college. He learned to play and value diverse forms of music through his experiences in marching, symphonic, jazz bands. This, coupled with the emerging music coming from England during the sixties, and the surge of new American and Bay area bands that followed, laid a foundation for a lifelong love of playing music.