Bands, Discography, and Musical Endeavors

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 keys provided a new ambience to the hard driving metal side. I liked progressive rock and also metal, so I was thrilled to be a part of the ED process as the band developed. My contributions were mostly carefully placed backing riffs, samples, special effects, and laying down rhythm voicings behind Jeff's solos, especially live, My keys were an important filling out of the overall soundscape being produced by the band. Working with Jeff in the studio I provided many special effects, strings, synths, choirs, and other fattening of the sound. I brought those same sounds forward into the live show, where Edwin Dare had a reputation as an exciting and polished live show.

One of my favorite live intros was Jeff's arrangement of Carl Orff's O Fortuna , which we often used to open shows. Lights down, crowd cheers, and I started on my VFX by fading in a dark, breathy synth drone with thundering sub-bass. As lights came up and the keys crescendo'd in, they were large and in charge thanks to Kelly King hitting' the Gas!. While I played the main Orff theme, the band layered in choir-like vocals, guitars and drums quickly crescendoing to Bryce's "Rob Halford-esque" high vocals thundering over the top. On the climax note ... Jeff added a pronounced E string mod up tune which segued into Take Your Stand. Wow ... just wow! I wish I had a recording of it to share because it was amazing.

The Edwin Dare crew was equally amazing thanks to Chris Rynn, Cal Clayton, Tony "Bonz" Berezowski, Greg Harley, Dan Dauer and many others who dedicated their time, energy, and skills to the betterment of the band. The friendships I made then are still alive today.

Edwin Dare opens for Foreigner at Toledo Sport Arena

The Unthinkable Deed (1992)

Edwin Dare

I recorded keyboards on several tracks for Edwin Dare's debut LP. Multi-instrumentalist and friend of the band, Mark Mikel also recorded keyboards on a few tracks along with songwriting and engineering.

The Killer was one of the first songs I recorded with Edwin Dare. The strings and choirs helped set the mood of this dark rocker.

Just a Heartbeat Away was one of my favorite songs to play live with the band and still one of my favorite ED songs ... period. Tommy's thundering drums, Bryce's soaring vocals, and great guitar riffs. I used my VFX to provide synths, strings, and a few special effects (a patch called Orbit at the end). I also used a Roland sampler for the choirs and effect samples (technology of the day folks). I remember we sampled the "Run - Scream" from the master tape so I could bring them to the live show and augment the band's live vocals. This was a technique we used on other tracks as well, like Don't Listen To Your Head, where we sampled the reverse vocals and brought them to the live show. While the live shows were plenty good on their own, these techniques helped to provide an important connection to the studio material during live performance and solidified the already polished shows.

Can't Break Me (1994)

Edwin Dare

On the 2nd LP by Edwin Dare, I worked closely with Jeff Kollman in the studio and recorded keyboards on many tracks for this CD. I again provided live support for what was now the powerful and polished Edwin Dare live shows. Bands like Edwin Dare, Mark Mikel, The Affair and others had the country buzzing about the Toledo music scene as possibly

Feel The Power, the opening track on the LP, became one of ED's most powerful songs and show openers. I used a brass synth to augment the main power riffs on this songs. I also provided live backup vocals.

Don't Listen To Your Head is one of the song written by Mark Mikel for Edwin Dare. Also one of my favorite ED songs. I added dark strings and synths in various places throughout the song. We sampled the "Calling Me" reverse vocals from the master tape so I could bring them to the live show.

view on Encyclopaedia Metallum :

https://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Edwin_Dare/Can%27t_Break_Me/133684#album_all_members_lineup

Jeff Kollman & Kevin Chown

During my time with Edwin Dare, I also performed live with Jeff Kollman and Kevin Chown supporting their solo LPs, "Schizoid" and "Fruedian Slip", respectively. Jeff and Kevin have both gone on to be successful professional musicians living in LA and performing with some of the music world's biggest names, including a recent LP and tour with Alan Parsons. Over the years, Jeff Kollman has returned many times to his home town of Toledo, OH to perform and I have had the privilege of being invited to play with him on multiple occasions.

One such occasion was the "Bobnoxious" Tribute event in 2018 at Howard's Club H in Bowling Green, OH. The event was put together by friends of Bob Revells (RIP) and featured musicians from all over Ohio (and the world really) to play some of Bob's favorite songs. Performers were "assigned" songs by Dan Dauer and Mark Mikel and featured many incredible players, including yours truly along with Jeff Kollman, Mark Mikel, Steve Feehan, Dan Dauer, Corky Laing (from Mountain), as well as many, many others. It was a great night of fun and comradery with the many great musicians from the Northwest Ohio community. In this "Highway Star" video by Jerry Knott from the 2018 Bob Revells "Bobnoxious" Tribute event, I was playing one of my all time favorite Deep Purple tunes with a pretty amazing pick-up band.

- Jeff Kollman (guitar),
- Rob Brug (drums),
- Kevin Kekes (bass),
- Scott Miller (vocals)
- Stevie (organ)

Edwin Dare Reunion (well, sort of)

Bryce, Jeff & Kevin returned to Toledo in 2012 for an Edwin Dare concert performed at the former Roxanne's venue, where ED had taken Toledo by storm in the 90's. (Tommy Kollman did not make the trip and we lost him to the great gig in the sky later that year. I still get sad about that). I was again invited to provide keyboard support. After Jeff, Kev, and Skeeter played some Cosmosquad tunes, I stepped on stage and the foursome played a few fusion/jazz instrumentals: from Jeff's Solo LPs and a couple by Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats (a band in which Jeff and Kevin had performed together after Edwin Dare). For the finale, Bryce took the stage for several headlining Edwin Dare tracks, including the powerful opener Feel The Power. It was a fantastic, bombastic night of fun & crazy good music and the Toledo audience was as stoked as ever!