My band mates include:

Pete Cassani – He is not only the main guitar man, I consider him my producer since he adds so much more than guitar parts. We also collaborate on some of the songs from a writing perspective. He is definitely Lennon, I am more McCartney. He likes to curse. I have to slap his hand. He is a passionate songwriter, performer, that has his own band called “The Peasants” (www.thepeasants.net). He brings my songs to life and without his inspiration I would not be recording my third CD. I love this guy, although we know not to talk politics since we reside on opposite sides of the spectrum.

Leif Benestad (Kissing Mike) – When I hear someone say they know of a great bass player I just chuckle inside. I know I have the best bass player. Leif is one of the most naturally gifted people I have ever met in my life. That’s not only music, although he plays a mean bass, and rhythm/lead guitar, but when it comes to sports, hockey and baseball in particular, he shines. In my opinion, his greatest achievement came within the last 2 years, when Leif and his lovely wife Angie, adopted a beautiful baby girl, Brooke. They have given her a chance at life that one day I know she will appreciate. They are wonderful parents.

Mike Perkins – If you know him you can’t help but laugh at the mention of his name. If you had to define the term entertainer without being able to use words, you would put his picture next to the word. He is one of the best harmonica players ever, and he has been on stage with national talents as well as recording for films and my CD’s. He has a vocal sound that I can only describe as Don Henleyish or Steven Tylerish. He has this unique sound that I love recording. His ability to arrange songs is uncanny (he also writes songs). In particular background vocals. Unfortunately, the first CD was recorded in such a short schedule (due to money) we didn’t get to use some of his best ideas. He also plays keyboards, and is quickly becoming a force to recon with on guitar. His wife Dr. Ruth (not the sex therapist) was featured as a vocalist on my first CD. They have a lovely daughter Jill (quickly becoming a keyboardist in her own right) and we love them dearly.

Billy Close – As I stated earlier, Billy joined us at the start of our first CD project and quickly became someone we felt honored to call a friend. Billy was trained as a drummer early in his life, but mainly plays bass and guitars on most other projects he’s involved in. When he agreed to play on “Angels in My Basement” I think he said it was the first time he played drums in years. He is multi talented and he recently married his boyhood sweetheart and moved to LA. He is such a rock and roller! At the first CD release party, one of the single ladies in the crowd came up to me and said, “Who is your drummer, he is such a rock and roller”. Billy was wearing no shirt, sunglasses, and had a cig hanging from his lips. Yeah I agree.

Rich Hand – That’s me. Not much to say about myself except that I have been blessed with a wonderful supportive wife Justine, two children, Taylor and Emily, and friends and family that are a huge support mechanism for all of my projects. I play rhythm guitar mainly as a vehicle to write songs. My absolute passion is to create songs. I wish I could describe the feeling but I can’t. Those of you that are lucky enough to work at things that you have a passion for, probably understand. I also have become increasingly interested in recording since I do these projects on no budget so I can’t hire engineers. It can be monotonous at times and more like work, but when you get the right sound and feel there is a great feeling of accomplishment. Many of you may not know that a song is played over and over (1000) times between recording, overdubs, mixing, mastering. I have a section of the site that talks about my song writing process if you’re interested in further detail.

Honorary guest band members:

Ruth Perkins – Good friend and wife of Mike Perkins, vocalist on the song “Devotion”. She came into the studio and nailed it on the first take. She is also a Doctor by trade. She is our own “Dr. Ruth”.

Donna McClellan – Good friend and vocalist on the songs, “Saturday Nite”, and “Lonely”. She gave the songs the feel I had in mind and was a pleasure to work with and record. She is host extraordinaire, and one of the nicest people you will ever have the chance to meet!

Bill Stein – He turned down a scholarship from Julliard to go to the Air Force Academy! I’m just glad he didn’t turn down my project in favor of playing on the Hillary Duff CD. He did a fabulous job on the keyboards for this project and what would he have done with all that fame and money anyway.

Dan Tyndale – Stepped in for Billy to handle the drums on the latest CD, “Something for Everyone”. Dan was a pleasure to work with and he had the unenviable task of adding drums after the guitars and bass were recorded. As any drummer will tell you, that’s _ _ _ backwards.

Jen McClure - A good friend and vocalist whose credits include singing with Bob Mayo of Peter Frampton fame, and many other famous artists, took time to lend her voice to my latest effort. She impressed me by being able to sing the way she did after 6 beers and a bottle of red wine! See if you can hear any slurs because I can't.

Cindy Coe - I met Cindy through our camping group and she was always by the fire ready to sing. She graciously accepted my offer to sing on the CD and she is featured on "Lullaby My Angel". She also lends her voice to "Who Are You" and "Looking For A Man". She didn't drink 6 beers and a bottle of red wine, though she does like her tequila!