Bands, Discography, and Musical Endeavors

 I do enjoy playing music!  Whether performing as a solo act or with other musicians ... whether performing live to an audience or recording in the studio ... I simply enjoy creating, arranging, and playing music.  Over my lifetime of playing music I have been privileged to have performed and collaborated with many great musicians, songwriters, crew members and soundmen ... some of them touring professionals.  So many great venues, owners, and audiences... the number of great people I've met, performed with, and gained friendships with is innumerable.   It's amazing the number of great people in my life that I wouldn't have ever met if it wasn't for music.

So here is my look back at some of the musical chapters in my musical book of life.  These are my memories of people, places, performances, albums, and recordings of which I have been a part.  And when possible I've included fun artifacts such as recordings, videos, and pictures.  

And the next chapters?  Well those are yet to be written, yes?    
Enjoy...  
     - Stevie 

Early Years

I began playing piano at age 6 and then drums at age 10.  I performed in numerous orchestra, band, and musical theater productions throughout my school years.  It seems that music has always been a part of my life even from an early age growing up listening to everything from Beethoven to Belafonte, Motown to Rock & Roll,  Big Band to Jazz, Folk music to Techno-Pop.  Artists like The Beatles, The Eagles, ELP, Deep Purple, Sly & Family Stone, Hall & Oates.  So many genres, bands, styles ... and I liked them all.

JUST US

At age 16 while living in Cleveland, I was recruited by John Goodworth to play drums for the St. Adalbert's Girls Choir, aka Just Us.  A Godspell-like youth choir from the Cleveland suburb of Berea, Just Us was booked multiple times on local Cleveland TV variety shows, including  Polka Varieties, The Gene Carroll Show, and even the local Jerry Lewis Telethon.

Just Us Centennial Celebration (1973)

Just Us

I recorded the drum tracks on this 45 with John Goodworth (guitar), Gene Kunda (bass), and the St. Adalbert's Girls Choir called "Just Us". Recorded at the famous Cleveland Recording Studio with Ken Hamaan as Engineer Read more

I recorded the drum tracks on this 45 with John Goodworth (guitar), Gene Kunda (bass), and the St. Adalbert's Girls Choir called "Just Us". Recorded at the famous Cleveland Recording Studio with Ken Hamaan as Engineer (James Gang, Grand Funk), I played on Jimmy Fox's (James Gang) drum set because I arrived late to the session due to car problems. All other tracks were finished by the time I arrived and Mr. Hamaan didn't want to spend any more time setting up my kit, so he pointed to Jimmy's kit in the corner of the studio where The James Gang was setup to record and told me to play it! That certainly worked out well for me. I always wondered if Jimmy Fox ever found out I played his kit...

The High School GARAGE BAND with no name 

At age 17, my friends and I decided to start a rock band.  Since we were all drummers, we decided that our buddy Dave should be the drummer since he had the coolest kit: a Ludwig double-tom clear acrylic set!  I switched to keyboards/vox and my friend Carl brought his guitar.  We recruited Mike for lead guitar work and Jim for bass.  We were the epitome of a garage band with our cobbled up equipment and less than polished sound.  I played a Farfisa Combo organ through a Leslie I borrowed from John Goodworth (Just Us).  We only played 2 times: once for a New Year's Eve party and lastly for my High School graduation party [ LOL emoji goes here].  While we were far from great, we had a great time and our playlist was great:  Paranoid (Black Sabbath), Sweet Lorraine & Easy Livin' (Uriah Heep), Into The Sun (Grand Funk), Rocky Mountain Way (Joe Walsh), Evil Ways (Santana), China Grove (Doobie Bros).  Some of the 1st rock songs I ever learned.  

We thought we were rock stars! 

Theater and Pit Orchestras

When I was a junior in high school, I had a classmate “Mike P” who was a thespian and through him I ended up playing in the pit orchestra of our school theater version of Guys and Dolls.  I enjoyed that so much that I found some work playing percussion and drum kit in other Cleveland area theater productions while in high school.   I played in the Baldwin-Wallace College (Berea, OH) production of "Bye, Bye Birdie" with other B-W college musicians.  In the Clague Road Community Theater production of "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris", I played percussion.  I really enjoyed playing in a pit orchestra and playing percussion and learned that I was a very good percussionist, but just an OK drummer.  This would signal a musical change of directions for me.

Solo

SOLO & Coffehouses

After high school, I attended college at The University of Toledo.  As it turned out, I would end up in the Toledo area for the next 40+ years.  While at U of Toledo, I performed solo piano at campus coffee house concerts to great reviews.  The owner of The Southwyck Lounge (a piano bar in Toledo) saw me play at a campus coffeehouse and he hired me to play at his piano bar.   It was the 70's so I played a steady diet of The Beatles, Billy Joel, and Elton John.

After college, I took off my solo hat off to start a long run of performing in bands, but my solo vibe would come alive again in the early 2000's when I started playing in a duo with bandmate Scott Shaull.  And in 2016, I started performing my solo shows again.  

Miniture Buzzurd

The Hollow Inn, circa 1989 (L to R): Stevie, Dave, Scott, Danny O. (photo Ross Eyer)

Around 1985, after seeing Scott Shaull and Danny Overton perform, I knew I wanted to play in a band with them someday.  We started Miniture Buzzurd and eventually recruited Dave Foreman from Findlay, OH around the end of 1987.   We played 70/80's rock and were a good draw in NW Ohio from Toledo to Bowling Green to Lima.  The band's live chemistry and energy was undeniable.  Our playlists were a great mix of current …

                                                                                                                                                                                                         Read the full story, discography, music and more …

Edwin Dare

Outstanding musicianship in this Progressive Heavy Metal band which included  Jeff Kollman, Bryce Barnes, Kevin Chown, and Tommy Kollman (RIP).   I worked with Edwin Dare as a session musician from 1990-1994, providing keyboard support both in the studio and for live performances, as well as providing live backup vocals.  Edwin Dare opened for many national acts including Dream Theater, Ronnie Montrose, Lita Ford, and Foreigner.which led to numerous regional headlining shows as the band became well known for their powerful live shows.

You may ask: what is a keyboard player doing in a Metal band?  The genre of Progressive Metal was morphing in the early 90's and …   

                                                                                                                                                                                            Read the full story, discography, music and more  …

Mark Mikel

Mark Mikel is one of those rare multi-talented musicians who is skilled at songwriting, studio engineering, playing all musical instruments, and live performance.  His vocals are what Alan Parsons has called "Lennon-esq" ... a rare breed for sure.  Mark is good friends with Jeff Kollman and the Edwin Dare family, having written several songs for ED.  I joined Mark in 1994 when he was booked as opening band for Bad Co. at the Toledo Masonic Auditorium and he needed help covering live keyboards.   Soon after that show, I joined his Mark Mikel Hallucination band full time …

                                                                                                                                                                                                        Read the full story, discography, music and more …

Tongue 'n Groove

In 1997, I was asked to perform in Findlay, OH at a homecoming concert with former Miniture Buzzurd bandmate Dave Foreman.  Dave was returning home from Florida and a back-up band was put together that included many of Dave's former bandmates including Scott Shaull, Chip McClurkin, Holly McConnell, Tony Cole, and Adam Nation,  The concert was booked at a club in Findlay called Moondoggies owned by Bob Freed (great-nephew of Alan Freed ... yes THE Rock-n-Roll Alan Freed!).   The concert was …  

                                   Read the full story, discography, music and more …

Original TnG lineup (L to R): Adam, Stevie, Tony, Chip , Scott, Holly

Tina Lee & Random Blues

Somewhere during the Tongue 'n Grove years, I got the itch to play The Blues.  I saw an ad in The Toledo City Paper for a blues band looking for a keyboard player.  The band was Tina Lee & Random Blues and  I guess I passed the audition, because quickly after we met we played a short set at Mickey Finn's on January 28, 2007 for the Black Swamp Blues Society Memphis Send-off Party for winner "Josh Boyd and The VIPs".  They played the closing set and were amazing.  The opening band was a duo called Lucky Brother (Mark Lemont & Tim Oehlers) and they were so good.  The 2006 Lucky Brother CD is still in my rotation.  And as luck would have it, the BSBS vice-President at the time was old friend Greg Harley from my Edwin Dare days!  Small world after all ?  yes. 

In 2008, TLRB headlined a Blues Jam showcase at  …  

                                                                                                  Read the full story, discography, music and more …

Sabbatical

In 2010, after decades of performing, I was ready for a break.  After leaving Tongue n' Groove in April 2010,  I took a nearly 5 year sabbatical, taking some time off to re-energize my love for music and revisit my musical roots.  During the sabbatical, I was invited twice in 2012 to perform with Jeff Kollman, Mark Mikel, Bob Revels, and others.  While I enjoyed the one-off performances, I quickly returned to my much needed time-off and my musical research.  As it turned out, the break did in fact re-energize me!

Big Red Deluxe

Stevie, Fritz, Mark, Dr. Ike, Joe

In October 2014, former Tongue n' Groove bandmate Dr. Ike contacted me needing a keyboard player for his New Year's Eve show with his current band.  I performed with the band that December 31st and the chemistry of the band was undeniable.  I felt energized and was certain that my sabbatical was now complete.  I was ready to get back into performing.  Fortunately for me, several days later the band invited me to join Big Red Deluxe full time.  Big Red Deluxe  developed into a big draw, festival favorite performing all across North and Central Ohio.  The band often performs with a fan favorite 3-piece horn section called The Groove City Horns.

Here's a fan cam video of Big Red Deluxe headlining the 2018 Carey Fest with The Groove City Horns.  We dropped this song on them right before the concert, worked out the arrangement backstage ... so we all just jammed it!  That's Stevie (not Winwood) on lead vocals and organ.

Comfortably Numb

as performed by Big Red Deluxe

Big Red Deluxe cover of the Pink Floyd epic. Recorded Live 11 Sept 2021 at Jimmy Bukkett's, Fremont, OH.

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Never Been Any Reason

as performed by Big Red Deluxe

Recorded Live 11 Sept 2021 at Jimmy Bukkett's, Fremont, OH.

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Solo Again (...Duo too)

In 2016, a friend and I visited a new winery in Findlay, OH where the owner was looking for entertainment for her official opening in a few weeks.  After meeting Gillig Winery owner Nikki Gillig, she booked me as a solo act at her Grand Opening and this once again revived my solo performances.  Since 2016, I have been playing regularly as a solo artist where I arrange and play audience favorites with a blend of folk, rock, country, soul, and R&B styles.  I also invite the audience to pick requests from my playlist.    

                                                                 Current Show Schedule      :      A brief history of Stevie's past Solo Performances

Soon after reestablishing my Solo performances, Scott Shaull and I revived our SnS duo and we continue to perform together from time to time.   Here is a fan-cam video from Stevie's YouTube Channel of Scott and me performing one of my favorite "Scott tunes" at Herbie's Roadhouse in 2018.   Scott Shaull (vocals/guitar);  Stevie Eyer (organ, piano, backing vox) is off-camera. 

Buzzurd Blues Project

(L to R): Rockin' Ron Wright, Jerry "G-man" Natal, Danny O, Stevie

In 2016 my long time friend and former Miniture Buzzurd bandmate Danny O decided we had talked long enough about forming that Blues band ... it was time to do it!  We recruited bassist "Rockin'" Ron Wright and guitarist Jerry "G-man" Natal and The Buzzurd Blues Project was born.   Even though I continued to perform my Solo and Duo shows, as well as with Big Red Deluxe, the BBP was a venerable project and we performed regularly at various venues and blues festivals in NW Ohio.  In 2017, with help from friend Greg Harley, we opened for Toledo favorite Josh Boyd and the VIPs at The Longhorn Saloon.   We played at Findlay's Winter Blues Fest at Alexandria's for 3 straight years, opening for national headlining blues artist The Josh Garrett Band from New Roads, Louisiana.  We recorded many of our live shows and the recordings are still available on The Buzzurd Blues Project YouTube Channel.

One of the most challenging tunes we played was “Blues in Maude's Flat” which was a jazz number written & recorded by Grant Green in 1961.  Danny O  heard an Atlanta Rhythm Section recording of it and knew he had to push us to learn it.  It became one of our favorites.   Here is our version recorded live in Kenton, OH in 2017.    

UB Bluesin' It

In 2019, after 40+ years in Northwest Ohio, I made my way to Central Ohio and started booking my solo performances at venues in the area.  While at The Ugly Bunny Winery in Loudonville OH, I met the owner, who is also a talented musician.  We talked about our mutual love for the Blues and how it would be "fun to do some Blues together sometime".   Shortly after, he invited me to join a Blues band to perform at his winery with him and several of his fellow musicians  ...  and in 2020, UB Bluesin' It was born. 
Musicians:   
- Guitar, vocals:  Chad Marsh 
- Keys, vocals:  Stevie Eyer
- Bass:  Mark Waggoner, Joe Orians (Big Red Deluxe), Ian McCormack (Marikesh, Whiskey Would) 
- Drums:  Danny O (Buzzurd Blues Project), Ophelia Ramirez-Mailloux (Chief and The Tribe)

UB Bluesin' It eventually ended, but it would lead to a new rockin' blues band … The O'Mulligans.

The O'Mulligans

The O'Mulligans - blues band form Ohio

Even though UB Bluesin' It had disbanded, Chad Marsh and I kept in touch and in 2023 we decided to start a new blues band.  We quickly recruited drummer Danny O from The Buzzurd Blues Project.  As we began rehearsing, the chemistry was immediate and we knew we had a band!   We decided to name the bandThe O'Mulligans, because we joked at rehearsal that we always sounded better the 2nd time we played a song … we just needed to take a mulligan !   

To find out when The O'Mulligans are performing, check out Stevie's Show Schedule for dates, times, and venues.

Musicians:
- Guitar, vocals:  Chad Marsh 
- Keys, vocals:  Stevie Eyer
- Drums:  Danny O

 

Patsy Cline tribute band

In 2023, I was approached by Jeff Williams of  Nellie Six Productions  to play piano in a Patsy Cline tribute band he and Courtney DeCosky (principal members of Six Miles To Nellie) created.    I first performed with the Patsy Tribute at 3 fantastic shows in November 2023 at the beautiful Woodward Opera House in Mount Vernon, OH.  The opera house, origianlly built in the 1850's, has been fully restored and is one of the nicest venues in which  I've performed.   Playing Patsy Cline's music from the ‘50s and ’60s was also a musical challenge, as it was a out of my comfort zone, but I focused on learning the piano parts that were recorded by the amazing Nashville session piano players Floyd Cramer and Hargus Robbins.  Learning both their styles was not only fun, but a great addition to my own playing styles.   I continue to enjoy performing with the talented members of The Patsy Band.   For more about the Patsy Cline Tribute and future shows, go to the Nellie Six Productions website.

Hall & Eyer

I've known Ricky Gene Hall since the 80's, when he played in some of the most popular bands in Northern Ohio and Memphis TN (The Rise band, JAX band, Ricky Gene Hall & The Goods).  But the opportunity to perform together never lined up until January 2024.  I ran into Rick at a Blues Jam session in Mount Vernon, OH  and after performing together on stage we decided to form a duo.  Hall & Eyer made their debut in March 2024 in Mount Vernon and have performed at several shows, including the Front Porch Concert Series in 2024 and 2025 as well as the main stage at Mount Vernon's First Friday in 2025.     

Here's a Hall & Eyer video from a 2024 performace at the Front Porch Concert Series: