Mike Davenport
PHOTOGRAPHY ©2009 DAVE McCARTER

How long have you been singing?
21 years

What equipment do you use?
SM58 Beta Wireless, Shure In-Ear monitors

Do you play any other instruments?
Guitar, Harmonica, Keyboards

Who are your influences?
Led Zeppelin, Queen, Jack Johnson, Lenny Kravitz

Where are you from?
Boston (area)

How did you come to be in San Diego?
The winter of 96 in Salem, Mass was the worst weather experience ever known to man. After the 5th blizzard a friend of mine said he had a spare bedroom in San Diego. So, I quit my stressful job, sold all my stuff and hopped in the car. Ocean Beach is now my home.

What's your favorite Zeppelin tune?
That's the Way gives me chills, but How Many More Times is my favorite to play on stage.

 

Mike Davenport
PHOTOGRAPHY ©2009 DAVE McCARTER
Oliver Custodio Bio

How long have you been playing?
11 years.

What equipment do you use?
2003 Gibson Les Paul Standard, Boss Blues Driver, Fender Hot Rod DeVille.

Do you play any other instruments?
1983 skin flute.

Who are your influences?
Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Satriani, Nels Cline, Steve Vai, Al Di Meola, Dream Theater, The Bad Plus, Kneebody.

Where are you from?
Bothell, WA. It's near Seattle.

How did you come to be in San Diego?
Went to college near Los Angeles, moved around Southern California for a few years, landed here in 2008. Now I'm studying jazz at SDSU.

What's your favorite Zeppelin tune?
"Since I've Been Loving You" for vocals, "The Lemon Song" for bass, "Bonzo's Montreaux" for drums. And it's a several-dozen-way tie for guitar.

 

Mike Davenport
PHOTOGRAPHY ©2009 DAVE McCARTER
Andy Hinson Bio

How long have you been playing?
I've been playing the bass since 1981. There was a string of hits on the radio from Rush's Moving Pictures (Tom Sawyer, Limelight, etc) and these were songs driven by the bass and drums. Also, Geddy Lee was funny looking, and I was funny looking and I fell in love with the bass because of him. I mowed every lawn in the neighborhood to earn the $125 to buy a Memphis P-bass copy. I was 12 years old.

What equipment do you use?
I play a Fender Jazz bass or a Rickenbacker 4003 through a Peavey Session head /Ampeg cab for the big rooms, and a Trace Elliot GP7SM 130 for the recording sessions and smaller rooms. D'Addario strings and Nady wireless. Boxers, never briefs. I use Magnum condoms. Power boats over sailing and I'm allergic to cats.

Do you play any other instruments?
I also play a little guitar. I call my style campfire guitar, because that's about all I can do, strum major chords around a campfire. If someone asks for "suspended" chords or whatever, I'm done.

Who are your influences?
I mentioned Geddy Lee as my main influence on bass, but I also would list Sting and the first 4 Police records as big influences on me as a youngster.I was very much into Queen, Yes and of course, Led Zeppelin. There were jazz legends we would listen to with our mouths agape: Stanley Clarke, Andy West and Jaco Pastorious, but we were just playing simple rock n roll in those days. If we could mimic guys like Steve Harris or Billy Sheehan, we were doing just fine.

Where are you from?
Washington D.C. and raised in the Northern Virginia suburbs.

How did you come to be in San Diego?
I went to high school at Lake Braddock and college at Radford. My sister was living in San Diego with her husband who was in the Navy. I came to visit twice and that second time I just went home and got my stuff. That was 1993. I'm still surprised the whole country doesn't just pick up and move to San Diego.

What's your favorite Zeppelin tune?
My favorite Zep record is Physical Graffiti, and my favorite songs are Rain Song and Ten Years Gone. I'm much more into the rockin/theatrical side of Led Zeppelin than the early blues side.

 

Mike Davenport
PHOTOGRAPHY ©2009 DAVE McCARTER
Jeff Smith Bio

How long have you been playing?
I've been playing drums since I was eight years old. Several decades have past. After high school I touring in bands in New England and Canada and studied drums in Boston with the jazz drummer legend, Alan Dawson.

What equipment do you use?
My latest kit is Ludwig's John Bonham Vistalite re-issue. The kit is a replica of the one John played in "The Song Remains the Same" movie. The drum heads are Remo black dot and I use an Emperor snare head. The stands and pedals are all Tama. I use Paiste cymbals and gong and Vic Firth 2B wood tip sticks.

Do you play any other instruments?
Pots and pans.

Who are your influences?
My early rock drumming influences were John Bonham and Ginger Baker. Jazz drumming influences include Tony Williams and Billy Cobham. Later influences were Jeff Pocaro, Vinnie Colaiuta and Mike Portnoy.

Where are you from?
I'm originally from Boston. I was born and raised there in a town called, Stoneham.

How did you come to be in San Diego?
After reading Tom Wolfe's "Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" in high school, I knew I had to come to California. Soon I began a trek which ended quickly when a school bus hit and totalled my 1966 MGB in Ontario, Canada. Years later back in Boston, I met my wife who wanted to move to San Diego. Within a year we moved here.

What's your favorite Zeppelin tune?
My favorite Zeppelin tune is "Good Times Bad Times". It was the first Zeppelin tune I ever heard and it blew me away. I haven't left the woodshed since. My favorite Zeppelin album is "Led Zeppelin I" with "Presence" and all the rest a close 2nd.