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Ben Sikorski—Vocals
Born to entertain in 1968, Benjamin Alexander Sikorski danced
and sang on any make-shift stage in front of anyone who would watch. Growing
up in the small town of Brevard NC, Ben grabbed the first opportunity
to have a real audience when he began doing an afternoon drive slot
on the local AM radio station.
At just 17, he moved into the morning drive slot, and
began to write and produce commercials and jingles for the station. In
1992, the birth of karaoke led Ben to form his company, Sound
Extreme Entertainment. He began traveling and opening for
various events in North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia,
Kentucky, and Georgia. As his company prospered, Ben was busy
honing his vocal skills, performing as the lead singer in bands throughout
the Southeast.
He is now the lead singer for the band Crocodile Smile, and is also
involved with several charities, including the March of Dimes, the
American Cancer Society, and the American Red Cross.
Ben and his wife, Lisa, live in Transylvania County with their two
children, Chase and Wynne. |
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Mike Barnes—Guitar & Backing Vocals
Michael Chaunce Barnes began playing the guitar in 1971, first studying
classical guitar with Jerry Young and soon moved on to performing
jazz and other styles of music. He attended the University
of Miami and is a graduate of L.A.'s Musician's Institute, as well
as UNCA. While in Miami, Mike formed a group with Eliot Wadopian
and toured the southeast. After a couple of years of touring
Mike enrolled at Musician's Institute in California in 1980, graduating
in 1981. During his time at MI he studied with some of the
world's finest guitarists and musicians, including Pat Martino, Robben
Ford, Joe Diorio, Carl Schroeder, Howard Roberts and Howard Alden. He
was chosen by Tommy Tedesco to perform a solo on the Musician's Institute
graduating class album.
After graduation Mike freelanced and performed studio work in and
around the Los Angeles area and soon went on the road again performing
all over the United States. Mike has worked as a session guitarist
and performed in recording studios in Los Angeles, Memphis, Nashville,
Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and Jacksonville.
As a recording artist for Polygram Records and Geffen Records, some
of Mr. Barnes work has been featured on shows such as Star Search,
various television commercials, and on MTV. He has had publishing
deals with Cherry Lane Music and has performed and shared the stage
with such artists as John Scofield, The Allman Brothers, Maynard
Ferguson, Jimmy Page, The Black Crowes, Mundell Lowe, and Joe Walsh.
Mike has been teaching guitar privately since 1977 and has been a
UNCA faculty member since 1995. As well as performing with
Crocodile Smile, Miike plays regularly with drummer Jeff Sipe and
bassist Mark McDaniels in the improv trio Kaizen. Mike resides
in Asheville with his wife Donny and son Carrigan. |
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Bill Altman—Guitar & Backing Vocals
Guitarist Bill Altman has been involved with the Asheville music
scene for over a decade, playing and writing for bands of all styles,
most notably, Big
Block Dodge, The Crystal Zoo, and Rattlesnakes. Big Block
Dodge combined blues and jazz fusion into a style all their own,
and performed all over the Southeast producing a hit album. The Zoo
recorded CDs at Beale Street Studios and House of Blues, Memphis,
and the Power Station in New York City. Rattlesnakes recorded
dates in Nashville and Asheville. These bands were instrumental
in the formation of the Asheville music scene and the famous Warren
Haynes Christmas Jams. Bill is another product of the rich
NC guitar tradition, spawn of many of the world's hottest players! |
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Dave Bradley—Bass & Backing Vocals
Charles David Bradley, Jr. started playing bass guitar in 1980 with
a band of schoolmates. Learned blues and early rock styles
with Johnny & the Jokers and Loose Bruce Horton.
In the late 80's he teamed with friends Richie Tipton and Bill Altman
to form The Rattlesnakes. This was followed by Prayin' For
Rain, Buffalo Mojo, Crystal Zoo (which played extensively up and
down the East Coast circuit), The Roostertones (made up of most of
Prayin' For Rain), and in 2000 co-founded The Sharkadelics with Al
Eddins.
Dave has shared the stage with Warren Haynes, Bobby Keyes (saxophonist
for the Rolling Stones), Nantucket, .38 Special, Marshall Tucker
Band, Delaware Destroyers, Nazareth, Foghat, Superdrag, Ozark Mountain
Daredevils, 311, and Big 'N' Rich. He has recorded albums in
Nashville and Memphis, TN, as well as locally.
Two highlights of his career was getting to meet the late Chris Whitley
at "The Continental" in New York City in 1996 and meeting John Rich
and Dean Hall in 2005. Dave is a lifelong user of Music Man
basses. Music and travel are his main interests. |
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Gabe Rohmann—Drums & Backing Vocals
Gabriel Grover Rohmann grew up playing the drums and singing. At
age 10, Gabe began drumming in his first band, and in high school
played with the speed metal band Darkness, which produced two studio
albums and toured throughout the Northeast. Also a natural
singer, Gabe won lead roles in stage musicals, graduating with a
BA from The College of New Jersey in Trenton, NJ in 2000.
In the 6 years since graduation, Gabe has played in Sage,
an original rock band based in New Hope, PA which toured the East
coast and produced two acclaimed studio albums. During his
tenure in New Jersey, Gabe also did session and studio work, founded
the funk band Juicebox,
and played with the Philadelphia-based live electronica band Mantenna.
In 2004, Gabe also wrote, engineered, and produced a solo album of
his own original material.
Since moving to Asheville, NC in late 2006, Gabe has worked with
many area musicians and has found a great home with the band Crocodile
Smile. Gabe provides experience and a solid backbone to the
CS sound, which integrates funk, rock, hip-hop, world beat, and dance
styles. |
