Tony Bardo – Keyboards, Guitar and Vocals
It all started with making the choir as the only 4th grade soprano at St. Thomas Moore. This got me out of class 30 minutes early every day. Smiled as Sister What’s Her Name glared at me as I walked out the door…. Piano lessons….self-taught guitar (can’t you tell?). Early influences….Middle School…..Dave Clark 5, Ventures, Beatles, Chad Mitchell Trio, Kingston Trio, Peter, Paul & Mary. High School….Simon & Garfunkel. College….Chicago, Steely Dan, Doobies. Formed a 5 piece band, The Spades, in middle school, joined a rock band, The Gestics, as a freshman in HS. Both lasted only months. In HS, juggled between soccer, basketball, music and drama, but locked into Greely, Vic & Louis, a folk trio with my 2 best friends. Played the Cellar Door in DC, and lots of clubs (remember Uncle Sam’s?) and coffee houses in the late 60s. Joined the Selective Service Sistum, an 8-piece horn band in 1971 at Virginia Tech as lead singer. 3 fun years playing all over SW Virginia, West Virginia, and even Easters Weekend in Charlottesville! Musically dormant for some 20 years after college until I found these special crazy Fabulous friends for what was supposed to be a 3 minute tour, a 3 minute tour. Looking forward to every new day, every gig, every new (old) song and playing our wonderful mix of music.
Bob Divine – Vocals, Guitar, Percussion and Bass
Bob is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. As a kid, his first instruments were his father’s antique ukulele, bongos and a vintage piano accordian. Not many rock bands needed this combination of musical instrument proficiency, so his parents paid for lessons on trumpet, drums and classical guitar. The guitar lessons expanded to folk, bluegrass, jazz, rock, electric guitar, mandolin and bass. Bob sang bass, baritone and harmonies in chorus, choirs, acapella madrigals in high school and chamber choirs in college. While in college, Bob learned some live sound reinforcement and PA skills and spent his time killing feedback instead of studying. He also expanded his percussion skills to include drums, congas, timbales and a Steel Pan from Trinidad & Tobago. After college and several years of musical dormancy, Bob joined Tony, Peter and Cliff in the Fabulous Dialtones on vocals, rhythm guitar, bass, percussion and as part-time sound man. Musical influences are: The Beatles, Crosby, Stills & Nash, ELP, Santana, Led Zeppelin, Simon & Garfunkel, Jazz Fusion, Chicago, BS&T, Frank Sinatra and Andrés Segovia. Bob especially loves it when the crowd chants for “More Cowbell“!
Cliff Greenblatt – Lead and Rhythm Guitar and Vocals
Cliff Greenblatt plays guitar and sings here and there. One day in his youth, Cliff picked up his father’s guitar and a Harry Chapin song book, figured out what the little dots on the chord charts meant, started playing, nailed down two songs in that first afternoon, and has resisted learning new material ever since. Cliff was inspired to stick with it by the release of Frampton Comes Alive, which explains his long, flowing golden locks and his usual shirtlessness. He played in a few bands over the years, including with his pal Chip, getting paid in books for gigs at Borders. Then, in a match.com moment, MCI’s Communications director, Judy, introduced Cliff to Peter and Tony and forced them to start a band, and they, in turn, coerced Bob to join. The rest is history, and Cliff remains awestruck by his band mates’ talents and effortless** construction and execution of complex harmonies. Since he is a lawyer by day, you’d think Cliff would handle the contracts for the band, so Cliff is testing the waters. Cliff is also chairing the band’s Self-Deprecation Committee.
Alex Divine – Vocals, Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar and Bass
Alex is a technical expert at recreating the original guitar leads for Classic Rock and current Rock and Roll hits. Alex is also a multi-instrumentalist and is equally skilled on Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar and Bass. Alex provides lead vocals and harmonies on many of our songs. Alex and Connor (aka The Divine Brothers) switch between Bass and Electric guitars and provide Lead Vocals and Harmonies. Alex grew up listening all of the Classic Rock and Roll songs along with the new hits from the 80s, 90s, 2000s and current musical influences! Alex lives in Loudoun County and graduated from University of Kentucky.
Connor Divine – Guitar, Bass and Vocals
Connor is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist providing lead vocals, Bass Guitar, and Electric and Acoustic guitar. He spent time growing up around many instruments and gained expertise with loop pedals to add layers to recordings on his Mac. Connor plays many Bass Guitar styles ranging from slap, funk and jazz. His amazing Bass Guitar skills and lead vocals and harmonies allow the band to increase our song library of Classic Rock and songs from the 1990s to the current hits. You will see Connor and his brother Alex switch effortlessly between guitars and Bass. Connor lives in Arlington VA and graduated from University of South Carolina.]
Jeff Miles – Drums
Jeff has been playing the drums for over 40 years. He has covered all of the Classic Rock and Roll hits that all our fans love. He’s a former member of Sons of Grease (Santa Barbara, CA), The Bernie Milton Band (Ithaca, NY), and The Soul Purpose (Westport, CT). Jeff’s drumming can be heard on many recordings and his groups have opened for some very well known bands.
Horns:
Bob Holladay – Trombone
Bob started playing trombone in the 5th grade and loved it. He was fortunate enough during his public school years to have had band directors that shared their passion for music and were an inspiration to him. He eventually became a band director for 30 years. While in high school, he was offered a job playing trombone 6 nights a week in a local theater and fell in love with the possibility of music as a career. The people that he met and hung around with were fun and colorful characters. For Bob, playing music sure beat delivering newspapers or flipping hamburgers. In college, he played in orchestra, wind ensemble, brass quintets, jazz band, theater and wedding bands. After college, he continued to freelance union and non-union jobs.
Bob’s trombone playing commitments declined once he began teaching school. After leaving the school system, opportunities to play began cropping up between dancing with his wife and hanging out with my grandson with more on the way. He also currently plays with Doc Scantlin and the Imperial Palms Orchestra, freelance with other swing bands and in a jazz sextet. As a child from the 50′s, he loves the music of the 60’s (especially Chicago which has a great trombone player/arranger) and the 70′s. Bob is very happy to have the opportunity to play this music with the Fabulous Dialtones. Bob provides many of the complicated horn arrangements for the band and helps manage our horn section.
Rich Kessler – Trumpet
Rich Kessler is our lead Trumpet player. Rich also plays the piccolo trumpet on special occasions. He has played in many bands around the DC/MD/VA area for many years.
Tom Andersen – Saxophones
Tom is our premier Saxophone player. Tom has been playing woodwinds with various music groups in the D.C. area since moving here in the late ‘90s from Southern California, where he mainly played trumpet. Since retiring from his government job, Tom plays as much sax and flute as he can, or at least until his dogs start howling at him. He is a multi-talented musician.
Alternate Musicians
Bob LoSchiavo – Lead Guitar and Vocals
Bob has played lead guitar and sang in various bands over the years. He played with Tony back in the 70s with the Selective Service Sistum, an 8-piece horn band, while both went to school at Virginia Tech. His early influence then was the great, late Terry Kath of Chicago. Currently, he is playing as an alternate lead guitarist for “The Fabulous Dialtones” in Virginia and regular lead guitarist for “Walkin The Boulevard” out of New Jersey.
Honorary Fabulous Dialtones Alumni:
Peter Warren – vocals and guitar – often guest appearances with the Fabulous Dialtones
Bob Blundell – Pedal Steel Guitar – often guest appearances with the Fabulous Dialtones
Greg Hawley – Guitar & Vocals – often guest appearances with the Fabulous Dialtones
Hollywood Thompson – Tenor Saxophone
Ray Strucker – Trumpet
Joe McFarlane – Saxophone
Mark Bultman – trombone
Ron Early – drums
John Nishimoto – guitar and vocals
Bob Blundell – bass, guitar and vocals
Jong Lee – bass, lead guitar
Roger Aurillo – Sound Reinforcement, lead guitar, vocals
Dennis Langley – drums and vocals
Perry Warden – drums
Gil Wilshire – trumpet
David Britt – trumpet
Geoff Peterson – trumpet
Craig Dye – trumpet
David Ericson – Trumpet
David Spiegelthal – baritone saxophone aka “Mario Baritone”
Brian MacDonald – saxophone, vocals
Chuck Hatfield – Keyboards
Dave DiPaolo – Baritone Saxophone
Liz Adams – trombone
Stuart Huang – Sound Reinforcement
Philroy Wilson – Sound Reinforcement
Sam Baumel – Electric Fiddle
Marc Zoellner – Drums
Steve Lovecchio – Saxophone
Mark Moccio – Saxophone
Scot Lienke – Drums
Phil Hamm – Bass
Tom Zimmers – Drums
