Lead guitar and vocalist, Tony Vee enjoys a storied musical career spanning three decades. He cut his blues chops playing up and down the Northern and Central coast of California in the early 1990s after completing musical studies (classical guitar and sound engineering) at Sarah Lawrence College. Tony played for several years with Hammond B3 organ monster and Jimmy Smith acolyte, Danny “Mongo” Abrams. He has performed with several members of Furthur, Zigaboo Modeliste (king of the funky drums), Steve Miller and Brian May during the twelve years he lived in the Monterey/Carmel/San Francisco Bay Area before returning to New York where he founded Uncle Shoehorn in 2003.
Rhythm guitar and vocals, Todd Lapenna holds a Master’s degree in music and brings an encyclopedic knowledge of chord inversions and other theory that he applies to playing the amazing textures and rhythmic variations, driving the band’s dance-ability. He’s also earned a reputation as the “King of the Spicy Chord”.
Drummer and vocals, Warren Congdon is a founding member of the Hudson Valley’s legendary jam band, Unexplained Bacon. His tireless groove and energy propel the band’s momentum all night long.
Bassist, Max Aronov is an aficionado of bass styles and provides a rock solid, lyrical underpinning to the jams. He is especially proficient at taking the improvisational portions of songs through meandering musical planes while never losing the central pulse of the song.
Trumpet master, Rick Savage has lived and worked in & around New York City for the past 30 years. His brilliant trumpet playing keeps him in demand as a performing & recording artist, making guest solo appearances on the CD projects of many NY area artists and doing studio work with notable groups like the Temptations, the O’Jays, Blood Sweat & Tears, Paul Anka, Tony Bennett and many others.
Barton Schindler, Tenor Saxophonist, studied studio music and jazz instrumental performance at the University of Miami as well as the Hartt School of Music. Barton plays with the New York Swing Exchange and numerous other well-known groups around the Hudson Valley. His blistering solo stylings add fire to the grooves.
Trombonist, composer, arranger, and educator, Stephen Justice is a versatile musician who is comfortable playing in a wide range of musical settings and has performed with many groups throughout the United States, including the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. He also has performed at venues such as Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center and The Jacksonville Jazz Festival. In 2014, Stephen studied trombone with Dave Steinmeyer and Clarence Hines at UNF. UNF’s top Jazz Ensemble won the downbeat award for best undergraduate large jazz ensemble during Stephen’s tenure as lead trombonist.
Wayne Tice has performed around the world showcasing the saxophone performance repertoire. He has performed and shared saxophone pedagogy in Bejing, Sweden and Canada, and has been a featured concerto performer at the World Saxophone Congress, at Frederick Fennel’s 50th anniversary of the wind ensemble, at three North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conferences, and at the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles.
Born and raised in a musical home, Joe Biglin was surrounded by and encouraged to explore the arts from a young age. After years of learning music through the drums, bass, guitar, recording and studying theory, the Piano gained it’s place at the forefront of his musical efforts. Combined with his life-long exposure to the music and community of the Grateful Dead, a deep love for Funk and all things New Orleans, and a constant desire to reach the improvisational heights of his jazz heroes, Joe found Uncle Shoehorn a natural fit to continue pursuing the main objective in all that he does – To Have Fun and Spread Joy!
Rave Tesar is a New York area keyboardist, composer, producer and recording engineer, perhaps best known as a longtime member of the prog rock band, Renaissance. Rave is also a veteran of the NY jazz scene and a prolific composer for film and television. He owns and operates Studio X Recording, offering professional audio recording, mixing and mastering services in Ridgewood, NJ.