Lin McEwan
Currently, Lin is working on her second studio album with Grammy-winner Muzz Skillings.
She's come a long way from being the girl who spent her youth being told that she couldn’t sing because her voice was too low. "My voice was so strange for my age," she recalls, "that when I was in the eighth grade, I had to play Santa Claus because the boys voices hadn't changed yet, and I was the only one who could do a convincing, ‘Ho, ho, ho.’"
It wasn't until she was 16 that she stepped onto the stage of her high school's gala gospel concert to give her first ever solo performance, a rousing blues take of "Amazing Grace," for which she received a thunderous three-minute standing ovation.
Since arriving in New York, the Baltimore-native has been “gaining notice for her uncommonly deep voice” and for her “soulfully sung and well-written material”—a funky fusion of soul and pop… like Tina Turner or Mavis Staples singing over Keane (The Baltimore Sun; JustSoul). Along with her talented group of regular players, who’ve backed everyone from Jesse Malin to Gavin DeGraw, she’s appeared at such landmark establishments as CBGB's and the Bitter End, as well as the Living Room, Rockwood Music Hall, the Zipper Factory, the Cutting Room, Crash Mansion, and Arlene's Grocery. But she still considers Baltimore home and takes the band back as often as possible.
Lin is a proud member of ASCAP.
Mike Pettry - Piano/Keyboards
Mike hails from Charleston, WV, where he lived from his birth in 1981 until his graduation from Captial High School in 1999. After seeing the touring company of Cats at the age of 9 or 10, he was inspired to learn how to play piano and act. He took piano lessons and was active in choral music as well as community theatre. By the age of 13, he was appearing regularly in the pits of Charleston Light Opera Guild shows. Having diverse tastes, Michael was best known in high school for being the accompanist of the show choir, as well as the front man of the punk rock band, Fido. Before graduating from Capital High School, Michael was not only voted "Best Musician" by his classmates, but also was asked by the administration to write the music for the school's Alma Mater.
Michael then moved on to Shepherd College (now Shepherd University), where he majored in music performance and composition. He received several academic awards and was twice named Music Major of the Year and Keyboard Student of the Year. He has won several composition contests, including being a national finalist in the MTNA Composition Competition. Michael appeared on Shepherd’s stage as Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, as well as in Carmen, Candide, Sweeney Todd, and Dido and Aeneus. He also had a brief
cameo in film Gods and Generals. After graduating with honors, last experience in Shepherdstown was accompanying and music directing the Contemporary American Theatre Festival premiere of The Rose of Corazon: A Texas Songplay (2004).
Michael has been writing music for nearly half of his life. He premiered a Requiem Mass in 2002, a work inspired by the tragedy of September 11th, 2001. He was interviewed on WV Public Radio as a result of the performance. He later had an entire show of “In Touch With the Arts” (also on WVPR) dedicated to his music and his motives behind writing his original musical, One Eighty. Michael is currently a Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program (MFA) student at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He is in the process of writing Flipside with
Andrew Hertz, The Time Traveler's Convention with Heidi Hansen-Young, and Sunday in Montgomery with Tommy Newman.
Steve Dawson - Guitar
Steve Dawson is a guitar player who got musically hooked after hearing
Chicagos' "Saturday In The Park", while riding in the backseat of an orange Pontiac Le Mans'. KISS was discovered, shortly thereafter...
He plays the majority of the instruments heard on his recordings and is currently touring the world with Adeline recording artist Jesse Malin.
He has performed on many national television shows (Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien,
Craig Ferguson) & on many major televsion and radio networks across North America & Europe. As of recent, he performed "Hungry Heart" & "Rosalita"
at Carnegie Hall, for a sold-out tribute show to Bruce Springsteen, with Ronnie Spector, Jesse Malin & Springsteen - a lineup which also included Patti Smith, Steve Earle, The Hold Steady, Odetta, Josh Ritter, Badly Drawn Boy & Pete Yorn. He is a member/founder of his current project, THE FUZZ HAUNTED, (http://www.thefuzzhaunted.com) who, by Billboard Magazine and Discmakers, were placed in the top 6 out of 1000 submissions, to perform at a competition at Crash Mansion NYC, on August 23, 2007. THE FUZZ HAUNTEDS' debut release was featured on NPR & chosen for their very
first podcast on the "ALL SONGS CONSIDERED" program in April 2006.
(http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4974090)
Steve currently lives in NYC, and has worked with many bands/artists over many years. He keeps a busy schedule of performances & sessions and currently plays with Jesse Malin, The Fuzz Haunted, Smith Island (with members of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra), Rosi Golan, Jason Rossi, Lin McEwan, The Voyces & Ariel Aparicio. During time spent engineering at
recording studios in New York City, he worked with Lou Reed, Andrew Loog
Oldham, Sonic Youth, Jerry Harrison, Al Kooper, Juliana Hatfield, Monster
Magnet, Christine Lavin, Richard Barone and on The Rolling Stones Rock & Roll Circus film.
He & collaborators Randy Lord & James Lord, under the name THE ALDENTE
QUAKERS, have written & recorded the soundtrack score to "ABSENCE"
(http://www.absencemovie.com) ~ A motion picture backed by executive
producer Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club, Choke, Haunted ) & written & directed by Kevin Kolsch & Dennis Widmyer.
He has performed at Lincoln Center with Rosi Golan at the ASCAP FOUNDATION 11th Annual Awards Ceremony at Frederick P. Rose Hall in NYC and is a songwriter, affiliated with BMI.
Pemberton Roach - Bass
Pemberton is currently the lead singer and bass player of the New York City-based power pop/mod band Trouble Club. In addition, he works as a freelance bassist, songwriter, vocalist, and producer for other artists like Blindswitch, Sputnik, Granian, and Smith Island. For information on Trouble Club, visit www.troubleclub.com or www.myspace.com/troubleclub.
John Rochette - Drums on first album; featured vocalist
Born and raised Jersey boy. Graduated Rutgers University '03, Theater Arts and Communication degree, vocal performance minor. Studied classical theater in London for four months, and since graduating school have worked in many regional and NYC theater. An Equity actor/singer, and a part time drum instructor. His credits include "The Buddy Holly Story," the National Tour of "The Phantom of the Opera," Phantom; USA’s longest running "Passion Play," Jesus; "Rocky Horror...," Frank; "Sweeney Todd," Anthony, and he was in NYC’s Blue Man Group, Center Blueman. Also plays drums for the popular New Jersey band, Quiet by 9.
