FRED LANHAM
Guitar, lead vocals, harmonica and mandolin.
Fred has played professionally for over thirty years. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of music from Motown to the Beatles. Fred also has an fine collection of guitars from classic Gibsons, to rare Fenders. His most prized possession is a beautiful green Stratocaster that Eric Clapton signed when the two musicians met in NYC. Fred has also met Carlos Santana and Kenny Wayne Shepherd.
STEVE MARTIN
Guitar, trumpet, keyboards, percussion, vocals.
Steve comes from Oneida, NY. He is a graduate of the prestigious Crane School of
Music. An instrument major, Steve can play anything. He is often seen with a
guitar around his neck or a trumpet in his hands...sometimes in the same song! He has played with international recording artists “Tommy Gunn and the Endangered Species.” In college, Steve was half of the Jazz/Rock group “Reversion.” Steve, a music teacher, is a graduate of Crane and has a MA from SUNY Potsdam
TOM MURRAY
Drums, percussion and lead vocals.
Tom is from Auburn, NY and has played with some of the best dance bands in New York State. He has performed with “Reporter” (a Rochester band formed from members of Nick & the Nice Guys) and “The Marshall Tucker Band”. Locally (Syracuse, Oswego & Watertown) he has played with more bands than he can remember... among them “Moonlighting”, “Glyder “, “The John Hart Band” and the infamous “Larry & the Lounge Lizards” Tom, an art teacher, is a graduate of SUNY Oswego and has an MEd from St Lawrence University.
JIM OXENFORD
Trombone, piano, synth and percussion.
Jim is from Buffalo, NY. Jim is a graduate of SUNY Fredonia, which has a nationally recognized music program. Jim is famous for his ability to learn quickly and is one of the most sought after “pit band” musicians in the area. He has played for countless performances. In Fred & the EDs, he leads the “Horns of Insanity” and writes out all the charts for the horns. Jim, an English teacher, is a graduate of SUNY Fredonia and has his MA from SUNY Geneseo
SHANNON WHITNEY
Saxophone and percussion
Shannon is from the Watertown, NY area. She played sax in SUNY Oswego’s famous “Solid State Jazz Band” during her college years. When not playing with the EDs, she participates in horse shows all over the United States. Recently she traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma for the 2007 US Nationals. Shannon, an administrator in special education, is a graduate of SUNY Oswego and has her MEd from St Lawrence University.
MICHEL RAINVILLE
Electric & Acoustic Bass and Background Vocals
Michel has roots in Quebec and grew up in Black River, N.Y. In keeping with the band’s tradition, he has a background in teaching, specifically French, but has long since departed that field and works as a television producer.
He has played bass professionally since the mid-1960’s, hence feels very comfortable within the extensive classic rock repertoire of Fred & The Eds. Because most of his experience has been with three piece power trios, his acquired technique adds greatly to the solid foundation of the band’s rhythm section and makes you want to stay on the dance floor.
Former bands include “ORB” and “SKAT” from the 70’s and most recently “YIKES”. He has shared the stage with Ronnie James Dio & ELF, The Bobby Comstock Trio, The South Shore Road Band, the original Ed Wool & The Nomads, and David Allan Coe.
Like Fred, he has a great appreciation of vintage instruments and enjoys playing them on stage. Mike is a graduate of SUNY Brockport.
JEFF WOOD
Trumpet
Jeff was born in Alexandria Bay, NY and graduated from South Jefferson and later Jefferson Community College. Jeff started playing the trumpet in elementary school and played in jazz band and community concert bands in College and when he attended the maritime academy in Michigan. Jeff has been a member of the Original Yanks Drum and Bugle Corps since 1980, and has been the director for the last 17 years. Jeff also writes and arranges all of the music for the Drum Corps as well. Jeff taught computer networking at Jefferson Community College for 5 years and currently is the Information Services Manager for a local hospital. When not writing or playing music Jeff is an avid Bike Rider and organizes fund raisers for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the American Cancer Society. Jeff is also an author. His book "Riding the White Line" is available from Amazon.com
Influences
Our greatest influence is a popular regional act from the 1960s called "The South Shore Road Band" but we also must give a lot of credit to "Chicago", "Average White Band" and "Tower of Power". Actually we love any kind of music with horns, great guitar licks, a driving beat and killer vocals.
Sounds Like
Hmm... we sound like... US! We have a term we use when we learn a new song, ED-IFYING it. It means that we try to put our own imprint on every song. Take the song "Good Lovin'" by the Young Rascals, the original is a pretty standard 4/4 rocker with an organ solo... we do it with an almost reggae beat and we have a horn solo. We try not to "cover" songs, we introduce our own personalities and musical talents into each song. We don't try to sound exactly like the original, we just try to sound as good as we can... we don't invite comparison because we don't want to be compared.
Fred & the EDs is one of the premier dance bands in New York State. With seven multi-talented members, who can literally play every instrument and four vocalists, you won’t believe your ears! Professional, dependable and cooperative are just some of the adjectives people use to describe “the EDs” Your event will be a guaranteed success, with Fred & the EDs.
SERVICES
The Full Band
Hours of high energy entertainment with drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and horns. We have members who play mutiple instruments (sometimes in the same song!) Guitars, keyboards, drums, trombone, trumpet, saxaphone, harmonica, mandolin and four vocalists! We can provide perfect music for your event.
We have sound systems from intimate to concert size set-ups. We also have lights from simple par cans on a stand to elaborate concert sized truss systems and follow spots.
Hope all is well Jim! saw you at O'Briens but you snuck out before Underfoot was done playing. Catch QA sometime and we'll be sure you catch you at the paddock.
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