Meet The Band

(in alphabetical order - if it was good enough for Webster, it's good enough for us)

Steve Bratt - Keyboards and Vocals

Steve was blessed to have parents who valued music of all kinds -- Broadway, classical, choral, Christian, Sinatra and the like. Starting at age 10, he struggled through two months of piano lessons, before switching to the trombone, and a decade of jamming with the Westhill High School concert, jazz and marching bands. At Penn State and MIT, he realized that piano had a leg-up on trombone when it comes to opportunities for friendly sing-alongs. For the past 25 years, keyboard action was limited to Christmas carols and occasional songfests with his wife Amy, four fantastic kids, and the extended family. Steve is extremely grateful for the invitation to join the talented five who complete SIX, and has already learned a ton.

Stephen Cole - Vocals, Harmonica, Tambourine, Maracas, Shakers, Claves, Bongos, Cowbell

Stephen Cole grew up in a rich tradition of music - but that upbring was devoid of rock and roll. Like many of their generation, Steve's parents thought rock and roll was "The Devil's Music". Having sung and recorded various other musical styles, and having sung in his church choir, Steve is now living a second childhood, discovering the musical complexity of classic rock and roll. When not crooning his way into the hearts of all who hear him, Steve provides the ocassional harmonica solo or additional percussion. And as for the Devil's Music - it is ironic that Steve's rock and roll debut was in a church...

Scott Gilmour - Drums and Assorted Percussion

Scott grew up in the Southern California sunshine until his mid-thirties when he departed for the East Coast. His first direct contact with live rock and roll was in Laguna Beach in the early 60's. There, in an apartment next door to the family's beach rental, boys were playing a very rough version of Hanky Panky. He was hooked. Rock and roll was really cool and he wanted to play. Shortly afterwards, he earned money through odd jobs and bought a used Slingerland drum set. He jammed with friends throughout his teens. The music scene was great in Los Angeles. Scott saw the Beatles on their 1966 North America Concert Tour at Dodger Stadium, Jethro Tull and a number of other bands in the 70's and in the early 80's it was the Talking Heads at the Greek Theatre and The Knack at Madame Wong's. Thankfully disco was dead. Life happened and 30+ years later he joined SIX on drums. He's been overheard saying that playing in SIX is almost better than _ _ _.

Bruce Lauterwasser - Vocals and Guitar

A former member of "The Looking Glass" (where he played keyboards since no one else could), Bruce interrupted his rock-n-roll career to: attend college and graduate school, get a job, get married and have four kids. Forty years out of the business was enough to generate some rust but the other guys in SIX are too nice to complain about an occasional guitar faux pas. Besides, Bruce is always willing (if not always able) to sing the high parts. Fundamentally a folkie at heart, Bruce has enjoyed a variety of musical influences from folk to 60's rock to choral music to barbershop quartet singing (they still talk about The Smith Brothers in upstate New York). Now under John and Walter's tutelage Bruce is learning the finer points of heavy metal and is planning on spending a quiet (read hearing impaired) retirement, if there's any money left after putting those four kids through college!

Walter Ogier - Guitar and Vocals

Walter recalls the buzz that went through the halls of his elementary school when the Beatles first came to America with their "long" ducktail haircuts; he soon battled his parents to grow his own hair long. He still has his first LP somewhere in the basement, a TV compilation featuring Tommy James and the Shondells. When older siblings of his school friends were heading north for the Haight-Ashbury, he delivered newspapers and took guitar lessons, and paid $3.29 apiece at the original Rhino Records for LPs of groups such as the Doors, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Turtles, Kinks, Strawberry Alarm Clock and Velvet Underground, and later David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Blue Oyster Cult, Fleetwood Mac, Roxy Music and T-Rex. Later he embraced (from a distance) Patti Smith, the Bangles, the GoGos, and the Cowboy Junkies, and finally Lucinda Williams. Walter joined his first band in college, named "Hang Five" reflecting its California roots, playing bass at weddings and cocktail parties and the occasional college mixer. He later played in jazz and Celtic bands. His first rock instruments were an early 1970s Teisco Del Ray hollow body bass and a mid-1970s Univox Les Paul, both from Japan; he still prefers Les Paul guitars.

John Swartz - Bass Guitar and Vocals

John has dreamed of being a rock star for 30-something years, ever since first seeing KISS play live (didn't every 13-year-old boy in the mid-70s?). Having served as his church's organist in high school, John played keyboards in two garage bands ("Paradox" and "Epsilon" - not that you would have heard of them). When the bassplayer for "Epsilon" quit, John was pressed into service (never having played bass). Midway through college, John took an approximate 10 year hiatus from the instrument (selling his first bass to pay for college expenses), and then rediscovered it (trying to actually learn how to play it this time). While John may be the band's resident "metalhead" (who's college days included a steady diet of Blue Oyster Cult, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Quiet Riot, Van Halen, Motley Crue, Y&T, and Twisted Sister, among other bands), his other influences include classic rock and the blues (and maybe just a little bit of polka music thanks to his father).

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