Ben Sikorski—Vocals

Born to entertain in 1968, Benjamin Alexander Sikorski dressed up like everything from cowboys to clowns as a child.  He 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 years of age, 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.

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.

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!

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.

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.