Bios

Monty J. Curtis learned guitar at age eight after a skiing accident that left him immobile for a stretch of time. “The guitar I learned on was an acoustic guitar, albeit a painfully bad one I purchased with S&H Green Stamps. My first electric, borrowed from my uncle, was a Harmony that I played through a 1960s Gretsch 6151 amplifier.
In Junior High School Curtis and friends went on to form Ace, a garage band, and later UFO, “until we found out there was a major English act that went by that name!” Curtis was the guitarist in Rock Haven, a three-piece pseudo-prog rock band. Serendipitously, Curtis and Rod Welles, good friends for at least two decades, reconnected and Curtis was later invited to play guitar and keyboards in The Four Fathers of Rock- now Freight Train. Curtis’s influences include David Gilmour, Jimmy Page, Billy Gibbons, Peter Green and, all kidding aside, Rod Welles.
Curtis’s Gear – McGuire Guitars www.mcguireguitars.com, Gibson, Fender, Randall “RM” Amplifiers and others and effects pedals by jmichaelpedals www.facebook.com/j.michael.pedals,Tech 21, Skreddy, Durham Electronics, MXR, Visual Audio, Keeley, Xotic, Strymon, and Zvex, Curt Mangan Strings www.curtmangan.com, Zhangbucker Pickups www.zhangbucker.com.

Alan has always been fascinated with drums and drummers. After raising his family, he found the time and opportunity to explore percussion. His first outing was with the locally favorite Velvis Undergound band. He then began sitting in with several NH Seacoast Area bands, all of whom enjoyed his deep pocket and tasteful musicality. Not surprisingly, he loves the music of Carlos Santana. The “Latin Vibe” is his favorite style to play, but he loves all music that makes people dance. In addition to his current spot as Percussionist in the Freight Train Band, he has started new a gig called “Night School” which is a tribute to the legendary “Old School” musician’s jam which occurred every Monday night for over a decade at the famed musician’s hangout- The Dolphin Striker Pub in Portsmouth, NH. Night School is a musician’s jam hosted by a core group of players who welcome musicians and singers to come in and perform. Alan’s favorite thing about music is playing “tight as a band” and watching the crowd have fun.

Julie Alexander’s voice has been heard in and around the New Hampshire Seacoast Area on a variety of stages since 2008. Julie has performed with numerous bands including The Vital Tones, The Wildflowers, Ambulate as Tolerated, Crab Shack Band, Good Will Harding, and many others. Her passion is creating feel-good harmonies like her heroes- The Beatles, CSN, and Paul Simon. Julie’s “Amy Winehouse-meets-Aretha Franklin-meets-Norah Jones“ style gives a smooth, soulful, and often sassy vibe. Her stage presence is enticing. She possesses a strong sense of rhythm, energy, and style that draws fans on to the dance floor and makes the party happen! She lights up any and all venues.

Garry is a resident of Kittery, Maine. He has been drumming for as long as he can remember.  According to his mother, she realized she had to enroll him in drum lessons at the age of 7 after he was seen chasing the drum line of the local high school band down the football field with his toy snare drum. Those lessons laid the foundation for a lifetime of “drum love” and performance. While still very active in his family business- The York Harbor Inn, Garry’s off-time passion is the art of set drumming and percussion. Over the years he has been a drummer/percussionist in a number of regional bands including The Greg Dame Band, The Four Fathers of Rock, The Morlocks and most recently The Yellow House Blues Band. He has also shared the stage and studio with singer/songwriters Greg Dame, Freddy Dame Sr., Michael Troy, and Seacoast NH musicians Woody Allen, Peter Black, Andy Verdi, and local legendary guitarists Bobby Herne and Roddy Welles.
Garry’s Gear – Sonor, Mapex, Tama, Gretsch and Ludwig, Zildjian and Ufip.
Favorite Quote – “He who dies with the most snare drums wins!”
Contact Garry at [email protected]

Brian has played guitar and bass in many bands starting in his teenage years. Since then he has performed extensively in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts with rock bands, jazz groups, and acoustic duos and trios. In the 1990s he shared the rock stage by opening for John Cafferty and Ace Frehley. Brian’s guitar influences are Brian May, Eddie Van Halen, and Robben Ford.  He also loves playing classical guitar. Brian has a bachelor’s degree in music from UMA, and has been a guitar teacher for 32 years, and continues to do so by teaching young students in his local school system.

Andy Verdi has been a staple in the North ern New England music scene for years.  He has been a member of many bands including “The Voice”,  “Double Cross”, “The Look”, “Crossfire”, “The Wicked Big Band”, “Powerplay” and “The Souled Out Showband”.  When not performing on stage at night, Andy works during the day as a sales associate/customer service representative at John Mann’s Guitar Vault in Bedford, NH- a high end boutique guitar store possessing the largest selection of PRS Guitars under one roof in New England.
When it comes to keyboards, Andy is a technologic fanatic of the instrument. He enjoys everything that keyboards and synthesizers can add to modern music.  He enjoys many styles of music. He musical persona is influenced by artists like Tony Banks, Gary Wright, Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman. Some of Andy’s favorite bands are Ambrosia, Steely Dan, Yes, Genesis and Riverside.