The Fender Benders have been an established band since 1990. They have played numerous festivals, concerts and private parties all over Kentucky and parts of Tennessee.
They have opened shows for B.B. King, Tower of Power and Neil McCoy just to name a few. As well as playing at the KenLake Blues Festival, Duncan Hines Festival, Owensboro BBQ Festival and many, many more.
They have been selected twice by the KY Blues Soceity to repersent KY at the 2006 and 2008 International Blues Challenge on Beale St. in Memphis, TN! The largest gathering of blues bands in the world!
The Fender Benders are primarily an R&B band that also plays the Blues and Classic Rock with the best of them. The Bowling Green, KY party band that will have you dancing all night long!
Our Bio's
Willie Smith/Vocalist:
The band features Willie Smith on lead vocals. He can invoke the soul of Otis Redding or sing the blues as well as Bobby "Blue" Bland. He has a presence that makes women swoon with only his voice and moves!
Willie is 64 years old, but you would never think so. He got his start in the church singing gospel hymns. At 15 years of age, he was heard by a sax player, Robert Phillips and was asked to start singing for his band, The House Rockers. They also did shows as "Push". They played gigs from Mississippi to Terre Haute, Ind.
One day, on the way back from playing a gig in Louisville, KY they heard another band playing a radio show that included Chris Hardesty and loved the sound! Robert found out who they were and they formed the Fender Benders!
Robert has since past on and Willie has kept singing with all his heart! Once you hear Willie sing you will never forget that incredible voice!
Willie Smith is the heart and soul of the Fender Benders and he keeps gaining a fan base every time he starts to sing! He has no intentions of stopping anytime soon and everyone of his fans hope it will last forever!
Jarrod England, Guitarist/Vocalist
Bio coming soon!
Brian Witty, Guitarist/Vocalist:
Brian Witty started playing Guitar at age 12. By age 15 he had found a special connection between him and early blues.
He soon switched from electric guitar to acoustic and started to model his playing after blues greats like Son House,
Robert Johnson, Elmore James, and Charlie Patton.
After a couple of years he picked up the electric guitar again and started learning styles of Muddy Waters, The Kings,
Albert Collins, and early Johnny Winter. One thing led to another and Brian found himself in bands playing Classic Rock
and learning Leslie West, Billy Gibbons, Jimi Hendrix and Robin Trower.
Missing his roots a little, Brian again broke out the old National Guitar brushed up a little and
entered the Kentucky Blues Challenge where he won the solo/duo portion and earned himself a spot playing at the
International Blues Challenge in Memphis. Brian played well enough there to get himself recognized by some industry
professionals that advised him to record a solo album that they could help promote. Brian is now in process of
recording that album and promoting himself as a solo artist as well as continuing to improve as a guitarist in
several bands. If you listen close, you can hear a bit of all of his influences along with a hefty dose of Brian
himself.
Besides playing with the Fender Benders, Brian plays with Mission of life church band
(every Sunday morning on Park Street) and some other projects that He won't yet disclose. He is always very
approachable and loves to talk about music with anybody and everybody!
Brian besides being a musician also builds custom tube amplfiers under the name BW Amplification, and is a
Realtor with Coldwell Banker in Bowling Green.
Mark Johnson, Bassist:
Mark is an original member of the Fender Benders, but left for a few years to pursue other musical interests. He returned to the band about 5 years ago after realizing how much he missed the magic of the Fender Benders.
He owns a new neon business in Bowling Green, KY. He is the only glass bender in Bowling Green and is starting to reap the rewards of being a needed commodity!
Mark learned to play bass by watching his stepfather play bass for country and gospel bands as a kid. He would help set-up, then watch him play and then help them tear down. He learned the music business, as well as how to play, by the time he was a teenager.
He has played many types of music, but that Motown sound was what made him the happiest! Grooving and playing in the pocket is what it is all about for Mark!
Chris Hardesty, Drummer/Backup Vocalist:
Chris is also an original member that left the band for a while to play with the power trio, Supafuzz. Supafuzz was a force to be reckoned with, but he too found his way back to the Fender Benders.
Chris is one of the best drummers in the entire area! He plays in a very unorthodox method. He is left handed, but sets his drums like normal except the hi-hats are on the other side. He blows people away just by the way he sets them up, but once he plays the audience is even more blown away!
He also plays in a side band with Greg Martin of the Kentucky Headhunters. The band is called Rufus Huff and they play as Greg takes a break from the Headhunters and other musical projects. Luckily his passion is still with the Fender Benders though!
He is the groove machine behind the band! He is also the ears of the band! If something is not right with the song, he is the first one to hear it and knows what it takes to fix the problem!
Ryan Stiles-Baritone/Tenor Saxophone
Ryan started playing Alto Saxophone at age 11 in his school band. He quickly progressed on the instrument, and went on to win numerous awards in middle and high school, and was awarded a seat in the coveted KY All-State Band two years in a row. In high school, he found the rich and deep sound of the baritone sax and knew he was on to something. The baritone quickly became his instrument of choice.
After high school, he played in a few bands until he was accepted to the world famous Berklee College of Music, in Boston, MA. He went on to study under the award winning arranger, Fred Lipsius and leader of the "Woody Herman Orchestra", Frank Tiberi. Ryan was highly coveted as one of the few “true” baritone sax players, and this helped him excel in many bands in this prestigious institution where he also played with Jeff Coffin on several dates.
After returning home to Bowling Green, and playing with a few bands, he got the opportunity to go on a national tour with Guy Smiley Blues Exchange and had the privilege to play all over the country from New York City to Honolulu and most everywhere in between. After the tour, Ryan moved to Seattle, WA and began to collaborate with some of the most talented young jazz musicians in Seattle, but was ready to return home to Bowling Green, KY.
Now in demand in the area, Ryan has been lucky enough to play with some of the most talented musicians in Kentucky, among them the Fender Benders, which he became a permanent member. Ryan is very capable to play most any style, but loves to play the great Stax/Motown sound that he grew up listening to and makes him the happiest of all the styles that he has played through the years! The only baritone sax player in the area and plays it with the soul of all the greats!
Brian Roberson, Alto Sax/Flute
Brian Roberson grew up playing music from an early age. He started piano lessons in the third grade. He soon discovered he had an ear for music. In sixth grade, he picked up the saxophone. Learning a lot from a friend in high school band, Brian started playing at church. In 7th grade, Brian met Ryan Stiles and because of the common bond of the saxophone, an instant friendship started. Later in high school, Brian started getting the feeling that something was missing. Taking lessons on the saxophone Brian started exploring jazz. While in high school, he also picked up the guitar.
As a freshman at WKU, Brian played in the WKU jazz ensemble as lead alto sax. Then in his sophomore year, he switched to lead tenor. it was around this time that Brian started playing with the Lost River Cave Big Band, and played occasionally with Voodoo Gruv. It was in college that Brian started playing the flute as well, taking classical flute lessons.
Last summer, Brian ran into Ryan at a Kentucky Blues Society Blues Jam, and Ryan invited him to come fill-in that night to play with the Fender Benders. Since then Brian has been a reliable stand-in on saxophone. Brian is the only flute player in Bowling Green adventurous enough to play the blues. The rest as they say-- is history.
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Thats fine, I forgot yours, and daddy came by earlier, and reminded me. I keep thinking yours is the 15 but thats Shawn's. you all need to come see use, we are neighbors ya know!!
Happy B-Day to the worlds bestest lil bro: I hope your day is a grand one, and that you get all you can handle: LOL: I love you sugar, and will see you in a couple of weeks now: Yaaay: Your Sis: Mona Sue
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Hey friends, just wanted to let you know about our show tonight at Tidball's in Bowling Green. We'll be playing with BG's own SoulGrass. These guys are great. Hope to see you there. Peace.
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