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Meet
the Band
(click a member to read bio)
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Quote from legendary Steely Dan drummer, Bernard Purdie:
"...wonderful,
fantastic....I have played with many of the Steely Dan tribute
bands and Aja is certainly the finest. I think they play as
well or better than the Steely Dan touring groups I have seen
and heard. They have the groove, chops, feel and an obvious
love for this music...This is a must see band and you can quote
me on that Mr. Jon...."
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You got to shake it baby! AJA recreates the
sounds of one of rock's most legendary and enigmatic bands with
stunning precision and energy. The joint will be rockin' to
all the Dan classics from Reelin' in the Years to Hey Nineteen
and beyond. This 10-piece ensemble features former members of
Pretzel Logic and includes some of the Cincinnati area’s
finest jazz, rock and session musicians.
No static at all! |
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Rick Auhagen - vocals
Rick has been known as the "The FedEx Guy" for the
last 21 plus years. He started performing professionally at
the age of 12, playing bass guitar and lead vocals in a band
called "Little Field". He has played in numerous club
bands in the Cincinnati area, including the long running band
"Customers". Rick also spent five years in the original
contemporary blues band "Jim Ray and the Amazing Rhythm
Pigs." He has also written, played and recorded a
series of one man band albums. After spending nearly 10 years
out of the performing spotlight, Rick, along with some of the
former members of "Pretzel Logic," joined together
to form "AJA," and Rick continues on his quest to
be "The Voice of Dan."
Rick
lives in Cincinnati with his wife Maureen, and daughter Alicia.
Rick feels extremely thankful, not only to his family for
providing him the time to be "The Voice of Dan,"
but also to be working with such a talented group of people,
bringing the music of "The Dan" to as many people
as possible.
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Eric
Baumgartner - keyboards
Eric Baumgartner holds music degrees from Boston's Berklee College
of Music and Chicago's DePaul University. Eric works as a composer,
arranger and clinician for Hal
Leonard Publishing. He has authored dozens of piano works
for students including the popular "Jazzabilities"
series. His work as a jazz and pop clinician have taken him
throughout the US and Canada as well as two tours of Australia.
Eric also performs (along with fellow Aja band mates Adam Wheeler
and Steve Langemo) in the Beatles tribute band, Savoy
Truffle, where he plays guitar and mandolin. |
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Steve Langemo - guitar
Steve comes to us from Fargo, ND. He brings a diverse background
and extensive experience performing rock, funk, blues, jazz
and classical guitar. He holds a guitar performance degree
from Minnesota State University, where he remained on the
guitar faculty for three years. Steve went on to earn a jazz
guitar degree from Bowling Green State University.
Now
residing in Dayton, Ohio with his wife Bree, Steve enjoys
a busy schedule of teaching and performing. Steve appears
regularly with the funk/pop group Thrust,
the original group Curios Animals, and the jazz organ group
The
John Slate Quartet. He teaches private lessons for Hauer
Music, McCutcheon
Music, and Wright
State University.
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Brad
Myers - guitar
Brad Myers came to Cincinnati, OH from Fairfax, VA in 1994
to attend the Jazz Studies program at UC's College-Conservatory
of Music. In addition to studying the guitar and teaching
in CCM's prep department, he also studied theatrical Sound
Design and Audio Engineering.
Brad
soon found himself becoming very involved with a new Jazz/Funk
group named "Ray's Music Exchange" that was just
starting to garner local and regional attention. Brad has
played guitar and produced all five of the recordings that
Ray's Music Exchange has released over the last nine years
and is beginning to work on their next CD which should be
their best one yet. In addition Brad maintains a teaching
studio out of Moeller
Music in West Chester and performs with local jazz musicians
when they ask him to.
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Bill Jackson - bass
Bill attended Boston's Berklee College of Music and graduated
from Indiana University’s music program. He teaches bass
at Northern Kentucky University and Mehas Music, and can be
found in a variety of musical settings (Caribbean, Latin, jazz,
bluegrass, and pop!). |
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Adam
Wheeler - drums, vocals
Adam
currently freelances and plays drums/sings with a number of
bands. He also has experience as a jazz drummer and orchestral
percussionist. Adam joins fellow Aja members Eric Baumgartner
and Steve Langemo in the Beatles tribute band Savoy
Truffle.
Adam
teaches drums around the Dayton area. In his free time, he
enjoys doing graphic web design (He is the designer of this
site).
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Dwayne Irvin - Saxophone
Born and raised in Cincinnati Ohio, Dwayne studied saxophone
at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in the Jazz/Studio music
program. He has performed locally with several groups, working
professionally in the Cincinnati area for over 30 years. Dwayne
got his start playing Steely Dan back in the late 70’s
with the local group “Gyro”. He went on to work
with several groups including January’s “Celebration”
band and can currently be heard with
Clyde
Brown Unlimited. He has also backed up several national
acts, including the “Spinners”, “Drifters”,
and the “Temptations”.
Dwayne
resides on the west side of Cincinnati with his wife Carolyn
and daughter Lindsey.
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Michael
Mavridoglou - trumpet
Cincinnati native Michael "Maddog" Mavridoglou (trumpet/multi-instrumentalist)
has spent the last six years traveling the nation with Burlington,
VT's Jazz
Mandolin Project, and Cincinnati's
Rays Music Exchange. He has performed and arranged for
Chicago supergroup Umphreys
McGee on special occasions. He also writes and arranges
for different groups around the country on the side.
Michael
graduated from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
in 2002 with a Bachelor's degree in Jazz Performance (Trumpet
concentration).
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Aretta Baumgartner - vocals
Aretta Baumgartner is an award-winning puppeteer, mask performer,
actress and singer. She holds a BA in Theatre from Ashland
University and an MA in Communication Arts from the University
of Cincinnati and has worked with/for dozens of theatre companies
in the region.
Aretta
is
a core member of the Cincinnati-based theatre ensemble called
Performance
Gallery and is a full-time performer/teaching artist with
ImagineNation.
And she's happily married to the guy behind the AJA keyboard.
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Jackie
Chitwood - vocals
Jackie Chitwood has loved music for as long as she can remember.
After studying voice at the Northern Kentucky University,
Jackie joined her first band. She has been involved in the
Cincinnati music scene for the better part of ten years. Jackie
can be heard on the 1997 release by the Cincinnati band Fugue
entitled About Hank which Everybody's News voted
one of the best local releases for 1997. Jackie was also a
member of the successful cover band "Ultraviolet,"
which played in the greater Cincinnati area.
Jackie
has provided backing vocals for several local artists in both
live and studio settings. She has also done commercial
work for radio and television. In 2001, she performed with
one of the finalists in the 97xposure sponsored by radio station
WOXY. She is currently
part of an acoustic duo performing seasonally at Paramount's
Kings Island in addition to several other venues.
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