Josh began playing the guitar at the age of 12. By 17 he had formed his own band, and was playing jazz, rock, and blues music in local clubs. With a scholarship to Northern Illinois University he studied jazz, guitar, and music theory. After two years he transfered to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to study fingerstyle guitar. In Milwaukee Josh taught lessons and played with various musical groups touring through the midwest. In 2006 Josh moved to Austin and began playing locally with The Receivers. After playing the 2008 South By Southwest festival Josh recorded an album with The Receivers and toured the east coast. Josh continues to perform regularly in Austin and plans to do more recording in the future. Josh has been teaching guitar for over eight years and is very happy share his skills and knowledge to students of all levels.
Lesley began music lessons on the piano at the age of six and played until she was twelve. When she was thirteen she began playing the guitar, and took lessons for two years. She then began writing and singing her own songs, and started a band with two of her high school friends. In college they played at coffee shops, other venues around Austin, and recorded in her bassist's home studio. Although her friends/band mates have since moved away, Lesley continues to play guitar and piano and write her own songs. She hopes to begin recording and performing again in the near future. Music has been an integral part of Lesley's life from a very young age, and she hopes to help others enjoy it as much as she does.
Brian has divided his time in music between performance and teaching. From the early age of 15, Brian has taught music at music stores in Chicago. As a performer, Brian has shared the stage with legendary jazz greats like Clark Terry, Wynton Marsalis, Blue Lou Merini, Karyn Allison, Maynard Ferguson, and many others. One of his High School highlights was performing at Lincoln Center in NY with his High School Jazz Ensemble where he soloed on guitar in front of an audience of thousands including Wynton Marsalis.
His studies under John Scofield(Miles Davis,Medeski Martin & Wood), Bobby Broome (Dr. John, Sonny Rollins) and Fareed Haque (Sting, Paquito D’Rivera, Garaj Mahal) helped him to achieve top honors at numerous competitions as well as a full Performing Arts Scholarship to Northern Illinois University outside Chicago, ranked in the top five music schools in the world by US News and World Report.
As a high school student, Brian performed as the top guitar chair in the Elgin Community College jazz orchestra from his Sophomore through Senior years. Brian was ranked #1 All-State High School Jazz Guitarist in the State of Illinois both his junior and senior year. Competing against hundreds of other High School Jazz Guitarists Brian won 1st in site reading & jazz improvisation which earned him the top spot in the elite jazz ensemble each year.
Upon arriving in Dallas, Brian quickly became involved with singer-songwriter, James Dumaine. This opened the door to the Dallas Sound Labs (known for recording greats such as Stevie Ray Vaughn, Destiny’s Child, Erica Badu & many more) where Brian received a Degree in Sound Engineering and Music Business.
The Degree he received from The Dallas Sound Labs has allowed him to monitor not only his own recordings but to record local bands in his home studio. One of these bands, KINGFISH, has been stirring up the indie/rock scene in the DFW area winning local Battle of The Bands and finishing in the top 10 out of 300 bands in the Dallas Music Fest.
Now he is turning the page and joining the Austin music scene. His love of music ranges from Jazz, Rock, Blues, Reggae, Electronic, Metal, Country, and Classical, has allowed him for 12 years, to pass on his knowledge to students ranging from 6 to 60 years old. Brian still finds time to perform on a weekly basis at local events, including performing for the ambassador of Ethiopia. You can also hear him perform every Saturday night at the Blue Dahlia Bistro on East 11th street.
