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Greg
Guitar, Vocals

    Through the constant insistence of keyboardist, Tommy Z, Greg Crowe was forced to come up with some kind of personal bio describing past accomplishments & inspirations.

Where as most people have been led to believe that Greg's passion for music is totally due to the accordion,..the fact is....it's all true. The day after the Beatles first appeared on Ed Sullivan (Feb. 10th, 1964), Greg didn't get an accordion, he got a guitar. All through school, he didn't play an accordion, he played woodwinds in concert band, and brass in marching band.

At Cuyahoga Community College and Baldwin Wallace in Cleveland he studied classical guitar & music composition....not the accordian. In the 70's, Greg played in a variety of local rock & roll and lounge bands which did not incorporate any accordions. The 80's & 90's found Greg in the Class Reunion Band complete with nine members; none of which played the accordion.

With that, Greg invites you to an evening of fine music with Vinyl Approach.


  

Tom
Keyboards, Vocals

    The first time that Tom Z saw a musician playing a Hammond B-3 at a local fair he was hooked and has been addicted to the “growly” sound ever since. Tom was accepted to The Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University at the age of 14 concentrating on Pipe Organ, Piano, Harpsichord, Music Theory, and Arranging. While there he also studied under well known arrangers Orli Vitullo and Mickie Bassilla.

With several solo recordings to his credit, Tom also toured as a concert organist for several years. In addition to being used as a “hired gun” for numerous national and local acts, he also was a keyboardist for The Stepping Stones,  Tom Lopresta and Company, The Executive Collection and gospel rock groups, The Abraham Brothers and The Chords.

Tom’s high energy style of playing
will definitely keep you entertained.
 

Clint
Bass, Vocals

    While watching his favorite groups on the television Clint Sobie realized that the guitar + stage = screaming women and playing became his ultimate goal.  He began taking lessons at the age of 9 at the Cleveland Institute of Music on the clarinet and saxophone (at his parents insistence) even before picking up the guitar, but still plays them to this day and has been teaching at Bruno Brothers Music for the last 26 years.

Unable to find a bass player for his band, he made the switch and never looked back. He's toured with the country group "Pony Express", and has been a member of "Bustin Loose" and  "Tower City Soul", along with doing both bass and vocal recording sessions with numerous great Cleveland artists.

His driving bass and vocals on such tunes as Touch Me by the Doors and Mr. Skin by Spirit will definitely rock you!
 

Warren
Drums, Vocals

    The "Heartbeat of the Group", Warren Hauser, has been involved with music one way or the other since age five, playing in both his high school band & orchestra. He is a former member of the Cleveland Caballeros Drum and Bugle Corps and The Cleveland Buckeyes Drum Corps. Continuing after high school, Warren has sung and toured with both the Baldwin Wallace Concert Choir and the Ohio State Men's Glee Club. He is the former drummer for Cleveland's "Travelers" in the 60's & 70's and for twenty one years he was the heart and soul; both as singer and drummer for "Heartbeat", one of Greater Cleveland's favorite "oldies" bands.

Warren has over 50 years of musical experience and has nearly 45 years of stage and live performances to his credit.
 

Andy
Trumpet, Vocals

    Trumpet player Andy P started playing after fourth grade in 1970, when his oldest brother Paul decided to focus more or sports than music.  Andy was lucky enough to have married his Medina High School sweetheart Karen, in 1995, and has two daughters, Ryan and Emily.  He has played in a number of different bands, including "Gene and the Gents", "The Cliffhangers", and "Class Reunion".  He has played at E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall, Blossom Music Center, and even the old Cleveland Stadium.  

    In his own words,
"I enjoy a lot of different musical styles.  The tunes put together by this group represent a wonderful variety of songs I really enjoy.  It is truly an honor to get to play along side some of the areas finest musicians.  I am hardly worthy of the position of trumpeter, and I'm reminded of that regularly.  Greg, the leader, and I, played in another group for several years.  We enjoy a great friendship, and have a very strong musical bond.  I feel very lucky to be involved with such a fine group of players.  I can only hope they'll keep me around for a while!"  
 

J.
Soprano, Alto & Tenor Sax, Vocals

    J. Calvin plays soprano, alto and tenor saxophones and is one of the male lead vocalists in the band.  J. is an accomplished musician, teacher and entertainer and has been performing in the North East Ohio for over 25 years with top local bands including THE MOTION, VICTORY BOUELEVARD, REVELATION, STRAIT EDGE, DOUBLE IDENTITYto name a few. 

    In addition, J. has performed with several outstanding touring and national acts including Little Anthony, Martha Reeves, Felix Cavaliere, Lou Christie, Mitch Rider, Cub Coda, and most recently Cleveland's own Sonny Geraci.  In 1987, J. appeared in the film "Light of Day", starring Michael J. Fox and Joan Jett. 

An inspired singer and sax stylist, J's soulful Motown and R&B sounds are guaranteed to please everyone. 

 

Carl
Trombone

 

    By far one of the most entertaining members to watch, Carl Kleinhenz has played trombone in the Cleveland area since 1993 in orchestras, theater and salsa bands.  He studied trombone with Merritt Dittert of the Cleveland Orchestra, Richard Rodda, Scott Elliott and Ed Zadrozny. 

He has been arranging music for large ensemble since high school.  He has doubled on string bass and bass guitar since high school.  By day he is  a pharmacist.

Carl's contribution to Vinyl Approach as a dynamic player and arranger is only out shadowed by his energy and sheer enjoyment for playing.

 

 

Lisa
Tenor, Alto & Baritone Sax, Flute

    The lady of the group, Lisa plays Alto, Tenor and Baritone Saxophones, flute and clarinet, but also puts up with the abuse of being with seven guys    Lisa studied jazz performance at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana where she studied under David Baker and Tom Walsh and graduated with a degree in Jazz Studies/Saxophone.  The day after graduation, she flew to Puerto Rico to join Carnival Cruise Lines where she performed and traveled as a show band musician for three years on seven different cruise ships.

Now based in Ohio, Lisa has performed with many local area jazz and salsa bands including The Swing Machine, The John Traponi Big Band, Noel Quintana and The Latin Crew, Grupo K-Non, Sammy DeLeon y Su Orquesta, Roberto Ocasio’s Latin Jazz Project and The Best of Cleveland Salsa.

 

Phil
Soundman

    Probably the most important member and unsung hero of the band, Phil Calvin (brother of Jay Calvin) started out in his middle teens playing drums and later switching to bass after which he then joined an "All Occasion" band and played with them for 28 years. In his mid twenties he attended a local Electronics school finally getting his Bachelors degree. At the time he was only interested in fixing the band amplifiers. Now I'm testing and repairing RF electronics.
 
He has learned most of what he knows about sound, amplifiers and effects working with the "All Occasion" band and my brother.  I worked with my brother on 2 previous PA projects.

 

 

 

 


 

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