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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  Jackie Chitwood

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...."

 

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 . 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, , 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 , the original group Curios Animals, and the jazz organ group . He teaches private lessons for , , and .

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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 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

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 .

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
. 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 , 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).

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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 and is a full-time performer/teaching artist with . 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 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 .  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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