Patrick McAllister
Guitar, Vocals, Songwriter
Born in 1959, started playing Guitar on his 5th Birthday ( Guitar Teacher was Jimmy James, from Bartlett, Illinois ).
I saw B.B. King at Ravinia Park when I was 5 years old, from then on I was hooked on the Blues.
First Band was at 7 years old, songs played were "Wendy" and "Louie Louie" ! !
At 13 I started to listen to The Siegel Schwall Blues Band (www.chamberblues.com) and knew right then and there this style of music was what Chicago Blues was all about!
Patrick left Illinois when he was 15; moved to Massachusetts and formed The Tobin Star Blues Band. Tobin Star was a 3 piece band that played in Pembroke MA, and Elgin, IL.
At 17 Patrick moved to Colorado and worked for Cinderwood Music, and Colfax Music selling Guitars, Amps, P.A. and teaching guitar.
At 23 Patrick played with Renegade - Renegade won the KPKE "Colorado Rocks" contest in 1982 (dedicated to Tommy Bolin). Renegade's song " Dark Tower" was 15 minutes long! (click to listen to Dark Tower).
At 27 Patrick played with Exodus, a Prophetic Rock Band - and opened a Concert Hall called Simon The Lepers. (Click to Listen to Exodus).
At 35 Patrick stopped performing to be a Dad!
Now at 46 Patrick is the Guitarist with the Once Removed Blues Band.
(click to listen to Live at Center Stage)
Becca Auger
Lead and Backup Vocals
Percussion
Ever since she was recorded singing a lisping version of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” at the age of two, Becca has never been very far from music and singing. She is also glad that her mom lost that tape, since the fewer ways Becca can be blackmailed by her mom, the better.
From church choirs, to learning the piano and the alto saxophone, to marching band and choir in high school, Becca has always loved music in groups. Two years of Colorado All State Choir and a trip to Disneyland were a great experience in singing, but also in how melodramatic young and “talented” people are.
While away at college in 2004 she joined a gospel choir, but after temporarily leaving school a year later, took a break from performing. In the meantime she has done little besides work and, starting last fall, go back to school. It was only the opportunity to sing for the Once Removed Band that brought her back into music with a rush, and she has enjoyed every moment of it. She never thought singing the blues would be quite this much fun.
Rachel Auger
Lead and Backup Vocals
Percussion
Rachel, much like her sister, has never drifted far
from music. Starting in 1st grade, she began singing in local church
children’s and youth choirs which prompted her to audition for the
Evergreen Children’s Chorale with whom she took part in several
successful musical productions including “Joseph and His Amazing
Technicolor Dreamcoat” and “Annie.”
In high school, Rachel took part in the Chamber Choir, which
mostly consisted of archaic a cappella Christmas tunes, but after being
made to sing one too many renditions of “Silent Night,” she turned her
focus to instrumental music.
At the age of 7, Rachel began learning the piano but never got very far
past “Hot Cross Buns” before she decided to experiment with the alto sax
but gave this up because it was “heavy” and she was too big of a baby.
Not until age 9 did she get serious and picked up the flute and
eventually progressed to All-State Wind Ensemble in 2007 and 2008 during
which time she also played with masters Trevor Wye and Sir James Galway.
She alternated between flute and
clarinet throughout high school marching band and soloed in the 2007
State Champion Lobo Regiment.
But Rachel is now taking a break for such regimented forms of
music and has loosened up to sing the blues with the Once Removed Blues
Band and has never had this much fun making music before.
Drums, percussion, vocals
Scott has been playing and performing for as long he can remember. His first "paying gig" came when he was just 8 years old- he earned TWO dollars $$ playing the spoons with a bluegrass group at a festival. A handed down electric guitar from his uncle Doug and a wise investment of that first $2.00 (with lots of help from his parents) on a drum set got things started in the basement.
Scott continued his education at the University of Nebraska School of Music. While studying music there he became the director/arranger for the Drumline in the Cornhusker Marching Band.
He wrote and arranged music and also performed for many sold out Husker games, as well as the Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl. After college he was lured to Los Angeles to see what he could find in the music scene. Lots of auditions with bad bands, few good gigs, and an understanding that it's not always how good you are, but who you know that is important. Alas- a boy from Nebraska didn't really know anyone in the music industry, and Scott settled into a career in the Pro AV industry, met his lovely wife Karen and became a dad. Soon the luster of the big city wore off and the Messlers decided to make a big move to the mountains of Colorado in 2004. Scott, Karen, Jack, Jordan are now happy residents of Evergreen. While starting his new job in Colorado, Scott made a sales call to a client named Patrick McAllister. The conversation quickly turned to music and Pat convinced Scott to "dust off those drums" and start playing again. Funny how you can move 1000 miles away from the "music mecca" and within a few months connect with other local musicians and form a band.
Scott plays a vintage SONAR drum set with Zildjian cymbals (but is just as happy with a cardboard box and a pair of brushes)
Randy Reznik
Harmonica, Vocals
It was in 1980 that Randy went to see the J. Giles band backing up ZZ Top. As he watched and listened to Magic Dick rip on the harmonica, he felt a connection that was in his soul. The next day, with brand new harp in hand, he set out on a personal journey that 25 years later has led him to the Once Removed Blues Band.
Self-taught but collaborating with many, Randy has developed a unique and wide range of styles from raunchy blues to clean melodies. He is a student of the harmonica and continues to learn new techniques as well as to pass on his knowledge to other aspiring harp players. The Once Removed Blues Band is definitely expanding his horizons.
The first ten harp years were learning and it was ugly at times. The next period was jamming with many informal groups and local bands in Dallas. He played in a regular annual Holiday charity event with “Blue” Lou Marini, of the Blues Brothers. In Colorado over the last 4 years, he has played with the Ken Caryl Ranch Band regularly, and occasionally jammed with several bands including Tick 60.
Kirk has played saxophone since the age of 11, at which time his hands were not large enough to reach all the notes, and it was only by good fortune that no one shot him in reaction to the terrible sounds he managed to create. Although he never practiced enough, he also never quit, and he eventually made the transition from being chased and threatened to actually being asked to play. Kirk has played with jazz bands and combos, rock and folk groups, and orchestras. He has performed on orchestra and chorus tours of Europe, and while living in Vienna in 1984-85, he played in many clubs and as a street performer. In 1985, he played at the Jazz Nad Odra Festival in Wroclaw, Poland. While studying as a Rotary Scholar in Switzerland in 1989-90, he played in the “Elephant River Big Band” in Zürich and led his own group, “Fritz Schnellbahn und die Schwarzfahrer.” He also sang lead tenor for the Swiss Youth Symphony Orchestra on its 25th Anniversary Tour. One particularly fond memory for Kirk is playing in a jam session with top Czech jazz musicians at the Reduta Jazz Club in Prague on New Year’s Eve 1989, immediately following the Velvet Revolution. On the night before at Reduta, he also had the opportunity to sit in with Jan Akkerman (Hocus Pocus). Since moving to Colorado from Chicago/Oak Park, IL in 1988, Kirk has roamed the mountains looking for opportunities to play his alphorn, and he has had the privilege of playing with Patrick McAllister's Once Removed Band and with many other wonderful musicians, including: The Roadcone Blues Band, Tempa and the Tantrums, Jennifer Lane, Lisa Bell, Tobacco Road, Emilio Emilio, Detour, Sundance and the M.I.B., Genetic Fuzz/Tommy Ventura, Girls on Top!, The Bill Wright Band, Fringe Element, The Train Wreckers, The Clam Daddys, Michelle and the Book of Runes, The Red Hot Blues Catz/the 285 Band, The Lost Canyon Band, The Douglas Mountain Band, Revolver, Deja Blu, Scooter Barnes, Dominick Paoloni, Edee Gail, Roger Falter, Wayne Fennimore, Tony Medina, Go Junior, Local Disturbance, Sydney Warner and the Blues Zone, The Shane Stringer Band, and the Bill Wissing Jazz Quartet. He also sings with the Golden Concert Choir its chamber choir, Confluence. He is also known for his music photography, and his work can be seen on numerous websites and CD covers. Kirk has served as Entertainment Director and Marketing /PR Director for the Cultural Council of Park County’s Arts and Music Festivals and as Entertainment Director/Event Manager for the Mesa Music Fest in Golden. He was Executive Producer of “Financial Matters,” a progressive financial talk show on AM 760, and he is Director of Musical Talent for Blue Moon Talent, a nationwide corporate event entertainment and production company.
Bassist, Vocals
Nathan Kyle Cisneros
Stage Hand, Guitar Tech
Nathan was born in Phoenix AZ April 4th 1989. He grew up in Prescott AZ till he was about 12. During that time, he played piano, and guitar.
At the age of 12, he acquired his first guitar - Samick Strat!
At the age of about 15, Nathan was on stage leading worship at a youth group, and was apart of the band Free Parking (a punk rock band in which he played rhythm guitar). At 16, he also joined an emo/screamo band called So Dies My Revenge, he played lead guitar and backup screamer/singer.
Band History:
Free Parking
No Exceptions (a Christian rock band)
The Silver Linings (indie/alternative rock, http://www.facebook.com/l/9f412;www.myspace.com/thesilverliningsmusic, the song 'Clipped Wings' (being a fan favorite) was written by Nathan. Vocals, Guitar
Colorado Blues
Live at Center Stage
