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Meet
the Band
(click a member to read bio)
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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 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 Unscheduled Flight, 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. |
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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, Steve Langemo and Brad Myers) in the Beatles tribute band,
Savoy
Truffle, where he plays guitar and mandolin. |
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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 Savoy Truffle.
Check out Steve's CD here:
cdbaby.com
itunes.apple.com
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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 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 Moeller Music, Brad plays bass and mandolin with his AJA band mates in Savoy Truffle, 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!!
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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
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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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 Fugue
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
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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