A LIST OF CURRENT AND FORMER BAND MEMBERS

CURRENT MEMBERS

Photo Credit-Dan Tappan
Don Barry
An accomplished musician and songwriter, bassist Don Barry grew up in a musical family. His dad sang tenor; his mom was a pianist; and his grandfather played banjo, guitar and mandolin. In the early 1970s Don began his musical career as a rock bassist and played for several years in several locally popular rock cover bands. He spent one summer working in the house band at a Catskills NY resort hotel where he developed an appreciation for blues and jazz and honed his skill on the upright bass. The blues led him to tour with Lonesome Dave Clark, and Chicago Bob, the ex-Muddy Waters sideman. Since that time Don has played with many other musicians and bands including Jimmy Connor, Dawn Kenney and The Growlers. Besides bass, Don plays many other stringed instruments though in the Solomon band he sticks to bass and backup vocals. Don has been in the band since January 2006.

Suzen Joyce Perry
Suzen's first musical influences were her parents. Her father, a jazz historian, had a vast collection of music and manuscripts, was always listening and recording. He often swapped parts of his collection with friends and acquaintances, both local and across the country. Her mother was a classical pianist often played famous pieces at home. Citing her near perfect pitch and memory for melodies, Suzen's third grade teacher asked her to take the lead in performing songs that her classmates would sing on most afternoons. In middle school and high school she sang in the school chorus. She took guitar lessons in her teens eventually sang with a band in Corpus Christi Texas. Putting her singing career aside she raised three children always singing to them before bedtime. During this period she also studied violin with Ghislaine Borden in Littleton MA. She now joins the band singing harmonies and exchanging leads.

FORMER MEMBERS

Mike Forney
Mike Forney grew up in a tiny town of 900 people in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. He was either blessed with or doomed to bluegrass and mountain music, depending on your point of view. At age 14 he learned to play guitar at the neighbors Saturday night get together to ?Make Music?. Saturday night music was a combination of Carter Family, Baptist Hymns, Bill Monroe and Hank Williams. He sang in the choir at the local Baptist Church and in college played at local coffee houses and with various folk and bluegrass bands. Mike has performed with Bluegrass and country bands in North Carolina, Kentucky, Minnesota, and New England. A multi-instrumentalist he plays Mandolin, Fiddle, and Dobro and credits any musical success to exposure to old time music, good pickers, and authentic North Carolina Moonshine.

Photo Credit-Jayne Yaffe Kemp
Gary Kemp
Gary first picked up the guitar a few weeks before the Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show; you can guess what happened next. Over the years, he's played lead guitar in rock bands, blues bands, country bands, a string band, a funk band, and folk groups. Gary's long and winding musical road has included stops at Boston landmark clubs like Johnny D's and the Hillbilly Ranch; busking in Berkeley; opening a show for Merle Haggard before a crowd of thousands at the Stepping Stone Ranch in Rhode Island; appearing as the house band at a biker convention in Wisconsin, and serenading the cows (as well as the paying customers) at a barn dance in Danville, Vermont. His highest accolade may have come from rockabilly legend Sleepy LaBeef, who once told him, "You play good, son." Gary joined the band in November 2018.

Toby Leith
A classically trained violinist, he was nominated Fiddle Player of the Year by the Massachusetts Country Music Awards Association while performing with Robin Right and Right Country. Toby has played many different types of music ranging from country, Irish and bluegrass, to rock and roll and jazz. Having recorded with Richie Havens and hung out back stage with Roy Orbison and Vassar Clements, Toby uses his rich melodic stylings to contribute to the band's success.

Andy Hollinger
His first musical memory was of his father playing Reveille on the trumpet to call Andy and his two brothers home for dinner in their small town outside of Pittsburgh. If they were too far away, somebody else invariably heard the stirring call and let them know it was time to go home for Mrs. Paul's fish sticks, hot dogs or Campbell's Tomato Soup. Andy did not choose to follow in his father's musical footsteps, however, and started his musical journey playing drums. He picked up guitar along the way, first with a serious foray into the music of John Fahey and then into the realm of Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, You Really Got Me, and I Can't Get No Satisfaction, with a minor detour into the land of II V I. Having rocked his way across Boston over the years in various outfits such as Send Me to Camp, Distant Cousins, The Bends, The Funeral Barkers, and Zen Armada he is now a member of the Lowbudget Records stable with one CD of his own and contributions on various compilations and artist CDs.

Jonathan Williams
Great Jonathan grew up in the Boston burbs listening to underground radio and trying to fit in. A turning point was when a friend lent him "Are you Experienced" and "Fresh Cream". Mitch Mitchell and Ginger Baker changed his life forever.ÊSpending his youth hanging at the Speakeasy in Cambridge, playing at the Rat and the Channel, and more roadhouses that he can remember, he cut his teeth in Boston bands. Always a sucker for a decent guitar riff and great vocals,ÊJonathan has enthusiastically joined the Lenny Solomon Band.

Photo Credit-Lenny Solomon
Matt Cadarette
Matt joined the band in April 2013. A guitar virtuoso, he's played guitar and bass in many groups since graduating from Berklee College of Music in 1998 including Broken City, The Brotherhood, Eskimo Choir, and Bliss. Currently, Matt also plays lead guitar in Les Sampou's band, and, on occasion, performs solo.

Photo Credit-Dan Tappan
Bill Gibbs
Bill Gibbs spent his formative years as an overly intellectual, anti-social only child of the South Shore. His mother, blessed with artistic talent and an appreciation of music, had amassed an enviable record collection which occupied Bill's time until his teens. Bill's first instrument was the drums but soon turned his attention to guitar. After spending a couple of years at Berklee, Bill's musical experiences ranged from playing bass in a metal band, to guitar- based jazz combos, to a few years gigging with the popular South Shore band "The Accelerators." His musical influences are broad and range from Holst's "The Planets," to Billie Holliday, to ZZTop. Bill was in the band from 2000 to 2012 where he played acoustic, electric, and lap steel guitars, mandolin, and banjo.

Photo Credit-??
Dennis Gurgul
Dennis Gurgul also grew up in a musical family in cosmopolitan New Jersey. His father was also a drummer and his sister is a noted cabaret singer. Dennis began his musical career as a folk singer in Berkeley, CA but switched his attention drums in the 1970s and has been drumming ever since. After taking lessons from Gene Roma for about a year he joined several rock bands ("The Seals", "Urban Eyes", "Septic Shock", and "Hogs On Ice") playing a mix of cover and original songs, British invasion to blues. In the Boston area he played shows in a variety of venues including Uncle Sam's in Hull, The Channel in Boston, and Jack's in Cambridge. Having a broad musical interest he played with swing bands for several years and twice performed at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade in Boston. He also joined a Zydeco band for a couple of years. Besides performing with Solomon band he also plays with several jazz combos. Dennis was with the band from 1998 through 2009.

Tim Cross
Lead guitar - 1999 through 2000

Morgan Scott
Electric bass and keyboards - 2000

Judy Constantine
Electric bass - 1998 through 2000

Norton Allen
Standup bass - 1997 through 1998