An artist from Augusta, Ga currently based in Asheville, NC. He is a graduate of Brevard College where he studied composition with Paul Elwood and majored in music with an emphasis in composition. His original music has grown to include compositions in the classical/20th century style for classical performers and ensembles, as well as his own unique style of music. In 2000, Galen co-founded the Greater Augusta Singer Songwriter Series and hosted acts like Jonny Irion and Sara Lee Guthrey for two years in an effort to help boost the Augusta music scene. In the past 14 years he has produced several live and studio albums with an array of other musicians. "I want people to feel everything...every feeling of life, the music should be like a roller coaster." He is dedicated to creating an honest, original sound that brings peace of mind, and to exploring creative process, tone, orchestration, and the development of music theory in general. "The process of writing a song can be like making breakfast for 15. It's like Tetris, it's like tug of war between left brain and right brain, it's like building a house on your own. You poke, jab, shift, rotate, retrograde, sequence, invert, slur, augment, smooth over, compromise, come to terms with ... until you can't anymore. Then, you take a break and do it again." He plays acoustic and classical guitars through a Roland Jazz Choras 120 with a Messa Boogie sub and Horner harmonicas. Otherwise...fly fisherman and guide, good cook, architectural draftsman, soccer coach, carpenter, jeep lover, trout ninja.
Bios
Galen Kipar
compostion, vocals, guitar, harmonica
Jeremy Young
Drums, percussion
Jeremy Young played his first gigs with Endangered Species in 1993 and various incarnations of different punk-rock bands in Kentucky and Indiana until 1995. He played in Bobby Fleet and his band With the Beat from 1996 to 1999 in Kentucky. Jeremy studied improvisation under John "Coach" Hamilton from 1996 to 1998 in Kentucky and played with guitarist Josh Durkee in Mr. Minor from 1998 to 2000. He studied percussion and Afro-Cuban rhythms under Byron Hedgepeth at UNCA from 2001 to 2004 in Asheville, NC. He performed with Miriam Allen in Red Mango from 2002 to 2004 in Asheville, NC. Jeremy co-founded Diagram of a Scam, an electro/jazz/jam trio in 2004 with long time collaborator Craig Lambert and released Product Recall EP in January 2005. He obtained a B.A. in Music from UNCA in 2010 with emphasis in Jazz studies and composition.
Lyndsay Pruett
Violin/fiddle
Lyndsay Pruett, 26, is a violinist/fiddle player originally from Jacksonville, FL. Her father and grandfather are notable bluegrass musicians, but she insisted on seriously studying classical music as a child, attending Brevard Music Center and Eastern Music Festival and winning 2 concerto competitions before she was 18. In her college study at Belmont University in Nashville, she geared herself toward improvisation and studio work and set out to be able to play with anyone she was around. After graduating with a Commercial Violin Performance degree in Dec '06, she began playing with Futureman and the Black Mozart Ensemble, performing 2 times in India and in theatres all over the US. In 2008 her and a songwriter decided to get away from Nashville and spent 4 months as a folk troubadour all over the west coast, developing her original sound. In 2009, she made the move to Asheville for a change of pace and is playing in various local bands, working on a solo album, and teaching.
Benjamin Portwood
Bass
Benjamin Portwood began studying the bass under the tutelage of
Dr. Dennis Malmberg, at the Minneapolis South High School Music Conservatory in 1994, studying classical, jazz, ska-punk and funk in high school. He accompanied wind ensembles, choirs, jazz bands and pit orchestras, as well as playing with groups such as the Naked Professionals, the MITY Jazz Band, the Jose James Quintet, the Hoodlums. He co-produced the album Heavy Metal Vomit Party in 1999. He then went to school for sound design and recording engineering and spent some time composing music for radio commercials and producing 3 albums (Bendomuzak 5.0, Oldies but Goodies, and Love Looks for You). In 2006, as part of a thought experiment, he sold his recording studio and began playing only acoustic guitar and hand percussion. During this era, he played the triangle and the cheke-chekes in a group called Samba-Le, based out of Olot, Catalunya. In 2009, he began playing bass again with Elize Rosebach and her band of Bens. He lives in Asheville, NC and runs an Edible Landscaping business in his spare time.
Aaron Ballance
Lap Steel, Dobro
FREQUENT GUESTS:
Aaron Ballance - dobro, lap steel guitar, pedal steel guitar.
FORMER MEMBERS:
Jon Morrow - 8 string guitar/bass ( performed with group from 05'-10', featured on Why it's Needed and The Scenic Route), is a guitarist who loves all genres of music. He always had an interest in music and began guitar lessons at the age of ten, after moving to Ohio. Jon was active in music as a kid in choirs and in high school bands and he attended Berklee College of music for a summer program at 16. After high school Jon went to Brevard College to study music and received a B.A. He has been blessed with renowned teachers and mentors which include Dave Baker, Roger Cope, Mike Barnes, Jon Gentry Jr, Jeff Sipe, Dr. Laura Franklin, Dr. Jon Gudmundson and many others. Although Jon is most often heard playing electric guitar, he loves to play acoustic and classical guitars as well. Jon has a diverse musical vocabulary, but his roots are in blues and jazz. Jon wants to perform and share music with the world, as well as passing on knowledge and the love of music. Jon plays Novax 8 string, Paul Reed Smith and Taylor guitars through Fender and Mesa Boogie Amps.
