JEREMY

Bands:
Scorcher, Vendetta, Calamity Jive, Diva and the Dogs, The Mulligans, The Spitfires

Favorite Music:
Van Halen, Journey, Bad Moon Rising, Bryan Adams, Tonic

Influences:
Eddie Van Halen, Doug Aldrich, Neil Schon, Keith Scott (Bryan Adams), Terry Cushman, Dave and Greg Adams, Shawn Al Yasiri, Paul Martens.

Equipment:
Marshall Amplification (Mod5 by Mark Abrahamian), TC Electronic effects, MXR stompboxes, Guitars built by Craig Rowe and myself, SIT strings.

I started playing guitar at the age of 4. A guitar tuned to an open E chord by my Dad to play Johnny Cash songs. Around the age of 10, I got a full sized Washburn acoustic for Christmas and began to learn open chords and played Hank Williams Jr. and Waylon Jennings songs with my Dad. At 14, my friend Frank Johansen got an electric guitar and was taking lessons. I could play chords and Frank couldn’t yet, so I hung out at Frank’s house everyday…literally (ask his mom Bev). Dad finally bought me an Arbor strat with a whammy bar. A guitarist friend came over and played Van Halen 1 for me and…..KaBoom! I was hooked. I couldn’t believe the sound Eddie’s amp had and he just seemed so cool.

My first really solid band was Calamity Jive. We were an all-original trio in the mid-90’s. We were trying to survive the new “grunge scene” while writing hard rock tunes. We gave it a shot at the big time, but faltered quickly as rock was a thing of the past…and we weren’t good enough. I took a musical hiatus at after this traumatic break-up.

I started getting back into music in 1999 when my friend Craig Rowe and I began building guitars and recording music. We specialized in little guitar jingles that nobody listened to.

Fast forward to 2006, were I met my dear friend Darren Adkins and helped re-form The Mulligans. The Mulligans had been a Fox Valley favorite from 1998-2002. Darren and I have been working together solid since and continue to do gigs together to this day with The Mulligans and The Spitfires.

In ’09, while in the Mulligans I got a call to jam with some guys that were looking for a guitar player. Our mutual friend felt my personality and guitar style would fit in nicely. I was pleased to learn that the guys forming this band were the founding members of one of my favorite Fox Valley bands…Sonic Circus. I jumped at the chance to join them and have loved every minute of it. We had a quick roadblock when original bassist Dan Comperini had to step down, but were fortunate to find JJ Eaton. We struggled briefly to find the right voice, but got very lucky when Missy Krueger became available. The puzzle was solved! KaBoom!!