Mike Smith -Bass
My name is Mike Smith and I have been playing music most of my life. I was born in 1967. My father was into classical music and opera while my mom liked 50's R&B and the lighter rock of the 60's. The first song I remember hearing was "Bridge Over Troubled Water". As a kid I always loved going to any house with a piano, where I would noodle around trying to get the sound of my dad's records or just pound the black keys, which always sounded like the R&B my mom listened to. In grade school, I played clarinet in the band and in 7th grade I got my first Bass. It was a Kay copy of an EB-3. At first, I didn't quite get the bass, and I would play melody lines from my favorite Beatles songs on it. Then I got 2 albums that kinda set me straight. One was Rush's Moving Pictures. "Tom Sawyer" and "YYZ" sort of pointed me in the direction I needed to go. Ozzy's Blizzard of Ozz was the other one because I could actually play the beginning of "Crazy Train" and I really dug the way the bass laid the foundation for Randy Rhoads' killer guitar solos. I joined the Army out of high school and played and recorded in a progressive rock trio in Germany with my 2 roommates. After the Army, I continued to write and record original instrumental music and play in a number of ventures with many talented musicians. I joined the MFG in January of 2009. I am married with 4 sons who all play music to some degree. My original music can be heard on my myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/justanothermikesmithjams

Additional Info:

Basses: Rickenbacker 4003, Fender Jazz, Laguna Acoustic
Amp: Gallien Kruger with Ashdown and Hartke speakers
Influences: Geddy, Entwistle, Flea, Jaco and McCartney

David Runde– Drums
David Runde, 51, has played drums in all styles and formats for over 40 years.

He began playing drums at age eight in his grade school concert band. He continued through high school enjoying concert, marching and PEP bands. His first professional job was at a high school dance in his sophomore year.

He has over 20 hours in music theory and performance from the University of Missouri including three seasons in Marching Mizzou. He has performed with many local bands in clubs, at weddings and for private parties as well as teaching drums for over 10 years.

He is classically trained, can read and write drum and percussion parts and can follow a piano score. He is adept at many styles including rock, blues, swing and shuffles. He is experienced in chart reading, and chart writing including his own short-hand method. He has studied and developed his own soloing concepts and is well versed in Latin percussion hand instruments.

David has also performed in a variety of theatrical settings starting with high school productions, Florissant’s “Alpha Players”, “Entertainment Unlimited” in Alton Illinois, and numerous benefit performances for volunteer organizations.

When no drumming, he is a college professor of business administration and holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Lindenwood University.

David has two grown daughters and makes his home in St. Louis County, Missouri