Band Members
Dan McGrath sings like Louis Armstrong and plays banjo like Ralph Stanley. He earned his chops playing rock & roll and soul in bars on the Jersey Shore.
John Jay Martyn (also on CD Baby with his album "Everyone's A Kid On Christmas Morning") plays the drum in the Hot Java Band. One Drum. It is the therepy he needs after thirty years of hauling his drum set to a countless number of one night stands across the eastern seacoast. John is a Berklee College of Music grad and has spent the last twenty years composing music for television and radio commercials from his studio in South Florida. That studio is Audacity Recording (audacityrecording.com) and it is somewhat of a second home to the boys in the Hot Java Band. In addition to recording this CD, Audacity serves as the Happy Hour rehearsal space to the HJB. John is an accomplished jazz pianist and somewhat of a crooner of jazz standards. One of his key jobs in the HJB is hiding Dan's penny whistle.
Ted Strauss was in numerous jam and country rock bands in the NYC area in the late 60's and early 70's. Ted taught himself how to flatpick guitar, play mandolin and sing Bluegrass, Olde Time and Irish music playing in NYC and in the Washington DC area for many years. Always the band techy, Ted developed sound systems and went on the road doing production and sound engineering for artists including John Hartford, Hickory Wind, Vasser Clements and John Prine.
Bill Gearhiser plays piano, bass, percussion, saxophone, and stereo. His favorites are ragtime and jazz piano, classical double bass, and bluegrass bass. A student of Lucille Graham, he has performed with Eugene Fodor, Victor Borge, Lorin Hollander, Gary Grafman, Pepe Romero, and Doc Severinsen, among others. He considers the most fun, though, to be playing bass with his buddies in the Hot Java Band. A devoted non-singer, Bill is "the quiet one in the back" and probably enjoys listening to the music more than most of the audience does
Chaim Rubinov, trumpet, flugelhorn and piano. He has played with artists such as Marvin Hamlisch, Nestor Torres, Tito Puente, Jr., David Sanchez, Melton Mustafa, Miguel Cruz, Jesse Jones Jr., and many others. His versatility allows him to perform many styles of music, ranging from Latin, Haitian, Reggae, Gospel, Jazz, Top Forty, Rock and Roll, R & B, Klezmer and Latino music.
Dede Brisco
John Hollis knew he was destined to become a musician when his father took in a sax on a used car deal. After realizing it was too small to turn into a floor lamp and too big to turn into a pipe, it was decided to try it out as a musical instrument. After one week, John was able to play "Raindrops keep falling on my head". Still not able to impress chicks, John went on the next week to learn "The Look Of Love" and thus began a thirty year career to always stay at the fore front of what other people think is cool
Rex Blazer
Rex Blazer, who lives somewhere between Montana, Florida, Maine, and Alaska, has been energizing dancers nationwide for over 25 years. With a focus on contra and square dance fiddling, Rex is well known for his for his "liberal" interpretation of traditional and contemporary tunes and pop music, blending them into his own uniquely improvisational style. In addition, he plays recording and performance projects with singer-songwriters, fiddle in country and rock bands, and solo work for receptions, weddings, and other private engagements.
Wes Malkan
Kenny Moorehead