These club members are highly skilled at their "day jobs," but, by night, it’s the musical stars in their eyes that reflect a passion that is, well, priceless. They are linked by an unwavering love of music. We think their varied stories will strike a harmonious chord.

BACKROADS
George Duncan and Kent Davis call Trophy Club Country Club near Dallas their home club and their music style classic rock. Davis, an attorney, and Duncan, who works in commercial real estate for the Staubach Company, started playing together in junior high school. They reunited in 2001 with additional band members. Major inspiration? The Beatles. Over the years, the band has played at skating rinks, school auditoriums, ranches, hotel ballrooms, area festivals, and a bar or two. The band members agree that music is a bond of the friendships that have endured over the years. They recently produced a new CD. Web sites: www.backroadsgroup.com and www.preliminaryhearingstudio.com
Photography by RJ Hinkle of Quad Photo

THE BUCKWILDS
Don Goodman, a member of the Dallas Fort Worth Society, is proposal manager for a major defense contractor when he is not performing as lead guitarist and vocalist for the Buckwilds. This band loves retro power pop. Goodman recalls that, while his dad was a Burl Ives fan when he was growing up, his older brother steered him toward the Moody Blues and The Beatles. He remembers, "I finally picked up a guitar after seeing Neil Young in concert on his Harvest tour circa 1973." One summer in the late ’90s, he was in three original bands at the same time, playing a triple bill for one band after the other for three, hourlong sets. Goodman is "pretty much self taught," although he took exactly four theory lessons when he was 16. When the teacher asked him what he wanted to learn, he said, "theory." Now he wonders, "What was I thinking?"

FRIENDS
Bunny and Fred Jones of the Capital City Club in Columbia, South Carolina, are both retired from state government — he from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine; she as a senior policy adviser to the president pro tempore of the South Carolina Senate. Now they share the billing as lead singers for Friends. Their repertoire is eclectic, from Andrea Bocelli’s "The Prayer" to Outkast’s "The Way You Move." They say their forte is "old-school R&B," taking their cues from such performers as Lou Rawls, the Commodores, Smokey Robinson, and others. Bunny credits music for bringing the couple together and keeping them together.
Photography by Getty Images

LOLA HAAG
This psychotherapist has had a love affair with the "Great American Songbook" since childhood. So it’s no surprise that her alter ego is that of a jazz singer who loves the "great songs and the amazing lyrics." Haag has performed at many clubs in Los Angeles and at some area private clubs — she’s a member of Braemar Country Club in Tarzana, California. You’ll find her CDs saluting the legacies of great artists Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday on Amazon.com. Best news: She got two royalty checks this past month.

IMPULSE. JES’ GREW. WILD BILLS.
Randy Leach, a member of Aspen Glen Club in Carbondale, Colorado, is retired, but plenty busy. Leach currently is playing the guitar in three bands. Impulse is a jazz group that plays standards and Latin fusion. The rock ’n’ roll, four-piece Jes’ Grew plays jam-band style and "funky stuff." Rick Orrison, another Aspen Glen member, joins Leach as part of the Wild Bills rhythm and blues band. Leach has been playing guitar professionally for 35 years, but acknowledges he’s had more artistic success than financial success from his music. He once backed up John Lee Hooker at the first Santa Cruz Blues Festival and opened for the Dave Nelson Band at a 1997 Oregon country fair. Leach says, "I work on my music every day and am still learning." Impulse, the jazz group, recently finished two days in the studio recording their first CD.

JAZZ NOSTALGIA
William G. Webster Sr., a retired professor from California State University, used to be called "doctor." Now, he is better known as "Doc" Webster. The member of Crow Canyon Country Club in Danville, California, is saxophonist and vocalist for Jazz Nostalgia, a four-piece acoustic group, featuring, of course, jazz. Webster’s interest in music began at age 12 with the clarinet and sax and continued through college at Southern University in Baton Rouge, where he also sang. After serving in the Air Force, he joined the Lionel Hampton Orchestra for a few months and then traveled with several bands, including Guitar Slim, Joe Liggins, Dinah Washington, Dakota Staton, and others. Since his retirement in 1997, he has played regularly on weekends at Les Joulins Jazz Bistro in San Francisco and occasionally at Crow Canyon. His album of 10 original songs, You Called Another’s Name, is available at Amazon.com, CDBaby.com, I-Tunes, and various music stores.
Photography by Edward Caldwell

LEARNED HANDS
Steve Ball and Dave Cannella are members of the Citrus Club in Orlando, Florida. They also provide the rhythm and lead guitars, respectively, for the rock band Learned Hands, which includes four attorneys and a corporate audio engineer. The original band members in 1989 worked at Maguire, Voorhis & Wells, a former law firm in Orlando. Ball explains, "We got together one afternoon in a conference room and decided that we all had an interest in music." Cannella continues the story: "The band was named the Learned Hands after a famous judge of the same name." As for their most unusual gig, the band once played at the Citrus Bowl.
Photography by Riku+Anna

MAESTRO
Chuck Taber owns TAB Sales of California. He’s also a past chairman of the Board of Governors at Crow Canyon Country Club in Danville, California. But from September through July 4 each year, he’s better known as "Maestro." Taber is the founder and conductor of the San Ramon Symphonic Band, whose 72 volunteer members perform seven free concerts a year — including an annual "Evening at the Pops" at Crow Canyon. Taber remembers that, when the band started in 1987, 13 players attended the first rehearsal. "Needless to say, we did not play much," he says. That has changed. Current members of the band come from 15 cities in the Bay Area. The repertoire also is far-ranging. Other Crow Canyon members in the San Ramon Symphonic Band are Harry Hanover, Chris Stephan, Glenna Lee, and Carol O’Keefe. Another Crow Canyon member, Tori Campbell of KTVU Channel 2 News, serves as the emcee of the annual concert at the club. Visit www.sanramonsymphonic.org for more information.
Photography by Karen Wilson-Bonnar

MIKE MARSELLE
Michael Marselle has been playing in wedding bands since he was 18. Now 45 and a member of New York’s Athletic and Swim Club at Equitable Center, he still is active in what he calls the wedding circuit — at least, when he gets time off from being the national sales director at a large independent software vendor. Marselle, also a freelance guitarist for bar and club bands, is having a great time recording at home. In fact, he has teamed with his 18-year-old daughter, Nicole, a college student at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. He explains, "I lay down all the instrument tracks and then she sings the vocal tracks. This has been great fun and is way cooler than any school project we ever worked on together." Their style? "Any music that makes someone’s head move and makes them want to dance."
Photography by Christophe Randall

MEN WITH MORTGAGES
Ron Sikes is an attorney and a member of Orlando’s Citrus Club. By night, however, he becomes a Juris Doctor of the guitar and bass, who prefers classic rock from the 1960s. He plays with the band Men With Mortgages, which started with a few members of the local Rotary club when they got together to play for a dinner meeting. The group evolved into having a mission of raising money for charitable causes. One time, when the band traveled to Nashville to play in a YWCA fundraiser, they met Garth Brooks and Lorrie Morgan. Sikes says, "Music is a great release for us. It transports us and our audience to a time of relative simplicity and innocence. We play because we enjoy it. The charitable aspect makes it all the more rewarding." And, he admits, it’s a great excuse to justify to his wife why he must buy all the equipment he "needs."
Photography by Riku+Anna

MIDLIFE CRISIS
This band has quite a club pedigree. Bob Connelly was chairman of the Board of Governors in 2005 at Diamond Run Golf Club in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, works as a key account manager with Pepsi Bottling Company, and plays the bass. Also from Diamond Run are Allen Long (drummer and principal with Heritage Seubert Financial) and Nick Nichols (keyboard player and president of Pittsburgh Regional Minority Purchasing Council). Rhythm guitarist Brian Long is a member of Pittsburgh’s Rivers Club and is president of Seubert & Associates. When it was time for the proverbial midlife crises, these guys decided to develop their talents and do something good for their community. They’ve taken on a quest to raise money for young musicians, more specifically, for Pittsburgh’s Creative & Performing Arts High School. Once upon a time, in a bold move, they rented one of the city’s largest theaters for a performance — sold it out and raised more than $38,000. All this from a group of guys whose motto seems to be "If it’s only got four chords, we can play it!" Since, they have performed for a variety of charities and built quite a following. And they offer some advice for aspiring musicians: It takes a lot of practice. Check out their Web site: www.midlife-crisis-band.com.

MR. PLOW
Jeremy Stone is an attorney with Mehaffy Weber, P.C., and a member of the Downtown Club at Met in Houston. He also plays the guitar and sings in a hard rock band called Mr. Plow. He explains, "My father used to play the guitar and sing when I was little. I got my first guitar when I was 8, but I didn’t start to take it seriously until I was about 12." Later, in college, he and a friend started playing in bands — and haven’t stopped yet. The band’s music is most influenced by Black Sabbath, Fu Manchu, Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss, and Clutch. The band has played eclectic gigs. Once, they opened for a group called Nebula, one of their favorite bands. Another time, they played a fundraiser for sixth-graders. And it’s always good to have a lawyer around. Stone recalls a party in his garage that attracted the police within about 15 minutes. But the lawyer had secured a noise permit! Web site: www.mrplow.com.
Photography by Pam Francis and Getty Images

NOISY WITHDRAWAL
Stephen R. Bergerson is like the cat with many lives. He’s a member of Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, where he and his wife spend several months a year. By day, he practices advertising, entertainment, and intellectual property law from dual law offices — in California and in Minneapolis at Fredrikson & Byron, P.A. He has been a booking agent and manager for many bands. By night, he’s a drummer with Noisy Withdrawal. The band, comprised of nine attorneys and professional staff, first came together for the talent show segment of the law firm’s annual employee appreciation event. Their repertoire? Mostly classic rock and "standards." Bergerson, who started playing drums in high school, says he has had a few brushes with fame. "I have played with many, among others, the Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Hullabaloos, and the Castaways." Now, he mainly plays with Noisy Withdrawal for law firm special events.
Photography by Tim Mantoani

PAPER JAM
Angelo Ponzi, a member of Coto de Caza Golf & Racquet Club in Orange County, California, is executive vice president for an advertising agency called Open Minds. It’s obvious, he’s a creative kind of guy. By night, he is the lead singer and plays rhythm guitar for a classic rock band called Paper Jam. Some history: Ponzi had been in bands since high school, but had not played in one since 1988. Then, in 2002, one of his sons became interested in guitar. "So I decided to start playing again to help him keep his interest level up. That evolved to my talking to a few friends … and the rest is history." Speaking of historic moments, last October, the band played in a charity event and were joined on stage by several ’80s rockers, including Eddie Money, Mickey Thomas (Starship), Jimi Jamison (Survivor), Mike Reno (Loverboy), and John Cafferty (Beaver Brown Band). Web site: www.paperjamrocks.com.

ROSEMARIE & THE RHYTHM RIDERS
Teacher Rosemarie DeHerrera of Crow Canyon Country Club in Danville, California, learned to sing and dance at age 4. So no surprise that she’s now lead vocalist and manager of a band and a Nashville recording artist. "My singing just comes naturally to me," she says, citing Patsy Cline as one of her favorites. A great memory is the day that the band performed for John Fogerty’s sister’s wedding in El Cerrito, California. Fogerty got up and played a half a dozen tunes with the band from his favorite hits.

JIM SHAFFER
Jim Shaffer, a member of the Clubs of Kingwood near Houston, is retired but by no means retiring when it comes to music. He’s been involved in music since he played a French horn with the U.S. Navy band during World War II. (His father also was a French horn musician.) He currently performs with the Kingwood Pops Orchestra, which plays four concerts annually to sold-out audiences. Shaffer has a unique way to explain a French horn, which, he notes, has 18 feet of brass tubing. "As a novelty idea, I take 18 feet of a garden hose and attach a funnel to one end and a mouthpiece to the other." The result? Numerous tunes, such as "When The Saints Go Marching In."
Photography by Pam Francis

GREGG SNYDER
Gregg Snyder, a member of First City Club in Savannah, Georgia, is a jazz singer — a crooner the likes of Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Tony Bennett, and Nat King Cole. Snyder, who owns a building diagnostic company, dates his interest in music to the many choirs and vocal groups throughout his high school and college days. His musical inspiration comes from the Rat Pack — "They were smooth, cool, and had incredibly unique voices." One of his most fun gigs was singing at a long-term care facility where the elderly residents "really appreciated the music." Snyder says that performing opens "a completely different world. It allows me to release a different side of my personality that I don’t get to express when I am crawling under a house."
Photography by Tara Cofiell

AND VALERIE MAKES 3 (or 4 or 5)
Three? Four? Five? Well, it depends upon how many musicians accompany this jazz vocalist. By day, Valerie Weinberg, a member of Granite Bay Golf Club in Granite Bay, California, is the mother of twin 16-year-old boys and a 13-year-old daughter. She says she always has loved music — her mother entertained troops in World War II. But life happened and Weinberg owned a Jazzercise franchise for 20 years. She recalls, "I always sang along with the music. People told me I should take it up." Finally came the year 2000 and a New Year’s resolution: Learn to play the piano. Again, life intervened. Her father passed away and she couldn’t concentrate on learning the piano. One day, a friend asked Weinberg to accompany her to a voice lesson. Although the coach supposedly was not taking any more new students, he changed his mind when he heard Weinberg sing. The rest of the story is a "dream come true," says Weinberg, who sings at many venues in Sacramento. And, she recently learned that her third cousin was Sammy Fain, who wrote the classic, "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing." Music must be in the blood. Web site: www.valsvocals.com.

WHIFFERDILL
David Yates is a member of Club LeConte in Knoxville, Tennessee, and senior vice president of Science Applications International Corp. He plays an instrument many people have never seen: the hammer dulcimer. "We always get a lot of questions about the instrument when we play," he says of the ancient trapezoidal instrument that is played by striking its several courses of strings with hammers. The Whifferdill group’s style of music varies from folk to modern, and Yates most admires the music of John McCutcheon. Weddings are the most challenging and "interesting" of all their gigs. Yates recalls, "Our most recent wedding called for us to play outside for the ceremony, tear down our equipment, move inside and up seven stories, and set up again to play for the reception dinner, then tear down again and get out of the way of the DJ. Yates acknowledges the showbiz truth: "Every bride wants something unusual."