newsperformancesaudio/videophotosthe bandbooking/contactpress kitemail listguestbook

Meet the Band
(click a member to read bio)


Rick Auhagen  Eric Baumgartner  Steve Langemo  Jon Stankorb  Bill Jackson  Adam Wheeler  Bryan Stanton  Michael Mavridoglou  Aretta Baumgartner  Jacklyn Chitwood

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!

_______________________________________________________


Rick Auhagen - vocals

Rick has performed in the greater Cincinnati, Ohio area for the past 40 years. He has played in such local bands as Little Field, Customers and the original contemporary blues band Jim Ray and the Amazing Rhythm Pigs. He is currently involved in a project titled , playing a mix of west coast blues/R&B/jazz type tunes. Rick feels very fortunate to be able to share the stage with the rest of the very talented members of AJA.

_______________________________________________________


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 . 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, Steve Langemo and Brad Myers) in the Beatles tribute band, , where he plays guitar and mandolin.

_______________________________________________________


Steve Langemo - guitar

Guitarist Steve Langemo lives in Dayton, Ohio where he is a music professor at Sinclair Community College and teaches private lessons at Hauer Music. In addition to playing with his friends in the AJA band, Steve performs in a variety of settings including jazz and acoustic groups, as well as working regularly as a pit musician for musical theatre productions. In 2008 Steve released a solo album of original jazz and fusion compositions which also features other AJA members. In 2009 he was featured as a finalist in Guitar Player Magazine's Guitar Superstar competition held in San Francisco where he performed original music for a panel of judges that included guitarists Steve Lukather and Jennifer Batten. Steve also enjoys playing with his AJA buds Eric Baumgartner, Brad Myers, and Adam Wheeler in the fantastic Beatles tribute band .

Check out Steve's CD here:

_______________________________________________________


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 spent 1998-2006 playing with Ray's Music Exchange, a well respected Cincinnati Jazz/Funk Jam Band. He produced all five of their audio releases, which can be found on I-Tunes and other digital music outlets, and is currently working on their first Live concert DVD filmed during a successful reunion show in 2010. In addition to teaching at , Brad plays bass and mandolin with his AJA band mates in , accompanies Jackie Chitwood on acoustic guitar, and plays on weekends regularly at Terry's Turf Club, home of the best burger this side of...the world!!

_______________________________________________________


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!).

_______________________________________________________


Adam Wheeler - drums, vocals

freelances and plays drums/sings with . 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 .

Adam teaches drums around the Dayton area. In his free time, he enjoys doing graphic web design (He is the designer of this site).

_______________________________________________________


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
. 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.

_______________________________________________________


Michael Mavridoglou - trumpet

Cincinnati native Michael "Maddog" Mavridoglou (trumpet/multi-instrumentalist) has spent the last six years traveling the nation with Burlington, VT's , and Cincinnati's . He has performed and arranged for Chicago supergroup 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).

_______________________________________________________


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 and is a full-time performer/teaching artist with . And she's happily married to the guy behind the AJA keyboard.

_______________________________________________________


Jacklyn Chitwood - vocals

Jacklyn Chitwood has loved music for as long as she can remember. After studying voice at the Northern Kentucky University, Jacklyn joined her first band. She has been involved in the Cincinnati music scene for the better part of ten years. Jacklyn can be heard on the 1997 release by the Cincinnati band entitled About Hank which Everybody's News voted one of the best local releases for 1997. Jacklyn was also a member of the successful cover band "Ultraviolet," which played in the greater Cincinnati area. 

Jacklyn 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 .  She is currently part of an acoustic duo performing seasonally at Paramount's Kings Island in addition to several other venues.  

_______________________________________________________