KEVIN SUFFECOOL
originally started out on the drums back in 5th grade, playing
everything from snare to toms to timpani until he graduated from
high school. He also took piano lessons briefly, but soon gave that
up when he learned he was much better at playing songs by ear than
by reading music. He also found that enjoyed singing as well, and
was always active vocally during high school, college, and at church.
If interested, you can read about (and hear) a humerous
audio project
he created for his Music Appreciation class while in college.
A memory that will always stick with him is forming a "band"
called "Chubby and the Checkers" and winning first place, in both his
high school talent show
and a local mall talent show, for
their stunning and over-the-top cover of Chubby Checker's "The Twist".
While in college, he appeared in numerous local Broadway musicals including
Guys and Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without
Really Trying. He also has performed in (and occasionally directed)
over forty Easter and Christmas cantatas and musicals.
When drummer Marc Jackson approached Kevin about joining together to
form a classic rock band, he jumped on it right away. He had jammed
with them before, and knew that the high level of talent amongst the
members would make for a powerful band.
"I have a pretty eclectic taste in music," says Kevin.
"I enjoy everything from rock to gospel to jazz to classical. I've even been
caught occasionally listening to country and rap. As long as it is
musically pleasing to the ear, I'll give it a try. And I'm a sucker
for good vocal harmonies."
But it was the chance to play the songs he grew up listening to on the radio
inspired him to sign up as the group's keyboard player.
"Playing with
has definately improved my keyboard and vocal skills. We play some
extremely challenging cover tunes, and the bar has been set very high
with this band. One of the fun things about playing in
is that I am
getting to hear and learn all these great classic rock songs that
I missed out on back in the 70's and 80's. I wasn't really a big
Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin fan back then, but now I'm getting to
'relive my youth' by getting to hear all these songs for the first
time. Now the only problem is narrowing down which songs we decide to
cover. There are just so many good songs out there to choose from."
In addition to playing with the band, Kevin also creates and maintains
the band's website.
Kevin performs on a full 88-key
Roland RS-9 synthesizer.
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