westbrook musicians

KEYBOARD, BASS, GUITAR & VOCALS

Steve was introduced to music in the woodwind section of  school band in the 4th grade. At the age of 14, he taught himself to play guitar. Based on his knowledge of basic music and chord theory, he also began playing the piano and keyboards and spent much of his early college life playing and singing rock & roll and folk music for campus audiences. It was also during college that he formed his first rock & roll band. He has been playing with bands continuously since then. Steve is the Westbrook Musicians Club President and band leader and enjoys playing with the group, as it inspires him to continue to improve his skills and just have a good time. Steve also performs regularly with another band at the Bistro in Westbrook Village.

LEAD GUITAR, BASS & VOCALS

Bill started out as a Seattle area guitarist who has been studying guitar since September 1961. Since moving to Arizona in late 2016, he plays with the Westbrook Musicians and as a soloist. With the Westbrook Musicians, Bill plays lead guitar and does some vocals. As a soloist, he plays both the melody and chords together with a style similar to Chet Atkins. His repertoire is a blend of jazz and pop. This style enables him to play as a solo instrument as well as with a varity of other musicians. He plays an amplified electric classical guitar. As a soloist, Bill has recorded two CDs, one of which was played on Muzak and the other a Christmas CD that received extensive airplay on Seattle KWJZ, a smooth jazz station. Bill has appeared on KIRO TV's Northwest Afternoon, performed at a wedding in Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman's Malibu residence, has toured as a backup musician in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Latvia, and most of North America.

RHYTHM GUITAR & VOCALS

Singing since the 4th grade and playing in bands since the folk music revolution in the early 1960's, Bill has performed at the Cedar Point  Amusement Park, with the Marine Band at the U.S. Capital, at the White House, the New York World's Fair, with the Harlem Globetrotters, and at military bases and other venues  throughout Europe. He was a backup singer for Brenda Lee and the Lennon Sisters at the Ohio State Fair. He received a college vocal scholarship, ultimately becoming a top-40 disk jockey and television producer before moving into emergency management. Bill was a music director at the St. James Parish in Glendale, Arizona for over 25 years. He has performed extensively as a solo artist and with bands in the Phoenix area, including with his own band, Class Reunion, at the first ever AZ Cardinals Tailgate Party.

BASS

John began his music career at the age of ten, playing the trombone in his grade school band. He continued playing trombone in high school as part of the marching band, the concert band, and the jazz band. After high school he continues to play for holiday services at several churches in the Detroit, Michigan area. He didn't begin play the bass guitar until he was eighteen. Unfortunately, the demands of college and family left him little time to pursue the bass for several years. That has now changed with him  becoming part of the Westbrook Musicians where he can gain back his skills and have fun with music again.

DRUMS

Jeff is a Brooklyn, N.Y. native who began playing the drums in 1958. He performed for 4 summers at various hotels and resorts in the Catskill Mountains during the early 1960's before spending  time in the U.S. Army from 1965-1967. Jeff was a letter carrier for the United States Postal Service for 9 years in Brooklyn and 32 years in Phoenix. He takes credit for never going "postal" during those 41 years, and only came close on one occasion. He has two sons, both of whom he considers to be smarter than their father. Having played at a few weddings and Bar Mitzvahs along the way before  becoming involved in the Westbrook Village Players, he has been doing some acting for the last few years. Jeff got back into music recently as part of the Westbrook Village Music Club. He blew the dust off his drums and is glad to be back with a band.

VOCALS

Sue, Linda, Sharon, Debbie, and Joanne are active members of the Westbrook Village Musicians Club and often appear at events with the band.  

-Sue Friess began playing piano at age 9, sang in the school choir, likes to sing karaoke and especially enjoys singing in the WBV Musicians Club.

-Linda Hofman is an Arizona native  with a love of music that began at a very early age and that continues today. She has played the piano and the clarinet and sung in her church choir. Linda enjoys singing with the WBV Musicians.

-Sharon Witthuhn sang with her school chorus and the Village Voices, where she was also the librarian for several years. She also enjoys singing karaoke. Additionally, she built her own dulcimer, has played the autoharp and has taken organ lessons. She loves music and singing with the WBV Musicians Club.

-Debbie Gibson has been singing since she was a young girl in both church and school choirs. She also took piano lessons for a brief time. She has been a member of the Village Voices for the past 11 years is currently their president. She is also president of the Westbrook Village Performing Arts Council. She is having fun learning the band's music and performing with the club.

-Joanne Wlosek moved from Chicago to Arizona 2 years ago. Her music and performing background began in grade school and continued through high school. She is a member of the Village Voices and now splits her time singing with the Westbrook Village Musicians Club. She sums up the fun she is having by saying, "I can't believe I'm singing with a band."